Bluesletter October 2013

7/27/2019 Bluesletter October 2013

1/32

Feature Articles:

Lee Oskar: Celebrating 30

Years in Music

Passing the Torch: Music

Education Pays it Forward

Blues Festival Reviews

and more!

O C: L Ok Wp B F

P M B


2/32


3/32

Celebrating 23 Years of Blues1989 - 2013

O BVol. XXV, Number X

Pb Wg B SAg E E S ([email protected])

S M MPgC J W (@j.m)Avg Mm K ([email protected])P P Pbg Cmp

.ppbgmp.m

C W: E S, Am Sbg, Sz S,Rb H, Mm K, Rk B, J K

C Pp: P B, m M Bg, M B, MWb, Rb H, Zb, B B

C P: L Ok Wp B F M BThe Bluesletter welcomes stories and photos from WBS members! Features, columns and

reviews are due by the 5th of each month in the following formats: plain text or Microsoft

Word. Graphics must be in high-res 300 dpi .pdf, jpg, or .tiff formats. We encourage

submissions. I bm g m (.g., p, v, ,x m) bm pb B, WB.g b, m m bm; , bm g m b WBS, p pb. W v g . TB m pb Wg B S. T WBS pb v p xp T B b v.

WBS 2013

M ST Wg B S p gz pp pm, pv, v b m m. A mmbp $25 v, $35 p, $40 v mmbp. T Wg B S x-xmp p gz x-b. T Wg B S T B F Mmp, .

Wg B SP.O. Bx 70604 - S, WA 98127

.b.g

Self-Produced CD Notice 24

25

Passing the Torch at Centrum 26

Taste of Music 28

Tips for Professional Musicians 28

Blues for Food 30


4/32

4

By Amy Sassenberg

Theres a popular theory that says

there are only really six degrees

of separation between any two

individuals: that everything andeveryone in the world can be

linked by less than six steps or

connections.

Lee Oskar may very well be

one of those rare examples of

only one degree of separation

between him and most of the

modern world. If you happen to

be a person who doesnt enjoy

music, there may be two degrees.

If you live in Washington, youre

back to one.

He seems to be everywhere

these days: festivals, art shows,workshops. When I hear myself

trying to explain the things Im

excited about, says Oskar, I

realize Im an ambitious person.

Ambitious may be an

understatement. To think of

Lee Oskar as just a harmonica

player is to think of an apple

as just a pie lling. He is such

a diverse and gifted man that

whole industries and businesses

have been built around him. His

name is a trademark. Lee Oskar

Harmonicas is celebrating its

30th anniversary. If you dont

own one you probably know

someone who does.

Oskar plays and tours with

the popular Lowrider Band

and his own group Lee Oskar

and Friends. His paintings are

featured at art shows, festivals

and now on wine labels. Hum a

few bars of the song Low Rider

or Cisco Kid, and even people

who think they dont know who

he is get that instant look of

recognition and nod, Oh yeah!

Those are melodies created and

popularized by the multicultural

band, WAR, of which Oskar was

a founding member in 1969.

Those horn lines were recorded

with the late Charles Miller on

sax and Oskar on harmonica,

helping to create that signature

sound. Three more of the key

members of the Low Rider Band

were with Oskar in the early years

of WAR. Guitarist Howard Scott

and drummer Harold Brown

had a band called the Creators

in Long Beach, CA. in the early

1960s. Brown recounts how he

met Oskar a few years later, at

a place called The Ragdoll in

North Hollywood in the spring

of 69.This little skinny guycomes over and asks, Can I

play harmonica with you? We

played some blues, some African

rhythms and then we went into

this long jam, and next thing we

know, people are dancing on the

tables! The drummer still talks

with excitement about what a

magical experience that rst

night was.

Oskar agrees. Barely old enough

to play in a club, he went to

hear the band with Eric Burdon

and got up to play with the

guys who would become hisfriends and collaborators for

the next 44 years. Oskar laughs

that hes known Brown, Scott

and bass player B.B. Dickerson

for decades, Ive known them

longer even than my ex-wives!

They had their rst hit, Spill the

Wine as Eric Burdon & WAR,

and recorded two albums. The

collaboration was benecial to

all concerned. Burdon segued

back to his solo career and WAR

continued on as a successful

entity on its own, with Oskar on

harmonica, recording more hits

like, Slippin In To Darkness, The

World Is A Ghetto and Why Cant

We Be Friends.

The songs he helped create are

part of the collective history

and vocabulary of American

Music. And though hes Danish,

there is something so American,

so manifest destiny about Lee

Oskar. He came to this country

on a ship, with nothing, and lived

on the streets. Someone dropped

him off at the corner of Haight

and Ashbury in San Francisco.

He says he thought California

was just like a big city, and that

L.A and San Francisco were

basically just down the road from

each other.

No More War

There is still a band called WAR,

with one original member that

tours and plays those same

songs. That band, trademarked

and managed by Jerry Goldstein,

is the one allowed to use the

name. Oskar says he doesnt

like to give too much energy to

the legal issues that have created

this confusing situation, holding

up a peace sign, smiling and

saying No more war. Peace.But his frustration is obvious.

He describes the current lineup

of WAR as homogenized,

polished, squeaky clean. Its

the opposite of a jam band. Its

a total contradiction of what we

stood for.

He says the branding itself has a

huge value. Because we dont

call ourselves the three-letter

word, people come up to me and

say, I love your music. When

are you going to get the band

back together? Well, we ARE

together. Its hard for people tounderstand.

Lee says it goes deeper than

just being misunderstood.

There were seven people,

he explains. (Charles Miller

and Thomas Papa Dee Allen

have passed.) We grew and

developed together. Its not just

the composition, its the sound.

In the Lowrider Band, we have

so many connections.

Oskar, who also acted as art

director for the WAR albums,

cannot use the band name

or the art. He says he could

do a seminar on trademarks,

copyrights and how to structure a

platform of intellectual property.

Packaging is very important.

People judge packages. Now, if I

re-release music, I dont have the

rights to the image that people

associate with it. They need to

feel they are getting a similar

product. It can be confusing.

Listeners are catching on

anyway. People are coming

from out of everywhere with old

albums for me to sign. We have

a lot of fans. At the Westport

Blues Festival, where Oskar

recently performed, a sixty

something grandmother was

dancing next to two tween girls

in tie-dye Lee Oskar shirts. We

have a different name, but were

feeling its our time, that people

will know its us, Oskar says.

Continued on next pag\e.

Lee Here Now...

Top Two: Lee Oskar at Work

Middle: Eric Burdon and WAR

Bottom: The Lowrider Band


5/32

The fans are there for good reason. The Lowrider

Band does it for love. We are playing from the

heart, Oskar says. We have amazing chemistry

between us. We dont rehearse. Were a jam band.

We kick ass when we play music. Every time its

different but always in the zone. Its just magic.

Oskars overall philosophy is simple Anything

good has got to be jammed. You have to be

vulnerable; to let yourself experience things. Its

like reciting a poem over and over again, he says,

of artists who constantly repeat themselves. Ifyou just get up and repeat a poem, youre keeping

yourself in a rut, afraid to learn in a safe zone.

You cant be good if youre afraid to be scared,

says Oskar. Harmonica player Andy Koch says,

When I watch him play, I can see hes totally

in the moment. A Lee Oskar performance is a

dynamic, living, thriving, thing of its own. He

utilizes his entire being, rocking back and forth,

twisting his torso from side-to side, beads of sweat

draping his face. You can almost witness the music

rippling through his muscle ber, grooving down

his throat through his chest, vibrating through his

hips and lifting his knees, like hes stepping through

each note. Its almost alarming how completely

in motion he is. Dont be afraid to not be in totalcontrol, says Oskar.

As much as hes experiencing the moment, its

also clear to anyone whos watching that he knows

exactly what hes doing. You get the feeling he

is hyper-aware of everything, taking it all in and

making rapid decisions every second so that when

you ask him something he doesnt have to think, he

already knows.

or Lee Oskar & Friends, he surrounds himself

with superior musicians capable of subtlety,

improvisation and keeping up with him. Guitarist

Tim Lerch says that Oskar can be precise and

exacting and its made him a more creative and

responsible player. Its helpful for me because hesso specic. I cant just phone it in. Ive got to be

on my game. Its good to have a leader who knows

what he wants. Once you give him what he wants,

you have a great deal of freedom to play within

those parameters, explains Lerch. By being clear,

he creates a sense of freedom in the band.

Oskar explains, If you are going to take a road

trip, then you plan a few places where you want

to go and then you just let it happen. Perhaps he

knows the terrain so well, he doesnt have to think

about where to go, but rather how to nd new roads

and explore new ways. As a master improviser, he

inspires others. Lerch echoes Oskars philosophy

about performing. Were not playing note-for-note

copies of records, Lerch says. Were taking the

basic grooves and melodies and allowing them to

become something new every time we play.

Andy Koch shakes his head in admiration. Lee,

even with everything, he says, still has that re

to play. Its just in him. It seems always to have

been there, according to Michael Shrieve, original

drummer for Santana. Oskar had been living on the

streets of San Francisco when they met by chance at

a dance in Redwood City around 1967.

There was a guy there playing harmonica,

Shrieve says. And he was unbelievable. I stuck

around and introduced myself. I asked Lee, Where

do you live? And he replied, Nowhere. So Shriev

took him to where he lived with his parents. Th

next morning we had traditional Sunday breakfas

My dad made bacon and eggs. I introduced him

to my family and he was really grateful. He sai

Id like to show my appreciation, and pulled out

harmonica and blew my familys mind.

Oskar has other stories of kindnesses that befell him

as a young man, lessons he learned, and gratitud

he feels even now. He speaks of Dick Clark wit

reverence and becomes very animated whe

describing the man and his manner.

For Now, Dick Clark

Oskar seems to have gleaned much of his lif

philosophy from the most iconic non-musicia

in the music business. One of the nicest peop

I ever met in my life, Oskar says of Clark. A

incredible human being. He had no airs. No matte

what status you had, everyone got time with him

Oskar watched and learned. He would retur

phone calls the same day and would tell me, Neve

procrastinate, If you dont take care of it toda

youre gonna have to do twice as much tomorrow.

Dick Clark was a mentor in business, as a huma

being and as a professional, Oskar shares. He waattentive and hands on. But it never stopped him

from being personable.

When I started, he knew Hendrix, Morrison, all o

them. Oskar found himself in a room with som

of the same very famous company. I was a y o

the wall. I thought, Ive got a special opportunity t

participate and nobody knows me. But Dick Clar

talked to me. Here were all these big superstars an

personalities in the room, but Dick Clark talked t

me. I was important.

Oskar has never forgotten the way that made him

feel. It seems impossible now to chat with anyon

in the local music community and not hear a stor

of how Lee Oskar approached them, mentorethem, made them feel special. According to Ba

Player Tom Jones, Oskar sought out bandleade

Stacy Jones in Memphis and invited her along to

workshop he was giving, telling the class they coul

probably expect Stacy might teach it in the future

Andy Koch tells a story about playing onstage i

Westport. One of the harmonicas I had was at an

I can see Lees looking at me. There was a vendo

at the blues festival and he went and paid full reta

price for another harmonica and ran it over to m

and said,

Here. Take this. The third hole is at.

Hes a great soul, says harmonica player Ja

Mabin. He describes Oskar as one of his heroes fo

what hes done for the harmonica and for what h

does for people. He heard of a blind harmonic

player who had all his harps ripped off. Lee sen

him a whole new set. Later, he did the same fo

Mabin.

What are you doing right now?

Jim McLaughlin, now a world champion harmonic

player, tells a story that illustrates

Oskars commitment to making time for everyone

As a young man in the 1970s,

Continued on Page


6/32

6

Washington Blues Society

Proud Recipient of a 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive Award from Te Blues Foundation

OP E S [email protected] P Fk [email protected] M MPg. @b.g (Ag) C Cm @b.gAg E E S [email protected]

DM C-D C Rbb

& J Cv Gg [email protected] M Bg [email protected] R B @b.gV R R [email protected] Fk [email protected] Mm K [email protected]

S

D S m & M Bg [email protected] S Rv. Db Eg [email protected] S Mm K &

J K [email protected]

N WA L P [email protected] D W [email protected] S C Rbb [email protected] WA Sp J. Lbv [email protected] WA C D @m.mB M JkLpz I C & D Jb [email protected] E Rk K [email protected] Lz C [email protected]

Sp Tk

Wbm T S [email protected] Hg A ..mWBS Lg P C [email protected]

C M F @b.g

November 2013 DEADLINES:A Sp R: O 5

mk@m.

Calendar: October 10th

@b.g

Editorial Deadline: October 5th to [email protected]

C R A A D: O - @w.

Camera ready art should be in CMYK format at 300 dpi or higher.

Advertising Rates:Gp: 300 p

PDF, IF JPGx: P .x WF Pg: $300 (8.5 x 11)H Pg: $175 (8.5 x 5.5)Bk H Pg: $260 (8.5 x 5.5)Q Pg: $100 (4.25 x 5.5)Ff Pg: $75 (4.25 x 3.5)B C: $30 (3.5 x 2)ADD COLOR: ADD 25%

W G D!

20% - 12 m p-pm15% - 6 m p-pm10% - 3 m p-pmC: [email protected]

We value your business. Please send all advertisinginquriries and ad copy to [email protected] with a

copy to Malcolm Yard Dog Kennedy at

[email protected]

HANK YOU FOR READING HEBLUESLEER AND SUPPORING LIVE

BLUES IN HE EVERGREEN SAE!

AENION BLUES MUSICIANS: WOULD YOU LIKEYOUR LAES CD REVIEWED IN HE BLUESLEER?

GO A BLUES CD FOR US?

N p gg b m? W k p. W p v

pg B, k g m Wg B S .

I k CD v b v,p p ( v m CD gv B B) g:

Wg B SAN: CD Rv

PO Bx 70604S, WA 98027


7/32

ee Oskar, Continued from Page 5

McLaughlin drove from Arlington to Seattle to see WAR

nd meet Oskar.

When he arrived at Peaches Records, some of the band

members were there, but not Oskar. He drove home

eeply disappointed. But he called the hotel later and to

is surprise he got through to Oskar. He told him how

d driven to meet him earlier and how he wished they

ouldve met. He says Oskar asked him, Well, what

re you doing right now? To which McLaughlin replied,

Just hanging at my house. He says Oskar asked toome over and then talked harmonicas with McLaughlin

or much of the night.

I had only been playing for a couple years, I was not

ood at all! McLaughlin, says.

Guitar player David Bray tells how, after a brief

onversation with Oskar, he was stunned when his

on received in the mail an autographed Lee Oskar

Harmonica engraved with his sons name. Almost

veryone interviewed for this story gave heartfelt

stimony of Oskars generosity with his time, money

nd energy.

skar talks thoughtfully about the struggle to remain

private person while also embracing the fans. Theyonnect with something youve done. Youre lucky if

ou have people supporting you. If they say hello, and

oure going to the toilet, you cant just blow them off.

You have to be sensitive. If you dont have the t ime, you

ave to know how to deal with it.

skar makes it clear that the most important component

n the arts is people. If I lived on an island alone, would

ever even play music or paint?

That need to connect is so important. Its not just

ou being acknowledged as an artist, but the artist

cknowledging the people.

n addition to being a musician, Oskar has always been a

isual artist. In recent years hes begun painting dramaticlhouettes and sunsets. Though the colors are often

ibrant, the scenes are restful.

He speaks about the process and likens it to other areas

f his life. Constantly my style changes. I go wherever

takes me, just like music. I dont even know what Im

ainting when I start.

reams We Share

His art has brought many new connections, including

ocal lavender farms and a winery, Wind Rose Cellars.

his years Sequim Lavender Festival used an Oskar

ainting for the ofcial festival image. Oskar says 100%

f the prots from that image, along with a percentage

f his Giclee prints, and some wine labels, are beingonated to charities, one of which Oskar is extremely

assionate about, the cancer research at Kirklands

vergreen Hospital.

skars friend, Steve White, recently succumbed to

hroat cancer. White played guitar, harmonica and sang.

skar says he was like a one-man band, and looked

orward to meeting up with him at yearly trade shows in

rankfurt and Southern California.

skar says the radiation he endured zapped everything.

He could never sing or play harmonica again. That hit

me really hard. A week later, Oskar was introduced

to another musician who had recently overcome stage-

four throat cancer. So Oskar actually went to talk to

an oncologist about this special kind of software and

procedure he says they perform at Evergreen, allowing

them to pinpoint cancer cells more accurately. He relates

how the doctor told him it is so expensive, that even if

he gave everything he owned, he wouldnt be able to pay

for one persons therapy. Oskar said he felt helpless. His

friend, like many musicians, didnt have insurance. I

couldnt help him. But, he says, I had these paintings,

which wont be enough, but I can talk about it. I can

promote awareness. I can tell people about this great

thing they are doing in Kirkland at Evergreen.

Oskar calls the entity that provides proceeds for charity,

Dreams We Share, Which is tting because the proceeds

go to important things we care about, he says. The only

real truth is in how you care.

So maybe you dont own a Lee Oskar Harmonica, but

you went to the lavender festival or just admired the

artwork on a yer or a bottle of wine. You see? Only one

degree of separation.

For all his success in business and the arts, Lee Oskar

is an everyman, which suits him. Jay Mabin says he is

a hero for making the harmonica an instrument of the

people. Oskar himself says his goal is to make it more

accessible to more people, more musicians and to morestyles of music. He is doing this by creating different

harmonicas for different styles of playing, and including

a quick guide with every harmonica purchase, and giving

workshops around the country.

Its a system, he says. The type of harmonica music

you usually hear is between campre songs and Chicago

Blues. But I manufacture four different kinds. You

can use harmonica on any kind of music, from reggae

to ska to Latin to African. In celebration of the 30th

Anniversary of Lee Oskar Harmonicas, Oskar is making

time to promote the system to musicians. Its more

intuitive, he says. They can play on the diatonic and

incorporate the harmonica into many types of music.

Koch says hes a Lee Oskar preferred player. Theyrethe only harps I found that stand up. I play hard. Theother ones they dont last. And Im a recycle kind ofguy so I like that you can rebuild them. Lee Oskar

Harmonicas offer replacement reed plates as well as aharmonica repair kit. Koch also explains the difference

in keys. Some keys are naturally high and some arenaturally low. He makes ones that are low if its naturallyhigh.

Harmonica player Neal Fallen says it creates the

availability of a higher or lower octave.

It gives you a wider spectrum.

Vision without execution is hallucination. Thomas

Edison

Harold Brown keeps bringing up a quote and recalls that

all those years ago

Oskar would say, I want to make my own harmonica.

He says, Lee had a dream. Oskar says that dream was

born out of a need for a good working harmonica. He

began playing at age 6 when he received one as a gift

for his birthday and never tired of it. But when he began

playing professionally he would get frustrated when they

stopped playing correctly. He says after he began playing

with Eric Burdon & WAR, the demands of playing on

that level every night exhausted most of his instruments.

Maybe one of 10 harmonicas would hold up. The lack

of quality and availability of the harmonicas he coul

purchase at that time was the driving force behin

wanting to create his own.

Later, when he was touring and began to research th

manufacturing aspect, he went to Japan. From his hote

room one day he heard an amazing sound and followe

it to the door of an elderly man playing a harmonica. I

was there he learned of the Tombo family and bega

developing a relationship with them. They put out th

rst Lee Oskar labeled product in 1983.

Theyve had ve generations of family makinharmonicas, Oskar says. They are very devote

to musical instruments. Their quality control is lik

nowhere else. He is excited that they have been i

business together for 30 years and have the top sellin

major diatonic harmonica. I feel honoredwith m

ideas and ambitionto be connected with what theyv

established.

You only have a handful of notes, so where you plac

them is everything. ~Andy Koch

Of Lees playing, Brown says, American harmonic

players, they hear those ats and slurs. Lee has th

European background: Beethoven, Bach. He hear

melody. He plays with clarity. He has pitch. He hits th

notes!

Jim McLaughlin says the music Oskar makes on th

harmonica is far from ordinary. Its a whole differen

style than anyone I know. He has wonderful tone.

Jeff Nicely says about Oskar, The music he made wit

WAR, as an aspiring harmonica player, he was one

those harmonica players I was looking up to.

Lee Oskar has approached his life like a jam session

Hes done his homework.

Hes prepared. Hes collaborative. Hes passionat

Aware. In the moment. He knows how to let go and ge

in the zone without losing his sense of direction.

Hes there because he wants to be. He places notes wit

purpose.

Its a continuum, not a repeat. We never played th

same way twice, Oskar says. What I did was what

did, and what Im doing is what Im doing. And wit

the end of that statement he turns and talks intently t

the warehouse guys about how they designed the cart o

which theyre placing his paintings. He talks with th

same tone and intensity with which he converses wit

a fan, or a friend or a reporter, without regard for the

status. No airs.

He turns back and speaks again of painting and music.

I was to play music, play every bar, I would be useles

Thats work. Oskar says that art loses its meaninwithout the conditions of how you feel. And you ge

the sense that he is always feeling a great deal. Im int

everything that I do, says Oskar. Im always growin

and changing. And that is probably the only thing tha

wont change, until the jam ends.

Find out more at leeoskar.com and lowriderband.com


8/32

8

Joe Louis Walker has won a number of Blues Music

Awards, played on a number of Grammy -winning

records by B.B. King and James Cotton, and this year,

he was inducted in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.

I had the good fortune to talk to Joe Louis Walker at this

years Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland,

Oregon. He was one of the festivals 120 blues acts. He

was the lone performer at the pre-festival media event,

and it made sense to me that this Alligator recording artist

was before the cameras and reporters to advertise this

annual event in a big way. As a result, local TV stations

and print media made Joe Louis Walker the story. On

July 4th, Joe did a workshop in front of an audience, and

about one hour later, he appeared on the main stage in

front of thousands and thousands of blues fans.

In between those two public events, I had an opportunity

have a conversation with him. Walker and I exchanged

emails, and as a result, we knew a little bit about each

other. When we met, his rst were: So, youre the

writer, right?

I was attered. I pressed play on my recorder, which

captured this conversation with an amazing musician and

an amazing blues man.

RH: I know that growing up in the Bay Area during

the 1960s, and the church, inuenced you. I also know

that Willie Dixon said that you should nd your own

sound. How did those inuences growing up help lead

to your own sound?

JLW: Well, I played Gospel music. I didnt think I was

going to be a professional musician or be well known

or anything like that. I just sang and played because all

my cousins were musicians. My ve cousins and I had a

family band. We would play for motorcycle events and

for teenager sock hops and stuff like that. So, you know,

it was the background I had. It was all the inuences

I had that when I decided to become a professional

musician,it was sort of like making a stew, they sort of

came to the top, and I was fortunate because that is what

it was that made differentiated me from a lot of other

guys.

RH: You said once that you feel the inuence of MichaelBloomeld in your music. Can you expand on that?

JLW: Because Michael was very versatile. He played

with Bob Dylan on Like a Rollin Stone, he played

with Sunnyland Slim, he played with Al Cooper on

Supersession,but he was really known for one of the

most transformational blues bands, the Paul Buttereld

Blues Band. So, Michael was very versatile and that is

what I got from it. He could play all kinds of stuff.

RH: You have done a lot of things that are one the

borderline between different genres, like blues and rock

or blues and gospel. What do you foresee next in terms

of trying some new things?

JLW: At some point I am going to make a country record.

Thats one of my projects in the future. With some of my

friends Im also talking about making a big band record,

like Count Basie and bluesy. I was going to go Mali

last year to do a record with African musicians but the

political climate got kind of strange, so that got put off.

RH: You mentioned blues and country. What do you

think are some of the common roots between them?

JLW: Well, blues and country are cousins. Its just

all about subject matter. George Jones is as unique as

Howlin Wolf, Merle Haggard is as unique as Muddy

Waters, Willie Nelson is as unique as someone like BB

King, you know, its all the same thing, coming from the

same fountain.

RH: Blues and Gospel have a lot in common but what is

different besides subject matter?

JLW: When you are singing Blues you are singin for

your baby, when you are singin Gospel you are singin

for God.

RH: So if you change the word baby to god or god to

baby you have changed from Blues to Gospel or back

again?

JLW: Almost. There are other qualities too. I think

Gospel is mostly quartets, groups, and a Gospel group

will teach you how to sing, they teach you your range for

your voice and how to project your voice, its a provingground. I think that is unique to Gospel.

RH: Ok. You mentioned some things about other cultures.

What other cultures are you really curious about?

JLW: I lived in France for three years. I like a lot of

African music... a lot of Algerian. Like I said, I am a fan

of good music.

Interviewers note: During the workshop, Joe Louis

Walker said something that I hear Mark Riley say time

after time: there are two kinds of music: good music

and bad music. These bluesmen are right.

RH: When you talked yesterday, I was struck by how

deep in the soul the music is. When you write songs whatare you trying to say to people on a deep emotional level?

JLW: Every song is different. It depends on what

the subject matter is it could be out of the Bible,

or relationships, or something my father told me, or

grandmother told me, or that man over there. It all

depends on exactly what I am doing.

RH: Do you often start with lyrics rst, music rst, or

does it matter?

JLW: It doesnt matter.

RH: So there is no certain pattern?

JLW: I dont believe so. For me, there isnt.

RH: In interviews I often ask guitar players, sing

band leaders what makes a good rhythm sectio

do you think?

JLW: Well, obviously, musicianship. I think you

like-minded soul in whatever it is you are trying to

me personally, because I play so many different

has to be someone who is versatile, somebody w

an open mind, and somebody who has chops, so

who can keep up. In a perfect world somebody w

bring something different out of me and can add

I am trying to do. If you have to be on the ro

someone you have to be able to get along on t

too.

RH: Your schedule is pretty busy. You are in a

city every day. So, you dont plan on slowing

seems like, right?

JLW: No, I think playing music keeps you yo

least its that way for me.

RH: So being on the road doesnt tire you out?

JLW: Well, you know, get used to it, as much as y

RH: It doesnt physically wear on you too much

JLW: I think it wears on everybody. Especially tr

now days where you y around, and there is s

airport security.

RH: I guess families adjust?

JLW: I have been a musician my whole life and

are grown now. My daughter sings with me som

We schedule things together: were going to

together in September. They grew up with this.

RH: When you are not playing music, what do y

to do?

JLW: Nothin.

We laughed a little together , and I turned

recorder for a while. Shortly after our conve

Joe Louis Walker got up on stage in front of thand thousands of blues fans, and had them all ye

more when he was done. After more than 25

perhaps more awards than any contemporary blu

this Blues Foundation Hall of Famer has a lot

store. Whether its world music from Mali or Al

country inspired by Merle Haggard, or tried and t

bucket blues, I look forward to what Joe Louis

will be doing next. One things for sure: it wi

his exceptional versatility, rst-class musicians

considerable singing and guitar-playing talents.

Talking with a BluesLegend: Joe Louis Walker

Interview by Robert Horn (Photo on next page by Tim and Michelle B


9/32

October 2013 Blues Bash

Tuesday, th

Red Crane Restaurant

16716 Aurora Ave NorthShoreline, WA 98133

(206) 546-4444

Acoustic 7PM

Electric 8 PM


10/32

10

Setting the Record StraightRemembering Curley Cooke

By Roy Brown

Maybe the beautiful early summer Saturday is what kept

people away. For whatever reasons, the crowd at the

2013 Washington Blues Societys annual awards show

this past June 22nd

was smaller than I can remember.Maybe people just liked the Triple Door better than the

Kirkland Performing Arts Center. No matter, for the

many, many blues fans that didnt go missed another

great Best of the Blues show (BB Awards).

But this isnt about the ifs, ands or buts that have

been dissected by the clearly-concerned Washington

Blues Society Board of Directors. They will be dealt

with long and often til the problem is on its way to reso-

lution.

This is about the waning moments of the show. The last

award was the most important in my book. While ev-

eryone wants to know what band is the new best kid

on the block, clearly being inducted to the Washington

Blues Society Hall of Fame is of lasting and historicalsignicance for the inductee as well as the blues society.

Our membership voted to give the award this year, quite

correctly in my opinion, to James Curley Cooke. It

was pretty late in the show, and I noticed that everyone

was ready to go home. When Curleys name was an-

nounced, President Eric Steiner accepted the award and

said it would be passed on to the family. No one was

there to accept the award on behalf of Curley.

I wasnt, and I am not, angry. But, as Curleys name was

announced, people were ling out into the sunshine as if

election to our Hall of Fame wasnt really all that impor-

tant. If I could have thought a little faster on my feet, I

would have gladly jumped up and accepted the award.

Curley was my friend. Seeing his induction into our Hall

of Fame was somewhat tarnished by fans beginning toleave, and by no one standing up for Curley to receive

this posthumous award. The whole thing makes me sad.

Curley and I knew each other for eight or nine years,

talking on the phone from time to time, always talking

after gigs, talking at the Blues in the Schools board meet-

ings for the year I served on that board. Sadly, Curley

had health issues which took his musical genius away

from us long before his time.

Curleys attitude, while ebbing and owing just like the

rest of ours, was upbeat and positive a lot of the time. I

wondered out loud with him once, how he could keep on

moving forward when he had the complete taste of suc-

cess in the music business, making lots of money, tour-

ing the world, having groupies attempting to grab a little

piece of a star wherever he went so long ago. He was a

founding member of the Steve Miller Band, and whilehe joked that those gold records in his living room were

just like some guys old bowling trophies, I could still

see that spark in his eye that those days were very, very

special for him.

Curleys response was eye opening into Curleys take on

his life.

He said basically that most people who make it in life,

however that is dened, get there when they are old and

have diminished capacity to enjoy it. In the music busi-

ness, the vast majority of players never taste success at

all; they simply resign themselves to playing local gigs

for small amounts of money regardless of how much tal-

ent they have and for the appreciation they nd at home.

He told me he was the luckiest guy in the world becausehe had it all when he was young and could take full ad-

vantage of what was set before him, and take advantage

he did. Curley said that what other talented musicians

strive for their whole lives and most never attain, he

found at a time in his life when he could enjoy it most.

So, there was nothing left for him to prove.

I think that is what made him humble as a musician dur-

ing those eight or nine years that we were friends.

Back at the blues societys award show at the Kirkland

Performing Arts Center this past June, I just wished I

could have been fast enough in my brain to send a sig-

nal to my feet to get up on stage on Curleys behalf and

honor my friends memory.

I really would have appreciating sharing this little piece

of James Curley Cooke with my extended blues fam-

ily. It saddens me that I wasnt, but I am grateful that I

have the opportunity to share this remembrance of my

friend with Bluesletter readers.

We are fortunate enough to have a plethora of premier

guitarists who live here in our blues community.

Just a few of the names that make up that elite list are

Rod Cook, Mark Riley, Nick Vigarino, Henry Cooper,

Tom T-Boy Boyle and Billy Stapleton. Each of these

bluesmen have rightfully been honored by Washington

Blues Society members, their peers, and youth.

However, riding on the top of that list, in my opin

James Curley Cooke.

I remember him one day singing about wanting

guitar player in heaven. He got his wish. Perhap

importantly, Curley now he does it from the pers

of an elite group of players: his fellow members

Washington Blues Societys Hall of Fame.

Curley Cooke in a promotional photo from D

Cookin with Rod Cook - Photo Courtesy

Blues Boss

Honoring the Memor

and Contributions o

James Curley Cook


11/32

1

Otter Blues Debuts as the

New Seattle Blues Label!At the July meeting of the Washington Blues Society

at the Red Crane in Shoreline, owner Mike Bortz

announced the creation of Otter Blues, a new blues-

specic record label to support blues artists of the Pacic

Northwest.

Otter Blues is afliated with multi-genre label River

Otter Records (www.riverotterrecords.com), but unlike

ts cousin, is dedicated to blues specically, and has

begun its search for outstanding blues artists in the

Pacic Northwest.

Otter Blues has partnered with The Hive Recording

Studio (www.thehiverecordingstudio.com) and serves as

a one stop shop for all artists seeking superior recording

quality and a comfortable, creative, and satisfying studio

experience. Working together, Otter Blues and The

Hive Recording Studio can facilitate recording, editing,

mixing, and mastering of an artists work, as well as CD

and online distribution of their music. The partnership

offers an affordable and seamless progression from the

rst drumbeat to the CD release party.

Through this partnership, Otter Blues and The Hive

are pushing forward with the design for a brand new

recording studio space on the shores of Angle Lake in

SeaTac, with an opening date projected for early summer

of 2014.

While already up and running, Otter Blues is currently

focusing on the design and construction of the new

studio. Once The Hive and Otter Blues complete the

move to their new space, projected for the summer of

2014, the search for northwest blues talent will intensify.

Otter Blues owner Mike Bortz (www.bortz.aero) is an

aeronautical engineer who has retired from both Boeing

and the Federal Aviation Administration, and is still ac-

tive in the aerospace industry as a regulatory consultant.

Regarding the differences between his lifelong career

and his blues musical endeavor, Mike says, Im an en-

gineer, not a musician, but the music is in me and Igotta

get it out somehow. Blues is my passion; I want this mu-

sic to last forever and feel a need to contribute. The Otter

Blues label is how I intend to accomplish that.

Mike Bortzs future career path will be in the Seattle

music scene. With such passion for blues, Mikes dream

s to support and promote the blues, and make Otter

Blues the hub for blues artists throughout the Pacic

Northwest. He says, I want Otter Blues to be the Seattle

blues label, I expect the label to survive and thrive, so I

can enjoy my nal career bathed in my kinda music.

The staff at The Hive Recording Studio are excited and

eager to help Mike achieve success. Owner Robert Fox,

Marketing Director Christine Conway, and Recording

Engineer Chris Pyle all have a passion for music, and

work diligently to ensure the highest standard of quality

and service for all clients. For information and booking,

visit www.thehiverecordingstudio.com or call 206-249-

9842.

Speaking about Otter Blues partnership with The Hive

Recording Studio, and plans for the future, Bortz re -

marked, I see an incredible opportunity to support our

blues community by joining forces with The Hive Re-

cording Studio and the Washington Blues Society. Were

very serious about this. It may take awhile, but it will

happen.

(Left to Right): Washington Blues Society President Eric Steiner, The Hive Recording Studios Bob Fox, Ofceof Film and Music Director James Keblas and Otter Blues Records Mike Bortz

(Photo by Paul Steiner)

Please see Our CD Reviews This Issue:Lady A How Did I Get Here (Masterlan Music)

Brian Lee and the Orbiters In Orbit (Open Century Music)

Walter Trout & His Band Luthers Blues (Provogue)

Trampled Under Foot (Telarc)

Randy Scott (Favored Nations)

Jim Allchin (Sandy Key Music)


12/32

Congratulations to our 2013 Washington

Blues Society Rafe Winners!The Washington Blues Society would like to thank each member and guest who supported our 2013 rafe, and we congratulate the winners listed below. The tickets were

at the Taste of Music in Snohomish, Washington, on August18th from the Main Stage in historic downtown Snohomish.

Grand Prize and Top WinnersDale Bennett - Grand Prize, Cabin for Two - October 2013 Legendary Blues Cruise

Paul Kauf Pair of tickets to the 2014 Mount Baker Rhythm and Blues Festival

Barbara Shadoy Pair of Tickets to the Spring Sunbanks FestivalM Dominique Kastle Pair of Tickets to the 2014 Untapped Brews and Blues Festival

Doug Wickre Pair of tickets to the Winthrop 2014 Rhythm and Blues Festival

Dave Girts - Pair of Tickets - Jazz Alley

Papa Ron Meek Pair of Tickets - Jazz Alley

Curtis J Middleton Pair of Tickets to the Highway 99 Blues Club

M Norden Pair of Tickets - Highway 99 Blues ClubJanice Saulewicz One 8G mp3 Player

Liz C One 8G mp3 Player

CD Winners (alphabetical by rst name)Albert Hill

Alison Cook

Alphonso Sampson (2)

AlRosane Cardis

Amanda Buchanan

Amy Sassenberg

Andrea York

Annie Sayers

Arlene Downie

Bill Davis

Billie Hasenwine

Bob Knapp

Bobbi D

Brian Guest

Carolyn Boyle

D Nickels

Darcy Wagner

Dave Mathews

David Odom

Debbie Smith

Delcia Dinnetz

iana Evans

Dolly Richardson (2)

Don Polson

Doug Goodman

Duane Noble

Gary Boardman

Gary Wickham

Gene Hoetlins

George Jordy Sigler

George Thomas

Guy Sparks

Honey Robin Mahaffey

Ivanna Wood

Jan Clayton

Jane Henderson

Jaye Payne

Jayni Petters

Jeannie

Jeff Smith

Jesse James Montana (2)

Jim Harvill

Joane McIntyre/Parker

Joanne Mayhen

Jody Gunn

Joe Engberg

Kathy Andrea

Kathy Jacobson

Kay Miller

Keith Bakke

Kim Pickett

L H Gale III

Laddy Kite

Larry Williams

Laura Swalley

Laveron Vetter

Leo

Liz Caraway

Lloyd Guenther

Lloyd Peterson

Lori McClintock

Marcus Coldsmith

Marie Reddout

Mark Kreiman

Michael Gallory

Michael H

Mike Christianson (2)

Mike Schacht

Myrna Bostwick

Papa Ron Meek

Philip Lane

R J Knapp

Randy Norris

Robert Fox

Robin Knutson

Rocky Pool

Rosanne Cordes

Russell Gee

Sandy Nakano

Scott Allan

Scott Blair

Sheila Cook

Shelly Key

Sherry Malone

Steve Kinney

Susan Bradbury

Ted Dempsey

Terry Wilson

Tim Koschney

Tim Maher

Tony Saulewicz

Tracy Dieno

Tuesday Kimball

Val Cuthbert

Vicki Coe

Vitaliy Momotok


13/32

By John Kriss

What a magnicent Labor Day weekend we had in the

acic Northwest this year. I was blessed to have

pent this long weekend absolutely immersed in some of

he very best blues music played anywhere at any time.

here were incredible performances by some of the most

ifted singers and musicians I have ever heard in all my

ears of seeing as many of the greats and the near-greatst venues all over the USA. This sunny weekend began

or me early on Friday at the four-day Freedom Fest on

ust east of Everett on Ebey Island at the home of Jim

Harpman McLaughlin and his lovely wife, Donna

Marie. These hosts continue to have the welcome mat

lways ready for all their blues bands friends and the

ver-increasing number of dedicated blues fans.

heir kindness, generosity and love is shared with

veryone who attends this annual blues event. It is

rovided absolutely free by the McLaughlins. The

ands and the fans always contribute enough to cover

ms and Donnas costs to put on this fantastic event

ach year. Jim and Donna make each person feel like a

art of their ever-increasing family of fans, musicians,

writers and singers from not only our state and theacic Northwest, but from the rest of the states, Canada

nd from as far away as Japan and Australia.

his years festival featured over 40 bands, including

lutopia, Rich Chapman, The High Council, Moon

addy, the Cindy Lang Band, Road Dogz, Cavernous

Grove, Simply Shameless, Ryan LaPlante, Red Hill, the

abulous Fatback featuring N.W. legend Fat James,

ichard Allen, Lou Echeverri, Southern Comfort,

eggie Miles, Gary Bs Blues Church, Blues Junkies,

Vaughn Jensen, The WIRED! Band, GFB, Tom and

ll Hudon, Scratch Daddy, 44th Street Blues Band,

own Hall Brawl, Mary McPage, the incredible Nick

Vigarinos Back Porch Stomp. Add to his line-up the

ndlessly energetic Jim McLaughlin and Breadline, the

uperbly talented harmonica cool-cats: Jim Filisko, Grantermondy and Kim Field, the Alley Katz, Unbound,

.D. Woodbury, the outrageously fun R.J.Knapp and

he Honey Robin Band, Sleep Til Noon, Dakota Bob

eaturing the multi-talented Andy Badd Dog Koch

who did a hilarious tribute to the Harpman in a song

bout the joys of being a bald-headed stud); Big City;

replacement band made up of dozens of players who

adnt had an opportunity to perform accompanying Jim

n a rocking hour-long set; Letters from Trafc; a jam

y a dozen musicians that featured the overwhelmingly

alented vocalist Suzie Chrysler; the fabulous funky soul

f bluesman Mack Daddy; John Congo and the 88s, Phil

onahue; Steve Currier; and the nal evening ending

with a totally rockin performance by the fabulously fun

lues Playground.

ach of these bands and individuals play just for the love

hey have for the music, the fans there, and especially for

m and Donna. After four days of peaceful harmony and

unning performances by each of these talented bands

nd these gifted individual performers, several of the

musicians wanted to keep on rockin, so they assembled

n the beautiful ferryboat docked on the water just around

he corner from the McLaughlin property for a late night

am that went beyond the stroke of midnight. This late

ight jam was highlighted by Mack Daddy tearing it up

n his guitar that inspired the fabulous Suzie Chrysler to

mprovise a song about Freedom Fest in an you just had

o be there moment that was another of those absolutely

pecial happenings that lled this magical weekend.

Every person I saw leaving this island haven (and

Saturdays Blues for Food Benet) had such satised

smiles on their faces as they headed back to their

everyday lives after a full weekend of incredible music

and song. It is without a doubt as close to the atmosphere

of peace, love and the overwhelmingly positive energy

that was generated all those years ago at the original

Woodstock festival because I was able to see, hear and

actually feel that again for myself all weekend.

I did take a break on Saturday from the Freedom Fests

feast of food and song to travel south to Seattle because

I couldnt miss the another magnicent show from noon

until 9:00 PM - Blues for Food Benet at Magnuson

Park. It was another simply fantastic annual show put

on by that always energetic rocker, the Reverend

Deb Rock, and we are so very fortunate to have the

forever funny and outrageously entertaining Billy Roy

Danger Stoops as the MC each year. As usual, Billy

did simply a great job of introducing the bands, telling

whoppers, narrating some of his hilarious tall tales and

supplying interesting background information about the

benet and about the performers. He informed the fans

that even though he had left his moonshine at home this

year, he was still going to have a great time anyway. He

even took the time to bake his own special pecan pie

as his annual contribution to the pie auction that is such

a delicious part of this yearly fund-raiser. Those pies

draw an incredible number of bids for donations to help

provide necessities for the less fortunate ones in our

community. Billy thanked all of this years contributors

of so many mouth-watering desserts.

The music began with a rollicking 11-song acoustic set

by KENOVA, comprised of: the Rectiers/Junkyard

Janes Billy Stoops, the always amazing Nick Vigarino

of Backporch Stomp and the superbly talented Chris

Hambone Wilson, who created the name for the band

from a clever acronym made up of Billys KEN-tucky,

Nicks O-hio and his own V-irgini-A roots They

even have their own KENOVA theme song written by

Hambone. All of us have to hope that these three highly

inspired/inspiring writers, vocalists, and guitarists will

have a KENOVA CD for us to enjoy as soon as possible.

Having seen these showmen perform numerous times I

am always amazed that no two shows are ever the same

because they simply have an unending playlist of not

only acoustic songs, but outrageous rockers too. This

great beginning was followed by a rockin 11-song

set by the T-Town Aces. The next band to play was

Polly OKeary and the Rhythm Method in a 10-song

set featuring Paulys sensational vocals and her non-

stop dancing at the mic performance. She is so much

fun to listen to and to watch as she never stops moving.

Her superb set was followed by the rollicking fun of a

super-charged 12-song set by the energetic Carly Taylor

and Zydeco Trouble, which was preceded by a ve-

song set for zydeco dance lessons given to a very large

contingent of smiling, laughing audience participants,who absolutely loved this bands ragin Cajun set. Next

up was the soulful Delgado Brothers featuring that

forever young Pacic Northwest legend, Patti Allen.

Patti has been stunning ever since I rst saw her when I

was in high school in 1965. She still looks and sounds

like she did back in the day. This extraordinary day

came to an even more extraordinary end as the fabulous

Fatback featuring Pacic Northwest legend Fat James

and the outrageous Johnny Brewer brought the show to a

close in a superb 11-song set.

Every Labor Day weekend is also host Seattle Centers

Bumbershoot arts festival, so I had a choice to make:

Do I spend the big bucks to attend an event that has a

few big name bands that draw huge crowds of too often

obnoxiously loud and rude fans or head back north to

attend a special event with an atmosphere that is bes

described by Elvis Costello when he sang: Whats so

funny about peace, love and understanding ? I didn

hesitate for a second because I immediately headed north

with a smile on my face as I left the horrendous Seattle

trafc far behind. And I did not regret my choice for even

an instant because a friend of mine later told me that Eric

Burdon and then the Zombies were worth seeing, but thecrowds were too large and as rude as they usually were

when so many young people and even some wiser

ones, who should know better, have the mistaken idea

that their loud screaming all during a show is something

the rest of us likes to hear. The fans really are there

for the performer and not to hear so many loud boors

interrupt the performer with their caterwauling. In my

opinion, too many spectators, especially too many young

female fans, think they are an essential part of the show

when anyone with any common sense and any sense

of etiquette claps politely, whistles a bit and may even

scream, but only after the performer is nished. They

are also always politely attentive and silent during an

artists performance. A strictly blues audience is alway

that way and it makes it so much nicer for both the fans

and the performer.

Personally, I think that it is time for us, the silent majority

to voice our displeasure with this kind of obnoxious

ignorant misbehavior and require those in charge o

the event to do something about it. Thats why I so

seldom will buy a live album because it is so common

for the songs to be marred by background screaming

and talking by these ill-mannered, misinformed

miscreants. As a teacher for over thirty years I am

simply amazed at the lack of manners displayed by

so many of our students/fans nowadays, who too

often lack even the bare essentials of everyday

common courtesy and decency.

And, with that nal rant, I now must carefully and

quietly step off my soap box and get back to wor

supporting the blues in our magnicent state.

My Labor Day 2013 was a musically memorable

one, thanks to the McLaughlins Freedom Fest and

Deb Rocks Blues for Food.

Labor Day Blues: A Great Weekend of Blues Music!


14/32

14

LIVE BLUES ON 9/10:

Blues Bashat the Red Crane

By Robert Horn, Photos by Blues Boss

On September 10th, the world was a pretty heavy place:

it was one day before the anniversary of September 11th

and the President addressed the nation about his plans torespond to the situation in Syria. Just minutes after the

President spoke in Washington, D.C., the world seemed

more perfect in the other Washington at the Red Crane

in Shoreline when Andy Bad Dog Koch and Red

House played at our all-ages Blues Bash.

While it was a warm and sunny day outside in Shoreline,

it was near-capacity at the Red Crane inside when Andy

Baddog Koch put his metal slide up against the strings

of his guitar and started the events acoustic musical

therapy. The rst song was Breakfast Burrito, and

many of us were ordering supper. Andys next song

sounded at rst like it may be Hurts Me Too, but it

was actually Sittin on Top of The World. That is how

we felt when the dinner plates came. You dont have to

be Eric Two-Scoops Moore to think of music and foodat the same time.

About music: the vocals and slide worked great

together, and when Andy added the harmonica, I like

it even more.

His rendition of Iko Iko was so different it was hard

to recognize. It was a blues, and not a Zydeco, version.

The uniqueness of the style was there in Little Red

Rooster, also: a slower, sultry, and sexier version of the

classic song about a barnyard rooster with a slow claw

and approach to various types of barnyard activitiues

with the hens.

Andy did some other classic, downhome front porch

renditions of Back Door Man, and the Canned Heat

version of On the Road Again. He conquered the front

porch and took us from the Mississippi Delta to the

South Side of Chicago by the time he nished his set.

During intermission, blues society president Eric Steiner

asked award-winning blueswoman Stacy Jones to join

him onstage to pass out 10 CDs through the monthly

free rafe.

After the rafe, there was another special musical treat.

I rst learned about Red House a couple years ago atthe Yuppie Tavern, and I also liked their show at the

Mt Baker Blues Festival, too. When they performed, I

heard some audience members debate about whether it

was blues or jazz. There was no debate at the Septem-

ber Blues Bash, because they did a great blues set that

had blues dancers on the oor the whole time and the

crowd cheering in triumphant blues fan celebration of

the healing power of the blues. The world was perfect

at this point.

The three-part harmony of this four-part band is one of

the best I have heard anywhere. The fourth member does

not sing very much, but he is a guitar monster.

Red House features Mark Nofsiger on guitar, Tim Scott

on bass and lead vocals, Jimmy Holden on keyboardsand vocals, and Robin Crane rounds out the band on

drums and vocals. hey started by singing about a penny

going down a wishing well and got to Dr Feelgood

fast enough. Along the way they sang Before You Ac-

cuse Me, and sang the common story of Dont Know

Why I Love You Like I Do. I was very impressed by

the sound of the band together as well as collective and

individual vocals. The guitar playing is Best of the Blues

Award-nomination quality, and this band sure sounds

like it is ready for the big time. This should be a national

act: you cannot only quote me on that, but have me say

it in print, on the air waves, online, or on stage, any-

time. They should be not only return to the Mount Baker

Blues Festival, but also debut at the Safeway Waterfront

Blues Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival,

the Chicago Blues Festival, or the Intergalactic Blues

festival aboard the International Space Station sp

sored by Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos in th

super-secret space-tourism ventures.

News headlines like those about the conict in S

that ran on the day of the Blues Bash reminded

that the world can be a very harsh place. Howe

one night before the anniversary of September 1

last month, the Washington Blues Society brou

blues fans of all ages together at the Red Cran

Shoreline to show that blues music can provide

portunities to connect, reconnect, and heal throug

shared love for blues music.


15/32

1


16/32

16

B RvNew Blues that you can Use

Randy Scott

Out Of The Blue

Favored Nations

Randy Scott has burst onto the blues scene with hi

release Out of the Blues produced by multi G

winner Pete Anderson and featuring 13 original

Randy Scott was born and raised in Detroit and

to Los Angeles to seek his fortune where he gra

from the Guitar Institute. After years paying his d

became disillusioned with the music industry so

his guitars off and got a job working in the com

industry. Nine years passed and while waiting on a

he wandered into a Guitar Center, the manager hea

play and suggested he enter the annual King of th

competition. Out of 4,000 plus entrants Natio

Scott was one of six entrants who made their w

the nals at the Los Angeles House of the Blu

Scott was declared the winner, becoming Guitar C4th Annual King of the Blues. Out of the Blues

of the outcome of that. Two things that stuck m

from the start were Randys strong and pleasing

and that his guitar playing is very restrained not a

bombast. Sure he can play a lick; but he never ove

Songs like the blues shufe Whiskey From The

with the lyric .drinking whiskey from the bottle

you walked out my door and the contemporary b

Mean Hearted Woman with its laid back solo sta

Dont Call It Love is radio ready and would

alongside the best classic rock. My favorite track

slow burning Cant Quit On You, again the gui

is strong; but not too much so, in fact at times it r

me of Jimmy Page on You Shook Me. From

shufes to rockers to the nal acoustic track Rand

a lot of variety and he plays it all well. Out of this a very strong debut release and I expect to hea

more from Randy Scott in the years to come. M

Kennedy

Brian Lee and the Orbiters

In Orbit

Open Century Music

The Washington Blues Societys 2013 Best Traditional

Blues BB Award winners Brian Lee & the Orbiters

highly anticipated follow up to highly acclaimedIdentity

Theft (2012 BB Awards for Best Blues Album and

Best Songwriter) is here and it lives up to the standard

set by Brians highly acclaimed previous releases. The

Orbiters are Brian Lee lead vocals, harp, guitar, slide

guitar and keys; Steve Yonck lead guitar, Hank Yanda

bass and Russ Kammerer on drums. The dozen selections

onIn Orbit include ve originals mixed in amongst an

interesting selection of covers like Jody Williams Lucky

Lou and Billy Boy Arnolds I Wish You Would. BrianLee is all about variety from Brians multi-instrumental

abilities to the styles of the blues he plays and this makes

In Orbita very interesting and enjoyable release. From

the slide guitar rave up of Shake Your Money Maker

to the harp fueled I Wish You Would or guitar driven

instrumentals Lucky Lou and the slinky original

Playing In The Dark variety is abundant. Pee Wee

Craytons Texas Hop struts and jumps while, one of

the bands favorite cuts to perform, the laid back swampy

original Bucket of Chicken Wings slithers. My favorite

selection is the original Knock It Off which is high

lighted by the sharp guitar and big fat toned blues harp

solos. I giveIn Orbitmy highest recommendation so go

see Brian Lee & the Orbiters live and pick-up a copy.

Malcolm Kennedy

Trampled Under Food

Badlands

Telarc

Kansas City, Missouris Trampled Under Foot is a three

piece band of Schnebelen siblings Nick on guitar and

lead vocals, Danielle on bass and lead vocals and Kris-ondrums. TUF were winners of the 2008 IBC representing

the KCB with Nick also winning the Albert King Gibson

Guitarist Award and since then have only built on that

success. Recent accolades include 2011 and 2012

Band of the Year at the Blues Blast Awards. Badlands

was produced by Tony Braunagel and in addition to

the Schnebelen trio is augmented by the deft keyboard

skills of Mike Finnigan (Phantom Blues Band, Curtis

Salgado and more) rounding out and adding additional

depth to the TUF sound. Danielles power house vocals

are prominently featured starting with the opening track

Bad, Bad Feeling. Interestingly enough as strong as her

vocals are many of my favorite tracks feature Nick on

lead vocals like Dont Want No Woman with the line

dont want no woman to tell me that she cares/ I just

want my woman to show me that she loves me/ It might

be a labor of love with Mikes organ driving and Nicks

guitar solo clearly demonstrating the Albert King Award

was well earned. Danielle puts lush vocals to the slow

paced Mary and Nick comes back with slightly raspy

vocals and rich toned guitar on the title track. Danielle,

Kris and Mike give I Didnt Try a sturdy rhythm to

support he vocals and Nicks guitar. Nick breaks out

the slide some nasty slide for Down To The River

sharing vocals with Danielle and he tears it up on both

vocals and guitar on my favorite cut, the slow grooving

Desperate Heart. This is a song that I feel is destined to

become a classic. Danielle unleashes her full vocal power

for the Father of Soul, James Browns Mans, Mans,

Mans World. TUF put on a fantastic show at the Mt

Backer Rhythm & Blues Festival this summer and with

releases likeBadlands I am certain their star will show

brightly for quite some time into the future. Very highly

recommended. Malcolm Kennedy


17/32

1

Jim Allchin

Q .E. D

Sandy Key Music

You knew Jim Allchin would be back with plenty of

furious fretwork to satisfy the legions of guitar heads

and tone junkies out there, but his new album Q.E.D also

has a few surprises in the mix of thirteen new tracks of

blues, rock, salsa and jazzy soul. Allchin joined forces

with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Ben Smith

from Heart, tasking him as co-producer and drummer

for the project. Smith takes the reins with gusto taking

charge of the rhythm section by driving each track and

kicking the New York Brass horn section with power.

The album kicks off with the revved up boogie Stop and

Go, then hits with the self deprecating tongue n cheek

shufe Getting Old, both featuring hot solos from

Allchin and keyboardist Brooke Lizotte. While the time

shifting instrumental Chime Blues, feels very Roben

Ford like. Allchin then invites vocalist Mycle Wastman,

who was recently a contestant on NBCs The Voice, tostrut his stuff on the horn driven blues Trust Me, doing

his best Al Green. The calm piano guitar duet Thinking

of You, offers a quiet respite in the albums center before

returning to more house rockin blues. Allchin and Smith

then take the ensemble southward stopping rst in New

Orleans to play some blues for Dixie on the swingin

Come on Home. Then they head to Acapulco for the

Latin rock instrumental No Way Out, dancing until the

albums frenetic amenco nale. - Rick J Bowen

Walter Trout & His Band

Luthers Blues

Provogue

On the closing track of his amazing new album, Luther

Blues, Walter Trout testies to the power and passio

of one of his heroes when he boldly sings, leave you

ego, play the music, love the people, thats the wa

he lived, when Luther played the blues he gave us a

he had to give. This simple sentiment is the guidin

principle behind this stellar tribute album to one of th

more unsung icons of the blues and electric guitar Luthe

Allison. In his twenty ve plus year career Walter Trou

has also become a bit of an icon, forging a reputatio

as a re breathing guitarist after his tenure with Canne

Heat and John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, so he seems th

natural choice to be the one who could take the Alliso

catalog up a few more notches. Trout enlisted produc

Eric Corne to capture the raw, seat of the energy of liv

takes with his crack road band of keyboardist Samm

Avila, bass man Rick Knapp and drummer Micha

Leasure. The quartet blazes through the eleven son

greatest hits collection from Allisons lexicon of har

driving blues and soul burners, taking each to new

heights of pyrotechnic musical orgasms. Trout goes s

completely over the top on Cherry Red Wine, one o

Allisons signature tunes, making it hard to believe suc

gut wrenching vocals are coming from a sixty two yea

old. The band recasts Allisons protest song Big City

over a Voodoo Chile groove giving a nod to Hendri

and Stevie Ray as well with his wailing Stratocaste

The muscular funk of tracks Chicago, and Freedom

is propelled by a rhythm section steaming at mach on

aying out a fusillade of notes, but then turn on a dim

to give a tasteful reading of the gospel infused Ju

As I Am. Trout then trades barbs with Luthers so

Bernard Allison on the turbo charged Texas boogie Low

Down and Dirty. The albums other guest star is a shor

recording of Luther speaking of his lifes philosophy o

wanting to be part of the universe of nature and mak

friends everywhere he went. Luthers Blues succeeds o

many levels as it will no doubt lead many to discover thmusic of Luther Allison as well as showcase the powe

and precision of Walter Trout and his stellar band, wh

deliver what may prove to be the electric blues album o

the year. Rick J. Bowen

ady A

ow Did I Get Here

MasterIan Music

How Did I Get Here the new release from Seattle bluesva Lady A plays like the soundtrack to the biopic

f her colorful life as a woman of song and healer of

ouls. Beginning with the comical intro from producer

nd jack of all trades John Oliver, that sets the stage for

he panorama of blues funk and soul. The rst track is

he slow burning My Kind of Blues, in which Lady A

ses her hyper stylized vocals to declare her intentionsn winning you over while guitarist Dexter Allan rips up

hot lead. She then shifts gears to a sweet emotional

eo soul ballad, How Did I Get Here featuring

utstanding keyboard backing from Paul Robertson, and

aying tribute to her late bass player Gary L. Smith. The

arrative travelogue Moan Instead of Sing, has Lady

recounting her travels to the Delta over top a modern

lues funk gumbo. Oliver along with bass man John

tudamire lay down a fat funk groove as Lady A recounts

he fond memories of her childhood on the Cabbage and

ornbread. The hyped up zydeco track If Mama Aint

appy, is full of re and brings to mind a scene from

musical theater production like Hairspray or Chicago.

ady A co wrote the slinky track 24 Carat Man, with

llow Northwest icon guitarist Teri Wilson, a tune that

ould have easily been a part of Koko Taylor or Ruthrowns repertoire. On the gospel avored barrelhouse

lues Rockin The Roads with DME, Lady A testies

the power of love and music that is the Delta Music

xperience, the unique musical vacation created to bring

eople to Louisiana and The Mississippi Delta. The

bum ends with the special bonus track Future Ex-

uzbun a southern fried boogie recorded at Sun Studios

n Memphis with guitarist Super Chikan Johnson and

rummer Cedric Burnside. The spontaneous energy

lled session must have been a thrill for all involved

nd leaves us with a dream of what could be an amazing

uper group. - Rick J Bowen


18/32

18

Jonny Lang

- Soul Singer

Faces His

Fears andFollows His

Heart.By Rick J. Bowen

It has been seven years since Jonny Lang released a new

studio album. This year, he has signed a new recording

deal with the Concord Music Group and last month, he

releasedFight For My Soul; the follow up to his Grammy

Award-winning Turn Around in North America. Langhas been working on the release for three years with

producer Tommy Sims, who co-wrote Eric Claptons

Grammy-winning Change the World. The new album

dees categorization by a single genre as it encompasses

pop, rock, R&B gospel and soul. Lang and his seasoned

touring band deliver broad textured arrangements

accompanying his tremendous vocal skills and solid

guitar playing. I spoke to Lang about the new album and

gained some insight into the world of this one-time teen

idol who has grown into a mature artist.

Rick J Bowen: Ive been listening to the new album

Fight For My Soul, its fantastic.

Jonny Lang: Really? Thank you so much.

RB: Its totally surprising, lets talk about that and this

nonstop tour youre on.

JL: Yeah this lifelong tour, with just little two week

breaks between shows. I just got home late last night.

RB: Three years to make this record, holy cow.

JL: Yeah, Some of the stuff on the record was done about

six years ago. Its been quite a process. I mean 80% was

done in the last two three years.

RB: Just done song by song in between tours.

JL: Yeah, exactly , when youre out on the road a lot and

then the little bit of time I have at home I m wanting to

spend that with my family that is relatively new, the kids

are little and I dont want to miss that , so nding time to

record is very challenging. We got some good traction

last couple years and got to block out time close to home

and get the record done.

RB: Where did you do the record?

JL: We did most of it in L.A and for a couple tunes the

basic tracking was done in Nashville.

RB: How did you keep the focus over three years to get

the project done?

JL: Having and innate sense of where I wanted to go with

it helped. And if youve got this vision, a bunch of time

can go by and you can return to it and know what context

to put it in.

RB: And Tommy Simmons helped drive that bus.

JL: Tommy is one of my heroes. Besides being

everything that he is musically his solo project was one

most inspiring things to me in my whole life. Getting to

make a record with him has been a dream of mine for

fteen years or so. I met him thirteen years ago and we

hung out together and wrote, but had never done a record

together. It is a dream come true.

RB: Obviously he is one of the inuences for this record,

who else inuenced the record because it has such a

broad sound and covers many genres.

JL: With each record I have become less afraid to be

myself. I guess what I mean is that Ive been afraid to

do what is naturally coming out of me because a lot of

the time its not just guitar centered and most denitely

never blues. I tried to ease into this, but I gured on this

record Im not gonna be laying on death bed saying to

myself im sure am glad I never did that record I wanted

to. I just let the songs and the writing go where they

wanted and they dictated the direction of it.

RB: This is deantly not a guitar slinger record, its youbeing a soul singer and doing your own Al Green, Keith

Sweat, Stevie Wonder thing. Is that were you feel your

going with your music and career?

JL: You mentioning me with those guys is pretty wrong.

(Laughs) Thank you anyway.

RB: Well the vocals are front and center on this album.

JL: Yeah they are and it is decidedly more about the

songs. The vocal is the center piece of the song and its

deantly more about the singing than the guitar playing.

In fact we made an effort to try and create more space for

guitar solos and lead guitar parts. and tried to do it in a

way that didnt sound forced. That is a part of me I dont

want to just totally ditch that.

RB: There are some monster solos on there. Dont get

me wrong.

JL: Instead of it being a song buil t around the guitar solo

its the other way around.

RB: Blues, Gospel, Soul its all in there do you think

this record is gonna open up a new audience for you at

the risk of losing the old. Its a bit of a departure are you

ready for that?

JL: I hope that everybody loves it. (laughs) I know that

isnt going to be the case. Truly I tried not to think about

that .I just wanted to make the best music I knew how

to make, and then hopefully because of that people

would enjoy it. I love golf so Ill make a golf analogy. I

hear guys talk about when they think about winning the

tournament is when they start screwing up. When they

just concentrate on making the shot, in the moment and

go shot by shot and then you can pile a bunch of good

shots together and youve won the tournament. That was

the approach with this one.

RB: That totally makes sense.

JL: There is gonna be people who wanted that blues

record and who are gonna be totally hacked off Ill be

getting some emails. But you know you gotta grow up.

Everybody grows and some people grow in different

directions.

RB: How does a kid from Fargo, North Dakota tu

a soul singer like you?

JL: I grew up with my parents listening to a

Motown records. I was always singing along to

guys, and girls, so Ive got that music hard wired in

I ve spent a long ,long time studying soulful mu

artists, not just Motown and what you would co

soul music, but like James Taylor and a lot of di

folk artists and I feel like there is a thread th

through all of those people. Its just honesty. They

plugged into the same thing.

RB: Singing from your soul, that is reected in t

track Fight For My Soul, a very intense song,

story is that?

JL: I remember the day I started writing that, I h

image of this young girl in my head that grew u

certain situation and she is only gonna turn out on

She going to be a product of that environment an

is nothing she can do about it. It got me thinking

what we all are really. We can only do what we se

done when we are kids.

RB: You being a parent now must make you re

that and see the world differently now.

JL: Exactly .Man, I am a hundred times more patie

I used to be. Its been a good thing. I started th

about myself and how I grew a certain way. And a

point I was given the opportunity to challenge

things that I thought were always just true for ever

Really they were only true for me. And you sort

becoming your own person. So the song Fight F

Soul is about that, and who are you. There is som

in there that is trying to shape their own outcom

how much do you listen to that voice that is l

you. And how much do you just stay where yo

whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. How

good things do you take with you, how many bad

all of that it adds up to this struggle. I guess that

the song is about.

RB: No wonder you made it the title track. It does

more intense than that.

JL: I feel like it sums up where I am in my life.

RB: Then the beautiful love song Ill Always Be

is that for?

JL: The song Ill Always Be, is a little bit of m

of how god sees us. The song is sung from the p

view of God. Put in terms of this guy who is a com

and concert master and there is this woman, who

been in love with forever, and she leads him on

non committal, and he is desperate to win her lov

that guy in the song as God looking at us. Not jus

a guy and a girl.

RB: A much bigger love story. We miss those

without the liner notes. Thanks for the back groun

JL: Its fun to let people interpret it themselves

you get a great chance of a song helping someo

becoming relevant to them .doing that thing that

can do for us sometimes. Helping us out of a tou

and being a blessing somehow.

RB: Isnt that our job as writers and artists?

Continued no p


19/32

1

A.H.L. (206) 935-4592R A & L Exp, R A Z (206) 369-8114AKz (425) 273-4172Av B (206) 994-9413A Uk (206) 355-5952Bb Gmp (425) 483-2835BkG N (425) 931-8084Bk P B (425) 299-0468Bk S (425) 330-0702B Dg B S (360) 733-7464B B (253) 884-6308B S B B (360) 731-1975Nm B & Fk (206) 722-6551Bk Rv B (206) 396-1563Bk P (425) 327-0018B A (360) 701-6490B 55 (206) 216-0554B H (206) 440-7867B D M (206) 328-0662B Pg (425) 359-3755B Rmp p://.bmp.m(T) B S (206) 979-0666B B (253) 945-7441B P (206) 755-0766/ 206-547-1772B B & Kgb 206-276-6600Bmp K (253) 223-4333, (360) 259-1545B B B (206) 361-9625C B & Fp (509) 325-3016

E C - 206-935-3188Mm Ck B (253) 853-7749C (360) 293-7931Kmb C & Fgv (206) 938-6096Jk Ck & Pm S (206) 517-5294R Ck & (206) 878-7910Jm C Ck (253)945-7441Ck & G (253) 945-7441C B (360) 420-2535J S Cg D 88 Rvv (360) 352-3735C B (206) 935-8985D p (206) 601-1769S D B (425)387-0620Db Ck (253) 945-7441Db S Rk (206) 418-1180J Dk B 206-459-0860A Ek B (253) 278-0330

Smm Ebk (509) 879-0340R Ev (206) 799-4856F C (425) 487-6139F (509) 869-0350Km F & Mg (206) 295-8306G Fz (206) 851-1169F Rg B B (425) 823-3561F Gmb (425) 788-2776N F & H 3 Lb Uv (253) 576-7600Jmm F F (206) 546-3733G Ck (206) 588-1924C G & Lv D (206) 763-5074P G (206)795-3694D Jxm Hk (425) 512-8111H & N Hm B B (425)576-5673m H B (253) 857-8652C Hmm B (206) 696-6134)

R H (253) 226-1230S H & L Rmg/B Sx (206) 418-1180 H (425) 931-5755R H (425) 280-3994JD Hb (206) 235-3234H R B Rv (206)790-9934Bbb H & B (425)681-5644Jm H b (206) 250-7494Dv H / S 4 (253) 630-5276Rv Hmp (425) 308-3752Hg Dg (425) 299-6435B H (360) 708-1653K. G. Jk & Sk (360) 896-4175J & J C F (206) 469-0363Jk J (253) 238-7908

S J B (206) 992C D J (253)-797

H T M J (360) 871Jm Kg & S (206) 715

Vg Km / J L Dv (206) 632Mk Kg (206) 373

B Kgbg / Fb R Sk (425) 766Kv (503) 804

L A & Bb B Fk B (425) 518B L & Ob .bb

B L (206) 390S E. L (206) 789

L B & B (425) 774D Lp B (206) 860

E M & B M (206) 362B Mk B (206) 601

Ab MC & Bg S (206) 650B J B MG (253) 777

Dg MG (206) 679M MPg B (206) 850M m Cg (206) 440

Rgg M (360) 793M M B (253) 222

Rb Mz / H Rpb (206) 768M D B (425) 923

Jm N Bg B B (360) 779K Nq (253) 639

R N & T F Dg (425) 239R N & J N (425) 239-3876/(425) 359

R Ox B (253) 973Rb P (509) 869Dk P B (425) 742

B Rm (206) 618R H B S (206) 940

Mk R (206) 313G R (360) 828

Gg Rb (206) 473Rg Rg B (206) 255

Rx (360) 881M S & H B (253) 983

S B (206) 246S Ck Pj (360) 826

m Sm B (206) 547B S B (253) 514

Dg Skg (253) 921Smk N B A (253) 620

Smk J (425) 746S Jk J. (425) 591Sk B B (360) 41

S Dm & L K (206) 522J Sp B (206) 244

C Sv S Mk (206) 236Sv C Dg (253)-203

Skf A E (206) 522A S & Fm (360) 753

R Sg (206) 412A b (206) 679

D f (206)795m (253)851

S m (509) 954 Kg (425) 698

L v (253)238m B (206) 271

- A (206)935 Sp Cmb (206) 933

Ub (425) 258U B (253) 627

Nk Vg M B (360) 387mm W (206) 914

Mk Wg & B Sk (360) 652-0(425) 327

C W Rv (425) 327Mk Wm B (206) 697

M W (425) 672-3206 / (206) 200R Wm (206) 282

Hmb W (360) 739C.D. Wb (425) 502

B W B (206) 367-6186, (206) 604

T G

Attention Blues

alent: Please sendyour updated contact

information by the

10th of the month to

calendar@wablues.

org. Tank you!


20/32

20

Blues CalendarNote: Please conrm with each venue the start time

and price. We also apologize in advance for any errors

as we depend on musicians and venues to send in their

information and sometimes, changes happen after wego to press.

Tuesday, October 1

Jazz Alley The Yellowjackets

Wednesday, October 2

Bakes Place, Bellevue Bill Englehart/Rod Cook duo

6PM

Highway 99 Blues Club The Soul of John Black 8PM

Jazz Alley The Yellowjackets

88 Keys Blues on Tap 8PM

Kent Senior Center Bubbles Blues w/Norm Bellas

12:30PM

Pike Place Bar and Grill John Stephan Band 6PM

The Triple Door - Wed/October 2 Earshot Jazz Festi-

val: John Scoelds Uberjam 7 & 9:30 PM

Elliot Bay Pizza & Pub, Mill Creek James Bernhard

7PM

Thursday, October 3

Highway 99 Blues Club Brian Lee & the Orbiters

8PM

Jazz Alley Karrin Allyson

Salmon Bay Eagles - Dr Z & The M.D.s 8PM

Bakes Place, Bellevue The Side Project Trio 7PM

Friday, October 4

Bakes Place, Bellevue Rod Cook & Toast 8PM

Highway 99 Blues Club Curtis Hammond Band 8PM


Dogghouse, Mt Vernon Black River Blues 9PM

Elmers Pub, Burien Moon Daddy Band

13 Moons at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, AnacortesMia Vermillion solo 6PM

The Conway Muse Mia Vermillion/Kevin Sutton Duo

-9PM

Saturday, October 5

Highway 99 Blues Club Franco Paletta & the Stingers

w/ Steve Kerin 8PM


Salmon Bay Eagles - Roy Kay Trio 8PM

Issaquah Salmon Days - John Stephan Band 1:15 PM,

The Fabulous Roof Shakers 3PM

Enumclaw Music and Arts Festival Mia Vermillion

2PM, Palmer Junction 3:30PM

13 Moons at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge, Anacortes

Mia Vermillion solo 6PM

Bakes Place, Bellevue Doctorfunk 8PM

Sunday, October 6


Johnnys Dock,Tacoma Little Bill trio 5PM

The Triple Door - Earshot Jazz Festival with Vinicus

Cantuaria 7:30 PM

Bakes Place, Bellevue Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto

7PM

The Central Club, Kirkland, Gin Creek: 8:00pm

Monday, October 7

Kent Senior Center Koffee Klach w/Norm Bellas

The Triple Door Bob Schneider and Gabriel Kelly

Tuesday, October 8

Re

Documents

Bluesletter October 2013