Sonny Moorman plays an acoustic set at a recent gig. (Photo courtesy of Sonny Moorman).

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Check out these selections from the Sonny Moorman Group's new CD, "By Request 2:" "Blue Mood" "Rollin' and Tumblin'" "32-20"

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Sonny Moorman Group's upcoming concerts include: June 6: 2002 Harley Owners Group State Rally, Coney Island, 8 p.m. June 7: Burbank's, Sharonville, 8:30 p.m. June 8: Burbank's, Sharonville, 8:30 p.m. June 14: Blues Fest, Henderson, Ky., 4 p.m. June 15: East End Café, East End, 9:30 p.m. June 21: Madison Inn, Middletown, 10 p.m. June 22: Madison Inn, Middletown, 10 p.m. June 23: Middletown Blues Fest, Middletown, 7:40 p.m. June 28: Flicker Inn, Miamitown, 10 p.m. June 29: Flicker Inn, Miamitown, 10 p.m. The group's regular gigs include: Sundays: (except June 30) Barrett's Food and Drink, Ft. Wright, Ky., 7:30 p.m. Mondays: The Blue Note, Price Hill, 10 p.m. Tuesdays: Burbank's, Sharonville, 7 p.m. Wednesdays: Madison Inn, Middletown, 10 p.m. Thursdays: (except June 6) V Twin Café, Fairfield, 8 p.m.

By Alisha Woolery
Enquirer Contributor
for Cincinnati.Com

Sonny Moorman plays rocking blues.

It's not sweet. It's not nice.

It's the kind of sound that bleeds from a guitar, and flows into your ears, resonating in your chest like rocking water. It's the kind of music that makes the crowd shake their head, raise their hands and shout, "Hell, yeah!"

It's the kind of songs best sung in intimate nightclubs where smoke hangs in the air like ghosts, and the blues fill every dark corner.

On stage, Sonny Moorman does not disappoint. Dressed in a relaxed black button-up shirt and pants, Moorman plays his guitar with fierce passion and delicate grace, his fingers flying over the guitar strings like magic. He leans his head back, closes his eyes, and sings with all the deep, rich, soulful sound you would expect from a blues singer. With Marc Hoffman on bass guitar and Jamie Combs on drums, the three move easily between whaling tributes to Hendrix, and the intricate styling of Santana.

Yes, Sonny Moorman can rock the blues. And he does not want to play anything else.

"It's what I hear," he explains between sets at the Madison Inn in Middletown. "When I listen to music in my head, that's what I hear."

Raised in Fairfield, Moorman got an early musical start. He was trained in guitar by jazz great Cal Collins, from the age of 8 to 14. In college he joined a band and began his career playing professionally. Today, Moorman has a list of Cammy accolades for Best Blues Band, Instrumentalist and Vocalist. The group is on the road about 300 days a year, appearing at places like the Flicker Inn and The Blue Note. At the Madison Inn, Moorman is a Wednesday night feature, gathering a loyal fan base. It helps that he is multi-talented.

"One night he jumped behind the bar, grabbed a Jack Daniels bottle and played a song," said one of the waitresses fondly. "And he didn't miss a note."

When he's not sliding with bottles, the Sonny Moorman Group plays a mix of cover and original tunes. Moorman's favorites include blues/rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Cream and Jimi Hendrix. And while the song "Black Magic Woman" is easy to recognize in their repertoire, the band gives every note a twist to make it their own.

"You look for songs that reflect something in yourself to begin with," Moorman says about choosing cover music. "Then it makes it pretty easy."

Some of Moorman's original songs were released on Telegraph Road, a rock/blues album, in 1996. The title track was loosely related to Moorman's experiences traveling back and forth between Detroit and Toledo during college. The upcoming CD the band is currently working on will be more grounded in blues, with down-and-dirty blues songs like "Last Call" and "Crossroads Motel," leading the list.