Doghouse Sam & his amazing Magnatones!
Long lives the blues!
Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones are making a tour through Belgium, France and the Netherlands to promote their new album Going Places. They performed in Hasselt on the 9th of November and gave Muziekodroom a magical atmosphere with their ol’ rhythm ’n’ blues vibes.
Seven years have passed since the band members first met. Doghouse Sam wanted to do something new with his blues. After spending his career in lots of groups since the age of 16, he finally found what he wanted: Franky Gómez on drums and Jack o’ Roonie slapping the bass.
So we have three dutch-speaking-men trying to compose a typical American blues actualising it with some electric vibes. The result, a band with 3 albums and several prizes as the Belgian Blues Challenge in 2015 or the second place at the European Blues Challenge. They played in more than 15 countries, having an international reputation with their unique style. It seems they’ve done quite well, haven’t they?
Released by Art Sound Studios and mixed by Style Studios in Chicago, their new release, “Going Places”, has a more traditional blues rhythm without changing at all their unique style. To promote it, they are making a tour starting in Hasselt. The 9th of November, in a free entrance show at Muziekodrom, they played a short but awesome gig.
30 minutes were enough to see the qualities of the three members, starting with Doghouse Sam and his strong voice with his way of playing the guitar, playing some solos that marvelled the audience with three different guitars, changing completely the rhythm of the songs. Also Gómez did a solo of about 2 minutes with the drums that was delightful for all the spectator’s ears and which justified his prize as the best drummer in Holland at 2010. Finally, o’ Roonie was at his best wearing the rhythm with his double bass.
All together they made a strong start, with Doghouse Sam in a short introduction inciting the crowd to stay aware of what was going to happen. The first songs were more likely to a kind of rock & blues music, with a more powerful and quick bass. They played most of their new songs (“Nobody else around”, “A little while”, etc) with some exception, like “Crossroad” from 2013. Although they didn’t do an encore, their last song was their most important of the new CD: “I was wrong”, what was a real right guess.
To conclude, I can assure that Doghouse Sam & his Magnatones put Muziekodrom Upside Down in front of a mixed public, in which you could find both young and old people. Because the music they make goes for all ages, and you can dance it all night long!
