Gold Rings Silver Bullets by Jay Gordon and the Penetrators

“It is filled

with emotions, both good and bad. The blues make you

feel happy and to me the blues is life.”

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Gordon grew up in

Chicago, the center of the blues world. He began

playing guitar when he was nine and within three years

was performing in bars. “When I was a teenager in

Chicago, I was lucky enough to be around Willie Dixon,

Muddy Waters, Luther Allison, Hound Dog Taylor and so

many others. They planted the seed inside of me to

always want to play the blues.” Since moving to Los

Angeles in 1985, Gordon has recorded nine CDs, toured

the world and gained a worldwide reputation, being

particularly well known in Europe. He was one of 50

guitarists picked by Eric Clapton (who was very

impressed after hearing one of his CDs) to perform at

the Crossroads Guitar Festival, sharing the bill with

such greats as Santana, Jeff Beck, B.B. King and Buddy

Guy.

Gold Rings, Silver Bullets is Jay Gordon’s finest

recording to date. The performances are concise and

make every moment count, Gordon’s guitar playing is as

passionate as ever, his vocals are both intense and

personable, the material is new, and his lyrics tell

meaningful stories. “We used a lot of different

grooves including rock and roll, funk and boogie, with

the blues always being a large part of the music.”

A very good place to start is with “Six String

Outlaw.” “Being a traveling blues musician, it is easy

to feel like an outlaw, always on the road.” Eight

thuds on the bass drum precede Gordon’s wailing slide

guitar. His vocals talk about the blues life and the

role of the guitar as a six-string outlaw. It is

immediately obvious that he is a true original, both

as a guitarist and as a singer.

On Gold Rings, Silver Bullets, Jay Gordon is joined by

his longtime trio of bassist John Schayer and drummer

Ric Daly. Schayer remembers, “Ten years ago, I played

in a group that opened for Jay. While sitting at the

bar on a different floor, I heard what I thought was

Jimi Hendrix on the radio, and then I thought it was

John McLaughlin. Finally I realized it was Jay playing

upstairs. He was blazing so much that I thought he

would blow out his speakers. I immediately gave him my

phone number and told him that I was his new bass

player. A week later we were playing together before

250,000 people at an all-star concert in Sturges,

South Dakota.” “John is a great player and we groove

together,” says Gordon. “Ric Daly I have been playing

with for five years, and it’s the same thing. All

three of us really connect together.” The three

musicians with Jay Gordon in the lead consistently

think as one, driving the music to the edge while

remaining true to the blues.

The music on Gold Rings, Silver Bullets includes songs

about overcoming heartache (“Blue Hearts”), being an

outcast (“Black Sheep”), partying (“Juke Joint”) and

starting relationships (“Thing Going On” and “You’re

Driving Me Wild”). “‘Picking On This Piece Of Wood’ is

autobiographical. It is about how I was brought up,

where I was raised, and about how people I knew early

on went on to other things but I’m still picking on

this piece of wood, refusing to give up on my dreams.”

Gordon’s singing on this set is as powerful as his

intense guitar, and his lyrics are well worth

listening to closely. Other performances include the

explosive “Fire & Brimstone Boogie,” the intense “Let

It Ring” (“about love, death and just making it

through the madness of life”), a lowdown “The Original

Sin,” the hard-driving rock song “Freight Train,”

“Lost In Time” (about being oneself without fear),

“Pain,” the socially topical “Propaganda,” an

emotional “My Heart Is Heavy” and “Love’s Emotions”

(“the battle to be loved”). Every selection on Gold

Rings, Silver Bullets is memorable in its own way with

Gordon contributing not only his remarkable technique

and creativity to the music but his life’s

experiences. One has to live the blues to really be

able to play the blues.

Jay Gordon looks forward enthusiastically to the

future. “With the release of this record, I plan to go

back on the road and have the music be bigger and

better than ever. One day I may stretch out and record

a jazz or a fusion album but the blues is always where

my heart is so I plan to stay rooted in the blues and

rock & roll for many years to come. Music is a journey

and, no matter how good you get, you can never be good

enough. My goal is to take it as far as I can.”

Scott Yanow,

Author of nine books including Jazz On Record 1917-76,

Jazz On Film and ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING AND WRITING ABOUT

JAY GORDON AND THE PENETRATOR’S NEW CD:

VALLEY MAGAZINE

JAY GORDON: IT'S A CRYIN' SHAME

By Neil Flowers

June 1, 2007

It's a damned shame. I'll say it again. It's a lowdown, dirty, rotten, stinkin' shame.

One a.m. My nephew Jesse and I sit in a bar and eatery at 1331 North Hollywood Way, Burbank. Goes by the name of "Mr. B’s." The room's divided in two. One side sports red naugahyde booths and white tablecloths for the food crowd. The other half has a long bar and tables and chairs scattered around the floor. This furniture is aimed at a bandstand so cramped and nondescript it would suit perfectly an east Texas honky-tonk circa 1957.

The man up on that little stage, Jay Gordon - Mr. Gordon, that is-is a blues, rock, boogie guitarist and singer who plays his own work, and covers such as "Sympathy for the Devil." He gives so much of himself in playing that it's a wonder the walls at Mr. B’s don't just give up, bust out, and collapse all around us.

Jay Gordon? Ever heard of him? Me neither. Not, at least, until VSM asked me to review his show and CD. Now I'll never forget him, because he puts on the greatest guitar show that I have ever seen in my life, and I saw Buddy Guy play live in the 60s.

Buddy Guy. Clapton. BB King. Hendrix. Townsend. Stevie Ray Vaughn. Guitar gods every one. Now maybe you won't believe what you are about to read because this report comes from a tiny bar in Burbank and concerns a musician you almost certainly have never heard of.

But here's the truth flat out straight as I can put it: Add Mr. Gordon's name to the six that begin the previous paragraph. And I declare by Willie McTell, Elmore James, and everything holy th at this ain't hype.

More superlatives? Following are a few lifted straight from scribbles in my notebook as my jaw was dropping to the floor hearing Mr. Gordon play. Fantastic, amazing, incredible, unbelievable, impossible, imp-assioned. Musicianship max! Energy! Blazing arpeggios! Sweet high bends. Covers entire fret board. Throws fistfuls of notes. Master at bottleneck slide. Plays slide in standard tuning! Peerless tone arm and wah-wah complexity/control. As Lizst was to piano, JG is to Stratocaster.

And then there are these two sentences that I wrote down between sets. (1) Can play straight 12-bar blues as well or better than anybody past or present, but in 10-minute jam he kicked the stuffing out of that repetitive structure so much that his music transcended blues clichés to become free-form jazz-rock fusion. (2) When he's so into playing that he leans back and throws his chin and nose at the stars, he seems to be channeling all at once every note it's possible to squeeze out of an electric guitar.

One small quibble: Mr. Gordon's sets would profit by a couple of choice slow tunes sung and played simply.

Still, you get the picture. Mr. Gordon is a phenom. Not a kid phenom like Jeff Healey was. Mr. Gordon's not a kid, though he plays with such physicality you could be excused for thinking so. How old he is exactly? Mr. Gordon is a bit shy on telling. But when he was knee-high to a grasshopper, his grandmother took him 'round to famous clubs on Chicago's south side-like Pepper's Lounge-when those venues were hot hot hot with acts that became legends. Acts like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Otis Spann.

This is where the lowdown dirty shame part comes in. Seventeen spectators in all turn up at Mr. B to hear Mr. Gordon-a world-class talent-play. And this is the town he calls home, in a bar where there is no cover charge. When he plays Europe, where he is revered, the joints and the arenas are packed.

It must be added that Mr. Gordon has top-notch backing. John Schayer creates highly tasty signature patterns on bass that bring the past to the present and anchor Mr. Gordon's soarings in solid, lower-register foundations that feel like they come from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Ric Daly on drums knows how to mix up a toe-tappin' blues shuffle; in the hard-driving numbers, he lays down da' beat dat never quits.

Look at this way: If Robert Johnson, Luther Allison, Jimi, Eric, or Robbie were playing Burbank, the crowds would be lined up to Santa Monica. Well, you can hear a guitar master the equal of any of them when and wherever Jay Gordon wails.

Finally, the newest Jay Gordon and The Penetrators CD has just been released. It's called Gold Rings and Silver Bullets and has great work on it, including my faves, "Love's Emotion," "Propaganda," and, especially, "Juke Joint." Mr. Gordon needs to be seen to be believed -and hopefully we'll see him at the Staples Center sometime soon, where he belongs. Meanwhile, catch the CD at

www.cdbaby.com/cd/jaygordon6, and clap an ear on one of the planet's greats.

Special thanks to Jessie- a heck of a blues guitarist himself- for his invaluable help in writing this piece on Jay Gordon and the Penetrators.

Neil

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Jay Gordon, renowned throughout both Europe and the U.S. for his over-the-top, sizzling live performances, recorded a series of albums for Blue Ace that have inspired comparisons to such legendary guitarists as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Beginning with "Blues Infested" (1994), Gordon won much praise from the blues community. Each successive album became increasingly successful - "Broadcasting The Blues Live" (1996), "Electric Redemption" (1998), and so on - and the guitarist soon found himself being compared to some of the most legendary guitarists to ever play electric blues. Jay's song "Drippin' Blues" is featured on the current Electric Blues Radio Playlist. In 2000, Gordon collaborated with Phillip Walker on the "Jaywalkin" album for Blue Ace, yet another accomplishment for the celebrated guitarist.

Scott Yanow/ALL MUSIC GUIDE

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***Gordon will be featured on nationally syndicated radio program, Blues Deluxe, during the week of June 10-16. "Jay Gordon and the Penetrators are one of our favorite ways to rock the blues!" said Dave Johnson, host of BLUES DELUXE - which is heard weekly on over 100 stations across the U.S. with a two million-plus listenership.

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“Jay Gordon has always been a great player. His new CD, GOLD RINGS,SILVER BULLETS, shows Jay as a burning slide player as well. GRSB rocks!"

BLUEPOWER.COM

***

“Aggressive slide guitar - and then some! Really, it doesn't begin to describe what Jay Gordon brings to the blues party. For proof, check out the amazing slide

guitar, vocals, and overall energy found on Gold Rings Silver Bullets, the latest from

Jay Gordon And The Penetrators. Fans of Blues Bureau International's rockers-turned-bluesmen Pat Travers and Rick Derringer need to check out the axe work and intensity emanating from Gordon's six string - it hits you right in the gut like an Oscar De La Hoya body blow. Many find it hard to distinguish themselves when they play blues, but Gordon and his band immediately impress because they do

have their unique presence that allows the listener to identify them after only listening to a couple of bars. Looking for passion, blood, guts and scraped knuckles from

your blues? Check out the latest offering from Jay Gordon - Gold Rings Silver Bullets. Wow!

GUITAR 9 RECORDS MAGAZINE

***

"On Day #2 of the Crossroads Guitar Festival, Jay Gordon ignited the day with an opening performance at 10 a.m. Those who were ready to rock were treated to an awesome show! As soon as Jay and his bandmates began with "Big Boss

Man," the stage was set for rockin.' With John Schayer playing his Hendrix-handed bass of a custom-colored familiar shade of pink and Rick Daly hard-rocking his drum

kit, the trio moved easily into "Hootchie Cootchie Man. " Their interpretations of these blues standard coaxed more festival goers to the Ernie Ball Stage. Attired in black leather and suede, Jay and his Fender Strat created metallic blues…Jay’s vocals are vibrant and intense. This is definitely a power trio!”

ROCKONTOUR.COM

***

MP3 Songs:

Lost In Time

Fire And Brimstone Boogie

Contact Information:

Doug Deutsch Publicity Services

16403 Bryant St.

North Hills, CA 91343

United States

E-mail: Jay Gordon And The Penetrators

Web site: cdbaby.com/cd/jaygordon6

JAY GORDON INTERVIEWS/ REVIEW CDS/SHOW PASSES AVAILABLE.

www.myspace.com/jaygordonsixstringshooter

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