Live Music For Buster Keaton

The Steve Lury tour was a lot of fun - next up, it's the Prima Vista literature festival on Tuesday, May 9 at Tartu Elektriteater.

The Sawmill Roots Orchestra will be providing live music for two Buster Keaton silent film classics: "The Balloonatic" and "Cops".

The evening will start with a performance by Mr. L.R.Phoenix, who incidentally appeared on the 2011 Andres Roots Roundabout album "Leigh's Spider Jam".   

Surprise Gig Next Week!

On January 26th, Andres Roots Roundabout will be opening for Moses Hazy, "The Best Live Band in Finland 2007" at GenKlubi in Tartu. And that's next Thursday already...! Let's review: the instrumental trio version of the band - Roots-Eessalu-Terep - will be playing the following three shows over the following weeks:

- January 26th: Genialistide Klubi w/ Moses Hazy (FIN), Tartu, Estonia
- February 10th: UnderGround Blues 2, Kultuurikeskus, Põlva, Estonia
- February 16th: Blue Icicle Festival & Fair, Yacht Club, Pärnu, Estonia

Right. More international shows TBA for March, a Tartu gig with a formidable world-wide alt.blues hero TBC for April. The booking of future Andres Roots appearances in France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg has been turned over to Music Traffic International in Paris - please see the contact page for details!

Last but not least, the French PowerBlues chart (a monthly recommendations list compiled by French-speaking blues DJ's) for January 2012 has not one, but two albums with the Roundabout band in the Top3, both recorded in Tartu, Estonia, co-produced by Andres Roots and designed by Siret Roots: at number 1, there is "The Hollow Log..." by L.R.Phoenix, at number 3, "Leigh's Spider Jam" by the Andres Roots Roundabout. Don't forget: both releases can be ordered straight from Roots Art Records! ;)

Gigs & Stories

Another gig added for February: on Thursday, Feb. 16th, the Roots-Eessalu-Terep instrumental trio version of ARR will perform at the three-day Blue Icicle winter bluesfest in Pärnu. The concert will be held at the Yacht Club and there will also be a blues fair there that night - a chance to check out ROMU amps, the Roots Art CD selection and much more.



Meanwhile, Wim Velderman has reviewed "Leigh's Spider Jam" for BluesMagazine.nl in Holland: "What technique and what words. Without realising, I play the album again and again, there's no calming the storm. I may be up late, but that's all right..."

And Andres' Black River Bluesman profile, which originally appeared in the Jefferson Blues Magazine in Swedish has now been translated to Finnish by Pasi Tuominen for the Jazzrytmit webzine. Mind you, the original piece was written in English and that version is now also available via Blueswebzine.com!


Andres with Black River Bluesman, Steve Lury, L.R.Phoenix in 2007. Photo by Normunds Kalnins.

More Reviews & New Walden Catalogue

Blues-Finland.com has published an alt.blues special, focussing on three international releases recorded at the White Room in Tartu, Estonia in 2011: "The Hollow Log..." by L.R.Phoenix (UK/FIN), "Leigh's Spider Jam" by the Andres Roots Roundabout, and "The Darkness of My Mind"/"Soul of a Man" vinyl single by Red Mouth (USA). The article is in Finnish and Marko Aho has many nice things to say about both albums that feature the Roundabout band, describing "LSJ" as "considerably more relaxed than its predecessor... luckily it's just the feel and not the quality that's been loosened up"!

British critic Grahame Rhodes has done an in-depth review of "LSJ" for Bluesinthenorthwest.com and, among other things, points out the "fine piano work from Ahti Bachblum", "lovely strings courtesy of Asko-Rome Altsoo and Hanno Maadra" and "the very sweet and lovely toned harmonica of Indrek Tiisel", concluding with "beautifully recorded and played by all concerned... more top class ‘Blues from the Baltic’!"



Meanwhile, the 2012 Walden Guitars catalogue pictured above is now available online and soon in print. More live dates for February and March TBA shortly!

Slide Guitar Instruction & Album Reviews

December 7th saw the publication of the very first issue of the first-ever Estonian guitar magazine, somewhat shockingly titled Kitarr. Among many other things, the current issue includes three pieces by Andres Roots: a story on ROMU amps, a closer look at Black River Bluesman's Lowebow triplenecker cigar box baritone, and a beginner's guide to slide guitar (below). Stay tuned for the next installment due in March! ;)


How to choose a slide & other stories by Andres Roots.

Kitarr also contains a lengthy review of "Leigh's Spider Jam" by award-winning author Sven Vabar and a comic strip by Steve Lury & ARR and Rajaajaja bassist Peeter Piik, who in turn reviews Riho Sibul's latest.

There were two further reviews of "Leigh's Spider Jam" published during the week: Margus Haav discusses it in the Estonian Muusika magazine and Luc Meert in Belgium's Rootstime.be. For quotes, please see The Hopefully Very Nearly Complete List Of Reviews Published Since November 2010.

Andres Roots Roundabout played their last gig of 2011 on December 8th; their first batch of international shows for 2012 ought to be announced next week!

#7 On French Airplay Charts!

What an incredible start to a week: "Leigh's Spider Jam" is #7 on the French Blues Radio Society's most played albums list for November 2011. The society - Le Collectif des Radios Blues - unites blues radio shows and hosts in France, Belgium and Canada, so this is fabulous news indeed! Merci beaucoup!

1- Beth HART & Joe BONAMASSA “Don’t explain” (Provogue)(2011)
2- Victor WAINWRIGHT & The WILDROOTS “Lit up!” (Wild Roots Records)(2011)
3- Richard KOECHLI “Howlin’ with the bad boys” (Nation Biztribution)(2011)
4- Chick WILLIS “Let the blues speak for itself” (CDS Records)(2011)
5- Keith B. BROWN “Down the line” (Dixiefrog/Harmonia Mundi)(2011)
6- David GOGO “Soul-bender” (Dixiefrog/Harmonia Mundi)(2011)
7- Andres ROOTS “Leigh’s spider jam” (Roots Art)(2011)
8- Chris DUARTE GROUP “Blues in the afterburner” (Provogue)(2011)
9- Didier-Marc BOURELLE “From nowhere” (Acoustic Roots Association)(2011)
10- Candye KANE “Sister vagabong” (Delta Groove Music)(2011)
11- TIA & The PATIENT WOLVES “Travellin’ with my guitar” (Autoproduction)(2011)
12- Olivier GOTTI “Olivier Gotti” (Autoproduction)(2011)
13- Duke ROBILLARD “Low down & tore up” (Dixiefrog/Harmonia Mundi)(2011)
14- Thorbjorn RISAGER “Dust & scratches” (Dixiefrog/Harmonia Mundi)(2011)
15- Son ROBERTS “Tell that story” (Gate Productions)(2011)
16- Bjorn BERGE “Blackwood” (Dixiefrog/Harmonia Mundi)(2011)
17- Ana POPOVIC “Unconditional” (Delta Groove Music)(2011)
18- The CASHBOX KINGS “Holler & stomp” (Blind Pig Records)(2011)
19- BIG PETE “Choice cuts” (Delta Groove Music)(2011)
20- JUMPIN’ JACK BENNY “I’ll be altight” (Boppin Records)(2011)


Time to take a bow. Photo by Kertu Vares.

Cool Album Review From Canada

"Leigh's Spider Jam" is included in the Canadian Blues Underground Network's "Top Picks For December 2011" and receives a wonderful review from John Vermilyea:

"One thing you are going to get when Andres Roots is involved, is consistently great blues music, of the kind you would only have expected from seasoned Down South North American Blues Artists to have achieved, but really, throughout all the Albums of his, whether with Bullfrog Brown or not, he has never failed to amaze me concerning his ability to create Blues music that is absolutely authentic. The release of "Leigh's Spider Jam", shows not only his mastery of authentic Blues, but also his mastery of assembling many extraordinary artists to take along on his Blues journey."

Read the rest of it here and don't forget Roots Art Records' special Christmas offer on this very title - check the previous post below for details!

"Leigh's Spider Jam" CD + "Build Me A Statue" Book Xmas Special!

To celebrate the launch of this website and to meet the universal demand for stocking fillers this time of year, Roots Art Records is offering a limited time Christmas bundle to the visitors of andresroots.com: in December 2011, you can get the new "Leigh's Spider Jam" CD by Andres Roots Roundabout with a *signed copy* of the 2010 lyrics book "Build Me A Statue" for just EUR11.80 + shipping! Normally, it would be 9.90+6.90=16.80 + shipping and still no autograph, so you save more than just 5 euros! ;)



The 40-page softcover book was compiled by Steve Lury and Andres Roots and includes 25 songs from 1995-2010, a foreword by Steve Lury, and illustrations by Siret Roots.

If you prefer to pay by bank transfer, please e-mail your order to roots(at)rootsart.eu (item code: XMAS11) and you will receive an invoice with your order confirmation. If you wish to use PayPal instead, just click the "add to cart" button below and follow the instructions!

Taking into account the sheer volume of Christmas mail passing through post offices in mid-December, we recommend placing your orders early to avoid unnecessary delays in delivery. However, this offer is valid Dec.1-31, 2011 - and don't forget to check out all the other titles in stock! ;)

EDIT (Jan. 1st, 2012): this Christmas offer no longer available!