Ghost Town Blues Band

Ghost Town Blues Band – “Dust the Dust” (Inside Sounds)
Three piece road band—rhythm section and front man (Matt Isbell) who plays all other instruments and sings. A ZZ Top-like group groomed with fuzz guitar and scattergun harp. Probably fun live and dancin’…pretty average with some interesting guitar on some tunes (#5), overdone on fuzz, wah-wah and slam on others (#7). WFHB Music Department - 91.3 FM for South Central Indiana - 98.1 FM in Bloomington Indiana
- WFHB

Never heard “Come Together” done as a blues, most interesting. They do some other covers, more traditional ones I guess you could say, plus several originals, mostly written by singer / guitarist / harpist / organist / believe it or not clavichordist. You just cannot find that many blues bands with a clavichord (and I have known blues bands that were lucky to have three chords, period). Kevin Houston of Inside Sounds recorded and mixed and Kevin Nix of Ardent Studios mastered. Good stuff. NIGHT FLYING Little Rock AR - NIGHT FLYING Little Rock AR

Small-band feel with fine blues and plenty of humor. Hits all the blues-tradition notes. - WRUV

Dust the Dust-Ghost Town Blues Band Inside Sounds ISC0537 2010 Ghost Town Blues Band does blues and some more. Writing good originals, they shine on their totally creative covers and that’s what really caught my attention. The opener “One More Whiskey” puts these Beale St. regulars in the mood. From there, geographically, it’s only a short trip to the North MS hills where they plant the MacLen classic “Come Together” into a totally different world! Matt Isbell’s axe and vocals are as dusty and strong as a Parchman Farm sentence and the rhythm duo of Dusty Sikes on drums and Preston McEwen on bass beats like a summer sun. Visited by Big Daddy Mack and Davis Coen on the 1st cut, it is a runaway steam train plowing down the valley of death. “CC Rider” funks urban smooth while “Baby Please Don’t Go” shuffles like an inmate on death row only to have ‘Old Sparky’ let it fly on Screaming Jay Hawkins “I Put A Spell On You.” Next time you’re stepping out in Memphis , enter the Beale St. Tap room and you may just be transported by the Ghost Town Blues Band. 7 snaves Pearl River-Mike Zito - Dr. Blues

"Very Impressive!" Wendy Neultzler-DJ KKFI Kansas City
- KKFI

"I'm blown away!" Cap'n Barney- WMHB 89.7 MAINE

- WMHB

"A true gem!" Jeni Kayoa- music director KEOL FM Oregon

- KEOL FM

I think I owe the Ghost Town Blues Band an apology. I initially imported this album into my system for show music, gave it a listen, and filed it for potential review. I tussled with myself about reviewing the disc, before ultimately deciding against it. I just didn't have anything to say. Then I listened to the album again, last week, and it finally hit me. "This is really good and different." With that said, it's time I ate a little crow and told you exactly what I think about the band's Dust The Dust; an album that, based on my research (which may or may not be reliable) is their only release to date.
The trio of Dusty Sikes on bass, Preston McEwen on drums, and Matt Isbell on everything else, has only been together since 2009. Isbell, who's been playing since the age of 12, (and co-produced Daddy Mack Blues Band's latest effort, Bluesfinger) also wrote half of the songs on the album. He handles lead vocals for the band, plays guitar, harmonica, organ, and the clavichord in various spots on the CD.
"One More Whiskey" starts off the set of 11 songs, with Isbell singing the first verse, then welcoming Davis Coen and Daddy Mack Orr to each sing one, as well. The song is a Chicago-style number, filled with great amplified harp playing from Isbell and some clever songwriting. It's a fun tune that doesn't make you think, but certainly isn't elementary, either. It's interesting to note the addition of Coen, here, too. He's got one of the hotter albums at Blues radio, right now, as his record, Jukebox Classic enjoys top 10 rotation, according to Roots Music Report.
The band lets their Rock influence shine through on a take of The Beatles classic "Come Together." I will be the first to admit that I hate covers of this song. Abbey Road is probably my all-time favorite record, and I genuinely feel like they made the definitive version of this song when they recorded it all those years ago. That being said, the way GTBB arranged the song as a kind of dirty, north Mississippi, slide heavy rocker sounds great. The song whips by at a breakneck pace, and you are left feeling rather impressed with the job they did. I did not hate this cover. The band does a great job putting their own stamp on the covers throughout Dust The Dust, which also includes a rather bouncy version of "C.C. Rider," featuring some great work on the kit by McEwen, and a wonderful swell of organs from guest Chris Stephenson, who also features on the organ on an additional four tracks, all originals. Other cover tunes include Rocking versions of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell On You," Don Nix's "Goin' Down," and Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go" that reminds me a little of the version that Aerosmith did for their Honkin' On Bobo disc.
I dig the covers, but I really get into the original material provided by GTBB on Dust The Dust. The two halves each bring something to the table, with the arrangements on the cover tunes being the standout for them, and the songwriting being the best part of the original material. That's not to say the musicianship of the originals suffers, however. The title cut, written by friend Kenny Hays, is a crunchy Blues-Rocker that fits the framework of the band well. Stephenson guests on organ here, but Isbell's guitar is front and center, from - Full TIme Blues Review

“They’ve only been in existence for a little over a year, and they’ve already got a steady prime gig on Beale Street in Memphis, tearing up the stage at the Beale Street Tap Room. Ghost Town Blues Band is fast becoming the toast of the town, with a sound that blends the earthen fortitude of Mississippi hil country stomp, with the excitement of hot ‘n’ heavy electric Chicago blues, wrapped up in a funky package. The Band’s debut, Dust the Dust, is a menacing groover.”
-LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6
“Poised to lead the genre into a brave new future.”
-LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6
“Thunder and lightning rhythmic punishment of Led Zeppelin. “
-LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6
“The band’s youthful, free-flowing vibes, spontaneous sense of interplay, and willingness to assume musical risk also make them simpatico with the current jam-band crowd—an audience that has already embraced the band and is rapidly integrating itself into traditional blues.”
-LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6
“A rough, revitalizing blues rave-up. GTBB’s Dust the Dust shows what can happen when the past is distilled through young sensibilities, voices, and instruments. This is 21st century blues at its best.”
-LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6
- LIVING BLUES MAGAZINE issue #210-vol.41. #6