Low Down Dirty Blues

This just in via email! This is a musical going on in Skokie Illinois. Starts Mays 27th.  for more info check out the Northlight Theatre website.

Northlight Theatre presents:

Low Down Dirty Blues

By Randal Myler & Dan Wheetman

May 27 – July 3

When the crowd goes home for the night, the real show begins! At least that's the case at one local Blues bar, where musicians gather after hours to swap stories and songs filled with passion, soul and an authentic love of the Blues that can't be described, but demands to be played. Inspired by Blues legends such as Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, Howlin' Wolf and Pearl Bailey, this low down dirty jam session pays tribute to a musical form that's steeped in Chicago history-and alive and thriving today!

Featuring: Mississippi Charles Bevel, Felicia P. Fields, Gregory Porter and Sandra Reaves-Phillips.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 847.673.6300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              847.673.6300      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit northlight.org.

Willie Pooch RIP

From Bob Corritore

• 
  RIP Willie Pooch - 1937 to May 5th, 2010 Columbus, Ohio based blues singer Willie Pooch passed away on May 5th, 2010 from  diabetes complications. He was 72. Born William Johnson in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1937, Willie grew to be a spectacular vocalist and entertainer. He was a huge part of the Columbus, Ohio Blues Scene and will be greatly missed by his community. He recorded and great CD with Cadillac Zak called The Blues Do Something To Me which is available on Zack's website by clicking here. For more information on Willie Pooch, including some nice video clips, click here.

Josh Smith: Paying The Cost

Nice clip of Josh Smith who is a heck of a bluesman.  He is also plays lead guitar for Taylor Hicks. I think blues purists will love this clip.  Give it a listen!

lightnin Red And Curry May 21st Des Moines Iowa

Chick Willis Update

The latest single by Chick Willis is RED HOT!

they've called him the "stoop down man", the "don of the blues" but now
Chick Willis is the
"Houdini Lover"
** click HERE

edited version of a song found on the hit CD "HIT & RUN BLUES"





contact chick 770-465-4036

Andy Coats Update

Hey folks,

Sorry for the late notice, but we’ll be performing at Sadlacks’ Heroes tomorrow night:

May 14th, 7-10 pm
Andy Coats & the Bank Walkers
Sadlacks Heroes
2116 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC
(919) 828-9190
http://www.myspace.com/sadlacksheroes

If you’re local, c’mon down for some R,R, and B – “Roots, Rock, and Blues”. 

And don’t forget to email me back with your request for my new CD, “Folk the Blues”. 

You can listen to samples here:

http://andycoats.com/folktheblues/index.html

Hope all is well. 

Best,

Andy

www.andycoats.com
www.myspace.com/andycoats
www.myspace.com/andycoatsandthebankwalker

Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

I'm assuming that the reason that the increased number of people who wish to be removed from this list is directly related to the fact that I rarely get to anything related to The Blue Band until the second or third paragraph or they see themselves as insulted by my remark about the appearances of some of the people I see shopping at WalMart. I don't want to lose anymore people, so let me start by saying there is no Blue Band gig this week. Or next week. Or the week after that. Unless you're finally going to break down and hire us for that spring deck party at your mansion on the outskirts of town (come on, we only need 10-15 couples with a hundred dollar bill and WE'RE THERE BABY!!) We kick off the summer festival season on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend (5/30) at the North Liberty Centre's Blues and BBQ Festival, featuring all Iowa acts including BF Burt & The Instigators, Dennis (the Daddio) Mc Murrin, Craig Erickson, and The Blue Band. We play 6-7:30pm, It's billed as being rain or shine and is FREE of charge to get in. Need more info on that? try www.northlibertyiowa.org/bluesandbbq/activities.html. What's not to like about Iowa bands, barbecue, and FREE? Right Avis? And as far as WalMart is concerned, I have not returned since being rejected for Reason 88. What the hell IS Reason 88? My friend Jerry Grady (who's retiring from his producer/director job at IPTV) says I must have REALLY screwed up if they're using the ol' Reason 88 excuse. Now Reason 24, I could see that, but Reason 88, I DIDN'T DO IT!! I was framed. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Or is that a wad of used bubble gum that I just sat on? YIKES, either way, it's a sticky situation that neither of us want to really get into...
Remember when Johnny Carson used to describe some of his monologs as Peaks & Valleys? (if you don't remember Johnny Carson, let alone the Peaks & Valleys description, you're either too young to be reading this note OR your dementia is worse than mine) Well, my week has been one of those Peaks & Valleys series of episodes. I started in a Valley. Remember 14 months ago when I got a root canal? Which evolved into a root fusion? Which evolved into a partial root amputation? Well, I'm done with that now because the tooth died and was extracted Monday afternoon. Must have been all that CAKE! Then Tuesday I climbed to a Peak when the installation of the new stairs in my house was completed. That means we're on to the electrical installation, drywall and finally resumption of normal sleep habits. Except for some minor replacement of siding on the old part of the house, the exterior is pretty much done. Except for one thing that became the Valley of Wednesday. We got nearly 2.75 inches of rain right here in Sparkle City, mostly between 4:15pm-10:30pm. This is not a good thing if the only thing that is not finished on the exterior of the house is the lack of installing gutters. Combine this with the fact that there is currently only dirt, no grass, in the front yard because of all the construction trucks and the replacement of the sidewalks and all of a sudden the 2.75 inches of rain became 2.75 inches of standing water in the basement rooms where I live. While my wonderful wife endured back pain filling up the wet-vac four times (we're talking 16 gallons of muddy water) I was out in the rain trying my best to divert the water that was cascading down the new sidewalk and creating a small scale version of Lake Michigan in the front of my house. Then the lightning started. And I was reminded of all the times I heard my dad say "you're more likely to get hit by lightning than winning the lotto." And since I've never won the lotto, I immediately knew I was in trouble. So now, the $1400 worth of new carpeting that I had installed last Fall on the stairs, (remember, there's now NEW stairs, so the old stairs, with the new carpet, are in the landfill) in the hall (where the wet-vac sucked up 16 gallons of muddy water) and in my bedroom (which now is an island) will probably have to be removed. Wednesday was definitely a valley. It's 3am Friday morning and I'm STILL trying to dry out that carpet. But I'm headed to another Peak. Today's forecast is for sunny (BLUE) skies and a 20mph wind which will aid in drying out the place. Let's break out the CAKE and celebrate!...
On a completely different note. If you want to be hip to the latest happenings in the world of blues but you only want to spend 90 minutes a year to get that hipness, you should listen to my Blue Avenue radio show this Sunday evening (5-6:30p) on Iowa Public Radio. It's a recap of the Blues Music Awards that were presented by the Blues Foundation on May 6 and the latest music by the award winners. There's a better chance than getting hit by lightning that you'll dig the show. Try it, feel the electricity...
The contractors have become inspired by their own success and now regularly show up before 7:30am. Someday I'm going to have to teach them the Bo Diddley beat so they can pound out the rhythm to Willie & The Hand Jive while driving those nails. There probably won't be a Blue Note next week. I'm wishing you many more Peaks than Valleys as you drive the Blue Highway, keep rubbin' that washboard tie, always have yer gutters up in a rain storm, thanks to everyone who responded about the problems we had sending out the note last week, we're about 25 seconds away from finding out if we fixed it (let me know if yer gettin it more than once (!), keep yer CAKE in a dry place and always remember we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band

Claudia Swartz Update

Update for blues fans in North Caronlina from Claudia Swartz

 

Hello, dear friends and Supporters of the Blues and its local Musicians!

 

Please do not miss us this coming Sunday for the 7th annual Blues Show at HQ Library's Pate Room. Show is from 1 till 6 PM.

 

                           Bands:

 

Robbie Reid            Corky Jones & Mighty Blue         Seth Jones

BluesEnigma           Willie Bradley Trio                     Raiford Street band

Puncho Forrest         Layla Locklear                         Lakota John

Kicked to the Curb    Buddy Woodard                        Marie

 

Free for all ages, limited seating come early and stay late! bring the kids and grandkids and get your dancing shoes on. We are gonna parteeeee...;)

Email me if you need to know something and don;t go nowhere else on Sunday but to church and then on to the Library!!!

 

Shannon Davis will sell his necklaces and handmade glass creations, perfromers will sell videos and audio CD's of their performances.

Filming by: University of NC at Pembroke

PA System: Ray King

Drums: Billy Harmon

and Sound by Glenn

 

Thanks to all the wonderful folks who have made these perfromances possible.

 

 

                          OPEN MIC NIGHTS:

 

Every Monday           Open Mic with Bob Steele

Every Tues               Open Mic with Tommy Alexander and Randy Gabbert

Where: At Big Harry's Tavern friendliest bar in town, drink Specials and the best music on the planet!!! Right across from the Cadillac Ranch on Ft. Bragg Rd.

Lena Horne RIP

The great blues, swing and jazz artist Lena Horne has died.  She was 92 years old.  Here is a news segement from CBS news.

Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

You know you're in trouble when you're recently married, retired from your real job, your band hasn't played in nearly three weeks and when you write a check to WalMart, they hand you a piece of paper that says: CHECK DECLINED; Denied by Telecheck, REASON 88. Do you know how embarrassing it is to have your check denied by WalMart? Especially for reason 88? (I s'pose you don't, because you never shop at WalMart) (and don't start in on me about the politics of shopping at WalMart. They're open at 3am and they'll sell me stuff cheap, OK?) What the hell IS reason 88 anyway? I mean really, WalMart will take ANYBODY'S check (judging from the appearance of some of the customers) but they wouldn't take mine. I normally pay cash, but I was trying to buy a small HDTV for a few hundred dollars and I didn't have the cash on me. Anyway, so I grab one of my two credit cards, the 82 year old clerk goes through the swiping process (huh?) and hands me another piece of paper that says CREDIT CARD DENIED-expiration 2/10. By now, the people behind me in line are wondering "Dude, if your check is denied and your card is denied, do you REALLY need that scrawny little HDTV?" but wait, this is a note about The Blue Band, damn it...
TONIGHT (Fri. May 7) is the final First Friday geeezzer gig of the season at the Hub, 4th & Main, downtown Sparkle City USA (Cedar Falls) We play 6-9pm. Pizza by the slice and adult beverages available in between dances. It's simply the most fun indoor gig that we do. The weather is predicted to be cold and rainy, so come on in! Be part of it one last time before the summer break. I was worried when I heard that the Hub's ace soundman, Josh Hubrig was taking the night off, but rumor has it that longtime Blue Sound Guru Phil Maass might be taking his place. Iowa City saxman Rod Pierson will join Al in the horn section, we're hopin' Bob Guthart brings one of those 400 guitars he has on the wall at Bob's Guitars, and like I said, we haven't played in almost three weeks, so it should be lots of fun just seeing if I can remember how the songs go and what the words are! What's not to like, right Avis?! Somebody bring CAKE!...errr MANGOS!...
Speaking of Phil Maass, the guy just continues to wow me with his recording/editing/mastering skills as we get closer and closer to finishing the New Year's Eve souvenir recording. We're hoping to have them ready to sell starting Memorial Day weekend along with the Blue Honeymoon Tour shirts that Steve Campbell designed. If you would like a color other than black, white, or light blue and/or a specific size that might be out of the ordinary, please let me know asap and we'll include it in the order. And if you'd like to get your party, club, or festival date listed on the back, BOOK THAT DATE NOW!!...
Speaking of booking your date, we did add a few things to the calendar this week including the Nevada (the city east of Ames, not the gambling capitol of the world) Fireman's Street Dance, a return to the Celebrate Washington Festival (the city south of Iowa City not the political capitol of the world) and, altho' it's not completely finalized yet, a return to the Cherokee (the town out by Sioux City, not the Native American nation) Jazz & Blues Festival is likely to happen to help kick off next year's 30th Anniversary Tour in January 2011! We've still got 3 open Saturdays thru the summer and would still like to be part of that deck party at your mansion on the outskirts of town...
Speaking of open dates. We don't have work again until Memorial Day weekend (unless we become the house band at your mansion on the outskirts of town) (or your basement or garage if you live in a neighborhood like mine) Oh, and one more thing (Columbo moment) tickets are now on sale for the Iowa Public Radio Blues Cruise on the Spirit of Dubuque River Boat, June 4. There's only room on the boat for 300 people. Don't miss the boat. Info and tickets available on the homepage at www.iowapublicradio.org...
Speaking of my neighborhood, progress on the (de)construction of my house is moving along. We now have all of the exterior finished, except for the residing of the old part of the house and a brand new sidewalk and walkway leading up to the new door. A new 6' X 4' space has been cut out of the kitchen floor and I expect the new stairs to be built, right outside my bedroon door, starting in about 4 and a half hours...
YIKES! FOUR AND A HALF HOURS??!! I gotta get some sleep. I'll just have to tell you about the WalMart clerk's 10 minute struggle to unlock the security wire that was wrapped around that TV when I see ya at The Hub later on tonight. See ya on the Blue Highway, bring yer zydeco tie to the Hub and rub it. It's the Hub pub rub, bub. I hope all you mothers have a wonderful weekend and all your children bring you MANGO flavored CAKE! Always remember that we love you, Bob Dorr & The Blue Band

Roy Carrier RIP

Roy Carrier, zydeco accordionists, and father of Chubby Carrier has died.  He was 63.  For more information check out his obit at the website of the Daily Advertiser.  (Click HERE)

Alexa Ray Joel: Come Home

Here is a nice bluzy song from Alexa Ray Joel, who is Billy Joel's little girl.  She is pretty good! 

Bryce Janney With Bob Dorr, Molly Nova, and the Blue Band

The Blue Band is perhaps one of the all time favorite blues band in Iowa.  Certainly no outdoor party, or the Iowa State Fair is completet without these guys.  Unfortunatly there is very little video of the band out there on the internet.  However, someone has finally put up an old clip of the band when Bryce Janney and Molly Nova were still in the group.  It is mostly of Bryce, Which is worth watching for itself, but it has the added bonus of Bob and Molly!  Check it out!!!!!!
Summer Souvenir

The Big Bopper: Chantilly Lace

Oh! Baby You know what I like!!!!!!

Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

Remember when we were kids and would stay up for days at a time? (well maybe "remember" isn't the right word) Anyway, take it from me there is a very weird "high" that comes from sleep deprivation. I am now finishing my 3rd week of getting up at 8am (sometimes earlier) so someone can knock out a wall, reroof the house, (because of that major hail damage on Apr. 6) put in a new door, (6 feet south of the old door) offer a hail damage estimate on Larry the band truck, have a new AC/furnace installed, (two days for that one) remove all the kitchen cabinets/counter tops, put in a new window, (make that two windows) pour some concrete steps in front of the new door (that's six feet south of the old concrete steps) nail on siding on the new addition, (Carolyn has posted some of the construction photos at http://gallery.me.com/carolynprins#100333) And now I'm told that it's time to move the stairs which are right outside of my mancave basement bedroom. I'm down to three livable rooms in my entire house (each of those rooms have all the clutter from the rooms that are being renovated PLUS their own clutter) I have no sink except for the bathroom and all this is going on while I'm still trying to live my life producing radio shows until 4 or 5 in the morning...
But I digress. It's about the Blue Band, damn it! No gig this week, but I'm really looking forward to the final First Friday gig of the season at The Hub, 4th & Main, Sparkle City USA, next Friday, May 7, 6-9pm (the geeezer gig!) Maybe we'll have copies of our New Year's Eve souvenir CD by then. Working on the mixing, editing, and sequencing of that recording has made me realize how fortunate I am to play with such fabulous people and to have access to Phil Maass' sound engineering skills. Life is good. Life would be FABULOUS if we had some more work, tho'! We've still got some prime weekend dates available this summer. It's GOT to be about time for that deck party at your mansion on the outskirts of town, doesn't it? Speaking of booking dates, there was a shift in a couple booked dates this week. First, the Party in the Park in Colfax got moved from Sat. July 17 to Sunday July 18 (that means that Saturday is open for that deck party!) And our dates at the Iowa State Fair got moved one day also. We now play the final Sat./Sun. instead of the final Fri./Sat. This will be our 25th Anniversary year at The Fair, so please make plans to join us for the last two days...
Oh, one other thing that has sneaked up on me. The annual Wine & Tulips fundraiser for (the station formerly known as) KUNI, is TONIGHT! (Fri.) Yeah, I know, I can't ever remember it being held on a Friday night either. The Blue Band is again auctioning off a night of entertainment during the silent auction, so I'm hoping to see you there (in about 16 hours). If you need more info on this event, try www.iowapublicradio.org...

I think I'm getting a sleep deprivation headache. And I'm beginning to hear rumbles of thunder. Must be time to get my four hours of sleep. See yas on the Blue Highway, say a little prayer for my Uncle Wallace, keep workin' on your washboard tie licks (there's a space on the new CD for you to play along with the band) if yer going to the Wine & Tulips event make an auction bid on the Blue Band's services, and remember, wine goes good with cheeseCAKE, and don't forget we love you. Bob Dorr and the Blue Band
Summer Souvenir

The Mystery Blues Woman: Crow Jane

I have no idea who this young lady is, but she does a great job on Skip James's Crow Jane!  If anyone knows who she is please let me know!   Thanks!

Stop Breaking Down: The Robert Johnson Story

A cool clip from a filmed thesis made by Glen Marzano When he was at Loyola Maramount.  I would love to see the whole thing.  This clip in particular shows Robert first as a young man learning the blues and then later the night before he dies. 

Curry Harter Update

You may or may not have heard CURRY play with a band. You may or may not have heard Kim Mason "Bluesdawg" play with CURRY. BUT YOU probably HAVE NEVER HEARD ---CURRY play with "BLUESDAWG and the FORTY'S". Classic Rock, Southern Rock. Rock Blues. "Dance to it Baby." AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME OUT for "The FORTY'S" ... SO COME AND SUPPORT, HAVE FUN, GET HAPPY ! ! ! friends and friends of friends welcome!

Start Time:	Friday, April 30, 2010 at 9:00pm
End Time:	Saturday, May 1, 2010
Location:	2956 E. Grand Ave-Des Moines, Iowa

JAMMERS WELCOME AFTER 12


Curry
BLUES from the HEARTLAND
www.myspace.com/CurryHarp