“A young man and his friend appeared at the Down Home Music Store one Monday as Adam and I returned from some eats down the street. I asked them if they wanted to see the store – but they said we just wanted to know if we might play here sometime.
When I asked what type of music they played, they replied: like Rev.Gary Davis, Blind Blake (both the Blues singer and the Caribbean one), Blind Lemon, etc. and when I inquired if they had a video or something to hear what they sounded like – they said, no. So I asked them to come into the back so we could hear them.
Jason Bell, the smaller guy, plays guitar and sings with to my ears real fluency and long improvisations but never hitting a sour note while his friend, Michael Donnelly, the bigger fellow, backs Jason on the chorus of many songs. Both have really nice, pleasant but expressive voices and seem very practiced and “together”.
I was most pleasantly surprised how devoted Jason is to these early blues guitar styles. He just took his guitar out of his case and started to play for us right away and – like an old pro – quickly tuned his guitar a little bit while continuing to play the intro – that really impressed me! I sensed real authenticity. They are used to busking on the streets and you feel it all comes out really fresh and with passion.”
Chris Strachwitz
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