Blinddog Smokin' is an American funk band. Their original funk music also incorporates

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

stylings. Over two decades they have performed internationally, across America, recorded twelve albums, and produced sixty-one original songs. They have also collaborated with

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pan ...

and

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

History

Blinddog Smokin' was formed in 1994 by front man, singer, and harmonica player Carl Gustafson and guitarist Jason Coomes in Laramie, Wyoming. Today the band is composed of drummer Chuck Gullens, bassist Roland Bacon who joined in 2000, keyboardist Mo Beeks who joined in 2009, backup singer Chris White and guitarist, Chalo Ortiz who joined in 2010, backup singer Linda Gustafson who joined in 2011, and finally percussionist/saxophonist, Fabian Antonio Chavez, who came on board in 2015. Across the span of their career they have toured extensively, averaging around 200 gigs per year. From 1993-2011, Blinddog Smokin' was signed to Crying Tone Records, distributed by Hapi Skratch Records. In 2014, Silver Talon Records was established in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and has put out releases by, Dr. John, Bobby Rush, and Blinddog Smokin'. The label is distributed by City Hall Records. They have performed three times on the main stage at the King Biscuit Blues Festival, twice on the main stage at the Tulsa Blues Festival, and were the house band for the Snowy Range Blues Festival for six consecutive years. They are the first national-touring funk band to come out of Wyoming.

Collaborations

Blinddog Smokin' has shared the stage with a number of notable artists over the years. In 2013 they performed at Nashville's syndicated

Music City Roots ''Music City Roots'' is a live radio show, created and produced by John Walker and Todd Mayo. The show is owned and its international trademark is held by Heng Dai Media, LLC, a Tennessee corporation. The television show is distributed via Ameri ...

series, where they played with

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

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. In their set as the house band of the Snowy Range Music Festival they featured

MarchFourth Marching Band MarchFourth Marching Band now known as MarchFourth! is an American musical and performance group based in Portland, Oregon. They perform mostly instrumental music, combined with a visual performance by stiltwalkers, acrobatics and hooping. They ...

, the

Soul Rebels ''Soul Rebels'' is the second studio album by the Wailers, their first album to be released outside Jamaica. The Wailers approached producer Lee "Scratch" Perry in August 1970 to record an entire album, and the sessions took place at Randy's re ...

, Grammy-winning artist

Billy Branch Billy Branch (born William Earl Branch, October 3, 1951) is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues. Branch is a three-time Grammy nominee, a retired two-term governor of the Chicago Grammy Chapter, an Emmy Award winner, ...

, Bobby Rush, and The University of Wyoming's Symphony Orchestra. The band began to reach acclaim after their collaboration with producer Donny Markowitz (Oscar and Grammy winning songwriter for smash hit "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing) and engineer Tony Sheppherd (Whitney Houston, Kenny Loggins) in 2011 with their album ''Up From the Tracks''.

''Decisions''

''Decisions'' features a number of well known blues, funk, and gospel performers. Joining the band on “Another Murder in New Orleans” is Grammy-winning artist

. The song has been licensed by the national non-profit organization Crimestoppers for their New Orleans chapter and premiered with a music video on The Wall Street Journal, directed by

Jennifer DeLia Jennifer Renée DeLia (born September 30, 1979) is an American screenwriter, director, actress, artist and humanitarian. She is currently based in lower Manhattan where she operates her production company Poverty Row Entertainment. Life DeLia h ...

and produced by Julie Pacino (daughter of Oscar-winner Al Pacino). The album debuted at #6 on the Blues radio chart and charted on Americana radio, its received glowing press from The Wall Street Journal to USA Today to Living Blues, radio play on Sirius XM’s B.B. King’s Bluesville, and a music video in rotation on MTV, VH1, and Dish. The album was also nominated for 'Best Blues Album' at the 2015

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. It features all original tracks written by Carl Gustafson or a combination of Gustafson, Rush, and Markowitz, and was released on Silver Talon Records and distributed City Hall Records.

Awards

*2015 Grammy Nominee for Best Blues Album with Bobby Rush (feat. Dr. John) *2015 Blues Music Award nominee for Song of the Year ("Another Murder in New Orleans" written by Carl Gustafson, Donny Markowitz, performed by: Dr. John, Bobby Rush, Blinddog Smokin') and nominee for Best Soul Blues Album (Memphis, TN) *2014 Blues Blast Music Award winner for Best Soul Blues Album (Champaign, IL) *2014 Best of the Beat Award winner for Best Blues Album (New Orleans, LA) *Dubbed the Ultimate Road Warriors by Southland Blues Magazine

Discography

* ''Blinddog Smokin Cassette (1994) * ''Start Packin'' CD (1994) * ''Ain't From Mississippi'' CD (Crying Tone Records 1995) * ''Body Droppin' Blues: Live at Slocum's'' CD (Crying Tone Records 1996) * ''More Trouble Than Worth'' CD (Crying Tone Records 1998) * ''Back of Beyond'' CD (Crying Tone Records 1999) * ''Sittin' in with Blinddog Smokin'' feat. Miss Blues CD (Hapi Skratch 2001) * ''Friends'' feat. Bobby Rush CD (Crying Tone Records 2002) * ''Angels at the Crossroads'' CD (Crying Tone Records 2010) * ''Up From the Tracks'' CD (Silver Talon Records 2011) * "Another Murder in New Orleans" Single (Silver Talon Records 2013) * ''Decisions'' (Silver Talon Records/City Hall 2014) * ''High Steppin (Silver Talon Records/City Hall 2015)

References

{{Reflist Musical groups established in 1994 American funk musical groups 1994 establishments in the United States