Attention New York Blues Bands

Sonny Rock sent the following email announcing that he has a local licks show in New York. Bands in New York send him your stuff and get on the radio! Here is his message

Hello to all! I am hosting a brand new radio show on WRIP 97.9fm called "LOCAL LICKS". The show is on every Tues. night 6-8pm est. I'm looking for original, well recorded music. If your interested in having your music played on the air or coming in the studio for a live performance please contact me. Email or phone 518-291-2837. You can catch show by web at (www.rip979.com). Look forward to hearing from you soon!! Thanks. Sonny

Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

There is a store, a little past Vickie's Place in the mall, called Variety or Vanity or Varsity or actually, I don't know EXACTLY what it's called because it's a clothing store for young women and those clothes don't fit me, but all this week, there was a HUGE sign in front of the store that said TWO FOR $60!! but in very small type under that was "one for $29.80". What?? No wonder this country is going bankrupt. Which brings me to the health care "summit" this afternoon. But for those that just want the Blue Band appearance info:

This week, we don't have a gig...

Next week, 3/5, is the First Friday Geeezzzer Gig at The Hub, 4th & Main, in sweet home Sparkle City, 6-9pm. I love this gig. Sat. 3/6 we return to Davenport, the home of the Sudlow Jr. High Tigers for a cool showcase at the hippest place in town, The Redstone Room at the River Music Experience at 2nd & Main. Doors open at 8p, showtime at 9p. We'll play til a little past midnight. My return to the town of my Jr. High days always warrants CAKE!...

But get this: it's currently -9 windchill and the first OUTDOOR gig of the season is two weeks from Saturday!! OK, it's in a cozy little heated tent outside of the Twisted Parrot Lounge as part of their weekend long St. Paddy's Day Celebration and honestly (would I lie to you?) it actually got too HOT in their last year, but it's still OUTSIDE. The Parrot is located at 6500 Hickman Rd. in the Des Moines suburb that seems to have adopted us as their own-Windsor Heights. We play 7-11p. Party in the Parking Lot!!...

Other than that, we're hurtin' for workin'. Maybe we could play your heated garage...

Well, I titled this note the "world's quickest" and that health care summit lasted EIGHT hours, so I'll have to hold those comments til next week. All I can say now is that everyone would be a lot healthier if they came out and danced to The Blue Band, took regular walks past Vickie's Place (and WHATEVAH that other store is) and ate more CAKE! Oh, and don't forget the advice of Paul from San Antonio: always drink upstream from the herd! See yas on The Blue Highway, we love you, Bob Dorr & The Blue Band

From Bob Corritore

February 26, 2010

RIP Brian "B.B".Bruce - September 17, 1946 - February 24, 2010. Harmonica player, Brian "B.B." Bruce passed away Wednesday, February 24th, of colon cancer in his home of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was 63. Best known for his long association with Henry Gray, Brian and Andy Cornett co-founded Henry Gray & The Cats in the mid 1970s. Bruce also worked with the legendary Tabby Thomas, Rudy Richard, Larry Garner, Lil' Buck Sinegal, Harry "Big Daddy" Hypolite, Carol Fran and a host of other Louisiana artists. Bruce received a Slim Harpo Award from the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation in the mid 1990s. Cornett has this to say about his longtime friend and musical associate; "Brian"B.B." Bruce embodied a sense of delight and gratefulness, delivered 110% commitment, dedication, heart and soul in all of his performances no matter where he performed in the world. He touched and many people's hearts with his music and his life." Memorial services will be held at Rabenhorst Funeral Home on Florida Blvd. in Baton Rouge, LA this Saturday, February 27th, at 3:00 pm. Thanks to Andy Cornett for providing the biographical information.

Murali Coryell Update

Look for feature in April Guitar Player Magazine! and Elmore Magazine March/April review!

Buy "Sugar Lips" @ CDbaby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/murali7

Buy "Sugar Lips" @ Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Lips-Murali-Coryell/dp/B002UOKXUQ/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_lnk

Murali Coryell

Friday, March 12th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band - 11:00pm
Crabby Daddy

25186 Interstate 45
The Woodlands, TX 77386
(281) 296-2722

Price: $10

Saturday, March 13th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band w/Ernie Durawa-Drums & Brad Taylor-Bass - 11:00pm
Crabby Daddy

25186 Interstate 45
The Woodlands, TX 77386
(281) 296-2722

Price: $10

Sunday, March 14th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band - 8:00pm
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa

575 Hyatt Lost Pines Road
Lost Pines, TX 78612
512 308 1234

Price: Free!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band - 8:00pm
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa

575 Hyatt Lost Pines Road
Lost Pines, TX 78612
512 308 1234

Price: Free!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band w/Ernie Durawa-Drums & Brad Taylor-Bass - 11:30pm-2:00am
Nuno's on Sixth

422 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 833-5133

Price: TBA

Friday, March 26th, 2010
Joe Louis Walker - 8:00pm & 10:00pm
Warm Daddy's

1400 South Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19147-5526
(215) 462-2000

Price: $20

w/Joe Louis Walker

Saturday, March 27th, 2010
Joe Louis Walker - 8:00pm & 10:00pm
Warm Daddy's

1400 South Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19147-5526
(215) 462-2000

Price: $20

w/Joe Louis Walker

Monday, March 29th, 2010
Joe Louis Walker - 8:00pm & 10:30pm
The Blue Note

131 West 3rd Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 475-8592

Price: $10 bar $15 table

w/Joe Louis Walker

Sunday, April 11th, 2010
Joe Louis Walker - 4:30 pm
Tampa Bay Blues Festival

Vinoy Waterfront Park
St. Petersburg, FL

Tampa Bay Blues Festival 2010

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
Larry Coryell & Murali Coryell - TBA
Playhouse on the Green

Bridgeport, CT

Price: $30

Saturday, July 17th, 2010
4:00pm
Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival

Methow River Blues Ranch Hwy. 20
Winthrop, WA

Sunday, July 25th, 2010-July 30th, 2010
"Finding Your Voice"
National Guitar Workshop

101 Aspetuck Ave
New Milford, CT
06776
800-234-6479

Price: $995 per week

Murali Coryell shares his time, talent, knowledge and experience as he teaches a new course @ The Canterbury School

Thursday, November 18th, 2010
Murali Coryell Band - 7:30pm
Shea's Performing Arts Center

658 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 847-1410

Price: TBA

Opening for B.B. King

Jem Top Site Recommended Reading!!!

Blues Historian website has been nominated by Jem Site readers as a Recommended Reading Site! Very cool news! Make sure to check out their site listed in the blogs I read links.

Also make sure to vote for Blues Historian by clicking on the icon below.

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The icon will also be found on the side of the blog.

Other news that I missed but you should know about. We went over 125,000 hits for the life of the blog! Thank you very much! Those of you who have been around awhile remember that I originally set up this blog for my blues students at Buena Vista University. Yet from day one I have been amazed at the number of people from all over the world that drop by. I also posted by 2,500 post a few weeks back! I missed that milestone too! Yikes!

anyway as always thank you and thanks for keeping the blues alive.

Jeff Ward RIP

More bad news from central Iowa. Another friend and musician has died. Jeff Ward was part of our horn section at the original Thursday night blues jam at the Grand Ave. Lounge. Jeff never asked for money during those early days when we were trying to make something happen downtown. Jeff lived for the blues, and in many ways lived the blues. You could always count on Jeff to show up to any gig, and he always had an open invitation to join my band. I can remember one terrible night at the Hull Ave lounge, where everything was going wrong. The cops for some reason kept showing up every 20 mins threatening to shut down the show, and the audience was getting restless. Jeff walked in with his fluglehorn, (a large mellow sounding trumpet) and turned the whole night around. Just pure magic!

I wish I had a newer photo. This one is ten years old or more. If anyone has a newer photo please send it along.

God bless you Jeff.

Wilroy Sanders RIP

From Bob Corritore

Wilroy Sanders RIP - Birthdate unkown - February 16, 2010 Beloved Memphis blues guitarist and singer Wilroy Sanders passed away on Tuesday after a battle with lung cancer. He was 76, Wilroy played in the Binghampton Blues Boys, formed and led The Fieldstones, and owned the Memphis blues bar, Green’s Lounge. though a wonderful down home singer and guitarist, Wilroy would never achieve great fame. He did make some very memorable records which appeared on the XL, High Water, HighTone, and Shangri-La labels. To read more about Wilroy's passing click here. For the Blues World article about Wilroy lick here.

Bob Dorr And The Blue Band Update

OK, who's done with winter? But is winter done with us? I have once again insured more snow fall in the next 24 hours by using today's nice day (you know it's been a tough winter when temperatures in the mid 20s with wind chills in the teens is a "nice day") to remove the last bits of ice and snow from all the walk ways and parking slabs at my house. Mother Nature waits for me to complete this task just so she can break my spirit by adding another couple of inches to the near record totals for the season. It's hard to be a skeptic about climate change when the last three winters have produced 3 out of the top 8 yearly snow fall totals OF ALL TIME here in Sparkle City! And now we get the Winter Olympics (take my snow, PLEASE!) The Winter Dance Party (somebody please tell me what the fascination is with bands that pretend to be someone else) and, most importantly, the Winter Specials at Vickie's place! But first...

I hope you can help us make a good first impression at the new Bourre Lounge, inside of the new restaurant Reux Orleans, in the old Black's Building at 4th and Sycamore in Waterloo. Let me see, a New Orleans themed atmosphere with cajun cuisine at Mardi Gras time. What's not to like, right Avis? Get there early for the great food and stay late to rub yer washboard tie with the band. (you do not have to give up rubbin' it for Lent) We start a little after 9 and play til at least 12:30am. Our friend from Independence, Nate Whited, is bringing a birthday party with him, CAKE is optional (but recommended) (speaking of Avis, she's throwing a birthday party for her husband Bob Guthart, at The Hub, tonight-Fri. 2/19, during Checker & The Bluetones Geeezer Gig, CAKE is mandatory!) (Bob would like an official NFL football signed by Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler, Max McGhee, Jerry Kramer, Forest Gregg, Jim Taylor, Willie Wood, Ray Nitschke, and Herb Adderly as a gift, in case you have an extra one of those around)...

We are not currently booked next week (a perfect opportunity to have us play for that celebration you're planning for the first day of temperatures OVER the freezing mark) We have added a cool gig to the first weekend in March. Fri. Mar. 5 is the First Friday of the month Geeezer Gig, 6-9pm, at The Hub and Sat. Mar. 6, we've been invited to play at the Redstone Room in The River Music Experience, 2nd & Main, in Davenport. Doors open at 8, showtime at 9. I'm hoping to run into some people that I went to Sudlow Jr. High School with at that Davenport gig...

So that's the appearance info part of the note. Yer done if that's all ya need. The rest of us will talk about you after you leave...

You know yer old when you're watching the Winter Olympics and you find curling exciting! Until this year, the only contact I've had with curling was in the Beatles movie Help when George Harrison discovered a "fiendish thingy" attached to his curling iron, err, stone. BTW, are people who curl called curlers? How 'bout it girls, have you ever seen men use a broom so fast in your life? Rumor has it that as soon as my wife actually moves into my house, I'll be learning how to use a broom myself! I'm in awe of those curling broomsters already!...

Carolyn (my red headed wife) (what?) (only her hairdresser knows for sure) and I were given some tickets to the Winter Dance Party at the Gallagher/Bluedorn Performing Arts Center tonight as a wedding gift. I enjoyed the show, but I do not understand the proliferation of bands/musicians who pretend to be someone else, in this case, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Christ, they even introduced these guys as Buddy, Richie, and The Bopper. There are bands who pretend to be The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and The Grateful Dead. There are musicians who pretend to be Elvis Presely (both young Elvis and Fat Elvis) There was even a band who pretended to be The Who at this year's Super Bowl! I don't get it. Part of the fascination of being a musician for me is that you get to be you. For cryin' out loud, The Blue Band doesn't even BLUE BAND songs "like the record". I know these "actors" make WAY more money than I ever will (the Gallagher/Bluedorn was sold out at $40 a head, The Blue Band doesn't even sell out The Hub for $5) but I still don't get it. Somebody 'splain this to me...

And that brings us to Vickie's Place (Victoria's Secret) Winter snowfall/temps continues to make it so that my wife (CD not CP!) and I do our exercise walking in the mall. Vickie is having a sale on bras and panties. Bras are $8 a cup and panties are half off (It's 8 minutes, 40 seconds per round of the mall, plenty of time to make this stuff up) The wife (just call her Red) got a Vickie's Gift Certificate at her bridal shower. I'm here to confirm for you fellows what you have always suspected. My wife looks real good in that short, low neckline thing...

Whew, I'm gonna have to take a cold shower just thinkin' about that one! See yas on the Blue Bourre Highway, rubbing yer washboard tie is the only way to survive the rest of the winter, CAKE is always in season, and don't forget that we love you. Bob Dorr & The Blue Band

Curry And Lighting Red

Attention Iowa Blues Bands

Here is your chance to be a star. The Iowa blues societies are looking for a few good people to send to Memphis to represent Iowa. Here is the official press release from the Central Iowa Blues Society.

ATTENTION BLUES BANDS We are now accepting applications for the 2010 IOWA BLUES CHALLENGE!!! Play for a prize package that includes cash, recording time and performance opportunities at Mississippi Valley Blues Fest and other paid gigs, PLUS INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE In Memphis, TN. ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE CHALLENGE? DON’T DELAY!!! Information and applications are available from the Central Iowa Blues Society at (515) 225-6638 and our website www.cibs.org The deadline is March 6th, 2010. The 2010 Iowa Blues Challenge is proudly sponsored by Central Iowa Blues Society, Mississippi Valley Blues Society, Lizard Creek Blues Society, Budweiser, KGGO/98.3 WOW., Junior’s Motel, Cityview, Rieman Musi

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Soul Searchers Update

the soul searchers
click here for our website
click here for our myspace page
click here to buy the CD

wednesday, february 17, 9pm-midnight
greenwood lounge

3707 ingersoll ave, des moines

"the soul searchers lay down authentic west coast blues from their des moines, iowa surroundings" -BLUES REVUE magazine "the soul searchers are a veteran group of players who roll along slickly and confidently" -BLUESWAX "this band puts down energetic jump-blues with a vintage vibe that harks back to early fabulous thunderbirds" -OMAHA READER

Lil' Dave Thompson RIP

From Bob Corritorre

February 15, 2010

RIP Lil' Dave Thompson - May 21, 1969 - February 14th 2010. It is with great sadness that we report that Mississippi blues guitarist Lil' Dave Thompson died yesterday from an auto accident outside of Augusta, Georgia, while touring with his band. His van overturned and Dave was thrown from the vehicle and pronouced dead on the scene by the paramedics. Other members of the group were reportedly not seriously injured. Dave was born in Hinds County, Mississippi and was greatly influenced by musicans from that area. He made his first record for Fat Possum in 1995, and subsequently had two beautiful releases for Electro-Fi. In the last few years he had toured extensively as he built his career. He had developed into a spectacular singer and a fine, modern blues guitarist. For more details on Dave's untimely death click here, and here. To see Dave Thompson's website click here. Rest In peace Lil' Dave.

Dale Hawkins RIP

From Bob Corritore

February 15, 2010

• RIP Dale Hawkins, August 23rd, 1936 - February 14th, 2010. Rock & Roll Pioneer Dale Hawkins passed away in Little Rock, Arkansas on Feb 14th, after a battle with colon cancer. He was 73. Dale was best known for his 1957 classic "Susie Q", which would later be covered by both the Rolling Stones and by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Dale's band was a training ground for many amazing guitaists including James Burton, Scotty Moore, Joe Osborn, Roy Buchanan, Fred Carter, and Kenny Paulsen. Dale was inducted into both the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, and the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. For more information on Dale Hawkins' passing click here. For Dale's website (which plays "Suzie Q" while you are checking it out!) click here, and for his discogrophy click here. Dale Hawkins' "Suzie Q" will remain a timeless work of art.

Soul Searchers Update

the soul searchers
click here for our website
click here for our myspace page
click here to buy the CD

wednesday, february 10, 8-11pm
greenwood lounge

3707 ingersoll ave, des moines

saturday, february 13, 8-11pm
university of iowa swing dance club's valentine's dance

old brick, 26 east market, iowa city

($10 general public, $5 UI students; click link for video of the soul searchers and the club members at a recent event)

"the soul searchers lay down authentic west coast blues from their des moines, iowa surroundings" -BLUES REVUE magazine "the soul searchers are a veteran group of players who roll along slickly and confidently" -BLUESWAX "this band puts down energetic jump-blues with a vintage vibe that harks back to early fabulous thunderbirds" -OMAHA READER

Curry And Lumbard Gig Update

VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND
CURRY & ROB LUMBARD
Tally's Restaurant
Friday (Feb 12) 8-10pm
2712 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

MAP http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?where1=2712%20Beaver%20Avenue%2c%20Des%20Moines%2c%20Iowa&mkt=en-us

http://www.tallysbeaverdale.com/


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

Blues Historian Review: Boogie Woogie Kings

I can remember growing up as a 8 or 9 year old, and loving my old K-TEL Records. If you are old enough you know what I am talking about, the long play 33 rpm records that promised the "Original Hits, by the Original Stars!" I must have worn the groves out of 2 or 3 of those LPs before I finally started buying records myself.

So this Christmas I was pleasantly surprise to receive this great CD from my friends at Delmark Records. Certainly the new Delmark release Boogie Woogie Kings is one of those great discs that is full of amazing blues piano much in the spirit of those old K-TEL releases. Nothing but the stars and these guys rock. Some of the recordings are a little on the low fidelity side, and the piano is just a tad out of tune, but then that's what makes Barrel house, and Boogie Woogie sound so good. Also remarkable is that most of these sides were recorded back in 1939. In many ways these guys are the fore fathers of rock and roll! This disc also has solo, and multi dueling piano's! To buy this great CD Click HERE

Sonny Rock Update

I'm Playing with Tas Cru and the King Kan Band. Sat. 1/13 9pm. Horton Smith House, Hensonville, N.Y. (www.tascru.com). Thanks! Sonny

Memphis The Musical

I'm not sure what I think about this. I haven't seen the show. I think I like the concept, but I would need to see and hear the whole thing before I can comment. This show is going on now on Broadway. If you are in the big apple and catch the show leave a comment below. For the rest of us in the hinterland enjoy a short clip from the show.