Paul Lamb and the King Snakes – The Games People Play

The Blues Matters Blogger recently asked some questions of a band praised by Otis Grand in the upcoming July issue of Blues Matters magazine (sneak preview moment there, as is this – Otis doesn’t hand out praise lightly), namely Paul Lamb and the King Snakes.

The band have a new album out on 28^th May 2012, named “The Games People Play”.  The album is dedicated to Iverson Minter AKA “Louisiana Red”, who sadly died on February 25, 2012.  Paul recalls Red as “…one of the greatest and most beloved traditional blues artists.  A great friend and a true gentleman of the Blues.”

The album was recorded live during a 2 month tour and compiled from three venues, Back stage at the Green Hotel Kinross, Scotland; The Carlisle Blues Festival, Cumbria, U.K; and Mühle Hunziken, Rubigen, Switzerland.   The band (“who’s who” list at the end of this blog) were asked for their memorable moments from the live tour and responded in typical musical fashion by citing alcohol in the very first answer:

• Paul  ….. “the whisky in Scotland went down just fine, 3 great live shows and a classic recording in the bag”
• Dino ….. “the bread & cheese in Switzerland was FABULOUS and all the Jazz greats have played there”
• Ryan  …. “Carlisle was the best for me”
• Rod   …  “I only tuned up twice in the whole month, can you tell ?”
• Chad …..  “one takes… that’s what I like”

Moving on to (hopefully) safer ground, the Blues Matters Blogger asked the band to identify their favourite tracks from the album and to explain why.  This showed that this is a band of much music but few words, and here is what they said:

Paul ……  “Track 6.  “ The one for me is “Easy” the Big Walter classic. I just had to do it.”

Rod   ….. “Track 3.  “Come to the conclusion”, a one chord boogie, I just love it.”

Chad …  “Track 5.  “Depressing Recession”, it’s a reminder of the times we live in.”

Dino …  “Track 7.  “Black Jack Game”, give me soma  ya money honey.”

Ryan ….  “Track 1.  “Fulsom Prison”, I always like a bit of Cash.”

“The Games People Play” will be available on Amazon, iTunes & at www.paullamb.com.  The band have asked the Blues Matters Blogger to pass on “a big thank you, to all the fans that came along and made each night memorable.”

The band are:

Paul Lamb Harmonica & vocals
Chad Strentz Vocals & rhythm guitar
Ryan Lamb Lead guitar & backing vocals
Rod Demick Bass guitar & backing vocals
Dino Coccia Drums & backing vocals