Patrick Vining Band

June 1999 Southwest Blues Magazine Blues Review
Patrick Vining: Released (JSPCD2124)
This new JSP debut release from Vining and the Blue Sharks has tremendous appeal. The compositions are solid. The vocals are smooth and unique. The spotlights are merited and flawless. Most of this will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with a Jimmy Morello production: he knows what sounds good and he knows how to get an artist to put their best foot forward.
If you want evidence of that vaticination, pop this puppy in the CD player and have a listen to toe-thumping tracks like "One Heartbeat" or "She's So Nice." Vining is a good vocal presence and his ensemble makes the kind of ear pleasing, barn burning, joyful noise that you pay good pesos to hear out in club land.
There's something for everyone here, from big band swing to honey roasted funk to honky tonk blues. The boys handle the mix with style and flavor. All but one of the songs are written by Vining and guitarist Jim Ransone. It's an irenic collaboration that lends itself to the medium. There's some great guitar work on the tune "Spending Cash" and "I Need Help." And who among us doesn't enjoy great sax when we can get it? There's some fantastic sax on "I Don't Want No Broken Heart."
Tom Mahon turns in a great performance on this disk. I can't say enough good things about Mahon's ivory tickling. I enjoy his work every time I hear it and he is not wasted here. Listen to him tear it up on "Give It Everything You've Got." Morello's meritorious devotion to the overall quality of the work is apparent in each of the eleven tracks. "Good tone" as they say. A text book case of good music.
—Bill Fountain
- Southwest Blues Magazine

Blues Revue
Patrick Vining: Released (JSPCD2124)
Though still a youngster in the retro blues game, big-throated vocalist Patrick Vining comes armed with a warm and determined voice. With Jimmy Morello producing and former members of the James Harman band providing backup, this singer rarely works outside the style of soulful 1950s jump-style blues.
Each of the 11 originals is arranged to spotlight the talent and experience of all members of this band. Tom Mahon supplies bright piano comebacks, while the guitar chores are shared by newcomer Kirk Fletcher — Junior Watson's current student in the stylings of West Coast guitar — and John Marx, whose tuned-in understanding of dynamics grounds the record in consistency. Jonny Viau's massive volleys of tenor sax recall the days of horn-based bands propelling dancers around the floor. Viau honks, growls and coos throughout the disc; at other times, he becomes part of the horn ensemble completed by baritone player Troy Jennings.
The songs range from "Put the Blame on Me," a piano-and-guitar rocker that could be a Smokin' Joe Kubek tune, to the sing-along shuffle "Thank You Baby." The band uncovers a New Orleans / Fats Domino R&B style on "Looking for Mercy," lights a candle in an after-hours club on "Lonesome Blues," offers a piano boogie on "Give It Everything You've Got" and stands on the big band stage on opener "She's So Nice."
In a time when other bands are becoming swing stars overnight, Vining has assembled a mature band that lets its own savvy dictate the music. Released holds up play after play.
—Art Tipaldi
- Blues Revue Magazine

Happy Blue Year: Patrick Vining and the Blue Sharks Get Down-And-Dirty
by Allison Frank
From the Mountain Xpress Paper, December 31, 1999
If a blues category called "kick-ass, Southern-gentlemen singers" existed, Patrick Vining would be its poster child.
Dubbed by the press as a "big-throated vocalist," a harder-working musician is not to be found on the national blues circuit. Better known musicians exist, sure—but probably not one more committed to preserving a singular style of blues.
In the movie industry, under publicized films that emerge as hits are called "sleepers." Blues aficionados attending First Night Asheville presented by Mission St. Joseph's will discover that Vining and his gang are the musical equivalent of the phenomenon.
When asked about the driving force behind his music, Vining unabashedly admits that his primary focus is "doing right by my influences and giving proper musical credit to those who inspired me."
Like a formally trained musicologist, Vining displays a deep understanding of his vocation. "Louis Jordan, a big-band leader in the '40s and '50s — who wrote classic tunes like 'Caledonia' — is my number-one influence," he reveals. "Next, I like to credit Big Joe Turner — who penned 'Shake, Rattle, and Roll'. And I take my vocal style from Wynonie Harris, one of my favorites ... Back in the '40s and '50s, a guy could simply be known as a great singer ... There were lots of guys like that in the blues field."
Vining grew up on the outskirts of Atlanta, and his career evolved from the roots up. His father was a church music director, and his mom sang in the choir. "The earliest memory I have of singing in public was at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church ... when I was around 4," Vining relates. "The first solo I ever sang was at my grandparents' house, when I was 8 or 9. I sang 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' while my uncle played the guitar," he continues with a laugh.
Vining's first CD, Blues With Bite, was released in November 1998 by the Atlanta-based Ichiban Records. But the musician isn't particularly proud of that first effort. "The CD is not a true representation of my actual style, although it was the exposure I needed to get signed by (London-based) JSP Records," he says. "I wanted to be on a label whose roster has included blues greats like Buddy Guy, Professor Longhair and Jimmy Witherspoon — so I sought them out. I sent JSP my stuff and asked that they just listen to my voice."
And Vining was signed on the strength of his voice alone. Since he had no band at the time, he enjoyed the luxury of handpicking the musicians he wanted to work with when recording his first JSP effort, Ready Right Now (1999). As the backbone of his group, Vining hired the rhythm section of blues notable James Harman. Then, he hired the horn section of porn-star-turned-blues-singer, Candye Kane (yep, you read correctly) to complete the lineup.
He passionately contends that authenticity is steadfastly at the heart and soul of his music. "Delta Blues is certainly the blues to me; however, it's (also) blues to somebody if a guitar player truly believes in the notes he's playing," Vining explains. "He doesn't have to jump out of bed every morning and immediately begin playing a Django Reinhardt riff."
Although not a card-carrying music snob, Vining says he becomes frustrated by what he believes to be a prevailing bastardization of the blues. "A lot of people these days are calling the type of music I play swing, but back (in its heyday), it was called jump blues," he relates. "I'm doing my best to keep that tradition alive."
And alive it is. Ready Right Now (produced by legendary blues maven Jimmy Morello) is a testament to Vining's singular dedication to the blues. From the distinctive New Orleans funk of "Looking For Mercy" to the big-band flavor or "She's So Nice" to the West Coast swing of "Thank You Baby," Vining's songs cover an amazingly wide spectrum. (Vining and his guitarist, Jim Ransone, wrote 10 of the 11 songs on this disc.)
As a Georgia native, Vining is continually baffled by the fact that Atlanta's flourishing music scene has never embraced him. But he's a crowd-pleaser in the Midwest and a darling of European audiences.
The band that will entertain Asheville audiences includes Ernest Lamb on guitar, Marvin Mahanay on bass, Michael Boyette on piano, Michael Hughes on percussion, and Dave Watts and Linton Wages on saxophones.
When we asked Vining what king of show the local New Year's Eve crowd should expect, he quipped, "Asheville will see a bald-headed guy in a double-breasted suit having fun. I put my heart and energy into everything I play. I may not be the best there is, but if you give me two hours in front of an audience, I'll make a blues believer out of anyone."
- Mountain Xpress Paper

Patrick Vining and his band play blues with some bite
by J.A. Dunn (Staff Writer)
From the Star Banner Paper (Ocala, Florida), December 31, 1999
Patrick Vining said good-bye to country music after hearing one song by blues legend Muddy Waters.
"I started playing the blues about 10 years ago," he said. "I was messing around with country music, and then a friend of mine played me a song by Muddy Waters. I loved it and bought everything Muddy Waters ever did."
After a steadfast diet of the blues, Vining started his own group, Patrick Vining and the Blue Sharks.
Blues fans will get to see Vining and the Blue Sharks at Mr. Pub tonight and Saturday. Music starts at 1pm. There is no cover charge.
Vining, who lives in Austell, GA., right outside of Atlanta, said the group has been playing four or five dates a week. He said the group is awaiting their first record, 'Blues With Bite,' on Wild Dog Records, due out October 13.
Accompanying Vining in the band are Keith Otterbeck (bass guitar), Lee Plemmons (drums) and Shane Pruett (guitar).
Vining said there is a combination of songs on the album. "I do some writing and, of course, we do some cover tunes. It's hard not to," he said.
"It's hard not to like blues," Vining said. He pays homage to blues, saying without them, there would be no rock 'n' roll as we know it today. The blues is something everyone has in common, Vining said. "The lyrics are everything. It's something everyone can relate to in life," he said. "The blues are generally about everyday life. It's nothing where you have to sit down to figure it out."
Bill Sharpe, owner of Mr. Pub, didn't have to sit down and figure out he wanted Vining and the Blue Sharks to play at his establishment. "A couple of the members of the group played with singer Kelly Williams, and I found out they had gotten off the road with her. I said I'd take them because I heard them play, and they were good," he said.
The band's lineup changed about six months ago. He said the current lineup of the band is just as good, if not better.
"We tour the Southeast a great deal," he said. "We played in Florida about seven or eight months ago. We are absolutely looking forward to coming back. Florida is one of our favorite states."
- Star Banner Paper (Ocala, Florida), December 31, 1999

Come_On_In_My_Kitchen_ Patrick Vining Band at Willie's last
night (Wed 21st)
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:16:09 -0700 (PDT)

The Patrick Vining Band's Blind Willie's--debut last night was great! I mean, it was GREAT! I don't know many who can do to an audience what Patrick does so (seemingly) easily and naturally: he gets them interested and involved in the music, and he holds them throughout the night. Most of the performers I've seen who can do this usually do so by becoming human jukeboxes, doing a "sing-along to the greatest hits of your wasted youth" kind of show, and that ain't what Patrick does, not by a long-shot.
("Freebird?!!? Nah, I don't see Freebird happening tonight.") Patrick & his fellas (Colin Alvarez (guitar,) Paul Giffen (upright-bass,) & Trevor Roberts (drums)) play blues (with a rockabilly slant,) and for the most part the songs almost certainly aren't familiar to the audience. It doesn't matter, though: the people who walk in the door don't leave, and they don't sit in the corner talking or playing games & checking sports crap on their cellphones; they watch the stage, listen to the music, dance, laugh, and cheer. Oh, and they buy drinks.
Picture this, if you can: Blind Willie's on a Wednesday night. A local band--a new-to-Willie's local band--onstage. A $5 cover charge, not abandoned after the first set (or even after the third set.) More-or-less 60 people come in over the course of the evening, with as many as 45 there at any one time, and probably 20 still there when the show ends at 1 A.M. (My husband, who never stays 'til the end of a week-night show, was among the final-20.) None of the 60 had been deposited and deserted by tour-bus drivers and, as far as I know, Patrick, et al. hadn't packed the place with their relatives.
Blind Willie's, on a Wednesday night--praise the lord and pass the
tip-jar.
"All Night Long" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJAU3WFGygU

"Trick Bag" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-gZRQzSWm8
The videos are not the cest and I would suggest fropping the links but the rest is great.
- Come_On_In_My_Kitchen_

Hello Patrick,

I've really enjoyed your performance yesterday at the Nix BBBluesclub. Both your presence and that of the backing musicians made it a gig not to forget.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I appreciate it very much that you have given me advice about which guitarists I can learn from.

I'm looking forward to see you again next January,

Leander
- Guestbook Entry

Hello Patrick,

I finally found your website and tour schedule. I met you at 2 urban licks a couple of weeks ago and purchased your CD. I listen to it all the time and tell everyone about your band. I look forward to hearing you and your band playing live again! Hope to hear you at Blind Willie's!

Keep on playing!!!

You guys are kick ass!!

Paul
- Guestbook Entry

Hi Patrick nice site.
Theo(Thumper) sended me a copy of your CD for my radioshow(Bluezy).
I hope to see you in my show April 19

All the best,
Nico
Nico (Bluezy) Bravenboer
nicobravenboer(at)planet(dot)nl
Location:
Netherlands
- Guestbook Entry