Monday, February 2, 2009 ~ The Juice in the Hole Tour hits the Pacific Northwest - February/March 2009.

2009 threatens to bring more hard times to a lot of us. On the horizon looms a 21st Century Depression, a new era of people scrambling to move back in with their parents (who actually still own their homes), abandoning their Pottery Barned antiques on the curbs and highwaysides. Fear. And Loathing. These are the times when people crave that ancient stomp. No "Texas"-style blues or electric Chicago blues. They want it down, hard, and dirty. The freakin' Delta. That's what we're talking about. The damn Delta blues. This is what The Juice in the Hole Tour aims to throw down. A caravan of backporch stomping bluesfolks coming to your town (if you live in the Pacific Northwest, that is).

First, we have King Clarentz. From Springfield, MO, the King has returned in full force from a nine-year recording hiatus. The material on his new album, Day of the Supermodel, remains true to the Delta blues style that put him on the map in 1999 with his debut, King Clarentz, while branching out into rawer, grungier terrain. King wins the crowd over every time with his unique punk twist on Delta blues and garage rock. His style is John Lee Hooker meets the Black Keys meets Screamin' Jay Hawkins meets the White Stripes. That's one hypnotic, infectious groove. More info on King Clarentz and Day of the Supermodel at www.supersweetrecords.com.

There's also the Joe McMurrian Quartet. Rooted in Delta blues and Old American Roots music, JMQ weaves together modern concepts of improvisation with original story telling that owes as much to John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin as it does to Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, R.L Burnside, or Bert Jansch. JMQ is the new face of American roots & blues music, one that transcends the limitations of music's boundaries, trivialities, and fads, and soars up within the infinity of sound.

Opening up this show is KeepSweet. Conceived as a showcase for the absolute raunchiest song ever recorded, Lucille Bogan's 1926 non-hit "Shave 'Em Dry," KeepSweet aims to bring all the long-forgotten tales of blueswomen's triumphs to light. What The Detroit Cobras does for garage rock rarities, KeepSweet does for women's blues from the 20s and 30s…provided they're songs about drinkin', killin', and whorin.' With whiskey-soaked, barrelhouse vocals and a bruised bottleneck slide, KeepSweet revives the songs long since buried with the women who lived them.

So that’s what The Juice in the Hole Tour is all about: your one-stop shop for where to find the damn blues. They'll be riding from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Vancouver starting February 26.