The members of BoPoMoFo(ㄅㄆㄇㄈ樂團) are proud to announce the release of their debut CD, ‘Hell Froze Over’. As the title may indicate, the album has been a long time coming. While not exactly ‘Chinese Democracy’, the long awaited, recording sessions at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee by Taiwan’s foremost proponent of hard rockin’ Chicago Blues, BoPoMoFo in February of 2007 were becoming a near legend themselves.
After much delay (included the deportation of their ace mixing engineer, Max), the CD is available for streaming and for down-load at iTunes , Rhapsody, Amazon.com, Napster and other sites. The ‘ready date’ marked the third anniversary of BoPoMoFo’s pilgrimage to Memphis and the birth-place of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sun Studio.
The home of the famous Sun Records sound is a long way from Taipei, Taiwan, the adopted home of all the members of BoPoMoFo. The decision to go so far afield to record their first album was founded on the desire to capture that distinctive Sun Records sound heard on the early vinyl of Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and the King, Hims-elvis.
All of the basic tracks for the album were recorded ‘Live’ on February 4th & 5th, 2007. This means that BoPoMoFo eschewed the slick, modern production technique of recording each instrument alone and then patching all of them back together again, in favor of documenting the collective, synergistic energy of a tight, contemporary Blues band.
All 11 songs feature the ‘Live’, in-your-face performance that you’d hope to hear at a top-drawer Blues club. Drums, bass guitar, and rhythm guitars, lead guitar, slide guitar and sax were all recorded simultaneously. Even the lead vocal on the one surprising cover song was recorded without over-dubs, punch-ins or do-overs. The results of long hours of rehearsal and lots of club gigs resulted in a ‘Hell Froze Over’ being much more than just another ‘good enough for Blues’ CD.
There ain’t no re-hash here of Blues club standards, either. Of the 11 songs on the album, 10 are original compositions which run the gamut from Jump Blues to Blues-rock, contemporary Blues and even a West-side Blues rumba. We hope that folks will like our music as much as we love making it.
BoPoMoFo( ㄅㄆㄇㄈ ) is steeped in the history of the Blues.Formed in 2005 by Chicago-land native, DC Rapier, the band plays Chicago-style Blues, vintage Soul and R&B and well-crafted originals with an infectious heartfelt passion that sets feet tapping and booties boogying. Joining DC in the quest for mo’ better Blues is Japanese guitar virtuoso Aki "The Flame" Ikeda, Daisuke ‘Dafu’ Neishi on drums, Canadian Michael ‘Steel-fingers’ Tennant on bass, Klaus ‘Mr Fixer’ Tseng on keyboards with DC on vocals, harmonica, guitar and tenor sax.
BoPoMoFo is a perfect example of the world-wide appeal of the Blues; an international band with members from 4 countries; the USA, Canada, Germany and Japan. Their main source of inspiration is the highly-charged, electrified Delta sounds of Chicago-style Blues played as by Muddy Waters and exemplified by the Chess Records catalog. They also draw from the well-spring of other Blues-based styles – Jump Blues, R&B, Soul, Country, Rock and Pop.
BoPoMoFo received enthusiastic response at BB King’s Blues Club on historic Beale Street in Memphis USA at the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in 2007, as the first band from Taiwan ever to participate. In 2008, BoPoMoFo made their first tour of Japan; playing the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Utsunomiya where the normally reserved audience at Miya Jazz Fest clamored for more of BoPoMoFo’s spirited Chicago-style Blues. In Tokyo, BoPoMoFo had the honor of playing Jirokichi, the oldest, most celebrated Blues venue in the city where they impressed a crowd of Blues fans who were accustomed to top-drawer Blues artists. They have also been featured performers at each of the six international Blues music festivals on Taiwan, the Blues Bash, as well as other music festivals such as the prestigious Taichung Jazz Festival.
Another feather in BoPoMoFo’s cap is being the first and only Blues band ever hired as a ‘house band’ at a music venue on Taiwan. That BoPoMoFo has performed more than 300 shows since 2007 at Capone’s Italian Dinnerhouse, a swank, up-market restaurant/night club in Taipei attests to their professionalism and growing popularity. As further testimony to the band’s musical prowess, BoPoMoFo has backed up Blues heavy-weights Mitch Woods, Matt Kelly, Shun Kikuta, Joey Gilmore, Darrell Raines, Rich Harper and Ken ‘the Snowman’ Minahan.
In late 2009, BoPoMoFo released their debut album ‘Hell Froze Over’ which they recorded at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. To capture the excitement of a BoPoMoFo performance, all the rhythm tracks (drums, bass guitar, rhythm guitars) as well as some lead guitar and lead vocals were recorded ‘Live’ in the studio. As a result, the ten original songs and the surprise cover tune bristle and pulsate with the power and passion which is the hallmark of the Blues.
are proud to announce the release of their debut CD, ‘Hell Froze Over’. As the title may indicate, the album has been a long time coming. While not exactly ‘Chinese Democracy’, the long awaited, recording sessions at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee by Taiwan’s foremost proponent of hard rockin’ Chicago Blues, BoPoMoFo in February of 2007 were becoming a near legend themselves.
After much delay (included the deportation of their ace mixing engineer, Max), the CD is available for streaming and for down-load at iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon.com, Napster and other sites. The ‘ready date’ marked the third anniversary of BoPoMoFo’s pilgrimage to Memphis and the birth-place of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sun Studio.
The home of the famous Sun Records sound is a long way from Taipei, Taiwan, the adopted home of all the members of BoPoMoFo. The decision to go so far afield to record their first album was founded on the desire to capture that distinctive Sun Records sound heard on the early vinyl of Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and the King, Hims-elvis.
All of the basic tracks for the album were recorded ‘Live’ on February 4th & 5th, 2007. This means that BoPoMoFo eschewed the slick, modern production technique of recording each instrument alone and then patching all of them back together again, in favor of documenting the collective, synergistic energy of a tight, contemporary Blues band.
All 11 songs feature the ‘Live’, in-your-face performance that you’d hope to hear at a top-drawer Blues club. Drums, bass guitar, and rhythm guitars, lead guitar, slide guitar and sax were all recorded simultaneously. Even the lead vocal on the one surprising cover song was recorded without over-dubs, punch-ins or do-overs. The results of long hours of rehearsal and lots of club gigs resulted in a ‘Hell Froze Over’ being much more than just another ‘good enough for Blues’ CD.
There ain’t no re-hash here of Blues club standards, either. Of the 11 songs on the album, 10 are original compositions which run the gamut from Jump Blues to Blues-rock, contemporary Blues and even a West-side Blues rumba. We hope that folks will like our music as much as we love making it.
ers of BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ樂團) are proud to announce the release of their debut CD, ‘Hell Froze Over’. As the title may indicate, the album has been a long time coming. While not exactly ‘Chinese Democracy’, the long awaited, recording sessions at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee by Taiwan’s foremost proponent of hard rockin’ Chicago Blues, BoPoMoFo in February of 2007 were becoming a near legend themselves.
After much delay (included the deportation of their ace mixing engineer, Max), the CD is available for streaming and for down-load at iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon.com, Napster and other sites. The ‘ready date’ marked the third anniversary of BoPoMoFo’s pilgrimage to Memphis and the birth-place of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Sun Studio.
The home of the famous Sun Records sound is a long way from Taipei, Taiwan, the adopted home of all the members of BoPoMoFo. The decision to go so far afield to record their first album was founded on the desire to capture that distinctive Sun Records sound heard on the early vinyl of Howlin’ Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and the King, Hims-elvis.
All of the basic tracks for the album were recorded ‘Live’ on February 4th & 5th, 2007. This means that BoPoMoFo eschewed the slick, modern production technique of recording each instrument alone and then patching all of them back together again, in favor of documenting the collective, synergistic energy of a tight, contemporary Blues band.
All 11 songs feature the ‘Live’, in-your-face performance that you’d hope to hear at a top-drawer Blues club. Drums, bass guitar, and rhythm guitars, lead guitar, slide guitar and sax were all recorded simultaneously. Even the lead vocal on the one surprising cover song was recorded without over-dubs, punch-ins or do-overs. The results of long hours of rehearsal and lots of club gigs resulted in a ‘Hell Froze Over’ being much more than just another ‘good enough for Blues’ CD.
There ain’t no re-hash here of Blues club standards, either. Of the 11 songs on the album, 10 are original compositions which run the gamut from Jump Blues to Blues-rock, contemporary Blues and even a West-side Blues rumba. We hope that folks will like our music as much as we love making it.
