"Texas is so well known as a blues incubator that a new guitarist from the Lone Star State is hardly news. But Dylan Bishop’s blend of shuffles, jump blues, and rock and roll is attracting the attention of in-the-know listeners from near and far, with Jimmie Vaughan, Wes Race­ (the man who brought Son Seals to Alligator Records) in Fort Worth, and David Mac of Blues Junction Productions in southern California among Bishop’s noteworthy supporters. Bishop plays with an assured touch and sings with confident style. His tough début, Exciting Sounds, brings the new sounds of more than half a century ago into the present with thrilling immediacy. Four hip covers, from Lonesome Sundown, Goree Carter, Bobby Bland and Ray Sharpe, are the only vintage titles. The other nine tracks, all originals written for this project, show Bishop’s depth. Slow-drag R&B, swinging blues, hard shuffles, desolate slow blues, and raw, blasting rock and roll are on tap, evoking Johnny “Guitar” Watson, T-Bone Walker, Otis Rush, Gatemouth Brown, Guitar Slim, and Freddy King, among many others. The accomplishment is even more remarkable considering Bishop is just out of high school. “I started playing guitar when I was 7. At first, I was more into classic rock. About five or six years ago, when I found the old stuff, it pretty much became my main thing. I was struck by the sincerity behind it. It was unlike anything I’d ever heard. It was so raw. And even though I probably still don’t fully understand a lot of it, I can feel that intensity and that emotion behind it.” The music of the late Nick Curran provided more immediate inspiration. “A huge influence and hero of mine. Besides that he was obviously a monster player, Nick fully immersed himself in whatever he was doing. Whether it was the punk thing or the straight ahead blues scene, he became it.” Curran’s sound led Bishop to Fort Horton Studios, in Wyldwood, Texas. “I was like, man, I gotta find whoever made those records! Billy Horton is the man for the job when it comes to getting that authentic sound! A record that says something sincere and honest." The players on Exciting Sounds include Cadillac Johnson (bass) and Dirk Cordes (drums), the Dallas-Fort Worth musicians in Bishop’s working band, augmented by T Bonta, an Austin regular who played piano on Nick Curran’s Nitelife Boogie, and the great Doug James, formerly with Roomful of Blues and the Duke Robillard Band and presently a member of Jimmie Vaughan’s Tilt-a-Whirl Band, on saxophones. Jimmie Vaughan himself, contributes Leslie rhythm guitar to “What You’re Puttin’ Down” and a cutting solo to “I’ll Send You.”" -Tom Hyslop Above all, what makes this record so "exciting" is energy and sincerity of the musicians playing on it. Whether it's a swinging declaration of new found love and joy or a fresh take on a song written half a century ago, "The Exciting Sounds of The Dylan Bishop Band" is sure to satisfy!