MONTH FULL OF THE BLUES - …€¦ · Blues Band, during what I call "the experimental phase." John Ashton (guitar player/vocals) ... the bends and tremolo of BB King, Peter Green

August 2013 - MONTH FULL OF THE BLUES “Support, Promote and Preserve the Blues!” - 1

MONTH FULL OF THE BLUES The Newsletter of the MO Blues Association August 2013

to host August Jam at Mojo’s Aug 15, 2013, 8:00 p.m, at Mojo’s, Columbia MO

MO Blues fans and players, mark your calendars for August

15. Dig Nitty, a brand new band full of veteran Mid-MO

players, hosts our next jam in Columbia at Mojo’s, one of

our super-cool MO Blues member venues. Dig Nitty’s

tunes get underway at 8:00, and as usual our guest jammers

start stepping up at about 9:00. Show up at 7:00pm for the

new members’ “Meet and Greet.”

I'd like to say something to make some noise for Dig Nitty, hosting

the MO Blues Jam on Thursday, Aug 15 at Mojo's (Columbia, MO). But

the band is so new, I don't know much about us and we don't even

have a picture of us. Jerry Russo (drummer) and I first crossed

paths maybe 3 years ago and did a brief stint together in The Serious

Blues Band, during what I call "the experimental phase." John

Ashton (guitar player/vocals) is most recently from St. Louis but

spent time in other numerous places east and west, actually making a

living as a musician, impossible as that sounds. Dave West

(keyboards/vocals) is most recently from Kansas City, but like Mr.

Ashton spent some years doing nothing but playing music before he

spent time with some NGO's in Africa. And I (Dave Raithel- bass)

have been trolling bands you've seen somewhere sometime over about

20 years now, but you'd be surprised how few bar-tenders recognize

me even if I walk straight from my rig to the bar for a beer. Together,

we perform a kind of Rhythm & Blues. Hope some players and

spectators can make it out. There will be a special “Meet and Greet”

starting at 7:00pm. Hor d’oeuvres provided by MOBlues for members.

Tunes start at 8:00pm, and the jamming kicks off at 9:00pm.

WORD OUT.

- DAVE RAITHEL

MO Blues Jam

Aug 15, 2013

8:00 p.m.

at

Mojo’s

1013 Park Ave., in

Columbia MO

Hosted by



Typically, when one thinks about blues

music, the words "country club" are not the

first to come to mind. However, this is not the

case with the Country Club Hotel and Spa in

Lake Ozark. In the past the hotel hosted annual

jazz festivals and offered weekly Sunday Blues

Brunches. This summer the Country Club is

once again "all about the blues" as they host the

first ever Country Club Blues Bash, August 16-

17, 2013.

The Blues Bash gets off to a rollicking start

on Friday, Aug. 16 at 5 p.m. with Atlanta

bluesman Little "G" Weevil, the winner of

the solo artist category at the 2013

International Blues Challenge in

Memphis, Tenn., and is followed at

7 p.m. by Chicago's Steepwater

Band, which has shared the stage

with some of rock and roll's biggest

names, including ZZ Top, Cheap

Trick, Bad Company and Heart, to

name a few. Finishing out the evening is the

nationally celebrated Dana Fuchs Band from

Florida, which will begin at 9 p.m.

The party continues Saturday, Aug. 17 at 1

p.m. with local favorites Penny Lower and

Backbone, followed by the classic sounds of

Sugar Alley from St. Louis, Mo. at 3 p.m. The

Bel Airs, a danceable rhythm and blues outfit

out of Columbia, Mo. will take the stage at 5

p.m. and acclaimed British chanteuse Bex

Marshall, nominated for best female vocalist

for the 2013 British Blues Awards, will whip

the crowd into a frenzy at 7 p.m. Florida's

dynamic and charismatic Selwyn Birchwood

Band, this year's overall winner of the

International Blues Challenge and winner of

the Albert King award for best guitarist, will

bring the weekend to a climax with an

exuberant, high energy closing set that will

begin at 9 p.m.

Local blues heavyweight and past participant

in the International Blues Challenge, John

Gibble, better known around the Lake area as

"Johnny G" of Johnny G and the Allstars,

lent a helping hand in securing some of today's

best blues talents. "Johny G has been

instrumental in booking these great artists,”

says the hotel's general manager Ron Schlicht.

“We would not be able to have this

fantastic lineup without his

assistance."

One- and two-day Blues Bash

passes are available for purchase: a

one-day pass sells for $25 and a two-

day pass is $40. Also available are

two-day VIP passes for $100, which

include up-close seating, cocktail service and

meet-and-greets with the artists. Lodging

packages also are available for the event.

Proceeds from the event go to the Lake of the

Ozarks Blues Society scholarship fund, which

supports local Lake-area students interested in

pursuing music and other fine arts.

For more information on the Blues Bash and

the bands, visit the event's Facebook page at

www.Facebook.com/CountryClubBluesBash.

To reserve passes or lodging for the Bash, or for

information on the Country Club Hotel and

Spa, visit www.CountryClubHotel.com, or call

800-964-6698.

http://www.facebook.com/CountryClubBluesBash

http://www.countryclubhotel.com/



August Jam Notes - Chuck Renn

MOBLUES & Blue Max @ “The

Bridge”

The MOBlues jam headed north in June and

gathered at Wes Wingate’s place. The Bridge,

located on Walnut Street in Columbia, MO, is a

unique venue. To quote the promotional

information, “The Bridge… strives to provide

quality events and superior sound in a relaxed, yet

upscale environment.” The venue certainly lives

up to its claim. It was a great venue for MOBlues’

first Columbia jam of the season; and the local

blues crowd turned out in good numbers.

MOBlues was especially pleased to have the Blue

Max Band host the debut Columbia jam. The Blue

Max Band is fronted by John Coy, a journeyman

guitar player and singer. John is backed up by

Cody Pursifull on guitar. This combination has

really taken the Blue Max in a great direction. The

leads were tasteful and clean and the rhythm was

always spot-on. It was a truly fine combination of

guitar playing styles. The foundation was solid

behind the two guitars. Tim Shields on bass and

Don Atchley on the drums are also a couple of well

know musicians in the area. Their experience was

obvious as they worked on keeping those clock-like

groves right on time.

After Blue Max set the tone, the crowd was treated

to a bit of a different twist from a young talent.

Kicking off the jam was Colin Guill. Colin gave the

crowd a couple of standards on the harmonica.

Usually, you’ll find Colin behind the guitar but

tonight he showed another side of his musical

abilities by doing some fine work on the harp.

Then, with Dave Summer (a perennial favorite on

the harp) and Dave Raithel on bass, the jam kept

rolling down the Blues Highway. The new group

belted out some standards and the jam moved

along in that down home blues direction. Slipping

in beside Dave to do some guitar work was Dayne

Hudek. Dayne did some great work on that Fender

Strat.

Following the performance by this group, a local

favorite joined the stage. Trevor Judkin brought

out that sweet Les Paul and gave the crowd some

outstanding guitar work. The sound conjures up

the bends and tremolo of BB King, Peter Green and

Gary Moore. It was a perfect direction for the

music to take as the night rolled along.

It was getting late and there were still jammers

waiting to take a turn. Next on stage was Dave

Raye. Dave is probably most easily recognized for

his Hill Country Style guitar playing. However,

tonight was a special evening all around as Dave

also settled on the harp and few vocals to please

everyone. He did an excellent job delivering some

tunes that were pure proof that he had his mojo

working.

The hour was upon us, but the Blue Max was joined

by the last jammer. A special shout out to Scott

McCollough. Scott ended the evening with some

very fine harmonica playing behind his excellent

vocals. It was a perfect end to a great evening.

MOBlues had a great time at The Bridge and look

forward to a return visit. There were several

winners of the evening’s raffles; a special

congratulation to the winner of the tickets for The

Greatest Slide Show on Earth, featuring Iron Mike

Norton. This show is at The Bridge on August 28th.

– John Coy kicks it with Blue Max



The Duck Tapes by Robert Duckworth

First, a preamble: I was trying to decide who

I was going to write about this month, and I

have been torn between the great Jimmy

Bryant and James Burton. Both are extremely

important guitar players and each deserves

their own column, so these last few weeks have

been a struggle as to who gets the ink first. I

have come to realize writing a monthly article

is a lot like planning a guitar solo. You know it’s

coming up and you want to start off with a

good solid hook in the first paragraph. I read

how guitar players have their intros planned

out and start improvising from there. On the

other hand there are other players that just

breathe for a bit and sneak in. Some jazz

players do this and it gives you time to think

instead of coming in the same way all the time.

However, in an interview years ago, a certain

veteran bassist said something that has always

stuck with me. The player was John Entwistle,

and when asked his philosophy on approaching

a solo, John said he plans exactly how he will

intro and mentally construct the flow. Right

before he is given “the big nod”, he scraps the

idea and goes for broke in uncharted territory.

So, after hem-hawing the last few weeks

choosing between Bryant and Burton the

choice became clear….Mississippi Fred

McDowell. Fred is important to me for several

reasons, and I’ll go into those later, but for now

let’s just have a look at this man.

Fred was born in either 1903 or 1904 in

Rossville, Tennessee. Nobody is sure because

when you were born on a plantation, nobody

kept very accurate records. Fred would laugh at

his name, “Mississippi” Fred McDowell

because if it were to be an accurate name, he

would have been “Tennessee” Fred McDowell.

Hey… Tennessee Williams, Tennessee Ernie

Ford….it could have worked.

Fred’s earliest exposure to blues music was

Blind Lemon Jefferson’s “Black Snake Moan”,

and in his early teens, Fred decided to learn to

play guitar. His first teacher was an uncle by

the name of Gene Shields who lead a trio and

Gene played standard and slide guitar. Gene

used a smoothed

out rib bone as a

slide. (Players,

take this to heart.

You don’t need to

go to the music

store for

everything. Look

around the house

and garage first.

You never know

what you will find.) The first song Fred ever

learned was Tommy Johnson’s “Big Fat Mama

(With the Meat Shakin’ on Your Bones). He

learned it on the first string, then on two

strings, note by note. “I about worried that first

string to death, learning that song”, Fred said.

This ”note by note” style was what became

Fred’s style of playing; a very precise,

concentrated effort to have the individual notes

speak clearly, instead of blurring them

together” en mass”, like other players might.

Fred lived in Memphis in the thirties as a

laborer, and tried to master the guitar, but

didn’t own one yet.

Mississippi Fred McDowell



(Duck Tapes -continued from previous page)

A white man from Texas named Mr. Taylor,

whom Fred remembered as a very nice man,

gave Fred his first guitar. This was in 1941, and

Fred soon moved to Mississippi to settle down

near his sister. While living in Como, Fred

worked on that “note by note” style….worked a

LOT. In 1959, Alan Lomax came to Como,

asking if there were any local blues musicians

he should hear. Fred’s name came up pretty

fast and Alan found Fred at his home. Alan

asked if he could record him and after setting

up the recording equipment, Fred recorded

from 8pm to 7am. After they were done, Alan

said the recordings would bring Fred “fame

and fortune”.

Well, the fortune was NOT a fortune, but as

far as fame, Fred was adored in the growing

blues and jazz circles of young, white bohemian

music lovers, and at the tender age of 55, hailed

as one of the great new discoveries in the blues

world. Arhoolie and Testament issued solo

records and Fred played the 1964 Newport Folk

Festival and went over well. He toured Europe

in 1965 and again in 1969, doing especially well

in Germany and Great Britain. Keith Richards

heard Fred’s version of “You Got to Move”, and

rearranged it for the Rolling Stones album

“Sticky Fingers”.

In 1969, Fred recorded a solo record using an

electric guitar, and the reaction was mixed.

Purists didn’t want Fred to change. The record,

“I Do Not Play No Rock and Roll”, was greeted

by snobby critics claiming Fred’s charm and

subtlety were lost on such a rowdy, uncouth

instrument. Fortunately, the kids disagreed

and it became one of Fred’s bestselling records.

The tone deaf critics didn’t realize the electric

guitar “heard” Fred a lot clearer, so you

actually heard more of Fred’s “note by note”

interpretations of “Shake ‘em on Down” and

“Drop Down Mama”. Let’s face it. In the sixties,

the electric guitar got you heard by a lot more

people. I have some of Fred’s older material

and I noticed some Blind Willie Johnson style

in his work.

I first heard of Mississippi Fred from my

oldest brother’s record collection that stayed

home when he went to college in 1970 or so. It

was the record “I Do Not Play No Rock and

Roll”, and it had the song “Red Cross” on it.

Just a simple little riff in “E”, I copied it and

played the heck out of it when I was 14 years

old. I’ve said before, John Lee Hooker was the

first blues I heard. Well, Mississippi Fred was

the first blues I ever tried to PLAY. I had

bought a used Ventura 12 string for seventy

dollars from Georges Music in North Kansas

City in 1975. I had a cheap bass but wanted to

play like Jimi Hendrix when he did that 12

string acoustic version of “Hear My Train a

Coming” on the “Soundtrack from the Film,

Jimi Hendrix” album. Well, playing like Jimi

Hendrix didn’t magically appear so I focused

on Fred for a while. Remember when I said you

don’t need to always go to a music store for

everything? Well, in order to play like Fred, I

needed to get a slide. 15 year olds aren’t known

for having a lot of cash so I went into the

garage and found a set of Suzuki motorcycle

handle bars from a bike my brother kind of

wrecked. Took a pipe cutter to an end and in a

few minutes I had my first slide. I learned on



MO Blues – August 15 jam

8 p.m. at Mojo’s (1013 Park Ave., in Columbia)

The band Dig Nitty will host the jam.

The Raffle Prizes are going to phenomenal!

You’ve gotta come out WITH US !

(Duck Tapes -continued from previous page)

that slide, and had it probably 10 years until I lost it in a bar. That was a serious bummer, let me tell

you. As long as we are mentioning equipment, Fred’s acoustic was a wood bodied National and later

an old Hofner. His electrics were first a cheap Italian 335 style then Fred got a Gibson Trini Lopez

Standard with a Bigsby vibrato. I have one of these (sans Bigsby) and younger players say “Hey, a

guitar like Dave Grohl’s….cool”. Well, to me it’s a Fred McDowell guitar. As far as amps, Fred had a

cheap student amp for home practice but always borrowed an amp at gigs. Watching YouTube, Fred

used a thumb pick and a finger pick on his index finger. Fred’s slide was the neck from a Gordon’s Gin

bottle. He was very attached to this slide and once at a gig, Fred was frantically searching thru his

guitar case looking for his trusty gin bottle slide. His manager asked Fred what was wrong and Fred

said he couldn’t find his slide. The manager (they must have been GOOD friends) pulled the slide

from his pocket and gave it to Fred. A relieved Fred McDowell said “You know if I didn’t have that

slide we may as well have packed up and gone

home”.

I never heard Fred in much of a band setting.

The players on “I Do Not Play No Rock and Roll”

are a pickup group for the recording, so I’m

assuming Fred was pretty much a solo act.

Fred died of cancer in 1972 and when he was

buried, his name was spelled wrong and over the

years his headstone was damaged. In 1993, a new memorial was placed where the old one was and

Bonnie Raitt paid for it. There is an excellent likeness of Fred that is on the stone. Bonnie did this

because she had Fred teach her how to play slide when she was 18 years old. The old headstone was

donated to a blues museum.

In a nutshell, Fred took certain delta styles, in this case Charley Patton’s and Blind Willie

Johnson’s, and updated it with an electric guitar, giving it more presence and clarity. Give him a look

and an ear. I only have the mid-sixties Fred and the expanded version of “I Do Not Play No Rock and

Roll” on CD. There is a good amount of Fred on Youtube. Now go make a slide and for God’s sake

don’t lose it in a bar! I still miss that slide.

SIGNING OFF,

- THE DUCK.

P.S. - I burned a copy of “I Do Not Play No Rock and Roll” for my nephew about 3 years ago. I

said “Leave your door open and play it loud enough that your dad can hear it and see how fast he

comes up the stairs”. I don’t think my brother had heard that record since the mid- seventies. He

came up pretty fast.



“Every bad

situation is a blues

song waiting to happen.”

Amy Winehouse

MO Blues Jam Thursday, Aug. 15,

Meet and Greet 7:00 Hor d’oeuvres provided by MOBlues

Music starts 8 p.m. at

Mojo’s 1013 Park Ave., Columbia

Month Full of Blues

August 2013 Editor- Kerry Cordray

***

MO Blues Association

Board & Officers Chuck Renn –President

Bruce Edwards – Vice President Herb Kuschel – Treasurer

Sherry Hoskins – Secretary Deb Brown – Chair - Membership

Wayne Johnson – Chair - Jams Sue Barnes

Josh Bowles Bill Burnham Kerry Cordray Joyce Harkins

Julie Pappenfort Larry Zulauf

Contact Us

MO Blues Association, Inc P.O. 105758 Jefferson City, MO 65101

Web: www.MoBlues.org

Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/mobluesmissouri

Coming soon:

“The Greatest Slide Show on Earth”

Demian Band &

Iron Mike Norton

Missouri tour dates:

Aug 28 - The Bridge, Columbia

Sept. 11 - B.B.'S Jazz, Blues and

Soups, St. Louis, MO

Sept. 12 - Knuckleheads Saloon,

Kansas City, MO

http://www.moblues.org/

http://www.facebook.com/mobluesmissouri



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Documents

MONTH FULL OF THE BLUES - …€¦ · Blues Band, during what I call "the experimental phase." John Ashton (guitar player/vocals) ... the bends and tremolo of BB King, Peter Green