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Friday, June 25, 2010
The Voice
Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update
It's been a couple years since our last gig in the land of Chucks, Charles City IA. (how much wood would a woodchuck chuck, Charles?) See ya tonight (Fri) at Party In The Park, Central Park (just off downtown) 5-9pm. I love these outdoor, multi generational, community shows. Need more info: 641-228-2335 or www.charlescitychamber.com...
This weekend is Sparkle City's annual celebration Sturgis Falls Days. I love this event mostly because it's such a celebration and showcase of the people and talents that live in Cedar Falls. A majority of the music acts, of all styles, on all stages, all three days, are from here or have roots here. The sense of pride in our little burg is never greater than "Sturgis Weekend" After 20 some years of playing at this festival, I still get nervous playing for the hometown folks. Our playing time is Sunday, Tourist Park, 5:30p-7:30p. Please help vibe for dry weather because there's all kinds of cool things happening with that show. Long time Blue Band Hammond organ man, Sam Salomone is playing on the jazz stage earlier in the day, so I asked him if he'd want to haul that big organ to the other side of the river and play with us too and by God, he accepted the invitation! Long time Blue Band sound engineer Phil Maass (The Wizard of Wires, the Sultan of Solder, the Knave of Knobs, The Deacon of Decibels) will be on hand to help with sound, and this year, Cedar Falls Cablevision is planning on being on hand to tape the show! (I love to watch reruns of last year's Sturgis Falls Days on the local cable channel at 3am in the middle of a blizzard in the winter) My personal thanks to Jay Stoddard and Marcus at the Hub, along with the Sturgis entertainment committee, for the invitation to be part of this hometown festival. It means the world to me. See yas around town all weekend...
There are two "for the public" shows next weekend for the Independence Day weekend celebration. Thursday July 1 we're part of the kick off day for the 5 day celebration in Clear Lake. We play the band shell 7-11pm. And our annual 4th of July show on Sunday, at Colby Park, 69th & School St. (no freshMEN please) in Windsor Heights. (suburban Des Moines) We play right before the fireworks, 7-10pm. Both appearances, free of charge, all ages welcome...
Our latest recording, done at last year's New Year's Eve/Wedding celebration, was released this week. We'll have copies of Blue Moon Honeymoon available at all live shows and thru the website Merchandise page. This year's Tour shirt has Steve Campbell's wedding celebration design on the front and list of dates on the back, available in black, white, or light blue. Any profits derived from sales of shirts this year will be shared equally with the American Cancer Society and the clean up efforts in the Gulf of Mexico from the sickening oil spill. So here's the deal (only for you) Buy that new CD for the regular $15 price. Get the shirt for $5 more. But wait, there's more, get the CD/shirt combo for $20 and get that Iowa Public TV produced 2-DVD set (regularly priced at $25) for just $5 more. AND, add as many other Blue Band CDs as you like for only $5 each! How do we do it??? VOLUME!!!...
We took a couple of STEPS backward this week in the on going saga of house remodeling. Literally an entire day, with a 4 man crew, was taken with moving the brand new stairway six inches to the south so the refrigerator door could swing open. And this morning (at 7:48am but who's counting (sheep)) (baaaaad joke, sorry, but I'm delirious from no sleep) (a no sleep sheep?) a trench was dug all along the foundation in the front of the house in order to plug the holes/crack in the foundation that lets the water in and have it sealed by some kind of rubber waterproofing. We've been waiting for this water proofing for weeks, but there has been too much (rain) water to allow work on the waterproofing. All of this had to happen before we could do any landscaping. (Catch 22?) I just tell people they can find our house because we're the only one with 5 foot mounds of dirt in the front yard and a green rubber coating on our foundation (insert your own joke here) We had hoped that the work would be done by Sturgis Falls Days. Now we're hoping for Labor Day....
A quick shout out and thank you to Laura and Larry who, honest to God, brought Mango CAKE to the Kansas City gig last Saturday! This was dessert after AJ and Carla brought in food for their birthday celebration (happy birthday to both of yas) and it was all topped off with JoMama's TRIPLE chocolate brownies. The sugar high helped with the 5 1/2 hour drive home! (no men changing babies in ANY of the restrooms along the way)...
So remember as you drive down that Blue Highway, there IS such a thing as Mango CAKE, you make it if you try, so bring it with you when you come. And bring yer zydeco tie along too (there's a spot for you to play along on our new CD) See ya on the streets of Sparkle City, and always remember we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band
PS: we're slowly getting a handle on our email delivery problems. Please let us know if this is the first note you've gotten in a while or any other delivery abnormality you might be experiencing (?!)
Calvin Leavy
From Bob Corritore
- RIP Calvin Leavey 1940 - June 6, 2010. Arkansas blues singer/guitarist Calvin Leavey was best known for his often covered hit "Cummins Prison Farm". He died Sunday, June 6th of complications from Diabetes. He was 70. Aside from "Cummins Prison Farm", Calvin also had regional hits with "Going Back To The Dogs", and "If Life Lasts, Luck Is Bound To Change". Sadly his songs were prophetic as Calvin would be sent to Cummins for a drug related charge. He passed away with just one more year of time to serve. His rich, warm voice, great guitar work, and perfect blues songwriting will assure him his eternal place in blues history. To read more about Calvin Leavey, click here, and to hear "Cummins Prison Farm" click here.
Bob Corritore Blues News
June 25, 2010
- 2010 Blues Blast Music Awards nominations announced! Dave Riley & Bob Corritore / Lucky To Be Living nominated for Traditional Blues Album! The Blues Blast Music Awards are now in their third year and already have quickly become an institution in the blues world. The awards, put on by Blues Blast Magazine, will take place on Thursday, October 28th at Buddy Guy's Legends new location of 754 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago, IL 60605. This week the 2010 nominees were announced and among 6 very worthy candidates listed in the "Best Traditional Blues CD" category was Dave Riley & Bob Corritore / Lucky To Be Living on the Blue Witch label. To see the complele list of all the 2010 Blues Blast Music Award nominees click here. Voting to determine the winners begins July 8th, 2010 and continues until August 31st, 2010 at http://www.TheBluesBlast.com. Voting is open to anyone who is a Blues Blast Magazine subscriber. Subscriptions are free and you can sign up as part of the voting process. Thank you Bob Kieser and everyone from Blues Blast Magazine!
- Phoenix CD Party for Chris James & Patrick Rynn's new Earwig CD this weekend at the Rhythm Room! Chris James & Patrick Rynn's sophomore release, Gonna Boogie Anyway on the Earwig label, finds this unstoppable blues team exploring their award winning formula on a set of mostly original songs. Chris and Patrick will celebrate their new release tonight and tomorrow, Friday, June 25th, and Saturday, June 26th, at their monthly gig with the Rhythm Room All-Stars at the Rhythm Room. The Rhythm Room All-Stars lineup consists of Big Pete Pearson, Bob Corritore, Chris James, Patrick Rynn, and Brian Fahey. Gonna Boogie Anyway will be available for sale at this event! The Rhythm Room is located at 1019 E. Indian School Rd. in Phoenix, and doors open at 8pm with a 9pm showtime.
- Sixties Mickey Baker on YouTube! Please enjoy this 1966 film clip of blues guitar master Mickey Baker playing a groovy blues instrumental to some dancing hipsters! To see this clip click here.
- Happy 70th Birthday Bob Porter! Noted producer/radio host/reissue compiler Bob Porter celebrated his 70th birthday with a wonderful jazz/blues party on Monday at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Englewood, New Jersey. The amazing house band at the party included Bernard Purdie, Melvin Sparks, Bill Easley, and Akiko Tsuruga and the night included guest appearances by David Keyes, Bob Corritore, Guy Davis, Angel Rissoff, Duke Robillard, Shemekia Copeland, and Lou Donaldson. Also in the house was the great Houston Person. Leave it to Bob Porter to find the perfect common ground between jazz and blues. Happy Birthday Bob Porter, and thanks for all that you have done and are doing for the blues!
- Chicago Recap! I always love going back to my home town of Chicago during the Chicago Blues Festival, as it allows allows for many great reunions and performance opportunities. Being back home also reconnects me with many fond musical memories and reminds me of what I most love about the blues. Chicago blues as a musical genre has a glorious, distinctive sound filled the tradition of its forefathers. Though many of the originals are now gone, the sound, albeit updated somewhat, remains intact and widely performed around the city. Speaking of forefathers, this year's fest honored the centennial of Howlin' Wolf's birthday, with many performances and panel discussions centered around the mighty Howlin Wolf. Here is an incomplete list of just some of the many highlights of my week in Chicago:
1) Harp & Soul Festival. Thanks to Lynn Orman, Scott Shuman, Bill Wax and Dave Specter for this magical night which was equal parts musical showcase and reunion. My set opened the show with a great group that included Billy Flynn, Chris James, Patrick Rynn, Bob Riedy, and a guest appearance by the legendary Sam Lay! Other sets were by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Rob Stone (with Sam Lay on drums!), Grady Champion, and Billy Flynn (who in addition to his fine guitar and mandolin work that night played some spectacular chromatic harmonica). Martin Lange also made a brief guest appearance,sitting in on Rob Stone's set.
2) Tail Dagger's set at the Front Porch Stage. Of all the shows at the Chicago Blues Festival, none captured the spirit of Howlin' Wolf better then Tail Dagger's Friday afternoon set at the Front Porch Stage! With a great band that included Jimmy Dawkins and Billy Flynn on guitars, and Martin Lange playing ferocious harmonica, Tail Dragger delivered the goods with no apologies!
3) Lunch with Amy Brat! Amy Brat is best known for her photography and for her work with the Windy City Blues Society, Amy has always been a goodwill ambassador for the blues. Though we have known each other for years through various blues events that we frequent, this was the first time we had to sit down and have an extended conversation. We met for a nice Italian meal at Cafe Baci on Michigan Ave and had a great conversation about how the blues fits into various forms of social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. BTW, I recently started a new Facebook page which you can visit by clicking here. Thanks Amy for the good information and advice!
4) Interview with Clarence Stevens and Cookie Taylor. While at the Chicago Blues Festival, I stopped by the Koko Taylor tent. Though Koko had passed about a year ago, her daughter Cookie, is maintaining the tent and Gary, Indiana blues radio host Clarence Stevens and Cookie were taping interviews for his "Blues You Can Use" radio show. How reaffirming to have Koko's daughter thanking me in the interview for recording her mother (Koko Taylor is featured on the opening track of my new CD, Harmonica Blues, on the Delta Groove label)
5) Billy Flynn's gig at The Smoke Daddy! Billy Flynn has a magical quality of bringing a scene together for his shows at The Smoke Daddy. He is a great musician who is best known as a guitarist, but also plays great mandolin, harmonica, and drums. Billy had invited me to make a guest appearance on his Friday show. Billy's core group included Eddie Kobek on drums (recently back from a year long playing hiatus), and Mike Flynn (Billy's brother) on the bass! Guests appearances were also made by the legendary Jody Williams, Dave Waldman, Martin Lange, Scott Dirks, Kate Moss, Rockin' Johnny, and Eugene Plotnick, a fine harmonica player from New Jersey who I met that night. A real Chicago blues party!
6) Saturday with Sam Lay and Bob Riedy! It has been a joy to have become good friends with Bob Riedy over the last few years, and to be regularly included on his shows. Bob was a major musical and business force in the seventies, and more then anyone else, can be credited for bringing blues to the north side of Chicago during that time period. His RMR productions created booking arrangements with various clubs to rotate blues bands from his roster of great talent. Bob has been a major influence in my life as an example of how to combine business savvy with musicianship. The Bob Riedy Blues Band was part of the lineup of a new stage at the Chicago Blues Festival called the Street Stage, which was booked and coordinated by the Windy City Blues Society. This stage was a big hit at the festival because of its very entertaining and high quality rotation of acts. We had a 5pm slot on Saturday with a one hour show. The great Bill Lupkin kicked off the set singing and playing harmonica for the first half of the show. Then they called Sam Lay and I up to perform together for the remainder of the set. Though raining at that point we had a huge crowd, many of whom had umbrellas and raincoats and endured the weather for our set! Other band members include Jon Hiller, Mark Wydra, Jim Wydra, and Frank Capek. Later that night, the same band would appear at Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook for a fun show that would be filmed as part of a documentary DVD project that Bob Riedy and David Jack are working on. The Chicken Basket is a wonderful stop on Route 66 complete with great home-style meals. I had a wonderful chicken dinner complete with some of great chicken dumpling soup, the best biscuits ever, and the locally brewed root beer called Route 66 Beer! The car ride home with Sam Lay, Bob Riedy, and photographer Daniel Swadener was hysterical with Sam Lay cracking jokes the whole time. It is a great honor to be included in this group!
7) Delmark Blues Brunch. It is a tradition to go to the Delmark Blues Brunch at the Jazz Record Mart on the Sunday of the Blues Fest. The brunch provides a showcase of Delmark artists as well as great gathering of blues people and a great excuse to do some nice CD and LP shopping! I had to stop in to visit with my lifelong friend of Bob Koester. I started going to the JRM when I was in my early teens. and Bob and his wife Susan have seen me through all my stages of life. It was great to hang with my former employers Tail Dragger and Willie Buck, who have both come into prominence in recent years from their recorded work on the Delmark record label. Also performing at the brunch were John Primer, Eddie C. Campbell, Scott Dirks, Martin Lange, Little Al Thomas, Quique Gomez, Pierre Lacocque (of Mississippi Heat), and many others. The blues was alive and well that Sunday Morning at JRM!
8) Buddy Guys Legends! I was able to attend two shows at the new Buddy Guy's Legends; the Grammy chapter blues show, and Li’l Ed and the Blues Imperials. The new club maintains the vibe of the original club, but with a slightly larger room, a better sound system, and a fresh coat of paint! What a blues party!
9) Joe Filisko's Harmonica Class! Joe Filisko is a proactive force of blues harmonica, as a great performer and recording artist, a craftsman of his namesake brand of customized harmonicas, and as a nuturing teacher of the instrument who has had a class at the Old Town School Of Folk Music. It was an honor to be invited to speak at this class on the Monday after the festival. Joe has cultivated this earnest and suppotive enviroment for his students, of which many have gone on to be highly respected working musicians around the Chicago area. After some class instruction by Joe (which I thoroughly enjoyed) there was a break before my presentation. Joe had four of his star students (Zoe Savage, Kirk Manley, Grant Kessler, and Highway Rickey) start out the presentation with a song each. I was knocked out by each of their performances, and it highlighted the level and commitment of the class! Then I was called up for my presentation, which I approached with equal parts performance, history, and philosophy. The class asked many informed questions (about Big Walter, Paul Butterfield, producing records, etc.) and I did my best to answer each one in the most informative way. The positive feedback that I received from the class was reaffirming and overwhelming. Along with the students, I was pleased by the attendance of harmonica aces Scott Dirks, and Ivan Marcio who came by to check out the class, as well as my longtime blues buddy, Paul Hopkins, whom I used to see many a show with in the 1970s! Thank you Joe, for the honor of participating in your great class!
All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and it appears that the blues is going strong in Chicago. Many more great moments occured that were too numerous to mention, but I have listed some of my favorites! Thanks to Barry Dollins for years of service to the Chicago Blues Festival as word has it that he will soon be retiring from the fest's coordinator position.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Selling a Book On Ebay
Hey everyone!
If you like John Lennon I have a very cool, and very collectible book about an Iowa artist who tried to warn Lennon that his life was in danger. Don't let the graphic cover of the book scare you. The imagery in the book is more like a fairy tale. The title of the book is John Lennon: A Real Live Fairytale. You can check it out here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130403760952
I am in some big debt, and it is time to start selling off my collectibles. I have Beatles memorabilia, Blues collectibles, and tons of records, and books. I will post each new auction here on the blog. I appreciate all your help!
Tom Gary
Blues Historian
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130403760952
I am in some big debt, and it is time to start selling off my collectibles. I have Beatles memorabilia, Blues collectibles, and tons of records, and books. I will post each new auction here on the blog. I appreciate all your help!
Tom Gary
Blues Historian
Monday, June 21, 2010
Claudia Swartz Update
Local Artist Blues Extravaganza and Local Disabled Musicians Benefit
Hello, Friends of local live Music
On Saturday the 26th of June at 8.30 Fayetteville's legendary Blues Performers and guests are going to grace the biggest stage in the Carolinas at the new and awesome Rockshop Music Hall on 128 South King Street off Eastern Blvd.
We have worked hard and diligently throughout the year to produce a show of World Class Proportions.
Fayetteville's local artists are never included in any of the lineups for major festivals here in the city and have played for way too long on the small stages in town for little pay and appreciation.
June 26th will be the chnage for us all when we will grace the huge 40 foot Show Stage at the new Rockshop Music Hall for a good cause.
Several of our Musical Family Mmebers have fallen on very hard and traumatic times due to unexpected and life chnaging illnesses or accidents. I am starting a foundation for them to be able to help them in their time of need.
I need everyone who is in town to join us for this important and awesome event.
Please get your ticvkets starting tomorrow at Edwards Music Company or buy them at the door for .
A major portion of the proceeds will be allotted for the foundation. The recipients of the fund will be:
Chris Cox, David " Thumbs" Johnson, Pat Vines Funeral expenses and Jerry B.
Performers;
Robbie Reid Corky Jones David " Thumbs" Johnson
Bradley Muffett Puncho Forrest Willie Bradley
Chris Cox Band BluesEnigma 13 year old Blues Phenomenon " Lakota John" and the Locklear Blues Family.
Don't miss us and spread the word!!!
Email me with any questions
Check my Facebbok site for addional info!!
Claudia Swartz
Travis "Moonchild" Haddick
From Blues Critic Media
Travis "Moonchild" Haddix has a new CD and a new DVD
VIDEO CLIP HERE
BEN 1001
Travis 'Moonchild' Haddix
"The Moonchild Live In Cleveland" DVD
BEN 4
Travis 'Moonchild' Haddix
"A Dozen Times" CD
According to the Wall Street Journal, the blues is dead again! Where do they get this crazy stuff! The Blues is alive and well. Perhaps its the Wall Street Journal that's dying:-)
Travis "Moonchild" Haddix has a new CD and a new DVD
VIDEO CLIP HERE
BEN 1001 Travis 'Moonchild' Haddix
"The Moonchild Live In Cleveland" DVD
BEN 4 Travis 'Moonchild' Haddix
"A Dozen Times" CD
According to the Wall Street Journal, the blues is dead again! Where do they get this crazy stuff! The Blues is alive and well. Perhaps its the Wall Street Journal that's dying:-)
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