VIN MOTT
QUIT THE WOMEN FOR THE BLUES
SELF-RELEASED
QUIT THE WOMEN (FOR THE BLUES)–MAKE UP YOUR MIND–DON’T MAKE ME LAUGH–I’M A FILTHY MAN–THE FACTORY–FREIGHT TRAIN–I WANNA GET RUFF WITH YOU–OL’ GREASY BLUES–LIVING THE BLUES–HOTT MOTT’S THEME
Vin Mott is a 27-year old New Jersey native who fell in love with the blues while in high school, using the Internet as a tool to help him learn the harp. He went on to formally study music at Berklee in Boston, graduating in 2011 with a degree in songwriting. He’s honed his chops in every place imaginable, not only at home in Jersey, but over in eastern Pennsylvania as well.
With a sound as raw as Howlin’ Wolf’s and a no-holds-barred attitude, he has just released his first solo effort, “Quit The Women For The Blues.” He’s on harp and vocals, with Sean Ronan on guitar, Dean Shot on bass, Phil Silverberg on keys, and Andrei Koribanics on drums.
Fans, Vin uses these ten originals to trace the roots of his heroes, the spirits of whom you can find in the hallowed halls of 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, down in the Delta, and on up north to 2120 S. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Yep, the influences of Muddy, Junior Wells, Junior Parker, Cotton, and the Wolf are all over Vin’s compositions, and he puts his own flair and contemporary spin on the whole shootin’ match!
Vin puts on his rockin’ daddy shoes, and Sean is all over that chicken-pickin’ riff that rides over the title cut, where Vin has sho’ nuff done up and “Quit The Women For a little thing called The Blues!” Wishy-washy women need not apply as Vin tells ’em flat-out to “Make Up Your Mind,” with Phil’s cool organ in the background on this one. They all hit on a sweet Sun-splashed groove with the chug-chug of “Freight Train,” and bust out a doggy-style rhumba with the clever play on words that is “I Wanna Get Ruff With You, baby, for the way you been treatin’ me!” Sean’s guitar has traces of vintage B. B. on the solo here, too. Vin calls out a lazy lover in “Don’t You Make Me Laugh,” where “even the couch is tired of that ass!” You can tell that Vin and the fellows picked a few Berrys before laying this one down, as the solo has that unmistakable vibe.
We had two favorites, too. The band gets its Elmore James shuffle on, as Sean’s slide rides over Vin’s echo-effect vocal on “I’m A Filthy Man!” And, a poignant, minor-key blues is the perfect lament for the 99%, as Vin’s been “workin’ ’round the clock” to stay afloat, and has “been beaten down by The Factory.”
Vin Mott has taken the classic twelve-bar blues idiom and put his own fiery feel to it. Clever lyrics, powerhouse harp and vocals, and a killer backing band will make you understand why he’s “Quit The Women For The Blues!” Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow, The Nashville Blues Society.
donandsherylsbluesblog 