michael packer: News

"ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER', BOB DYLAN'S ORIGINAL THEME WAS AND IS ONE OF THE MOST COVER VERSIONED ROCK SONGS.TODAY WE COLLECT SOME OF THE BEST REINTERPRETATIONS IN A VERY SPECIAL PROGRAM.THE AUTHORS OF THE VERSIONS: BOB DYLAN,JIMI HENDRIX,U2,INGIGO GIRLS,BRIAN FERRY,NEIL YOUNG AND THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND... - ROCK REAKTOR - SPAIN

THE NEW RIKERS ISLAND BLUES CD BY MICHAEL PACKER IS NOW FEATURED IN THE NEW AND NOTEWORTHY BLUES SECTION OF ITUNES.TOP TRACK "THE THRILL HAS GONE".

THE NEW " RIKERS ISLAND BLUES " CD BY MICHAEL PACKER IS # 21 ON THE EMUSIC CHICAGO BLUES CHARTS WITH SUCH ARTISTS AS HOWLING WOLF, MEMPHIS MINNIE, ROOSEVELT SYKES AND A HOST OF ARTISTS FROM THE EXCELLENT DOCUMENT RECORDS SERIES....KEEP THE BLUES ALIVE!

THE NEW MICHAEL PACKER "RIKERS ISLAND BLUES" IS NOW AVAILABLE @ ITUNES, E-MUSIC AND AMAZON.COM. LINER NOTES BY BLUEWAX EDITOR DON WILCOCK AND THE CD IS ALSO BEING PRESENTED TO THE 2010 BLUES AWARD NOMINATORS FOR CONSIDERATION.PRODUCED BY MICHAEL PACKER AND RELEASED BY THE IRIS MUSIC GROUP.

THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND WILL BE APPEARING @ THE TURNING POINT CAFE ON SATURDAY MAY 2 (go to the calendar section for more info). Blues award nominee pianist David Maxwell will be sitting in with the band and Felix Cabrera on harp.A fantastic night of music at one of the best venues in the country to hear and see live music...

Legendary record producer Phil Spector was found guilty of shooting and killing a woman he had met in a bar.Spector was famous for producing records for the Righteous Brothers, John Lennon and creating the late 50's and early 60's "Wall of Sound" which consisted of orchestrated string sections and lots of echo used on all the 'Shirelles' and "Chrystals" hits.Historically the wall of sound began with Gene Pitney's "Every Breath I Take" in 1961 with Spector's associate, conductor and arranger,the legendary Alan Lorber who now releases the Michael Packer Blues Band CD's on his Iris Music Group record label...Spector is facing 18 years in prison. A sad life that was full of success.

The new unreleased CD by the Michael Packer Blues Band is # 6 on the New York State Roots Radio Charts!

We are testing the waters.The Jimmy Rogers classic "Jailhouse Now " from our new not yet released CD was selected by Blues Deluxe the nations #1 blues show.It will air for a week (March 29 through April 6) on over 100 radio stations nationwide,Canada and the Virgin Islands.

MICHAEL PACKER & ED JACKSON HAVE RETURNED FROM MEMPHIS AFTER COMPETING IN THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE. EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN'T MAKE THE FINALS IT WAS A INCREDIBLE GOOD TIME. THEY WERE WELL RECEIVED.THE GATHERING OF MUSIC THERE ON BEALE STREET IS PHENOMENAL. WE WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!

THE TIME HAS COME! MICHAEL PACKER & ED JACKSON ARE OFF TO COMPETE IN THE IBC SOLO/DUO COMPETITION IN MEMPHIS. THEY WILL BE PERFORMING ON BEALE STREET THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THE FINALS ARE SATURDAY @ THE ORPHEUM THEATER. IF THE SCHEDULE PERMITS THEY MIGHT DO SOME RECORDING @ THE WORLD FAMOUS SUN STUDIOS!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND!!!!

2008 was a great year for us. Michael Packer & Ed Jackson winning the Jersey Shore Blues & Jazz Foundation's IBC solo/duo competition giving them the opportunity to perform in Memphis 09! The CD's Live @ Lucilles & Bleecker Bowery received airplay on over 300 radio stations and hit the Roots Music Report, Emusic and Rhapsody Blues Charts. Some of the best gigs of the year (their all good, we get to play) were BB Kings Christmas show, the 50th anniversary of the Washington Square Music Festival in Greenwich Village, the Turning Point, Warwick Winery Blues Festival, the Phoenixville PA July 4th Festival, the 55 Bar and Mexicali Blues w/ Melvin Taylor. Michael Packer had an anthology CD released of his early Atlantic and RCA recordings. We look forward to an adventurous and successful 2009!....Thank you to all that supported us!

The Michael Packer Blues Band would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year! We will be performing @ BB KINGS/LUCILLES in NYC on Christmas day @ 8pm til. So if you got the blues come down to BB KINGS. We are the blues and we can make you feel better... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Odetta, "the Queen of folk music" has passed away at the age of 77. In the early 70's I was @ Kenny's Castaway's in Greenwich Village on stage performing the song " Midnight Special " with my band Free Beer and i looked up when i heard this woman belting out the song with me in perfect harmomy.It was Odetta with this huge smile. She didn't know me but she knew the song and it felt like she was home. I will never forget that night. It was quite magical. I am sure Odetta is going to share some of that magic in heaven. That is where she belongs. Home........God Bless You! - MICHAEL PACKER

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE COUNTRY FOR MAKING BARACK OBAMA PRESIDENT. YOU GAVE ME HOPE!!!!!

MICHAEL PACKER & ED JACKSON ARE HEADED TO MEMPHIS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE IN FEBRUARY 2009!

" EVE OF DESTRUCTION " WHICH WAS A HUGE HIT IN 1965 FOR BARRY McGUIRE. THE SONG WAS A KIND OF MIDDLE OF THE ROAD PROTEST SONG WRITTEN BY STEVE BARI & PF SLOAN. YOU CAN SEE AND HEAR THE ADAPTED VERSION PERFORMED BY THE MICHAEL PACKER BLUES BAND BY GOING TO THE LINKS PAGE AND CLICKING ON YOUTUBE. THE VIDEO IS FOR PROMOTIONAL USE ONLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR UPCOMING CD!
" Well it's just a great piece of art and it's new lyrics are exactly what's happening now. You've done a phenomenal piece of work and your vocal interpretation comes from the heart. Thank you" - BARRY McGUIRE

The song 'Jimmy's Blues' from the live @ Lucilles NYC CD featuring Jimmy Vivino on vocals is #1 on the blues top 50 @ Telmore Musik a Danish website.Live @ Lucilles is also #72 on the emusic Texas Blues Charts and The Michael Packer Blues Band is #53 on the Rhapsody Country Blues charts.
Some Free Beer news: The Free Beer song 'Coupe de Ville' by Sandy Allen will be featured in the DVD movie 'Joyride 2 Dead Ahead' to be released October 6th by 20th Century Fox Home Video.

The Michael Packer Anthology was released today by the Iris Music Group produced by Alan Lorber. It contains recordings from the Papa Nebo Atlantic Records years (1969-72) including some Columbia demo sessions with John Hammond Sr., Free Beer Buddah and RCA records (1974-78) the LA sessions (1979) with Van Morrison keyboard player Mark Jordan.Home studio recording Westerly Rhode Island (1991)with Sandy Allen and Bob Potter of Free Beer.Tracks from Bleecker Bowery,Halt' Music Co.(Austin TX (2004) No use running from the blues (2002)and live session @ BB King's NYC 2007. Available @ Amazon,Itunes and Emusic...

The Michael Packer - Sandy Allen Reunion CD is # 43 on the New York Roots Radio Charts with artists such as John Mayer and Billy Joel. The new Michael Packer single " Back in Albany" is also being promoted to radio stations in upstate New York! We will keep you posted....

The blues was alive and well this past weekend @ the Warwick Valley Blues Festival in Warwick N.Y. We had a great time jamming with our friends " Breakaway" an excellent band from Long Island N.Y and we look forward to doing more shows with them. We also had a great night @ the Greenwich Village jazz club, The 55 Bar and let us not forget the 50th Aniversary of Washington Square Park in NYC where we played for over 700 people on the first day of the summer. It was incredible.
In September we will be back @ BB King's in NYC and will also be launching the Muddy Cup tour up the Hudson River starting in Poughkeepsie NY.Check the calendar for a list of venues..

I FIRST MET HIRAM @ SEVENTH AVENUE SOUTH A NOW DEFUNCT JAZZ CLUB OWNED BY THE BRECKER BROTHERS IN THE 80'S. HIRAM BEFRIENDED ME. AT THE TIME I WAS HOMELESS AND HE WOULD PUT ME UP ON HIS COUCH..THE GUITARIST FOR LETTERMAN'S MOST DANGEROUS BAND WAS ALWAYS THERE WITH A HELPING HAND FOR ME. REST IN PEACE, MAN, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU......MICHAEL PACKER

We did some great shows this past weekend opening for Melvin Taylor,great guy and hell of a guitar player @ Mexicali Blues in New`Jersey on Friday night.Then on Saturday @ the Waterside Plaza in the city but the best gig of the weekend and fair to say one of the all time best gigs was Washington Square Music festival in Greenwich Village.There were hundreds of people cheering us on and we didn't disappoint them.Go to the links page to youtube and check out Bob Dylan's classic All Along The Watchtower.Very appropiate for the 50th anniversary of the Washington Square Music Festival.Thank you to all.

My friend singer-songwriter and story teller Utah Phillips has died.The golden voice of the great southwest as he was known was a total gentleman and a true gift to humanity.The world needs more people like him.He will surely be missed.....

THE LIVE @ LUCILLE'S CD HIT # 41 TODAY ON THE ROOTS MUSIC REPORT BLUES RADIO CHARTS. THE CD HAS BEEN ON THE CHARTS FOR THE LAST 16 WEEKS. THE SONG "CORINNA,CORINNA" FROM THE CD WILL BE AIRED THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE ON THE SYNDICATED BLUES SHOW "BLUES DELUXE" ON OVER 106 RADIO STATIONS ACROSS THE USA AND CANADA.