Archive for the red devils Category

« Older Entries

Updated Red Devils July 17 calendar

Posted in red devils with tags , , on June 17, 2017 by J.J.

Festivals, club gigs and an opening slot on the ZZ Top “Tonnage” tour will give ample opportunity to see The Red Devils in many places in many different situations in July.

Here is the latest roundup we have compiled from ZZ Top, Big Pete and other sources. Be advised that the Top has a couple of gigs listed on their site the don’t include the Devils … this list is all confirmed or pending Red Devils performances in July.

Be sure to let us know if there are additions or corrections.

JULY 6: Private event — Netherlands
JULY 7: Band show — + The Goon Mat & Lord Benardo, Le Gueulard Plus, Lorraine, France
JULY 9: ZZ Top — Loreley, Loreley, Germany
JULY 11: ZZ Top — Zenith La Villette, Paris, France
Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

5 takeaways from The Red Devils reunion weekend

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , on June 12, 2017 by J.J.

The Red Devils are back, having just completed their first three gigs in 23 years. They returned triumphant June 2-4 in The Netherlands.

Photos and videos of the shows are plentiful, and too many to catalog here. Many of the videos are captured in The Red Devils Facebook group. Also check the Facebook pages for Paul Size, Mike Flanigin and Big Pete, too. The entire Ribs and Blues Festival set is available on Facebook, if you know where to look. Twanny’s Blues has plenty of June 3 Bosuil videos on YouTube, or watch the whole show here. June 2 Fluor clips are available from Joop Chevy on YouTube.

Here are the things that stuck out to us after watching the first three Red Devils shows:

1. There is only one …

From the very first notes of the very first song of the very first gig, it’s clear: These are The Red Devils, and nobody else.

For a generation of fans who only have 24-year-old YouTube videos to go off of, the ’17 Devils are a revelation. The stacks and stacks of bands inspired by the Devils clearly can’t touch them — many of them have been rendered obsolete in just three shows.

You cannot go wrong with Bill Bateman in the driver’s seat, and he makes obvious the fatal flaw for other bands: he just has that beat, locking in with the grooving Jonny Ray Bartel. Paul Size reminds everyone that his guitar playing is singular — his touch and instincts are all still there. He’s been missed.

If you can’t have Dave Lee Bartel onstage, then bring back Mike Flanigin, holding down rhythm guitar. Kudos to the Devils for bringing back a different “brother” when they could have gotten a ringer.

Continue reading →

1 Comment »

It’s time: The Red Devils reunited

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , on June 2, 2017 by J.J.

Paul Size, Bill Bateman and Jonny Ray Bartel, the three “original” members of the legendary Red Devils.

This photo was taken by “The Drifter” Mike Flanigin June 2 in Holland, the first night of The Red Devils reunion tour.

Welcome back, boys. Glad you could make it.

4 Comments »

Eyewitness: Blue Shadows “deadly serious” at the King King

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , on May 14, 2017 by J.J.


Some of the best stories about The Red Devils come from the people who watched it all go down.

One such eyewitness is Kevin Shattuck, who has been recounting his favorite shows, and the stories behind them, on his Facebook page. Not only that but he is assembling amazing collages that render his musical memories in iconography.

He recently did a piece on the Blue Shadows — the precursor to the blues Red Devils — from the summer of ’88 at the King King. That is Genesis 1 in The Red Devils’ nearly 30-year story.

Kevin’s recollections are published with permission below, but it is definitely worth checking out his Facebook page for stories about The Blasters, X, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Gun Club, Panther Burns and on and on …

In the Summer of ’88, a Chinese restaurant on the corner of 6th & La Brea named “King King” decided to stay open late & book rockabilly & blues acts. I was working at the Beverly Center & the club was on my way home, so I started to drop in fairly often. It didn’t take very long before an astonishingly great punk/blues band named the “Blue Shadows” settled into that space on a Monday nite residency. It included ex-”Blasters” Gene Taylor on keyboards & Bill Bateman on drums, “Radio Ranch Straight Shooter” Greg “Smokey” Hormel (or on occasion) Dave Alvin playing lead guitar & the Bartel brothers Dave Lee & Jonny Ray on rhythm guitar & bass. The front man was a young harmonica player named Lester Butler. He was a pretty good singer, but was a flat out beast on the harp & had a true bluesman’s weathered, world weary demeanor.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment »

Red Devils summer calendar filling up

Posted in red devils with tags , , on April 23, 2017 by J.J.


Here are all the dates we have — so far — for The Red Devils June and July across Europe.

Solo shows, festivals and an opening stint on ZZ Top’s summer tour mean there are plenty of chances to see the gang in a variety of venues.

JUNE 2: Fluor in Amersfoort, The Netherlands

JUNE 3: Muziekcentrum De Bosuil, Weert, The Netherlands

JUNE 4: Ribs & Blues festival, Raalte, The Netherlands

JULY 7: The Red Devils + The Goon Mat & Lord Benardo, Le Gueulard Plus, Lorraine, France

JULY 13: Musiktheater Piano, Dortmund, Germany

More dates are expected to be added, so watch those off-days between ZZ gigs:

Leave a comment »

The Red Devils vs ZZ Top this summer

Posted in red devils with tags , , , on March 16, 2017 by J.J.

Long in the works, The Red Devils reunion tour takes them to Dublin, Ireland, July 28, for an opening slot on ZZ Top’s “Tonnage Tour.” Billy Gibbons has long been connected to The Red Devils, so the pairing makes perfect sense.

Jonny Ray Bartel posted this image just minutes ago on Facebook. Stay tuned …

Leave a comment »

Rainy Detroit night 1992, club date + 3 rare cuts

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2017 by J.J.

Red Devils
Tapes don’t often circulate of The Red Devils during their 1992 U.S. club tour, but guitarist Mike Flanigin passed one from his collection to nofightin.com.

Not only is it a representation of 4/5 of the band that will be on tour this summer, but it is the closest I’ll ever get to The Red Devils just as I heard them almost 25 years ago.

Flanigin’s tape was not labeled, so no clear info on date or location. But he recollects it was from that fall 1992 club tour. From there, two other clues: an emcee, just before the encore, beckons the crowd, “I don’t know Detroit, do you want to hear one more?” And Butler thanks the crowd for coming out on a rainy night.

Sully’s Blues Bar in Dearborn, Mich., is essentially adjacent to Detroit. And, on Oct. 14, 1992, according to Weather Underground, Dearborn saw just more than half an inch of rain.

The relatively short show — 11 songs in the set, plus three in the encore, about an hour and 35 minutes time — lines up with a listing in the Oct. 13, 1992, Detroit Free Press:

RED DEVILS, blues from LA, 8:30 and 10 p.m. Wed., 4758 Greenfield [Sully’s], Dearborn. 846-1920

Two shows.

So, this gig took place the night after I saw them at Jake’s in Bloomington, Ind., about five-and-a-half hours away.
Continue reading →

2 Comments »

« Older Entries
%d bloggers like this: