Swamp King

The traditional 2-steps and blues-inspired rhythms of zydeco are transformed into the modern dance-inspiring music of Roy "Chubby" Carrier and his group, the Bayou Swamp Band. While The Chicago Tribune referred to Carrier as "one of the finer standard bearers of the classic zydeco sound among the new generation of Louisiana bands," The Worcester Telegram and Gazette praised Carrier for his "unbridled enthusiasm and the ability to make a party happen whether he's playing for five people or five hundred," and The Atlanta Daily News wrote that Carrier "knows how to let the good times roll with the power and precision of a seasoned musician."
Carrier's breakthrough came with his third album, "Dance All Night". Released in 1993, the album received a Living Blues critics award as "Best Zydeco Album of the Year".

Listening to the the title track of Have Blues Will Travel that opens the second Alligator set by the no-jive, grit-and-gravy Texas blues duo of Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, one can't help but recall another Texas outfit that used to rock this hard, playing the roadhouse boogie loud and proud: ZZ Top. Kubek's wicked slide playing and King's wrangling, razored leads trade places; the locked-in rhythm section of bassist John Morris and drummer Adrian Marchie gives them some room to really wail. The comparison is not an idle compliment since ZZ Top haven't sounded like themselves since Deguello. This track alone is almost worth the price of the disc. There are other cuts here that hammer just as hard, too, however: "Out of Body, Out of Mind," "One Step at a Time," and the closer "What a Sight to See" carry the same raw, blistering blues and boogie torch…

Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King have been slinging out no-nonsense, bar band-approved Texas blues-boogie since 1991. Between nonstop touring and about a dozen similar-sounding albums, little has changed for the duo besides the label affiliation. Bullseye Blues, Blind Pig, and now Alligator have helped put their music in front of a wider audience, but since the discs are pretty much interchangeable, it's little wonder their audience hasn't expanded beyond a core of hardcore fans. That's something of a badge of honor in the business they are in, though, and the very fact that King and Kubek have survived nearly two decades in the blues trenches without altering their basic approach is impressive. As you'd expect, that holds true on the duo's Alligator debut…