Biography

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Giles Corey – Stoned Soul
Delmark DE 834 (2014)


Giles Corey’s credits include being in the bands of Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues and Otis Rush. Giles also played and recorded with Syl Johnson, Mississippi Heat and Buddy Miles. The talented singer/guitarist was a founding member of the funk/blues/rock & roll powerhouse Lubriphonic. When Lubriphonic stopped touring in 2011, the seed was planted for Stoned Soul, Giles’ debut as leader. The band features Marty Sammon on keys, Joewaun Scott on bass and Rick King on drums. The album features eleven new originals and covers of “Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You”, a 1971 hit for Wilson Pickett and Gary Clark Jr.’s “Bight Lights”. Stoned Soul features a unique blend of roots music, rich in history yet contemporary and forward-looking.

Stoned Soul is rock, rhythm & blues, soul, blues, funk, jam band, lots of new originals and a few choice covers. Right On!

1. Oh, Mademoiselle 4:30
2. Morning Train 3:31
3. Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You 6:16
4. Time Flies (When You’re Drunk) 3:09
5. Pork & Beans 3:48
6. Bright Lights 5:56
7. Rita 4:08
8. Right On! 4:36
9. It’s All Been Said Before 5:40
10. Watch Myself Go Crazy 3:55
11. That Girl Is Bad 4:34
12. Home Is On My Mind 4:01
13. Every Time I See Your Face 3:51

Giles Corey, vocals, guitar
Marty Sammon, piano, organ, Rhodes, vocal on 10
Joewaun Scott, bass
Rick King, drums, percussion, vocal on 8
Pat Otto, mandola 2,4,9,13
Diane Madison, Mae Koen & Nanette Frank, backup vocals 3,8

All songs Andrew Osis, BMI except 3 by Akines/Bellmon/Drayton/Turner, Warner-Tamerlane Publ. Corp., BMI; 6 by Gary Clark Jr., BMI and “Clint Eastwood” by Albarn/Hewlett/Jones, EMI Blackwood Music Inc., BMI/Happy Hemp Music, ASCAP; 8 by Rick King and Martin Sammon, Risky Blue Publ., ASCAP; 10 by Martin Sammon, ASCAP and 11 by Cedric Burnside, Cedric Burnside Publ. Co., ASCAP.

https://gilescoreyblues.com/

Special thanks to Way Yin, Pete Galanis, Jeff Nolan - The Mayor of Farrell Street, Nick LeRoy, Chicago Blues Network, B.L.U.E.S., Mom and Dad, Aunt Aina and Uncle Walter, Pat Otto, Marty Sammon, Joewaun Scott, and Rick King

Giles Corey plays Morley Pedals
Joewaun Scott plays Lakeland Basses and DR Strings
Marty Sammon endorses Yamaha Pianos and Merida Guitars

Produced by Giles Corey and Solji
Album Production and Supervision: Robert G. Koester
Recorded at Riverside Studio, Chicago on July 22 & 23, 2013 by Steve Wagner
Mixed by Steve Wagner and Dave Katzman
Cover Photo: Michael Jackson
Design: DJavan Wagner



Delmark Records has proudly established itself as a prime source for resolutely traditional blues over the last six decades. But this is not your traditional Delmark album. Not by a longshot.
Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul is a new, decidedly contemporary aggregation. Their high-energy attack is grounded in Chicago blues yet also draws from rock and R&B influences, giving them a thick, piledriving sound. Its guitar-wielding leader has paid his dues on Chicago’s blues scene for the last two decades, playing with an array of top Windy City luminaries before stepping out on his own. He and his three collaborators have developed their relentless grooves and ESP-like level of musical communication naturally over many years of playing together.
American historians may be aware that another Giles Corey once walked the planet. The prosperous land-owning farmer suffered a rather grisly demise in 1692, a victim of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. Stubbornly refusing to enter a plea on charges of being a warlock, Corey was systematically pressed to death by boulders cruelly placed atop his prone body by his accusers. Approximately three centuries later, his distinguished moniker was pressed into service by a teenaged power trio in Trumbull, Connecticut, resulting in a stage name for its leader that endures to this day.
“We called the band the Giles Corey Band because we were reading The Crucible at the time in high school, and we thought that sounded cool,” says Corey. “I was playing guitar and I was attempting singing. I was the front guy, so people just started calling me Giles, and it just kind of stuck.” The handle of his current band is a sly slice of wordplay. “This is a man that was stoned to death for not admitting that he was a witch,” says Corey. “It’s a play on ‘stone soul,’ which makes sense, but I also wanted to get Giles Corey and ‘stoned’ in there.”
Corey arrived in the Windy City in the autumn of 1993 to attend the University of Chicago. The appeal of the local blues scene was by no means lost on him. “I would have been playing anywhere, wherever I went. But it just happened to be in Chicago,” he says. “I learned a lot. I know I wouldn’t be the player I am today if I didn’t work in Chicago.”
A month or so after he hit town, the 18-year-old axeman had already found himself a gig with veteran guitarist Buddy Scott and his Rib Tips. Scott was ailing and died a short time later, but the Rib Tips held onto their weekend gig at Lee’s Unleaded Blues at 74th and South Chicago Avenue for a few more months after his passing. Stoned Soul bassist Joewaun Scott was Buddy’s grandson, all of 15 when Giles met him and then blowing trombone with the Platinum Band. “He was just starting to play bass at that point,” recalls Corey.
More gigs came Giles’ way—a couple of years with bassist J.W. Williams’ Chi-Town Hustlers, an overseas tour with soul man Syl Johnson—prior to his graduation from the U. of C. in 1997. Free of educational constraints and at last completely able to tour, Corey joined harpist Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues for a couple of years, “It was a great opportunity, being able to go overseas a couple times a year and see a little bit more of the country,” says Giles. In 2001, Chicago guitar legend Otis Rush offered Corey a coveted spot in his band.
“I’m a huge Otis Rush fan from when I first heard him in high school. I was like, ‘Wow, this is the stuff!’” says Giles, who came highly recommended by Rush’s pianist, Marty Sammon (Giles and Marty first met one night at Kingston Mines when Sammon was backing guitarist Eddie C. Campbell). Marty now handles keyboards in Stoned Soul. Corey remained with Otis until a stroke sidelined the southpaw icon in ‘04.
2001 was also when Giles and Chicago-born drummer Rick King put together Lubriphonic. The duo had originally met on a show in East Chicago, Indiana, when Corey was a Rib Tip and King backed guitarist Vance Kelly (Rick’s hefty resume also lists stints behind Koko Taylor and James Cotton). The band blossomed into a popular rock/funk juggernaut that cut four studio albums and a live set. Sammon was another charter Lubriphonic member, but Buddy Guy spirited him away early in the band’s existence. Lubriphonic soon expanded to include two horns. “That sort of became the trademark of the band,” says Giles. Joewaun was also a member of Lubriphonic for a lengthy stretch.
“Between 2007-2008 and 2011, it was 200 dates a year, just Lubriphonic constantly. That was kind of the only thing I did. It was intense. We did a lot of touring,” says Corey. “And we had the opportunity to open up for some really great people and played some great festivals.” Yet Giles yearned to explore musical directions that weren’t quite conducive to what Lubriphonic was all about. So when that aggregation took an extended break, the groundwork was laid for the launch of Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul.
Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul is sure to propel its members back on the touring trail. In addition to casting a spell on the contemporary blues demographic, Corey aspires to a wider audience. “There are people who listen to ‘jam bands’ that would love blues music if they actually heard it. It’s rootsy stuff. It’s real. It’s improvisation. When I played with Billy Branch, I didn’t realize I was in a jam band. Playing with Billy Branch, we’d do an hour set, and there would be five songs. I think there’s a lot to be said for merging those two together.”
--Bill Dahl


BIOGRAPHY
Giles Corey is a dynamic and innovative blues guitarist, singer and songwriter from Chicago who learned from the greats of the genre. Over the course of his 25 year career he has performed regularly with luminaries such as Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Eddy Clearwater, Syl Johnson, Sugar Blue and Billy Branch.

From 2003 to 2011 Giles was a founding member and songwriter for the nationally touring funk rock band Lubriphonic. Currently he fronts his own group, recording for Delmark Records. In addition, Giles is a member of Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues

Giles performs consistently throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. His music combines the traditional styles of Chicago blues with soul, funk, and rock’n’roll, creating an irresistible stew of American music. Similarly, Giles’ live performances feature both pure Chicago blues numbers mixed with swampy slide and up-tempo funk, delighting and intriguing audiences wherever he goes.

QUOTES
“This varied CD is an excellent first solo effort from Giles and is well worth a listen.”
–John Mitchell, BluesBlastMagazine.com

“The Stoned Soul album is a varied collection of styles, but the group succeeds as a blues band at heart which presents itself with range and soul.”
–Geoff Trubow, ChicagoBluesGuide.com

“There is no half-stepping here friends. Giles took risks and came away with a stellar album.”
–Barry Kerzner, ChicagoBlues.com

“The music has that contemporary soul-blues nexus and Giles sings with the grits and gravy one would expect.”
–Grego Applegate, Gapplegate Guitar and Bass Blog

DISCOGRAPHY
Whiskey and Chicken Wings — Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul, 2020

Roots and Branches — Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Alligator Records 2019

City Soul — Russ Green, Cleopatra Records, 2018

Blues Immigrant — Matthew Skoller, Tongue’n’Groove Records, 2016

Cab Driving Man — Mississippi Heat, Delmark Records, 2016

Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul — Giles Corey’s Stoned Soul, Delmark Records, 2014

Delmark 60th Anniversary — Delmark Records, 2013

Warning Shot — Mississippi Heat, Delmark Records, 2014

Delta Bound — Mississippi Heat, Delmark Records, 2012

The Gig Is On — Lubriphonic, Lubricated Music, 2010

Let’s Live It Up — Mississippi Heat, Delmark Records, 2010

Soul Solution — Lubriphonic, Lubricated Music, 2008

Hattiesburg Blues — Mississippi Heat, Delmark Records, 2008

Lubriphonic Live — Lubriphonic, Lubricated Music, 2008

Supermoncho — Lubriphonic, Lubricated Music, 2005

Lubriphonic — Lubriphonic, Lubricated Music, 2003

Live at Chord On Blues — Howard and the Whiteboys, Evidence Records, 2000

Funkin’ Blues — Big James and the Chicago Playboys, Jamot Music, 1998

Other Delmark albums of interest:
Mississippi Heat, Delta Bound (823) with Giles Corey
Let’s Live It Up! (807) with Giles Corey
Hattiesburg Blues (795) with Giles Corey
Michael Coleman, Do Your Thing! (747) with Marty Sammon
Toronzo Cannon, John The Conquer Root (831)
Leaving Mood (817)
Linsey Alexander, Been There Done That (822) with Billy Branch
Junior Wells, Hoodoo Man Blues (612) with Buddy Guy
Magic Sam, West Side Soul (615)
Otis Rush, All Your Love I Miss Loving (781)
Robert Ward, New Role Soul (741)
Jimmy Burns, Leaving Here Walking (694)

CP 2014 Delmark Records 1 800 684 3480
4121 N. Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60618
www.delmark.com