Michael John & The Bottom Line
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Michael John & The Bottom Line

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"Smoking Blues"

I have seen and heard Michael John's vocals, a lot of raw power and emotion, and will readily attest to the legitimacy of this group as an up and coming force in the blues industry."
Jon Hayes,
Southland Blues Magazine
- Southland Blues Magazine


"Good Thing"

Anyone who has read my reviews on this site knows that I tend to shy away from independent releases, mainly because there are so far and few between good ones worth listening to. If I'm lucky I'll receive one or two a year that are worthy of more than one listen, and for reasons unknown to me they always seem to come from Southern California. This year's hands down winner is Michael John & The Bottom Line, and it is my pleasure to review a sensational piece of work that is their second album, entitled Good Thing (Basowski Records). This powerful offering is packed with ten originals and three covers, blending blues and R&B much along the same line of Booker T & The MG's crossed with Southside Johnny And The Asbury Jukes. This polished six piece outfit is led by Michael John Basowski, whose vocal delivery exudes a vintage Mowtown/Stax style, delivered with a conviction and punch à la Wilson Pickett in his prime, with some fine harmonica licks on a few tracks as a bonus. This release grabs you from the opening riff of "Angel Muffin," a funky R&B workout that features a glorious solo from saxman Eddie "Z" Zelaznik, along with some wicked B3 courtesy of Harlan Spector. For anyone that has ever been given a phony name and number or been done wrong in general by a member of the opposite sex, "Dirty Tricks" sympathizes completely. On the other end of the spectrum, the album's title track is a shuffling boogie dealing with some of life's more pleasant factors that tend to make you smile. A moving cover of John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain" showcases the gentler side of Michael's voice before shifting back into the high gear soulful shout of "Understanding Woman." This one features a magnificent guitar solo from Howard "Preacher" Ward, who is stupendous all over this album, whether it's on lead, slide or rhythm. A high energy dance number, "Blues Party," provides a great insight as to what this splendid band can do live, as does a sizzling cover of Luther Allison's "You Can, You Can." Wrapping things up with a down home sort of feel is a wonderful cover of Willie Dixon's "My Baby's Sweeter" that gives the listener the best overall scope of Michael's harp talents that I personally feel could have been a wee bit more abundant. Anchoring the rhythm section are the talents of Chuck Lee Basowski on bass and Tom "T-Bone" Broderick, whose driving beats are the foundation of this very tight unit. This album is so well produced and mixed, and the material so well written and performed, that I was surprised that nobody had signed these guys to a long term recording contract. Michael John and The Bottom Line are as real as it gets when it comes to delivering a very funky, very enjoyable blues experience. This terrific album is available from their web site, www.michaeljohnandthebottomline.com. If you pick up only one independent release this year, do yourself a huge favor and make it this one, because these cats have put out one helluva good thing!
--- Steve Hinrichsen
- Blues Bytes


"Review of Live Show at Cozy"s"

The Players: Michael John, lead vocals, rhythm guitar & harmonica; Howard “Preacher” Ward, lead & slide guitar, rhythm guitar, backup vocals; Kirk Nelson, keyboards, backup vocals; Eddie Z., alto & tenor sax, backup vocals; Chuck Lee, bass; Tom “T-Bone” Broderick, drums, backup vocals.

Material: From the get-go, it’s blues straight with no chaser. With a huge set-list consisting of both originals and covers, Michael John & The Bottom Line offer something for everyone –– from the newcomer to the most discerning blues fan. They obviously have enough material to keep the party going all night long. And, this six-piece unit provides lots of room for all of the members to stretch out and really spread their wings.

Musicianship: Michael John has a smooth harmonica and an even smoother voice, while Ward’s guitar solos are wickedly hot and deeply emotional. In fact, it’s clear that all six members of Michael John & The Bottom Line are completely at home with their instruments. Nelson’s piano and Z’s sax solos make for a nice variety, and they are well executed to boot.

Performance: The stage at Cozy’s barely held the six players in this band, but not even the roof could hold down their sound. From the first song, all of the players exuded heart, soul and skill. By the end of the first set, the audience was dancing in the aisles. Unfortunately, the sax level was a bit low during part of the first set, but this was soon rectified at the steady behest of the audience.

Summary: It’s not easy havin’ the blues, but with Michael John & The Bottom Line as your soundtrack, it’s a whole lot nicer. This band does an amazing job capturing the true essence of the blues. Every song they play, whether it’s a cover or an original, is their own. This act really knows how to show an audience a good time.

––Dale Hill
- Music Connection Magazine


"I love These Guys"

While most every area of the US can boast of some excellent local blues and blues/rock artists, it seems to me that the greatest concentration of talent lies in 3 distinct areas: New England, Texas, and California. While I had known for years of the incredible amount of talented blues/rock artists located in Texas, the staggering number of world class acts originating in both New England and California came as more of a surprise to me.

The latest of my California finds comes compliments of veteran blues/rock guitarist, harmonicat, and vocalist Michael John. John and his band the Bottom Line have in recent years become local favorites in the southern California blues scene.
John is an excellent vocalist and solid guitarist, very capably supported by a most enjoyable band who excel not only as musicians but songwriters as well, with 10 of the 13 tracks on the set being band originals. Their music is most notably Chicago blues influenced with numerous flashes of other styles evident as well.
Many great tracks here including the hard driving "Blues Party", the sax laced "How 'Bout You?", the stinging guitar driven "Dirty Tricks" and perhaps my personal favorite being a sort of New Orleans flavored title tune "It's A Good Thing", which kind of sums up this CD nicely: excellent earthy vocals, a talented band who sound like they enjoy doing what they are doing, and some cleverly written original material-you know, what we used to call "good time music".

And, plenty of good time music is what you will find indeed on "Good Thing" from Michael John and the Bottom Line.
- Blues Rockers


"Tapanga Canyon Blues Festival"

Michael John And The Bottom Line: As a rule, CyberStuff does not review bands unless they are all-time favs like Little Feat, Harry Chapin or Box Set. Every so often, we get to add one to the list and take the artistic license to do so (hey, it's our site :-). Recently, we attended the Topanga Blues Festival at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Los Angeles (Will Geer played Grandpa Walton). This venue is one of the most amazing places to see live music (they also do Shakespeare, al fresco). The fest was already a winner when Michael John and the Bottom Line took the stage. Now it was time to sit up and take notice. This is one smokin', soulful blues band. Lead singer Michael John's vocals have a powerful, sultry resonance that compliment the well-oiled machine that is The Bottom Line. Most of their material is original, ranging from slow to swinging. But our highlight was an incredible rendition of John Hiatt's classic "Feels Like Rain." Buddy Guy may have done it earlier, but Michael John and The Bottom Line hold their own that's for sure.. - Cyber Stuff


"Michael John & The Bottom Line"

Michael is a powerful, gutsy vocalist, the band is uniformly excellent, highly recommended!" John Taylor, Blues On Stage - Blues On Stage


"Great Music"

Every once in a while you run across a band that really makes you stand up and take notice ... Michael John and The Bottom Line is the band. Awesome vocals that grab you where it feels good"
DJ Smilestir, Blue Icewater Radio
- Blues Ice Water Radio


"Blues Radio"

"Gutty, Deep Vocals, with a Blazing, Rich Guitar pretty much sums it up for Michael John, and you Can't Tell Me any different!"
Jonathan "Oogie" Richards, The Blueshouse KBCS 91.3 FM Bellevue, WA

- Blueshouse Radio


"Blues in Montana"

"His vocals are powerfully soulful and a pleasure to listen to"
Jim Byrnes, KBGA Radio Missoula, Montana
- KBGA Radio


Discography

Can't Tell Me - 2000 (Special Guest Coco Montoya)
Good Thing - 2002
From The Roots - 2005

Photos

Bio

Crowned one of the top ten best unsigned Blues bands in the world by the Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. Also, nominated for The Southern California Music Award for Best Blues. All Access Magazine Music awards awarded Michael John with the best make vocal award in Blues / Rock. Everytime they hit the stage you're going to witness a high energy performance of all seasoned musicians with a whole lot of soul.......

Their recent CD release "From The Roots" has had overwhelming response here in the states as well as internationally. The band has performed at many festivals and concert venues abroad. The band is available for all events. Their web site is www.michaeljohnandthebottomline.com

Contact:

Fireball Artist Management
Mike Basowski
P.O. Box 782
Simi Valley, CA 93062
Phone (805) 306-5971
Cell (805) 404-1382
Fax (805) 526-1601
michaelbasowski@roadrunner.com