I spoke with Gerry at the break and found out he has a CD, which he was kind enough to give me a copy of. It turns out “blues mandolin” has a small but interesting history. The 31 year-old Chicago native lists Johnny Young and his record Chicago Blues as his earliest mandolin influence. Other influences are Yank Rachell (and his “Chicago Style,” which especially influenced Gerry’s tune “Here in Chicago”) and Carl Martin. Apparently Gerry recognized the talent he frequently plays with and his list of players on this disc reads like a Nick Moss CD. Gerry handles lead vocals as well as electric and acoustic mandolin and is joined by Piano Willy Oshawny on piano and Nick Moss on bass and guitar. Josh Stimmel adds electric guitar, Bill Lupkin is on harmonica and Bob Carter adds drums. Barrelhouse Chuck guests on a duet with Gerry called “End of the Day Blues.”

After listening to the disc the first time I wondered which old time blues players had written the tunes. I was surprised to find out that Gerry had written most of the tunes on the disc. Gerry’s voice would have had no problem fitting in years ago on much older blues tunes that obviously influenced him in his writing. “Since Way Back” is a good up-tempo tune featuring a good dose of harp and is a good showcase of Gerry’s vocal style. I imagine those most interested in this disc would be mandolin enthusiasts or those curious about “blues mandolin.” For those folks I suggest the great instrumental “The Union Meetin’,” which was presided over by Gerry and Piano Willie as well as another hoppin’ instrumental, “That Woman.” A couple of other high energy electric tunes that spotlight Gerry’s blues mandolin are “Whiskey Makes Me Mean” and “Trying Hard.” If you are a blues fan and enjoy mandolin then you really must ad this disc to your collection!

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