Performance Reviews and News:

George singing with Otis Clay at Washington Park, Albany, 8/13/02

David Malachowski (former bandleader/guitarist for Shania Twain and currently guitarist with Savoy Brown) wrote the following in his 8/13/02 Albany Times Union review of a concert we played in Washington Park with Chicago's Otis Clay under the headline "Bluesmen who get to heart of soul":

ALBANY- On a warm summer night, blues soul singer Otis Clay and local blues guitar giant George Boone closed Second Wind's Washington Park Concert Series this year in fine style.

Show business is a funny thing; sometimes folks with little talent go far while others whose skills just can't be denied linger in career purgatory, flying under the radar...

(We'll skip Otis' section of the review...)

...Another man who should have more respect than he has is Boone. He's the best blues guitarist in the region, hands down, and it's surprising he hasn't gone further.

Like his obvious influence, T. Bone Walker, Boone is a charismatic showman as well as a passionate guitarist who stays true to his roots.

A sharp-dressed man in a tan dress shirt and tie, Boone blasted off with a shuffle, in which each member of his capable band got to work out. The sure sign of a great guitarist is space, and Boone was brave enough to use it liberally. He would toss off a sweet-toned phrase or even a single note, then let it steep and digest.

But in case that was too subtle, he jumped off the stage and climbed up the bleachers, wailing away and playing behind his back to the delight of the crowd.

Boone seems to go to a pure place other area bands can't seem to find. He doesn't try to replicate the blues, he just is it. The lack of forced pretense was inspiring.

Mike Hochanadel of the Schenectady Daily Gazette also wrote about George in his 9/13/02 review of the same concert:

Schenectady-based George Boone and his blues band, fresh off a tour to the West Coast, was opening act deluxe. Clay was rightly so impressed by the fireworks in Boone's half-hour set that he invited him onstage in an extended "(Sittin' On the) Dock of the Bay," and in "Take Me to the River" a bit later, Clay's guitarist handed his ax to Boone for an incendiary solo.

In his own set Boone celebrated loving and losing, cheating and traveling. He sang a cheating lover's challenge in "Catch Me If You Can," waxed sincere and sexy in a love song or two, and stepped on the accelerator in shuffles fast and slow, but always strong. He charged offstage and up the aisle, playing guitar behind his head, and way over the top.

Greg Haymes of the Albany Times Union put this concert as an honorable mention for his "Season's Best." Among his other categories, he gave "Best unexpected collaboration" to Otis Clay and George Boone on Otis Redding's classic "Dock of the Bay."

Blues writer Don Wilcock (co-writer of Buddy Guy's autobiography and editor of The King Biscuit Times)wrote the following article about George in the September 2002 Bluesprint:George

George Boone played a high profile gig this summer at the 15th Annual Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland Oregon. The five-day event attracted an estimated 120,000 people. It headlined Ike Turner, John Mayall and Clarence Gatemouth Brown and raised $300,000 and collected 115,000 pounds of food for the hungry.

The festival was the high point of Boone's summer swing across the country that included nine states, more than 10,000 miles of driving and several club appearances. One was Harlem Ave, just outside of Chicago, a venue run by one of the booking agents for Buddy Guy's Legends in the Windy City. This was George's first tour since leaving Texas bluesman Phillip Walker more than 20 years ago and his first tour ever as band leader.

When he returned home, he opened for our cover artist in last month's BLUESprint, soul master Otis Clay in Washington Park. Clay was so impressed with Boone, he invited him on stage to sing "Dock of The Bay" with him, and "Hollywood," the guitarist in Clay's nine-piece Platinum Band, handed down his axe to Boone during the finale. Second Wind Promoter Mona Golub hired Boone on the spot to open for New Orleans' Radiators in Central Park on August 29th. George's August 18th hosting session at The Northeast Blues Society's Sunday jam at Bourbon Street drew one of the biggest crowds we'd ever had.

Does he still feel he's "A Stranger in My Home Town?"

"Yes," he says, "but it's getting better."

Stranger in My Home Town is the title of The George Boone Blues Band's debut album cut in one day at Cathedral Sound in Rensselaer. Actually, the home town critics gave it rave reviews using adjectives like scathing, angry, raw and smoldering. I said of it on these pages: "Angry isn't a strong enough word to describe the dangerous and predatory emotions laid down and burned off in this fantastic album."

A native Schenectadian, George has been performing in the area for 40 years. He started playing in bars at the age of 10. He's 48. I think he's one of the best blues guitarists/singers/songwriters in the world. He's been compared to everyone from Wes Montgomery to Screamin' Jay Hawkins with whom he toured. But he sees the world in black and white, comparing himself to the character played by Eddie Murphy in the film "Trading Places," that satirizes the differences between downtrodden blacks and privileged whites in our society. "It's not what you know. It's who you know," says Boone who likens his fate to those of some of American music's most respected icons. "People misunderstand. They look at people and they say, 'He must be doing all right,' because I started to get breaks. But basically I been doing the same thing all the years. It's just when do people recognize you? Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, you can name a lot of artists, even Big Jack Johnson. He's not doin' nuthin' he never did before. He comes their way, and people take notice, but other than that, there's nothing that hasn't been done before. I played festivals. I played festivals with some of the top guys in the business. That and a dollar will get me a cup of coffee."

In 1996, The Northeast Blues Society sponsored a benefit to help finance George's trip to Memphis as our first ever entry in the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge. We called that benefit "Get Out of Town" and featured bands from many genres that were better known - and more appreciated - out of town than they were here at home. In that contest, George in his enthusiasm ran over his allotted time by a few seconds and didn't even place in the contest, even though I thought he was among the best and said so nationally in a King Biscuit Times Blues Journal article.

Times have changed. The terrorist attacks have taught us to appreciate what we have in our homes and to take pride in home grown heroes who come from unexpected places. This year's contest for the honor to represent The Northeast Blues Society in the International Blues Challenge drew almost 5,000 people. Southwest Airlines is paying for the flights down, and New York State has designated Colossal Contenders as the first day of the Fleet Blues Fest.

George Boone may still see himself as a stranger in his hometown, but we're proud to present him as one of our Home Town Heroes on Sunday, September 15th at the Polish American Citizens'Center.