http://www.baryonrecords.com/artists/m_powers/


Music was his destiny from the moment Michael Powers entered the world in 1952 in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father, James B. Murchison, was a merchant marine who sailed around the world before settling in Bayonne where he opened a local shop. Mr. Murchison divided his time between New Jersey and North Carolina working on tobacco fields in the summers. From early on, Michael would be familiar with the rural South, the blues, Gospel and segregation. He would always remember "Porch Blues"… men gathering nightly on their porches with their electric guitars and tiny amplifiers. The Sunday Gospel, the preacher's rap, the choir of women going into trances were permanently etched in Michael’s mind.

Watching Michael at age 7 walk around with a broom pretending it was a guitar when the Rock It Hour appeared on television, Doris Powers bought her son a guitar by cashing in a book of saving stamps. Soon after, a friend visited with a guitar and played a song. Michael rushed back to his room and played that exact tune. From then on, Doris was convinced that her son had a special talent and imposed a strict musical routine. Every day, Michael had to listen to records and play along with them. Doris' words 'Michael turn the record over" still echo in his ears. It would prove to be a strong influence as Doris' favorites included Muddy Waters, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, Billie Holiday, and John Lee Hooker.

At 12 Michael Powers would run across the street from the family shop in New Jersey to see an entertainer that played weekly at Max's – none other than the great Jimmy Reed. Jimmy Reed played harmonica and guitar, sang and stomped while his wife played tambourine and sang in harmony. Seeing Jimmy Reed was a true revelation and influence, quickly followed by the first US televised performance of the Beatles and the guitar wizardry of Jimi Hendrix, all of which had an impact on Michael’s musical direction.

While in high school, Michael started his first band the RB ZigZags. He then joined the Ad Libs during the time the band recorded the cult hit "Boy from New York City". The Ad Libs routinely toured with the top ten bands of the country and opened, among others, for the Everly Brothers, Kool & the Gang (then called the Soul Town Review), The Box Tops, and Richie Havens. By his late teens, Michael was touring with James Cotton, sharing the stage with such icons as Chuck Berry, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray and John Lee Hooker.

Upon settling back in New York in the 70s, Michael formed a new band, Moonbeam, and played the New York City club circuit during the heyday of the Blues Brothers, The Ritz, and the New York Dolls. The band, which would stay together for 13 years, toured all over the country and opened for such artists as James Brown, Bo Diddley, and the Ronettes.

After the Moonbeam's breakup, Michael Powers went solo taking his virtuosity and sound for both acoustic and electric guitar and writing powerful originals. In 2002, after many years and many gigs, Michael was “rediscovered” one night in a New York City club by Andrew Mullhaupt of Baryon Records.

Influenced by the greatest bluesmen in history, Michael Powers is one of them with his own unique sound, style and soulful talent. More information on Michael Powers is posted at www.michaelpowersfrequency.com.

Reviews

Blues Revue Magazine

"Took me 20 years to be discovered overnight," New York City bluesman Michael Powers growls on his solo album, a long-in-the-making mix of fine originals and intriguing covers. Powers made noise as a member of Moonbeam in 1970s New York before going sub-rosa for much of the next two decades (don't confuse Powers with the Seattle jazz guitarist of the same name). His "discovery" came at the hands of a fan who happened to work for a record company.

Drummer Steve Jordan, best known for his stint in Keith Richards' X-pensive Winos, worked with Powers in Moonbeam; the two are rejoined here. Jordan is one of the world's best pure blues drummers; he's conversant in styles from the gangliest rockabilly to the sweetest soul to the fanciest funk. Bassist Neil Jason's resume includes time with Eric Gales, David Sanborn, and jazz monster Michael Brecker. But for all the firepower, everyone in the band plays it cool; you hear the songs, not the players.

Powers is a precise guitarist: He doesn't squander notes, and he sounds like no one else--unless he's trying to, as when he nods to Muddy Waters on a cover of "Country Boy." Even then, there's a swampier feel to those familiar licks, equally soul-stirring but deeper, damper. He owns up to his influences freely: "Successful Son"--Powers' own life story as a one-chord boogie--is cousin to "I'm a Man," while the midtempo "Graffiti" is in Jimi Hendrix power-ballad mode (the gorgeous intro will make you think of "Little Wing"). "Shimmy Up" is a rootsy funk workout with a singalong chorus, and "Shock" is the kind of knife-edged blues-funk that Jagger and Richards wish they could still write.

Check out the covers: a boiling take on "Psychotic Reaction" that's fun, if tamer than the Count Five original (how could it not be?), a romp through the Sir Douglas Quintet's joyfully dumb "She's About a Mover," and a somber version of Leonard Cohen's "Bird on a Wire." This one's sure to make a few Top 10 lists this year.

--Jeff Calvin, Blues Revue Magazine

BluesBytes at BlueNight.com

Michael Powers has been working over 20 years to become an overnight sensation, as he sings in “Successful Son”, the opening track to his powerful debut disc, Onyx Root (Baryon Records). At first listen, you have to wonder where everyone’s been all those years to let this guy slip through the cracks for so long.

At one time, Powers was a member of the Ad Libs (who recorded the cult hit, “Boy From New York City”) and toured with James Cotton while in his late teens. In the ’70s, Powers formed the band Moonbeam, which played together for over a decade between the ’70s and ’80s, opening during that period for artists like James Brown, Bo Diddley, and the Ronettes. After the breakup of the band, Powers toiled for many years as a solo act. He’s a very talented guitarist and he has a distinctive gravelly, world-weary vocal style. On Onyx Root, he’s joined by drummer Steve Jordan, better known for his stint in Keith Richards’ band as well as the Blues Brothers and Sheryl Crow, bassist Neil Jason, who’s played with Paul McCartney, Roxy Music, and Cyndi Lauper, and members of the band Ollabelle.

The 13 tracks consists of six original tunes and seven covers. One of the originals is an instrumental, the Latin-tinged “Night in Madrid.” The other originals include the autobiographical “Successful Son,” the Piedmont workout “All Over Town,” the funky “Shimmy Up,” and a touch of Hendrix in “Graffiti.” The covers include reworkings of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talking” (here titled “Baby’ Got A Train”), a nearly total renovation of Muddy Waters’ “Country Boy,” and Willie Dixon’s “Can’t Quit You Baby.” The other covers are a varied set, with tunes by the Sir Douglas Quintet (the soul classic “She’s About A Mover”), Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction,” Vera Hall’s “Another Man Done,” and even Leonard Cohen’s “Bird On A Wire.”

Powers puts a fresh face on all of the covers. and his originals are also top notch. This is a wonderful debut recording by a bluesman who has definitely paid his dues, and then some. You’ll be hearing more from Michael Powers in the future.

--Graham Clarke, BlueNight.com

DC Blues Society

A Gem of Blues with Some Roots and garage rock spices added, and played with plenty of heart.

--Ron Weinstock

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Guitar ONE Magazine, Holiday 2004

The pride of Bayonne, New Jersey, took 20 years to cut this debut album, which finds the acoustic and electric guitarist picking on hip covers as well as chilling originals.



Baryon Records © 2004