Delta Moon - Delta Moon (2002)

Delta Moon – winner of the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge held in Memphis, February 1, 2003 – formed in the late 1990s when Gina Leigh, Mark Johnson, and Tom Gray all lived within a few blocks of each other in Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood. The three got together regularly in Mark's livingroom to work up arrangements of classic blues and original songs for two slide guitars and voices. Soon, joined by a rotating cast of percussionists, drummers, and bassists, the band was playing in rib joints, nightclubs, and festivals around Atlanta and neighboring cities. Following the March 2002 release of their debut CD, imaginatively entitled "Delta Moon," Following the March 2002 release of their debut CD, imaginatively entitled "Delta Moon," the band started ranging farther from home, taking their energetic stage show across the US, Canada and Europe. As one audience member said, "Thanks for inviting us to your party!"Delta Moon's line-up on this recording was Tom Gray on vocals, lap steel, and keyboards, Mark Johnson on bottleneck guitar, Gina Leigh on vocals and hand percussion, Tommy Dean on bass and backing vocals, and Charles Wolfe and Gerry Hanson on drums.– by cdbaby

1. Preachin' Blues 3:34
2. House of Dolls 4:25
3. Mansfield Road 2:49
4. Shake 'Em On Down 4:11
5. You Can't Make Somebody Love You 3:38
6. Fooling Around 3:22
7. She's Mine, She's Yours 2:19
8. Big Road Blues 2:28
9. Jelly Roll 3:18
10. Wang Dang Doodle 7:29
11. Play Me A Song, Little Blind Boy 3:35

BIO: “Tom Gray and partner in crime Mark Johnson continue to show why they may be the best guitar tandem around.” – Chris Martin, The Examiner.With the release of their seventh album Black Cat Oil in 2012, Delta Moon expands upon the sound that has sold thousands of records and allowed them to play for thousands of fans worldwide over the past several years. And with a live show second-to-none, the dual slide guitars of Delta Moon carry the listener deep into the heart of the American South, where sinuous Mississippi blues meets the gritty backwoods twang of Appalachia and winds around a rock-steady beat like kudzu on a barbwire fence. Net Rhythms calls it “Music as it should be – raw and honest.” We call it Blues-Infused American Roots.Delta Moon’s music is a strong mix of personalities and sounds. A chance meeting in an Atlanta, GA music store brought the two founders, Tom Gray and Mark Johnson, together. Tom tried to sell Mark a Dobro out of the back of his van. Tom remembers the girl with Mark whispering, “Let’s get out of here.” Mark didn’t buy the guitar, but the two exchanged phone numbers and soon were playing together regularly in coffee shops and barbecue joints around Atlanta. Mark came up with the name Delta Moon after a pilgrimage to Muddy Waters’ cabin near Clarksdale, Mississippi.After adding a rock-solid rhythm section, Delta Moon started playing nightclubs and festivals around South, quickly gathering a wall-full of local “best” awards, including winning the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2003. With much attention from the IBC Award, Delta Moon widened its travels to include the US, Canada, and Europe. In 2007 bassist Franher Joseph joined Delta Moon followed later by drummer Marlon Patton, completing the line up that remains today. The band’s work ethic of constant recording and touring continues into 2012 and beyond with tours scheduled for Germany, Italy, U.K., Benelux, Scandinavia, Canada, U.S. and more.More about Tom Gray - The American Roots Music Association named Tom Gray 2008 Blues Songwriter of the Year. His songs have been recorded by Cyndi Lauper (including the hit “Money Changes Everything”), Manfred Mann, Carlene Carter, Bonnie Bramlett and many others. Tom was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Virginia and Georgia, but home was always the family farm in the North Carolina mountains. In the 1980s he led a rock group, The Brains, that recorded two albums on Mercury Records. Originally a keyboard player, Tom picked up his first lap steel guitar in the late 1980s and hasn’t put it down yet.More about Mark Johnson - While not born in the South, Mark Johnson did grow up in a trailer park in Ravenna, Ohio. His uncle owned a record store, and there was always music in the Johnson home. Mark played guitar in bands all through high school. In the early 1990s he moved to Atlanta, where he formed a band called the Rude Northerners. About that time he abandoned standard tuning and became obsessed with bottleneck slide.