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Marc Stone Band
Marc Stone Acoustic
CD Review of Kickin' at the Old Point

>> Marc Stone Band

"The highlight of the concert- which no one will deny - came clearly at the end of the evening with the Marc Stone Band. Funky, (and in part freaky), the steel guitar artist and his band from New Orleans created a party atmosphere and brought the audience to it's feet with dancing, shouting and crying."
Appenzeller Zeitung, Switzerland

"As a solo act, Stone is known as a blues guitarist and singer, but his approach to the blues is anything but standard issue. His experience playing zydeco in the bands of C.J. Chenier, Dwayne Dopsie and Terrance Simien brings a hard-edged, rhythmic flow that keeps his blues from dragging too much tail. His R&B chops from backing up Eddie Bo, Marva Wright and John and Sista Teedy Boutte ensure that the foundation of all of these tracks is deeply rooted in soul."
OffBeat Magazine, New Orleans

"The only two things Marc Stone carries are his Galveston-Steel-Guitar and his extraordinary voice. Christof Waibel seams to be his soul mate. There is only one word for what the two of them presented the audience of the K4 Kulturecafe: Brilliant!! The two professionals bring it to the point, and the music becomes alive. Stone involves the audience not only with his voice and his songs but also by creating a very special atmosphere."
Füssener Blatt, Germany

>> Marc Stone Acoustic

"One guitar, one chair, this Blues pro doesn't need more. From the first chord the crowd was swaying to and fro."
Kraichgau Stimme, Germany

"Stone is also a masterful acoustic blues player."
OffBeat Magazine, New Orleans

>> Kickin' at the Old Point
Offbeat Magazine CD Review
By John Swenson

Musician, WWOZ radio personality and OffBeat columnist Marc Stone has been running one of the coolest regular gigs in town over the last two years at the Old Point Bar. Many of his roots-music playing and songwriting peers have made it over to Stone’s sessions, and some of the highlights of these magic evenings are collected on Kickin’ At The Old Point, Stone’s first full-length album release.

As a solo act, Stone is known as a blues guitarist and singer, but his approach to the blues is anything but standard issue. His experience playing zydeco in the bands of C.J. Chenier, Dwayne Dopsie and Terrance Simien brings a hard-edged, rhythmic flow that keeps his blues from dragging too much tail. His R&B chops from backing up Eddie Bo, Marva Wright and John and Sista Teedy Boutte ensure that the foundation of all of these tracks is deeply rooted in soul. Anybody who’s listened to Stone’s “Soul Serenade” radio show knows that his blues comes in a multiplicity of forms from the sacred steel of the Campbell Brothers to the futuristic vision of the Dakah Hip Hop Orchestra.

Kickin’ It... runs the gamut, from the foot patting instrumental groove of Willie Mitchell’s “20-75” to the creosote funk slab of Bonerama’s “Bap Bap.” Stone’s arrangement ingenuity shines on “Restless Heart,” which breaks from an intricate instrumental intro to a syncopated funk chorus that allows plenty of space for Marc Adams’ piano fills under Stone’s vocal. The second line strut of “Tell Me” has a chorus that sounds like something Isaac Hayes might have written for Sam and Dave back in the day.

Stone is also a masterful acoustic blues player, and some of the album’s highlights come on interpretations of delta classics. On Fred McDowell’s “Write Me a Few Lines” and Elmore James’ “I Can’t Hold Out,” Stone trades steel resonator slide licks with Camile Baudoin on nylon string guitar as Washboard Chaz supplies the percussion accompaniment and Sean C joins in on harmonica. Baudoin returns for the live rave up, “Bye Bye Shuffle.”

The album includes a couple of bonus studio tracks — “Pimpin’ Green,” an overdubbed guitar extravaganza with a ripsaw second pass from Stone on Dave Malone’s borrowed pink Strat, and the wonderful acoustic finale, “Drunk Show,” with Harry Hardin’s crazy walking fiddle and a late night chorus led by Big Al Carson summing up the spirit of the whole enterprise.