PR people are always keeping an eye out for something new and exciting and in this particular case the words “Mistress of Soul” jumped right off the page at me. I spoke with recording artist Cathy Lemons shortly after seeing those three words and here’s what I learned about the Mistress of Soul.  
 
Cathy Lemons hails out of San Francisco and is quite the blues singer and while I know that the moniker Mistress of Soul would seem to imply a direct path into the genre’ of soul this lady is indeed a true blues entertainer.  You see in this case Mistress of Soul refers to something more unique. The words in this case refer to someone being a slave to a process, to being a mistress to the soul.
 
John Lee Hooker shared it this way, “Cathy Lemons she’s got it, that’s real blues, funky”.   One of the reasons Cathy’s “got it” as John Lee points out is partially due to her years of non-profit work for women.  It was then that she witnessed the blues at work in others in a real up close and personal way.  She saw serious casualities of the heart in both men and women alike due to the situations that good everyday people get into and it's then that the blues touches people deeply.  An emotional door swung open and when it did a desire developed that inched Cathy toward gaining a greater understanding of these situations and the personal condition.  A greater appreciation for the delicate nature that those in love balance their lives on took root. There was this glaring reality that we are all slaves to what is emotionally bound within us. Things that for some reason we can do little about but yet exist. These ingredients come together to form a definite recipe for the blues.

The blues for Cathy Lemons is a type of communication vehicle that resides within and just as the man says, "She's got it.". Obviously If you feel the blues, it comes out, and audiences know the real deal when they hear and see it.  Through her music Cathy expresses the feelings of heartache that go along with loving someone to a fault even when you know at the same time that you are losing everything.   This kind of emotional roller coaster is what leads us on that constant internal search within ourselves as we struggle between common sense and matters of the heart.  So when John Lee says "she’s got it" he can tell the blues is in there and when Cathy delivers it resonates with feeling and that comes across in an extraordinary way. 
 
The Mistress of Soul released her third CD “Black Crow” recently in April.  DownBeat ranks the CD with four stars. (no surprise there)  The CD is currently charting at number 24 on Living Blues and it’s ranked number 10 in the U.K. by Blues Matters.  This latest piece of work is on the Vizztone Label and was co-produced by Kid Anderson. Guest artists include Volker Strifler on guitar, Doug James (of Jimmie Vaughan and Roomful of Blues) in the brass section, and of course the pros in Cathy's band: Stevie Gurr, Paul Olguin, Kevin Zuffy, and D'mar and/or Robbie Bean on drums. This is one star studded release .
 
As Cathy and the band move closer to 2015 they will be announcing new performance dates.  To stay in touch just access www.cathylemons.com and choose the calendar tab to learn where you can see them live in the near future. You can also find Cathy and the band at: www.facebook.com/cathy.lemons1.
 
 Cathy’s youthful exposure to music by Aretha Franklin began to open her eyes at an early age. Additional major influences arrived on the scene in those early years soon afterward.  The music presented by Billie Holiday, Mavis Staples, Big Mama Thornton, as well as Jimmy McCracklin remain with her to this very day.  As time advanced however it would be spending time with the famed bluesman himself, John Lee Hooker, that galvanized this blues woman’s desire to look deeper into the fire.  Cathy doesn’t sound like anyone else.  Even with the youthful influences of the greats she still comes across as her own person - delivering the blues from the heart attempting to master the soul.

Keandra Scott wrote in Houston Style Magazine that Milton Hopkins is "Houston’s 1st Gentleman of the Blues" and that my friends is an excellent description of traditional blues artist Milton Hopkins.

I had the distinct pleasure of dining with Milton, his lovely wife Addie, and their close friends at this year’s Blues Music Awards. As the ceremonies began and the first act of the night took to the stage I had a ringside seat where I could see Milton watching every guitar player intently. Every time the artist on stage would reach for a chord that only professionals reach for Milton would smile. And so it went for the entire evening. Afterward I got to spend some time with him and I asked him a question in passing, "what has been the most memorable, pleasant experience you can remember?" Milton didn’t even hesitate to answer, "My time with BB King, the most gracious, kindest, caring individual you would ever want to be around. We had about eight years on that bus together, those were great years indeed." Milton told me about playing with Gatemouth Brown in the 50’s, being a session player along with Clarence Holliman at Peacock Records, and the smooth, mellow sounds of Jessie Ervine. All three had influenced Milton quite heavily in those early impressionable years but it was his touring with BB that he fondly recalls as he added, "BB is one first class guy." But I wanted to know something else. What does Milton want to deliver to his audiences and so since I was on a roll I asked him. Milton said, "Clarity, I want them to hear the clarity of every note and for them to know they are hearing and seeing someone within this genre that is delivering what they came out that night to hear."

In 2012 besides his local dates Milton also performed on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Fest, across the big pond at the Dunkirk France Blues Fest, and in Texas at the Navasota Blues Festival. In 2013 Mike Stone produced Milton’s latest CD Live at Danton’s which is available on CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify, and in Houston at Cactus Music. Just prior to that release Milton had teamed with Jewel Brown, a tremendous vocalist in her own right, and Dialtone released Milton Hopkins & Jewel Brown which is still widely available today.

For those of us that live in Houston we get to hear and see Milton and his band, The Hit City Blues Band, frequently. If you are traveling through Houston or if Houston is your destination you can always check out the Blues Hound’s Music Calendar at http://theblueshound.com/music-calendar and learn where Milton and the guys are hanging their hat that particular night.

I will always remember being at the BMAs especially kidding around with Milton about the new alligator shoes I was going to sport that night. He just smiled and was quiet. That night we all met in the lobby of the event hall and I was all smiles about to show off my new kicks when I looked down to the floor and Milton had the coolest shoes on I had ever seen, I kid you not. Dress loafers with a patent leather shine that housed this really cool looking sort of pink, purplish color. Now get this - these shoes even had a shiny gold bumper running across the toes. Man I might as well wore tennis shoes that night compared to this man’s night out on the town dress kicks. Then Diunna Greenleaf stopped by and we all put our right foot out and someone snapped a photo of our shoes. If I’m lying I’m dying.

Check out Milton’s 
Live at Danton’s CD.
You’ll be glad you did!