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Mike Bader Band – Matches My Feelings
www.mikebaderblues.com
11 songs; 48:29 minutes; Recommended

By James “Skyy Dobro” Walker

When a solid and enjoyable blues album comes along like this Mike Bader Band release, it should not be a surprise to a blues records reviewer. That is precisely the case, however, in this age when too much other music tries to get in under the blues umbrella. Matches My Feelings is all original, contemporary blues reflecting Bader’s many influences and featuring Mike’s great, stinging guitar and smoky vocals.

Born in 1958 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, guitarist/vocalist Mike Bader got his first electric guitar when he was 12, and by 1971 he was playing at paying gigs. As a teenager his inspiration came from seeing and meeting several of the great blues players. Currently residing in Missoula, Montana, Bader released his acclaimed first album, Clearcut Case of the Blues, in 2004. He travels regularly throughout the Northern Rockies and Midwest states playing clubs and festivals.

On this CD, his rhythm section of veteran bass player Larry Hirshberg and drummer "BZ" Brandon Zimmer are joined by Tom “T-Bone” Giblin on keys. Three Bader brothers: Tom, Bob, and Dave guest respectively on harmonica, drums, and bass, and Joan Zen adds vocals while Jason Hicks adds saxophone.

“Been Grounded” begins with the shouted phrase, “$3.20 a gallon?!” immediately followed by Bader’s plaintive guitar in front of Hirshberg and Zimmer in the pocket. “I’ve been grounded by the price of gas / I’m going nowhere fast,” Bader sings in this 12-bar blues combo of, first, protest then resignation. Ain’t that the blues.

Other standouts include the rollicking “Jump Shufflin’ Blues,” the slide guitar ode to Montana “High & Wide,” the party tune, “Call Me the Grizz,” and the guitar and lyric nod to his blues heroes in the title track.

If you are a blues lover, Bader’s emotions will Match your Feelings.

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