Little Victor

**This multi-award winner guitarist, singer, harmonica player and producer began his career in 1981 -at the age of 14- singin' with the Sunbeams. The band mostly featured songs from the Sun records vaults. Hence the name "Little" Victor. At 16 he picked up the blues harmonica and started to wail in the style of Jimmy Reed and Junior Parker.
He learned what the real blues was playin' with real bluesmen in Memphis, Tennessee when he was a young man. He was on Beale Street six days a week with High Water recording artist Uncle Ben Perry, the "King of Handy Park." ****************************************************************
Uncle Ben showed him the ropes of downhome blues guitar. Victor also hung out and played with with other Beale Street legends: Herman"Alabama"Alexander and Jessie Mae Hemphill, the "She-Wolf."
He often sat down with local celebrities as the Holliwood All Stars and The Memphis Fieldstones. He was not the first italian holdin' firth on the main thoroughare of black music and culture in Memphis. ****************************************************************
Then Driftin' down rivers to North Mississippi, Li'l Victor jammed in a variety
of deep blues guitar tunings in juke joints of RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough and a host of other backwater bluesmen. Encouraged not only by blues artists, but blues schoolars like Robert Palmer and David Evans, this golden bluesboy also made experimental blues demo tapes recorded in Memphis by Alex Chilton. ****************************************************************
Later legendary guitarist Hubert Sumlin -of the Howlin' Wolf fame- played and recorded with Victor. In the 1990's he lived for some time in Austin, Texas.
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In 1994 Victor recorded "Cuttin' Out" a collection of original songs for Blue-Jay Records, followed in 1996 by "Space Shuffle," featuring drummer Uncle John Turner and Hector Watt on guitar.***
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By 1998 Little Victor joined forces with Sophie Kay, a blues chanteuse and guitar player of rapturous consequences, who was filming her acclaimed documentary "A Day With RL Burnside." It was Burnside himself that gave them the idea to title thir first record effort "Cookin' With Gas." ****************************************************************
In 2000 drummer Eric'Lulu'Lelet j(from Bo Weavil) joined this eccentric blues combo. In late 2001, the album "Just Rockin' The Blues" was released thanks to blues guru David Evans, who also wrote the liner notes. This album of vintage juke joint blues sounds, recorded one-take -in superb LO-FI mono- received great response from the press and music fans and promoters, providing Little Victor with steady live work. ****************************************************************
He played hunderds of club dates, international tours and festivals as Notodden (Norway), Cognac (France) Boogie Town (Belgium) Big Rivers (Holland), BluesLive (Finland), Pellican Blues (Latvia) and many more ********************.*******************************************
Little Victor played shows with The Jelly Roll Kings, Big Jack Johnson, Sam Carr, Super Chickan, Snooky Pryor, Little Milton, Pinetop Perkins, The Black Keys, Mel Brown, James Harman, the Fat Possum Blues Caravan, T-Model Ford, Paul "Wine" Jones and backed up RL Burnside, Robert "Wolfman Belfour & many more.
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He also played guitar with The Hound Dog Taylor Tribute Band, Tav Falco's Panther Burns, David Evans and The Sophie Kay Band. Since 2005, Victor plays with the legendary Louisiana Red (his childhood idol) on regular bases.
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In late 2006 Victor recorded a new killer album in Phoenix, Arizona with help from Bob Corritore, Johnny Rapp, Mario Moreno, Bill Tarsha, Brian Fahey and Dave Forster.
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2007 was a busy busy year. He performed at festivals as Let's Get Wild(Germany), the Rhythm Riot (UK), Dark Season Blues (Norway), Mississippi Blues Nights (Germany) and performed over 140 club dates in England, Belgium, Holland, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, Norway etcetera.
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In december 2007 the EP "Blues Shakedown" (featuring four tracks from his Phoenix sessions) was officially released on the German Label Withchcraft Records.
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In january 2008 he signed with Wild Records of Hollywood. In late march 2008 he recorded a new album in California for the company. "Let's Get High" that was released in the States in august 2009.
He performed around the Los Angeles area and played at the "Ice House" and at the" Viva Las Vegas" festiva in Las Vegas, Nervada.
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He recorded a new CD with his mentor Louisiana Red for Bluestown Records, with Kim Wilson, Bob Corritore, Dave Maxwell and other special guests called "Back To The Black Bayou". Victor also produced the album.
Ruf Records bought the masters and released the album in march 2009
The rest is history. The record got outstanding reviews and pretty good sales in US, Europe & Asia.
magazines as DOWN BEAT and ROLLING STONE lauded this record. "Back To The Black Bayou" won the equivalent of a GRAMMY in France and Germany and many other prestigious prices. Also had two different "nominations" at the last Blues Music Awards ( the blues GRAMMIES) in the States. Victor & Red recently recorded a new album in Memphis called "Memphis Mojo" to be released later this spring on Ruf Records. Little Victor also has a new hot album on El Toro Records called "Boogie All Night" featuring the best of his legendary Phoenix sessions.
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The Swamp-Tonk sounds of Little Victor are known from the Rio Grand to Paris and back again. Watch out for your happy home, friends. Little Victor is comin' to your town ! ****
TAV FALCO




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LITTLE VICTOR - WILD RECORDS TV SPECIAL- Part 1
From a VIMBY TV Special on Wild Records starring Little Victor, Luis & The Wildfires, Omar Romero, The Vargas Brothers, Santos, tthe Hi-Strung Rumbles, Dusty Chance, Li'l Gizzelle and other Wild artists. It was shot at the Swing House Studios in Hollywood before a very hip audience: music fans, pachucos, pin ups, weirdos, hep cats and kittens. If you pay attention you can see celebrities in the audience as Big Sandy and Nick Curran (the blond dude with a red leather jacket) diggin' the show; Louis Arriaga, Ricky McCann and Alex Vargas are backing up Little Victor here just like they did on his album for the label "Let's Get High" that was recorded about the same time. Look out for part two !



LITTLE VICTOR - WILD RECORDS TV SPECIAL - PART 2
LITTLE VICTOR - UBANGI STOMP 2009
This was shot at a cool festival in Benidorn, Spain. The crowd was really hot.
We sho' had ad a helluva time that night !! I had a broken toe and the first finger on my right hand was injured but as soon as I started to play I forgot all about it. Ha Ha !
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LITTLE VICTOR "RHYTHM RIOT "2008" (The Story Inside)
I was asked fill up for somebody. My guitar was set just like a lap steel 'cuz I had a gig with the Tiki Marauders. I just put it in standard tuning before gettin' on stage again. I was probably lookin' like somebody that just fell from a cabbage truck from Mars. I reckon I plugged in and said to myself "Okay, what the hell I'm Gonna do now?" It didn't took too long to figure out something.



LITTLE VICTOR & RAY COLLINS' HOT CLUB-LET'S GET HIGH-
This was filmed on january 20th 2008 at the unforgettable Hula Boogie 5th anniversary and Miss Aloha's -20th ?- birthday party at Hula Boogie in South London. I joined the band on stage and we sounded like we played together since day one. More to come.



HULA BOOGIE 5th ANNIVERSARY -FEAT. RAY COLLINS' HOT CLUB, MISS SOPHIE GARDNER & LITTLE VICTOR- Hey hey hey we got COLOR on this one.Wow ! Seems like everybody who had a camera in the house only filmed my first song. Ha Ha !



WARMIN' UP AT THE BBC-
I was invited by Mark Lamarr to do a recording session at the BBC studios in London with my band. I asked my friends Big Joe Louis and Jim Carlisle to join forces with me and I reckon we sounded pretty good together. My half-sister Miss Aloha took this video and also played tambourine on one number. It's short but sweet.