R.J.Mischo
King of a Mighty Good Time
Challis Records.

BLUES REVUE Magazine
Issue 114
October/November 2008

Harpist R.J. Mischo has been hovering on the periphery of greater recognition for 15 years. The hard-touring Minnesota native recently relocated to Arkansas after spending a decade in Calilfornia, where King of a Mighty Good Time was recorded with a stellar band whose reverence for tradition is rambunctious rather than rigid. Mischo is joined on these 13 tracks by pianist Bob Welsh (who also plays guitar on several cuts), bassist Kedar Roy, drummers Marty Dodson and Hans Bosse, and guitarists Kid Andersen and Jon Lawton. Produced by Andersen with a vibrant retro feel, the band brims with infectious joie de vivre. Even the title track, which closes the album, manages to be a jaunty ode to Mischo’s eventual death. This song-of-the-year candidate is the ultimate anti-“Going Down Slow,” and it cleverly bookends the album with the similar-sounding set opener, “Cheap Wine.”

The only dark tunes are Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “I Can’t Do Without You” and the droning, Delta-drenched “Too Little Love (Too Much Religion),” a lament about the current state of the world featuring Andersen on sitar. For the most part, the disc’s other originals evoke their source points — “R.J.’s Back in Town” (Jimmy Reed), “Good Bad Co.“ (Sonny Boy II), and the instrumental “Joint” (Little Walter) — while lesser-known covers pay homage to Windy City inspirations Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, James Cotton, and Mischo’s mentor, George “Mojo” Buford.

Mischos magnificent tone, formidable chops , and affable, self-assured vocals make this disc a must-have for harmonica fans. His best release to date, King of a Mighty Good Time also contains some of Welsh’s finest playing on record.

-Thomas J. Cullen III, BLUES REVUE Magazine Oct/Nov 2008

R.J.Mischo
He Came to Play

From the upper Midwest, harmonica player/vocalist/leader RJ Mischo’s head was turned early on by Muddy Waters live. He later took cues from Mississippi blues men and especially Percy Strother. He now lives in SoCal after a stay in San Fran. This explains the evolution of his blues style. THIS is what better-known blues bands enjoying success should sound like. The cover graphics of He Came To Play (Crosscut Records) are fun; Mischo is a green Martian armed with shades and mic stand invading some unsuspecting earth city from his flying saucer fashioned from a drum cymbal. It is the next in a handful of CDs he has released on various labels.

Leader RJ states in his liner notes: “This album was recorded live in the studio, with all the musicians, amps and drums in one room gathered around an upright piano. Vocals were live in the room thru a ’60s Sure Vocal Master PA. Recording was analog on two-inch tape. You may notice several pops and clicks on a few tracks, I was snapping my finger too close to the mic.” Results are super. The sound is warm and inviting. The only added elements are sound effects for set-up of certain tunes, including one swear word.

Of the musicians, the bassist really drives this music, thumping like an old stand-up. It’s listed as electric and that is hard to believe. Tight, but a loose party. You may be in Texas or somewhere in SoCal. Piano is tasty and seldom solos, a little busy in spots. After all we don’t want shades of Herbie Hancock in this crowd, just Otis Spann. Guitar solos are snappy and in excellent taste. The leader has a good voice and his harp is rich and felicitous (RJ is sponsored by Hohner harmonicas). The one horn player plays several, and the baritone sax is so rich you hear a section. And I’m happy about the inclusion of drummer June Core, a naturally gifted technician who was a spark plug during his moment with Little Charlie and the Nightcats.

Flow is important and this album starts in perfect tempo. It begs repeated playing. There are Little Walter, two-beat, and then surf touches. Titles are a mixture of originals and covers, like “20% Alcohol,” “Mojo Lounge,” “Hang Up And Drive,” and “Hippie’Äôs Playground.” From midpoint in the album the fare peters out a little, rhythms and ideas repeat slightly, but they still stand strong individually. Then the concluding couple tracks work well, a novelty capped by a strong, then fading, instrumental. Blues grade of A-.

---Tom Coulson
Radio broadcaster/musician
comments to tcoulson@ktar.com

R.J. Mischo
Meet Me On The Coast
(Electro-Fi Records - E-FI 3375)

by Dave "Doc" Piltz
March 2003

Although he has become a mainstay on the West Coast blues scene, first in San Francisco and now in Southern California, R. J. Mischo (pronounced MISH-oh) got his start on the “blues highway” in the Upper Midwest. His work with local Minnesota blues legends like Mojo Buford (a Muddy Waters alumni), Sonny Rogers, Percy Strothers and Milwaukee Slim led to R.J. taking control of his own musical career, leading his own bands and developing a reputation as one of the top blues acts in the Midwest.

With a couple of awards and some excellent recordings already under his belt, R. J. took his show out to the West Coast, first to San Francisco where he quickly established himself on the local scene with His Red Hot Blues Band, and later to Southern California where he has been able to maintain his popularity and expanded his musical influence throughout the United States and into the blues crazy European market.

R. J. Mischo’s latest recording effort is entitled Meet Me On The Coast, representing his third recording on the German label, Crosscut Records, and his fifth recording overall. Meet Me On The Coast is comprised of sixteen songs, including twelve original compositions and four exceptional covers including classics by Howlin’ Wolf (“Passing by Blues”) and Rice Miller, a.k.a., Sonny Boy Williamson (“Take It Easy”). The CD also includes a wealth of performers including no less than five different guitarists, two keyboard players, two bassists and two drummers. Among the notables on Meet Me On The Coast are Junior Watson and Fillmore Sims on guitar and John “Juke” Logan on organ and tambourine. The lineup of musicians also includes guitarist Jeremy Johnson, another Midwesterner who has honed his skills in the frigid Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Meet Me On The Coast opens with the sparsely instrumented original “Put You Down” with a real down home feel of traditional Chicago blues. On the following numbers R.J.’s instrumentation becomes more complex, with “Old Nightcat” leading up to the full instrumental complement on “You Think I’m Lying?”. On these two original numbers, it definitely sounds like R. J. is overlaying multiple harp tracks to give these songs an interesting and different blues feeling. Johnny “Juke” Logan’s organ on “You Think I’m Lying?” even sounds like a third harp at times during the number.

The three opening originals are followed by the one and only string of four cover songs, opening with Sonny Boy Williamson’s (Rice Miller) “Take It Easy” which is pure Chicago blues. This is followed by the high velocity rocker, “My Baby She’s Got It” with some nice guitar “twang” by co-producer Frank Goldwasser. The Chicago sound returns for Howlin’ Wolf’s “Passing By Blues”, where Mischo and company work hard to maintain a true, old style blues sound. R. J. lays down some nice harp licks backed by Jeremy Johnson and Marc Thijs on guitar and some barrelhouse piano from Bob Welsh. The final over, “One Good Woman,” is also very harp heavy, with nice vocals by R.J. and Goldwasser on guitar.

Once the covers are out of the way, R.J. goes back to more of his exceptional original material, beginning with the title track, “Meet Me On The Coast,” a great slow blues featuring Junior Watson’s distinctive guitar and a predominantly west coast sound. Following the short, up tempo instrumental “Bobsledding,” Mischo gets autobiographical on his original tune, “My Muddy Story.” In the song, R.J. talks about some familiar haunts in the Twin Cities Area, particularly the Bel Rae Ballroom, his first time seeing the late, great Muddy Waters and the tremendous impact that seeing this blues giant had on his development as a bluesman. The music on “My Muddy Story” is clearly reminiscent of the Lester Butler tune, “Goin’ To The Church.” More autobiographical material follows with the slow blues, “Funky Room,” describing the thoughts and feelings drifting through R.J.’s mind as he kills time in a same European hotel room. This is a nice slow blues with excellent harp mixed with guitar work by Jeremy Johnson and Mark Thijs.

“You Can Lie To Me” has a piano false start by Bob Welsh and a distinctive Muddy Water’s sound. This song may be most notable because of the fact that Mischo’s harp work is limited to a longer harp solo, but no fills interspersed with the lyrics. R.J. focuses on the lyrics and leaves the music up to his capable backing musicians. “Lucky, That’s Me” features a familiar “Shotgun” riff and more nice co-guitar work by Junior Watson and Frank Goldwasser. On “Lucky, That’s Me”, R.J. again limits his harp work to one short solo and a closing fill, focusing again on his vocals.

After a more harp heavy original entitled “I’m Your Sideman,” Mischo heads down the home stretch with two very nice numbers, “Don’t Cross Me” and “I’ll Take The Whole Thing.” I particularly enjoyed “Don’t Cross Me” which features Jeremy Johnson on guitar along with the only appearance of West Coast guitar man, Fillmore Sims. “Don’t Cross Me” is a loping, medium tempo number that emphasizes Sims distinctive guitar throughout, along with the usual fine harp work by Mischo. Meet Me On The Coast ends the way it began, with a the traditional sound of “I’ll Take The Whole Thing,” which offers a very nice unplugged feel to finish things off.

R.J. Mischo is a singer, songwriter and harp player who just seems to get more mature with each new recording. Meet Me On The Coast takes R. J. to a new level and is definitely a recording that any blues lover will want to own. To learn more about blue harp man R.J. Mischo, visit his website at www.rjblues.com and pick up a copy of Meet Me On The Coast at your local CD shop or by visiting the Crosscut Records website at www.crosscut.de.

R.J. Mischo
West Wind Blowin
Crosscut Records (CCD11062)
by Gordon Baxter
November 1999

1999 KBA Award Winner
Achievement for Blues on the Internet
Presented by the Blues Foundation


"West Wind Blowin'" is R.J. Mischo's first album since moving to the Bay Area. Although the scenery may have changed, the effects have all been positive. "West Wind Blowin'" is Mischo's best recording to date, even surpassing the acclaimed "Cool Disposition," which was also released by the German Crosscut label. He's aided and abetted by a particularly good band: Rusty Zinn and Steve Freund handle most of the guitar work; Randy Bermudes and Johnny Ace share bass duties; and the drumming is split between Walter Shufflesworth--great name for a drummer--and Jimmy Mulleniux.

The recording has a live feel about it. It's almost as if you push through the doors of an empty club, and there's the band giving it their all on the opener "Money Back Guarantee." Immediately afterwards the band launch into the first of eight covers: a cracking version of Hound Dog Taylor's "Watch Out," and these opening tracks set the standard for the rest of the album. Fortunately the band maintain the level throughout, with the seven original tracks standing up very well alongside the covers.

Naturally, three of the covers are by influential harp players (Big Walter Horton, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Jerry McCain). Mischo pays particular homage to SBW on the excellent harp workout of "Goat Whiskers" before launching himself into a version of the great man's "Going In Your Direction," and "R.J. Getup! Milk That Cow" has that SBW feel to it too. Anyone who has to get up early to go to work, especially on those cold winter mornings will empathize with the sentiments of the latter tune. It works particularly well with the band stripped right back to Mischo on harp and Randy Bermudes on double bass.
The best track is saved to last: "South City Fog" just edges out "Goat Whiskers" and "It's My Life, Baby." Mischo achieves the perfect tone for this highly evocative and moody instrumental. It sounds like it should be playing over the opening titles of a Raymond Chandler detective movie, and just leaves you hankering for more.

"West Wind Blowin'" is Mischo's best album to date. He's surrounded himself with a stack of quality musicians, and it shows. Everything falls into place perfectly, which helps explain why it took just a couple of days to cut the album. Mischo is in good voice, and his harp playing is up to its usual excellent standard. "West Wind Blowin'" is West Coast meets Chicago Blues at its very best.

This review is copyright © 1999 by Gordon Baxter, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.