Greg Hodde and the Blue Miracles have been leaning into the local and regional blues scene since 1996. That was when Hodde, inspired by his years of experience working for other bands on the circuit, decided to strike out on his own. Since then, Hodde and his cohorts, drummer Dave Watson and bassist Joe Downs, have been logging serious miles and chalking up at least 150 gigs a years. That tally is not only a testament to the enduring power a sharp blues band wields in this area, but also a good indication that people are coming out to see these Miracles do their thing.

Well, Hodde and company finally have a CD to show for their efforts. Greg Hodde and the Blue Miracles is a great showcase for the guitarist’s substantial skills. He’s obviously inspired by a variety of six-stringers, from electric bluesman Gary Moore to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Hodde explains a few of the cuts on the album so guitarists in particular can appreciate them. " ‘Got Love’ is a fun swing tune with influences from Duke Robillard, Charlie Christian and Les Paul. ‘Link Dale’ is a tribute to the great Dick Dale and Link Wray. ‘Whose Life Is It?’ is very Santana, Gary Moore, and Eric Johnson. ‘What Goes Around’ is wide open with a hint of Alvin Lee and Johnny Winter."

Guitar playing isn’t the only feature of interest on the new record. Hodde peppers his songs with weighty issues as well, topics you don’t generally find in the cliché-prone idioms of blues and blues-rock. Chasing drugs and alcohol is the subject of "Just Can’t Lose." "I don’t mind saying," Hodde notes, "that I’ve been drug- and alcohol-free for 15 years. I lost a lot but still have music, friends, and family, and health, thank God." Elsewhere, "Roomful of Mirrors" is about "blaming everyone for problems that I or anyone created for themselves." "What Goes Around" is about paying for all the crummy things people do and then have to account for them. Hodde’s blues, as traditional as any in the electric sense, are rife with the concerns of today, and quite different than your average black snake moaner outta Chicago.

Not everything on the disc is uber-dark. Hodde thought it best to mix it up a bit because, after all, the blues knows how to turn bad feelings into a good time. "I didn’t want the whole record to be dark, so we put some fun stuff on there to lighten it up." Hence, the tribute to Dale and Wray and the familiar dashes of upbeat R&B. Throughout the disc, Hodde, Downs, and Watson keep it tight and focused, with the rhythm section reigning things in even while Hodde makes hot and frequent excursions on guitar.