The start of something beautiful?

So where to start?

The best opening lines are taken, so I guess I'll just start from the top and let 'er rip.

This is, ostensibly, a blog about Broke & Hungry Records, the country blues label I operate. I'll post news and notes about the label on a quasi-regular basis . . . but why stop there? Why not write about the other music that's rocking me? Favorite books? Killer flicks? My personal dietary habits? How about some full-on, self-obsessed, uncompromised NAVEL GAZING?

But we'll get to that in a bit. First a bit on the bizness at hand:

Broke & Hungry Records is a country blues label I operate from my home in St. Louis. We have two great records in the can already. One is already available. The other should hit shelves this summer.

The inaugural release, Back to Bentonia by Jimmy "Duck" Holmes was released a couple of weeks ago. Early buzz has been great, and why not? It's about as raw and perfect as country blues gets. And best of all, Jimmy comes by it honestly. He's the owner of what might be the oldest juke joint left in Mississippi, the Blue Front Cafe in downtown Bentonia. That town sound familiar? It should. Skip James hailed from it. So did Jack Owens, along with a couple of lesser-known guitarists (Cornelius Bright, Jacob Stuckey, Tommy Lee West). Back in the late 1970s, Owens taught Jimmy to play in the "Bentonia style" and he taught him well.

We cut the disc last November. Most of it was recorded in the Blue Front. Some of those tracks feature Owens' old harp partner Bud Spires. A handful of tracks were cut a few days later at Jimbo Mathus' studio in Clarksdale. Those tracks feature Jimmy on electric guitar and the legendary Sam Carr on drums.

Blues & Rhythm Magazine just gave the disc its "CD of the Month" honors. Blues in Britain are running a review giving the disc a "10 out of 10" rating.

Back to Bentonia is available at www.brokeandhungryrecords.com and at a handful of kick-ass record stores.

Look for some good stories (and photos) of the CD Release Party in upcoming entries. I'll also be posting news about the forthcoming second release from Broke & Hungry Records featuring Clarksdale, Mississippi mainstays Terry "Big T" Williams and Wesley "Junebug" Jefferson.