(910...
eXT.114
This weeks photo is a picture of Gary Smith (dressed in black) taken at the Hull Ave. The Hull Ave in Des Moines advertised itself as Des Moines oldest legal bar. The legend has it that when prohibition was repealed in the 1930s the owner of the Hull Ave were the first to get their liquer license so that in turn made them the oldest bar in Des Moines. Of course other establishments could argue that they had been around longer, but they would be breaking the law if they did:-) In later years the Hull Ave use to have a great blues jam session. Back in 1999 and running to around 2007, every Sunday night was jam night. Originally started by Me and Jimmy Pryor it grew to be a pretty big show. Eventually my good friend Gary Smith took it over and ran it for several years until he became to sick to keep the show running. Unfortunately the Hull Ave is no longer playing blues on the weekend, the last time I was in there it had become a biker bar. Nothing wrong with a Biker bar, because I have played in quite a few, but I do know that the Jam is no longer there on Sunday.
A nice photo of Cheryl and Jimmy that I took at our last jam session at the Raccoon River Brewery Company. The Raccoon River was a great place to have a gig, especially the kind of music we were doing with Jimmy. The area we played at may have lacked a stage, but it was reminiscent of the old clubs in Des Moines that had food and dancing. Unfortunately the boss came to our show after New Years Eve, and since it was so close after the holiday we had no one there. He was drunk, and with very few people in the house, he made the short sighted decision to dump the blues. Furthermore, they have continued to keep out the blues with the exception of New Years, and the blues fests. They have no clue what they have down there. They could have a very high class music spot for Jazz, blues, and swing. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Every Wednesday from 7 PM to 11 PM, the beautiful historic Little Fox opens its doors to the jam hosted by the elite of Bay Area Blues - Kenny Neal, Steve Freund, Volker Strifler, Daniel Castro and Mark Hummel just to mention a few. What follows is a jam like no other. Some of the finest blues artists, national artists on tour, local luminaries and amateurs, start to mix it up. For the musicians, it's an opportunity to play the blues with peers of unbelievable talent. For the fans in the 240 seat capacity crowd, it's an amazing show every week with new talent and the unpredictable excitement that only a blues jam can bring.If you are in the area this is a must see. It reminds me of the Sunday night blues jam at the Roxy in Overland Park, when Oliver Reilly and the Blue Notions were at their hight. National acts stopping by, hundreds of people dancing and grooving, and a hot house band.
The photo of the week was taken at Razzmatazz just before we were kicked out of Urbandale Iowa for playing dance music! Pictured are Dennis "Big Daddy" Cain, John East, and Jimmy"Midnite Cowboy" Pryor. Dennis is the master of country blues, and plays many different styles of blues, while John East is a jump blues master on guitar. Of course, Jimmy was a great performer, with his own style. What was fun about Razzmatazz was that for the month we were there we quietly played blues, and had a small jam session. The owner loved us, and we had a small crowd of players who jammed with us. Unfortunately, a little known law in Urbandale banned dancing in most clubs. If it sounds like something out of footloose then you are not far off. The Urbandale city council didn't want live music and dancing since it might lead to heavy drinking and law breaking! EEEECCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!
Here is a pic, from my friend Curt's myspace page, of the old blues professor playing piano with my friends at the Gathering Place in Cherokee. Once a month they have a jam on Friday nights. It is a cool old historic building located in downtown Cherokee Iowa. Cherokee is going through sort of a Renaissance, as a handful of buildings are going through repairs. Most towns this size are dying out in Iowa, but Cherokee seems to have found a new life with the arts. They are a very art friendly town, and promote a very cool Jazz and Blues fest in January.
The Photo of the week is one of Jimmy with his first Kazoo. He had two the one that he played with originally was held together with duct tape! It looked like a cross between some plumbing and a trumpet. He found it in his kids toy box years ago. It was part of a Fisher Price set. During the first year or so of the jam Jimmy tried different kazoos, but none of them were as loud or had the tone of the original. Then someone found an identical Kazoo in mint condition and Jimmy retired the old horn. He donated it to the State Historical Society of Iowa.
