109 Walks

“Shake Your Soul” is an outstanding effort by a band that should have been at the top of its class. The band originally formed in Louisiana as Voices in 1986 and consisted of Kelly Keeling (guitar and keyboard), Lance Bulen (vocals), Keith Harrison (bass) and Harold Knappenburger (drums). They changed their name to Cheetah, later to Meridian and finally Baton Rouge, the group relocated to Los Angeles in 1987 and revamped their line up. Their debut album, “Shake Your Soul” debuted in 1990, reaching only the 160th place on the Billboard charts at a time when media attention to the style had already begun to decline dramatically.

The Big Town Playboys are a six-piece acoustic British rhythm and blues revival band playing American music of the 1940s and 1950s, though they were formed in the '70s. Personnel has changed over time, but the group leader is pianist/singer Mike Sanchez. The Big Town Playboys have released a series of studio albums, as well as a collaborative project with Jeff Beck (entitled Crazy Legs), re-creating the songs of Gene Vincent. Several of their songs also appeared on the soundtrack of the film, The Pope Must Die. They have performed as a backing band for Robert Plant, who contributed guest vocals on their album Roll the Dice They…