16 songs (and 14 originals) from one of Chicago’s most creative and original bands. Led by harp master Pierre Lacocque, who contributed 10 of the tunes here, WARNING SHOT takes you from vintage Chicago and Delta blues to excit-ing Jungle and Latin beats, swing-boogies, R&B ballads, and a Calypso tinged rhumba. Sax Gordon is guest starring on 8 songs either as a soloist or as a horn section arranger; and Ruben Alvarez appears on 3 songs on percussion. WARNING SHOT also features stellar background vocals arrangements by Mae Koen and Nannette Frank. Delmark is proud of this new recording, and believe it is an award-worthy release! AVAILABLE SOON ON LP.

ADVANCED CRITICAL ACCLAIM

“I just listened to WARNING SHOT and it is a delight. It’s great to hear a band devotedtoperformingrealbluesinsteadofwhatoftenpassesforbluesthesedays. Realbluesloverswon’thavetogothroughany“rockedup”shenaniganshere becauseMississippiHeataretrue“keepersofTheBluesFlame”,andIheartily applaudtheirworkhere.Greatperformancesbyeverybody;enduringmelodies, adventurouschordchangesandrhythmsandALWAYSinspiringandheart-felt blues.Ofcourse,I’mespeciallyfondofPierre’stastyandbrilliantharmonica playingthroughout.APHENOMENALPERFORMANCE.GoodLucktoMississippi Heatwiththeirfinenewrelease!!” –CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE, Grammy Award-Winner Harmonica Player

“WARNINGSHOTisdestinedforthetopofthecharts,andinthenextBlues Awardnominations.”–BERND KREIKMANN, WASSER-PRAWDA MAGAZINE Germany

“ThemusicofMississippiHeatdeliversuniqueharpexpressionsunlikeanything heardintheworldofbluestoday.Mixedwithemotion,powerfulvocalsandbackedby solidinstrumentation,thisbandisonfireandWARNINGSHOTwillinspirethelistenerwithafreshnewsound.”HHHHH 5 STARS –MISSISSIPPI BLUES CLUB

MUSICIANSPIERRE LACOCQUE harmonica, leaderINETTA VISOR lead vocalsMICHAEL DOTSON vocals (5,9,12), guitarGILES COREY guitarCARL WEATHERSBY guitar (8,14)NEAL O’HARA piano, organBRIAN QUINN bassKENNY SMITH vocals (15), drumsANDREW THOMAS drumsSAX GORDON saxophonesRUBEN ALVAREZ percussion (3,6,11)MAE KOEN, DIANE MADISON & NANETTE FRANK backup vocals

Album production and Supervision: ROBERT G. KOESTER

Produced by: PIERRE LACOCQUE and STEVE WAGNER

TRACK LISTING1. SWEET POISON 3:52 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI 2. ALLEY CAT BOOGIE 3:52 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI 3. COME TO MAMA 3:55 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI

4. I DON’T KNOW 4:36 R. Brown, Universal Music Publishing Group, Shelby Singleton Music Inc, Windswept Holdings Llc, The Clyde Otis Music Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

5. YEAH NOW BABY 3:50 Michael Dotson, Gritty Music, ASCAP 6. BIRTHDAY SONG 4:24 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI

7. NOWHERE TO GO 3:00 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI 8. WARNING SHOT 3:17 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI 9. SWINGY DINGY BABY 3:40 Michael Dotson, Gritty Music, ASCAP 10. TOO SAD TO WIPE MY TEARS 4:01 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI

11. RECESSION BLUES 3:02 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI 12. EVAPORATED BLUES 5:32 Michael Dotson, Gritty Music, ASCAP 13. YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART 3:21 H. Williams (Sr), Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

14. A PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL 4:45 I. Visor, DeeDeeShonnie Music, BMI

15. WHAT CHA SAY? 4:02 K. Smith, BeedyMusic, BMI

16. WORKING MAN 5:44 P. Lacocque, Ransart Music, BMI

MISSISSIPPI HEAT Warning Shot

PUBLICIST FRANK ROSZAK, KBA Awardee 2014 www.frankroszakpromotions.com froszak2003@yahoo.com (818) 679-7636

BOOKING JAY REIL, jay@jayreil.com • (847) 272-0202 WWW.MISSISSIPPIHEAT .NET

DELMARK RECORDS Release: DE 839 Release Date: September 16, 2014 www.delmark.com

LINER NOTES by Jon Norton, Music Director, GLT Blues Radio, www.wglt.org, Normal, IL

I was happy to hear from Pierre when he called to ask if I’d write liner notes for Mississippi Heat Warning Shot, the bands 11th release. There was urgency and excitement in the voice of this harmonica-playing bandleader as he kept repeating: “This recording turned out even better than I expected. I’m soooo excited about this album!” Normally Pierre is pretty even keeled with me, so his exuberance was a little out of character, and I couldn’t wait to hear the album.

My first encounter with Pierre was a spring 2005 phone interview, where he went to great lengths to tout contributions the entire band had made on their then current CD, One Eye Open (Delmark 783), and was very open about his personal life, sharing with me the chaos and loneliness he experienced as a child. Pierre explains that his melancholia may have come from some genetic pre-disposition, but it also came from an austere Calvinist environment that shunned joy and individual expression. Music, sports (soccer in particular as he lived across the street from a famous soccer stadium in Brussels) were all discouraged. On the paternal side, two generations of ministers offered both serious thought and severe restriction; and on the maternal side, the arrest of his uncle Jean during WWII (who died in a concentration camp) and Pierre’s grandfather (tortured by the Nazis for Resistance activities) caused a life-long period of unending mourning. There were other contributing factors to the feeling of detached loneliness, including being born a Christian in Israel, being for 12 years the only Christians (with his brother and sister) in an orthodox Jewish school in Brussels, and living in 4 countries before age 5! He documents those lonely feelings on “Too Sad to Wipe My Tears”.

It wasn’t “growing up black” in 1920s Mississippi, but the blues had found Pierre at a young age, and he wrestled with how to deal with them until age 16 when his family moved from Belgium to Chicago, and he happened upon the now legendary Big Walter Horton blowing harmonica at a performance near Pierre’s University of Chicago neigh-borhood home. It was a lightning-bolt moment, and within days he was tearing into “the blues” with his newly purchased harmonica.

Lacocque continued his harmonica playing while attending college in Montreal (1970-1976), but stopped after a few years when he mentally hit rock bottom. This was after he had won the Montreal Battle of the Bands with a quartet named “Oven.” He says stopping had no real connection with that award, or with the sponsor reneging on paying the band $1,000.00 toward a record deal. He said he knew he couldn’t continue emotionally, that he needed to put words to his non-verbal experiences of alienation. It was then he made a clear and formal decision to study existentialism, Jewish and Christian Theology; and made psychology his career path. He was especially drawn to Jewish theologian-philosopher Martin Buber and to Albert Schweitzer, whose writings were instrumental in Lacocque making sense of his life, and with affirming his family’s values he says “I always knew were right,” including equality, being considerate of others, and the mystery and beauty in connecting with people.

Longtime Mississippi Heat drummer Kenny Smith says those values are apparent to the members of the band, adding: “He is one of the most genuine guys I know. He takes the time to understand you as a human being and cares about EVERY musician on AND off the bandstand. When we travel, he looks out for all of our needs. If the hotel isn’t right, or the food isn’t right, he takes care of it. Smith, one of the most in-demand drummers in blues and Mississippi Heat’s drummer since early 1997, adds “Pierre is very sincere; he expresses his emotions through his music. You see it in the glare in his eyes when he plays. For me, I can ‘feel’ him and his passion when we’re on the bandstand. He brings that chemistry every night, and that has a domino effect for the other musicians. That’s what every musician wants, and when you feel that vibe you can’t help but soak it up.”

Another band member he calls a dear friend, lead vocalist Inetta Visor (with MH since 2001) amplifies Smith’s praise for Pierre’s caring nature, saying “The very first time I went overseas with the band, (guitarist) Carl Weathersby was on the gig, and got very ill, almost near death. Pierre stayed with him the whole time, got his wheelchair, got the ambulance and stayed at the hospital almost ‘til show time. Then went back after the show and stayed a week until Carl got out of the hospital. And that’s just one example.”

Lacocque was clearly touched when I read his bandmates’ praise back to him, and he was quick to return praise about Visor, Smith, M. Dotson and the rest of the band. Though this is Pierre’s band, and he is the principal songwriter and stage front with his harmonica, there is an ensemble feel to all of Mississippi Heat albums. It shows again here in this stunning CD. The horn arrangements by Sax Gordon give the band a fresh sound. The ensemble feel comes through in Visor’s beautiful and heartfelt delivery. It comes through the fingers of guitarists Michael Dotson (who also sings on 3 of his songs) and Giles Corey, who masterfully blend in and contribute harmonious rhythm parts and fiery solos. Carl Weathersby makes a stellar appearance on guitar as well. You hear it in the superb rhythm section featuring Brian Quinn on stand-up and electric bass, drummers Smith and Andrew “The Blaze” Thomas. It comes through the sweet and understated playing of young pianist Neal O’Hara, who sounds like a seasoned pro, and from returning guest Ruben Alvarez (3rd album with the Heat), whose percussion and Latin drumming add spice to 3 songs.

As for Lacocque himself, I can listen to his playing for hours, which I can’t say for most blues harmonica players. Yes he can “blow his brains out” with the best of them, but it’s his softer and more “foreign” sound that catches my ear. It’s a distant cry that seems to have floated across the ocean from a strange land, a sound not unlike what you’d hear on a gypsy jazz ballad or a Jobim song. At times his harmonica has the feel of a wise old man passing on his lifetime of accumulated wisdom. Occasionally, you can clearly hear a 5-year-old boy pleading his case to God for the loneliness to end. So when you listen to this superb CD, you’re not just hearing a band. You’re hearing a family, one with a deep love, understanding, and respect for each other. That Sax Gordon is so seamlessly incorporated into their signature sound speaks volumes about the trust Lacocque has for his band to welcome a prominent new guest into the fold. WARNING SHOT is a remarkable musical achievement!

MISSISSIPPI HEAT Warning Shot