| Two-man Quartet of Trashy Boogie Blues
On the heels of the three 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic performances, Rich Hope and his Evil Doers are taking their two-man quartet of trashy boogie blues out on the road. Edmonton-born Rich Hope has toured England with Jim Reid (the Jesus and Mary Chain) collaborated with Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar and opened for the Black Crowes. He’s preached and the gospel alongside the Reverend Horton Heat, and he’s spilled greasy soul in the Penthouse and Andre Williams. His new album, Rich Hope is Gonna Whip It On Ya (Sandbag Records), has made numerous records critics’ top ten lists for 2009.
Backed by his tub-thumping partner, Adrian Mack, Rich Hope and his Evil Doers are, for all intents and purposes, a two-man quartet of trashy boogie blues.
Reviewer Flora Freisantone wrote that Rich Hope is “one of the best blues explosions since Howlin’ Wolf.”
“Whether he’s searching out a particular gospel vibe or laying down the tye of dirty juke-joint blues that Hound Dog Taylor would like a mile for, Hope delivers everything on Whip It with a truckload of soul. He’s an inspired choice to open this weekend’s Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, sharing the stage with legendary headliner Smokey Robinson,” wrote Steve Newton from the Georgia Straight.
Rich is one part hill-country blues, one part rock ‘n’ roll, and in all the ways the hardest working man in the Vancouver music scene.
States Hope, “We just got in the space where we wanted to play boogie blues music the way Bo Diddley would."
"Whip It On Ya" and "Blackbird Bakey Pie Blues" bookend matters with two shots of Evil Doing at its most concentrated. The first is a horny elastic shuffle, and the second puts a big backbeat behind Hope's wrangling of a single chord, while "Let’s Jump Around Some” is Hound Dog and "Milk Cow Blues" appended to Hope's laundry list of friends, heroes, and fellow-travelers.
But the soul of Whip It On Ya lies in the street corner gospel of "When My Light Comes Shining". Here, a one-day turnaround, sly lyrical nod toward Son House, and some hefty spiritual weight is employed to do God’s work with the Devil’s music.
In late 2005 Rich released the CD “Rich Hope and his Evil Doers’. It was voted in at #35 for 2006’s Top 50 albums of the year by Blues Masters! Magazine.With thick, dirty guitar this album is finger-lickin’ worthy. With a feeling like grease in your arteries, the tracks channel fried chicken and cornbread with a heavy helping of boogie blues and good ol’ rock and roll.
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“Top Pick of the Day goes to Rich Hope for his incredible raw energy, talent and ability to connect to the audience. Rich’s stage presence and intense performance were a sight to behold. “
- Brian Marchant - Wild at Art Festival, Squamish, BC
“…White Stripes be damned – this is the real blues.”
Joshua Kloke - The Vancouver Sun
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“…this lean, mean, slide-pickin’ machine could play most Fat Possum pussies under the table.”
Sarah Rowland - The Georgia Straight |
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