Notes
Soul Bender is a tasty collection of original instrumentals featuring Matthew Stubbs' expressive electric guitar. Matthew plays to serve his songs, rather than using them as a vehicle to show hot licks. His emotional phrasing leaves space for the band to respond most guitar players can say the words 'less is more,' but few deliver. Matthews' guitar sings Blues stories over his band's tight, snappy Memphis R&B featuring 'Sax' Gordon. Rare and refreshing, Soul Bender sets Matthew Stubbs apart from most of his peers. Blues guitarist and VizzTone partner Bob Margolin Offers 'Now I know what it might have sounded like if Freddie King had recorded his classic instrumentals in Memphis with the Bar-Kays or at Hi Records. This is the CD I'd choose to keep me rockin' instead of noddin' on a long drive to my next gig. And Matthew's guitar would inspire me; he plays stories, not riffs. His tone and touch don't copy any other specific guitar player and his guitar rings and sings clearly. He sets the bar high.' Soul Bender is a sensual soundtrack to carefree good times, delivering clever melodies, improvised solos, creative arrangements, and non-stop hip grooves. Recognize echoes of Blues, R&B, and Surf Music, all blended perfectly into the mix. Matthew's wordless songs evoke your own memories and feelings. 25-year-old Matthew Stubbs had great success leading his own band in New England, winning the Boston Blues Society's Blues Challenge in 2003 and placing third in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Splitting his time since between the Northeast and California, he worked, played, and grew with Racky Thomas, Brian Templeton, Michelle Wilson, Janiva Magness, John Nemeth, and Lynwood Slim. Matthew Stubbs is currently on tour with Legendary Charlie Musselwhite, showing off his music to Charlie's worldwide audiences. When he's not working with Charlie he tours with his own band, featuring the songs from Soul Bender. Matthew's responsive playing has uplifted the performances of many well known musicians, and here his own unique talent for writing and delivering driving, hip instrumentals makes Soul Bender a particularly sweet ride. Here's What People Are Saying about Matt Stubbs DOWNBEAT 'SOUL BENDER' REVIEW FEBUARY 2009 ISSUE Reviewed by Frank-John Hadley With his blues credentials secured from his road work with Janiva Magness and Charlie Musselwhite, Stubbs debuts with an all instrumental record that has this 25 year old guitarist's creative motor running on the high-test gas of 1960's Blues, Soul. R&B and surf music,(He's listened hard to lots of old records. Among them, probably, Freddie King's and Memphis soul; dance ace Wille Mitchell's.) With the tenor saxophone of Gordon Beadle shouting with characteristic fervor, Stubbs finds the right combination of tone and phrasing to make his tunes sound fresh. 'Sticky Bunz' dishes out the Bo Beat fun and 'Jacksonville Jerk' enters fast with hallucinatory guitar flourishes that don't quit. BLUES REVUE 'SOUL BENDER' REVIEW FEBRUARY/MARCH 2009 ISSUE Reviewed by Tom Hyslop Matthew Stubbs, a youthful veteran of the bands of Janiva Magness and John Nemeth who currently tours with Charlie Musselwhite, brings a raft of ideas to 'Soul Bender'(VizzTone Label Group). On his first solo effort, Stubbs let's his guitar do the talking, impressive results. Evoking classic sides by Booker t & the MG's and Freddie King, each of these 11 songs has a memorable hook on which Stubbs elaborates with restraint and taste. Soulful, funky tracks 'Stubbzilla,' 'Charlotte Ann,' and 'Rivelli's Mood' balance rockers with Blues and Surf overtones ('the Meat Sweats,' 'Stubbs Sauce,' and 'Soul Bender'). BRAVO! 'Now here is a guy who understands taste. Nice, compact, to the point instrumentals. At only 25, he has a maturity beyond his years... It's not the notes, it's the space between them... Way to go Matt Stubbs! Check him out!' -Junior Watson 'Once upon a time, blues greats like, Collins, Freddie King, Gate
