“Live Music is Better” was recorded by the Jon Spear Band before a live audience at the Southern Café & Music Hall in Charlottesville VA on November 27, 2015. On that night, the band not only reprised some of their award-winning original songs from their first CD “Old Soul,” but also covered several red-hot blues songs in the imaginative style that has made them a favorite among a growing list of blues lovers. The release of their 2nd CD caps off a year of increasing success for the Jon Spear Band which saw extensive airplay, numerous favorable reviews, and opportunities to appear with several major artists, while their first CD “Old Soul” captured the #24 spot on the Roots Music Report's Top Contemporary Blues Album Chart for 2015. The personnel on the new CD includes special guests Haywood Giles on saxophone, and Adrian Duke on keyboard, along with the band’s core members: Dara James (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Andy Burdetsky (bass and backing vocals), John Stubblefield (drums) and Jon Spear (guitar and vocals). Adrian Duke – a semi-finalist at the 2016 International Blues Challenge – also lends his unique vocal talents to a rollicking New Orleans-style version of “I Love My Skin,” one of the award winning originals from the band’s first CD. The title song of the album, “Live Music is Better,” is the band’s homage to all those who make live music possible including club owners and concert venues, hardworking musicians, stage and sound crews, local blues and other music societies and, most important, the fans who come out and support their favorite performers. As the song says: “Pay a DJ if you will, it don’t give the same thrill – Live Music is Better!” CREDITS 1. Devil’s Highway – 7:39 (Jon Spear and Dara James © 2014 BMI) Vocals and lead guitar by Dara James, rhythm guitar by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky and drums by John Stubblefield. 2. Nothing to Nobody – 5:52 (Michael McDonald and Robben Ford © Genevieve Music) Vocals by Dara James, 1st guitar solo by Dara James, 2nd guitar solo by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, B3 organ by special guest Adrian Duke, sax by special guest Haywood Giles. 3. Shake Your Boogie – 4:15 (Mike Mann, Al Blake, Samuel Taylor, Fred Kaplan, and Richard Innes © BMG Bumblebee OBO Reheated Music) Vocas and guitar by Jon Spear, harmonica by Dara James, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, piano by special guest Adrian Duke, sax by special guest Haywood Giles. 4. Before the Bullets Fly – 3:40 (Henry Williams, Warren Haynes, and John Jaworowicz © Songs of Universal Inc. and BMG Rights Management US LLC) Vocals by Dara James, 1st guitar solo by Jon Spear and 2nd guitar solo by Dara James, bass by Andy Burdetsky and drums by John Stubblefield 5. Cissy Strut – 8:06 (Art Neville, George Porter, Jr., Leo Nocentelli and Ziggy Modeliste © Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc.) 1st guitar solo by Dara James, 2nd guitar solo by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, B3 organ by special guest Adrian Duke, and sax by special guest Haywood Giles. 6. Have You Ever Loved A Woman – 8:15 (Billy Myles © Fort Knox Music, Inc. and Trio Music Company, Inc.) Vocals and lead guitar by Dara James, rhythm guitar by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky, and drums by John Stubblefield. 7. Old Soul – 6:19 (Jon Spear © 2014 BMI) Vocal and lead guitar by Dara James, sax solo by special guest Haywood Giles, rhythm guitar by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, B3 organ by special guest Adrian Duke. 8. Blues About You Baby – 3:39 (Al Anderson and Delbert McClinton © Songs of Windswept Pacific) Vocals and 1st guitar solo by Jon Spear, slide guitar solo by Dara James, bass by Andy Burdetsky, and drums by John Stubblefield. 9. I Love My Skin – 4:36 (Jon Spear © 2014 BMI) Lead vocal and piano by special guest Adrian Duke, Jon Spear and Dara James on rhythm guitars, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, and sax by special guest Haywood Giles. 10. Paid In Full – 6:36 (Dara James and Jon Spear ©2014 BMI) Vocals and lead guitar by Dara James, Jon Spear on acoustic guitar, bass by Andy Burdetsky, and drums by John Stubblefield. 11. Beginner at the Blues – 4:01 (Frankie Miller and Will Jennings © Irving Music, Inc. O/B/O Blue Sky Rider Songs and Universal-Polygram Intl Pub OBO Menace Music Ltd.) Vocals and lead guitar by Dara James, rhythm guitar by Jon Spear, bass by Andy Burdetsky and drums by John Stubblefield. 12. Live Music Is Better – 5:12 (Jon Spear © 2014 BMI) Vocals and 1st guitar solos by Jon Spear, 2nd guitar solo by Dara James, bass by Andy Burdetsky, drums by John Stubblefield, piano by special guest Adrian Duke, sax by special guest Haywood Giles.