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The Official Publication of the Sacramento Blues Society October-November 2011 Volume 32; Issue 5

Hold on to your hats, blues babies, Karen Lovely is coming! The Sacramento Blues Society‘s Member-ship Party in December features Ms. Lovely and her fantastic band and we are in for some fun and

frolic!

Personable, talented, Karen Lovely started singing the blues profes-sionally in September 2007 and released her debut record "Lucky Girl" in November 2008. Seem-ingly an ―overnight sensation,‖ she & her band have delivered stand out performances that have gar-nered awards, critical acclaim and standing ovations at festivals and venues throughout

the US and Canada.

Capturing the 2nd Place Band Prize at the 2010 In-

ternational Blues Challenge, Karen Lovely fol-lowed with 2011 BMA Nominations for Best Con-

temporary Blues Album and Best Contemporary Blues Female Art-ist. The title track of her sopho-more release "Still The Rain" also received a 2011 BMA Nomination for Best Song. She won 3 Muddy Awards in 2010 including Best Female Vocalist and Best Per-formance for the 2nd year in a row. Backed by her outstanding band, this phenomenal singer de-livers a blistering mix of contempo-

rary & old school blues.

This show will be a great kick-off for your December

activities, so save the date and don‘t be late!

Karen Lovely Headlines the SBS Annual Member Party—by Jan Kelley;

Photo by Bob Cosman

LEGENDARY RHYTHM & BLUES REVUE

So, you can't make the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise departing San Diego on October 23rd? Well, we're bringing some of it to you!!

The Sacramento Blues Society is partnering with Carrera Productions & Events to present:

The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue featuring the

Tommy Castro Band with Bernard Allison, Curtis Salgado & Deanna Bogart

Friday, October 21, 2011

Doors open 6:30 PM; Show starts 7:30 PM Three Stages at Folsom Lake College

10 College Parkway - Folsom, CA 95630

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Folsom Lake College Foundation and the Sacramento Blues Society's "Blues In The Schools" program.

Tickets: $20, $30, $40

Get your tickets by going to: http://www.carrera-productions.com/

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V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5

Greetings Sacramento Blues Society (SBS) members and

blues enthusiasts,

Autumn has arrived, the festival season is winding down, the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Halloween & Thanksgiving will be here soon and the Sacramento Blues

Society keeps rolling along!

Your blues society is gearing up to send our solo/duo entry back to Memphis for the Blues Foundation‘s 28th International Blues Challenge. This competition brings top-notch talent from all over the world and fills the clubs on Beale Street over a 4-day period. I highly recommend attending this great gathering. There is absolutely nothing like this anywhere else on our planet! Good luck to our

October-November 2011

entry (at the time of this note, we don‘t know who our winner will be). There will be a couple of send-off and fundraisers scheduled prior to February, so please come out and

support the musicians.

The SBS is also working on the upcoming elections for Board of Director positions with the election culminating on December 4th at our 32nd annual ―Membership Show and Hall of Fame Induction‖. As you may know, this show is FREE for all of our SBS members! This year‘s headliner is the talented 2011 Blues Music Award nominee Karen Lovely and her band! If you‘re not familiar with Karen, you‘re in for a real treat! You can read more about this event on other pages

within this issue.

Speaking about the elections, we are always looking for dedicated and enthusiastic blues loving members willing to contribute to our society. Please consider running for the Board of Directors and help facilitate the blues scene in

our area.

Thanks for your continued support of the Sacramento Blues Society, the Blues In The Schools Program, the benefits, the local clubs, the festivals and the wonderful

blues musicians in the area.

Enjoy the ―Autumn of 2011‖ by catching some blues near you! Definitely catch the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue show on October 21st in Folsom with Tommy

Castro, Curtis Salgado, Bernard Allison & Deanna Bogart.

As always, ―Save me a seat‖.

The Hall of Fame (HOF) Committee is working diligently to obtain bios of all the members of our blues community that you nominated, review each thoroughly and research any information we can find online about them. The committee will present names to the SBS Board of Directors at the

October meeting. The Board has final approval of the three nominees chosen for awards this year, and the awards will be presented to the chosen nominees at the December Membership Party. Stay tuned!

Willie’s Wise Words

SAVE THE DATES!

Oct 2nd

Blues on the River

@ Swabbies

Oct 21st

Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue

@ Three Stages-Folsom

Nov 6th

Adios Summer Margarita Party

@ Stoney Inn

Dec 4th

SBS Membership Party w/

The Karen Lovely Band

@ VFW Hall Post 67

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BLUES?

This style of acoustic blues, associated with the southeastern United States, is distinguished by its syncopated finger-picking style and epitomized in the work of Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Blake, Blind Boy Fuller, Brownie McGhee and Sonny

Terry, Buddy Moss, and Blind Willie McTell. The style is called:

1. Delta blues, 2. Piedmont blues, 3. Jump blues, 4. Swamp blues

Answer found within this newsletter

From the Knowledge Card deck, What Do You Know About the Blues? By Cary Wolfson. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Pomegranate Communications, Inc., www.Pomegranate.com, (800) 227-1428

2011 Hall of Fame Update—by Sally Katen & Jan Kelley

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Blues In the Schools (BITS)—By Cynthia Jaynes

V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5 October-November 2011

School is back and there‘s some blues to be taught! But we‘re not going to school – yet. We‘re staying home and bringing the blues to kids at a large housing complex in Roseville. They‘ll be introduced to the blues, complete instrument-making activities and experience the joys of live music with professional guest musicians. Dave Chan-nell of Fire & Wheels will lead the music portion of this program, his wife Kira Channell, a classroom teacher for Sac City School District, will guide the students through the various activities. We believe this will be a very suc-cessful program & hope to replicate this at other housing

sites.

We have arranged for BITS students in the Sacramento region to attend a very special singer songwriter sympo-

sium at Folsom‘s Three Stages on Friday, October 21, 2011. Legendary Blues Cruise stars will present to students, educa-tors, and artists the ins and outs of writing and performing blues tunes in today‘s world. Tommy Castro, Curtis Salgado, Ber-nard Allison and Deanna Bo-gart are all excited to interface

with our young and vibrant new blues enthusiasts. If you have a student interested in attending, see article below, or

please call Dave Alcock at 916 342 5584.

formed, the history behind it and the reasons why that

song meant so much to them. Then, of course, perform

the song. Oh yea, the best part is that it is FREE to all Jr.

high and high school students, accompanying parents or

guardians, and educators. This will be a private event and

reservations will be required. It will be held on Friday Oc-

tober 21, 2011 from 2 pm to 3 pm at the Three Stages

performing arts center at Folsom Lake College.

So, if you have teens of your own or acquainted with, pile

them up in the mini vans and bring them on down. The

last time we held one of our All Star Series events, it was

with the mighty Joe Bonamassa. It was amazing how

many showed up to the event. We only had one school

bus come and the rest were teachers and parents driving

them to the event: a true minivan brigade. We even had

one class that took the light rail. It was simply amazing!

You can help by spreading the word about the events to

parents, teachers, students, PTA, or schools. To make

reservations email bitsgig@gmail.com. Please include

your contact information, school information (if applicable),

how many students and adults that will be attending. To-

gether we can make this event a magic experience for all

involved.

BITS and Blues Legends—by Dave Alcock

Sometimes good fortune shines down on us. Sometimes

it is catching the winning touchdown with one second left

in the game, other times it is having a chance meeting with

someone who will forever change your life. For Blues in

the Schools (BITS) it is having Blues legends coming to-

gether and holding a lecture and performance for Sacra-

mento‘s youth. On Friday October 21, 2011 Tommy Cas-

tro, Curtis Salgado, Bernard Allison and Deanna Bo-

gart will be holding the Blues Legend Symposium at

Three Stages in Folsom. What will follow will be nothing

short of magic!

So, how did this all come about? The story is quite sim-

ple. Mary Carrera from Carrera Productions came to a

board meeting and asked SBS to be a sponsor for the

Legendary Rhythm and Blues Review. A few days later

the idea came to us to ask if she would be interested in

putting on a lecture and performance. She loved the idea,

presented it to Three Stages at Folsom Lake College.

They loved the idea. The musicians loved it, and it grew

to a life of its own. Since then many people have been

working hard behind the scenes to make this a reality.

The symposium will be a singer/songwriter format where

each artist will talk about a song they have written or per-

Ever thought of really being a part of the Sacramento

Blues Society? How about joining the Board of Directors

as we push the Blues into every corner of the region!

We‘re lookin for folks who love the blues, care about pro-

moting and preserving this music, are willing and able to

be an active participant in our various programs and can

The Elections are Coming! The Elections are Coming! - by Cynthia Jaynes

attend monthly meetings. If you are interested in nominat-

ing yourself or another likely candidate, please contact

Cynthia Jaynes at 916 202 5075 or bits@sacblues.com.

Elections will take place at our annual membership holiday

celebration in Sacramento on December 4, 2011.

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V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5 October-November 2011

when they realized how many of u s h a d c o m e t o e a t ! Accommodating all of us was a true feat. Our favorite place and server was the AA Bar and Steak

House, where we ate a cow!‖

―I woke up this morning to a North Coast miracle: blue skies, light breeze, and bright sunshine-amazing. Quick run to the farmer's market in Arcata. What a delight. The berries, greens, tomatoes, h o ne y , f l o we r s , pe p pe r s , mushrooms, Poem Master, fresh basil, Humboldt cheese mixing with the fresh air blowing in was so welcome. You just start to slow down and chill. Then on to Eureka and the festival. Big barrel of apples awaited each comer at the gate of the festival (remember the barrel of apples at the top of the stairs at the old Filmore?) Laurie Morvan jumped off the stage and set the early morning crowd screaming and my north coast blues pals were all hopping. Next up, Kaye Bohler brought ALL her glory to the stage and worked it. The triad was complete with Deanna Bogart and her soulful piano blues and hot sax. And let me take a moment to acknowledge these blues divas band members. They all brought some fabulous talent to Eureka. What a great start to a great weekend. At some point I realized, this is it. This is all I

gotta do for 2 days- catch some rays-catch some air-catch some

BLUES."

―There are 3 variables that in my mind make or break a blues festival. The first, of course, is the music. I look for music of high quality from the openers on up and it must vary in style; gospel, harmonica, guitar, soul, horns, vocals, big bands, tears, dancing, male, female. You get the picture. Second, I need friends to share this festival with. Although we all make new friends at any festival, it‘s great to have as

many old friends around me as I can get. It‘s just more fun. And the third, and most difficult to find, the ―vibe‖ I get when I‘m there. How the security treats me, do I feel welcomed by the staff, am I comfortable, is it easy for me to get around, is the food good, is the stress level at or close to

―Red-Hot Blues on the Cool

Eureka Waterfront‖ was no exaggeration in billing when it came to the 15th annual Blues by the Bay. Now that the San Francisco Blues Festival is no longer, Blues by the Bay in Eureka has become the favorite for many Sacramento blues fans who leave the heat and smog of Labor Day weekend behind in exchange for cooler temps and clearer skies. With acts like Laurie Morvan, Kaye Bohler, Deanna Bogart, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro, Arcata

Interfaith Choir, Twice as Good, Tom Rigney, Earl Thomas, John Nemeth and Tower of Power, there was no shortage of first rate blues, funk and soul. Here‘s what a

few people had to say:

―Friday morning at 10 am the temperature in Sacramento is 76 & climbing toward a toasty day! We head north looking for the fog and cooler temps but it just seems to get hotter around Clear Lake, so we stop for lunch at a cool spot called the Blue Wing in Upper Lakes. Afterwards we continue our journey north to Eureka where we find - sunshine! ... and it's a

beautiful day!‖

―Driving through the Avenue of the Giants north of Garberville provided us with a perspective of how long we have been on the planet compared to these ancient redwoods. If you haven‘t had the opportunity to experience this drive, you have to add it to your bucket list. What a great way to begin and end this journey. After picnicking among the giants, we arrived in Eureka within ½ hour of about 20 other fellow travelers from Sacramento

and the party began.‖

―Most of the 20 or so people from our group stayed in a motel that we practically owned, but the best part of being in this sized group was going out to eat as a group. Bear in mind that Eureka is a pretty small town with restaurants/bars that accommodate around 40 to 50 people comfortably. It was really fun to see the look on the servers‘ faces

The Great North Coast Road Trip – Photos by Bob Cosman: Contributors:

Linda McShane, Charlie Kaplan, Jan Kelley, Bob Cosman, Kathy Ely and Liz Walker

Joe Louis Walker Laurie Morvan

Kaye Bohler

Deanna Bogart

John Nemeth

Tom Rigney

John Nemeth

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October-November 2011 Volume 32; Issue 5

What’s Happening – by Lizzie Walker

Summer is over, fall is coming and with it some serious fun happenings. But before we get into what‘s coming up I‘d

like to cover what we‘ve done.

The Mid-Summer Madness show at the end of July was a huge success. Had a little construction delay on the patio at PoBoy‘z so we had to move the party indoors but with the temperature breaking the century mark the air condi-tioning was welcomed. The Daniel Castro Band acted as

host to two guest performers and being the accomplished, big hearted performer he is, the sets were seamless and sensational. Ilene McHolland brought her electric cello stylings to rock the house on her last night in the states (before joining her husband in Holland the next day.) Then Danny Sandoval and his horn just blew the roof off.

Danny and Daniel found each other‘s groove early and it

was amazing!

Kudos to Jason Haxton Productions for bringing the Northern California Blues Festival to Auburn, the first week-end in August. I personally appreciate the effort he made to showcase some local youth bands. These young per-formers got a chance to strut their stuff and show us all that the blues is alive in the next generation. The introduction of Carolyn Wonderland to northern California was memora-ble and Kenny Neal just took it over the top. It was a great

festival!

Everybody loves Swabbies, and we do too, so come on out and enjoy Blues on the River with Mick Martin, Jeff Wat-son and more on Sunday, Oct 2nd. Tommy Castro is com-

ing to town with his Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue, Oct 21st. This party at the fabulous new Three Stages in Fol-som, featuring Curtis Salgado, Bernard Allison & Deanna Bogart will definitely get your blood racing. All

four of these pros are taking time in the afternoon to give back to the youth of the region through a BITS presentation

and we couldn‘t be more thrilled and

thankful.

You‘re going to have an extra hour in your day on Nov. 6th so you might as well spend it dancing at the Stoney Inn. It is the 2nd Annual Jeff Watson Band - Adios Summer Margarita Party with special guests Daniel Castro and Kyle Rowland. Proceeds from the party will benefit our Blues in the Schools program. This was a really fun party last year

with drink/food specials, a cigar bar and more.

SBS will be hosting a couple of fundraisers for the winning solo/duo IBC act. But, since the Memphis bound per-former(s) has/have not yet been chosen as this goes to print, we have no details as yet. When these are an-

nounced I hope you show your love and support.

Lots of suggestions came in for the headliner for our an-nual membership party, Dec 4th. I‘m pleased to announce that The Karen Lovely Band is coming to town to deliver their mix of contemporary & classic blues, R&B and Mem-phis soul. The VFW Hall Post 67 is gonna be rockin! We‘ll have some dinner available and plenty of bartenders. We‘ll also be inducting new members into our Hall of Fame. This party is for YOU, the members, and I sure

hope you come.

My time as your events chair is drawing to a close. I promised to do things a little different and I hope that you have participated in and enjoyed the shows that SBS has brought to you this year. Be sure to check back to www.sacblues.com for more details on all the upcoming events. Help keep live music going by supporting as many jams, shows, and festivals as you can. Keep on

boogeying!

The Great North Coast Road Trip—Continued

zero, does the whole damn thing make me smile. Blues by the Bay does it all; as good as it gets, year

after year.‖

―Dancing was not only encouraged, it was given the wooden f l oor

treatment with a large dancing area behind the sound

board, where ―down in front!‖ was never heard.‖

―The portable bathrooms were well-maintained by the toilet team and clearly marked by gender. Yes, ladies, separate potties for boys and girls! This really cut down on the grossness factor and almost made peeing outdoors

a pleasurable experience.‖

‗There was great food (chow mein, pulled pork sandwiches, salmon tacos, oysters on the half shell and ‗gator on a stick, to name just a few items available), along with reasonably priced and sized cocktails, beer and wine. Lodging was plentiful, reasonable and best of all, within walking distance of the festival. Those wristbands came in handy when a camera was left behind or light jacket was needed. Retail therapy was available as well as access to the talent immediately following their sets. Set along the waterfront with beautiful Victorian homes, Halvorsen Park

sets quite a backdrop for the festival goers.‖

―While the music was outstanding (and understand, it was OUTSTANDING throughout the entire two days), there is more to a successful festival than music alone. Shhh,

don‘t tell anyone, but Blues by the Bay has it all!‖

Twice as Nice

6

As expected, the 11th Annual Northern California Blues Festival was immensely entertaining, with a lineup that completely satisfied everyone who came out for the 2-day event and with proceeds to benefit the Auburn Recreation District Youth Fund and the Blues in the Schools Program. Although the numbers fell short in terms of attendance that were needed to call it a commercial success, the festival was an undeniable artistic success, with something to please every musical taste and blues as the common ingredient. Every performer put on a first-class show and a feeling of friendly camaraderie permeated the park from the first note on Friday evening until the satisfied audience dispersed after headliner Kenny Neal wrapped up his set

the following night.

Entry to the spacious area earmarked for the event took festival goers through an outdoor bazaar comprised of vendors selling arts and crafts, clothing, food and beverages. Po‘ Boyz proprietor Brenda Taylor

coordinated the volunteer effort and her trusty sidekick Sherell sold tickets for eats and drinks while throwing in a side of good cheer at no extra charge. On numerous occasions festival producer Jason Haxton could be seen

engaged in good-natured conversation with others, always displaying an upbeat and positive attitude despite the pressures of being ―the man in charge‖ of the

proceedings.

Dave Alcock of the Sacramento Blues Society‘s Blues in the Schools Program served as Master

of Ceremonies for the festival, and got things rolling by introducing opening act Todd Morgan and the Emblems. The young band leader came onstage busting Michael Jackson moves that fit perfectly with his tenor voice. If he had thrown in a moonwalk, Todd could have easily jettisoned his set into a MJ tribute, but instead he took it to Memphis with his rockabilly and roots-flavored repertoire. Perched at an electric piano, the retro-fitted front man fleet-fingered through Jerry Lee Lewis roadhouse rockers and vintage crowd-pleasers mixed with original tunes, many of them plucked from his EP that began to

seem more like a box set.

Patrons continued to arrive at a leisurely pace and stake claim to their piece of the grassy hill that looked down onto the stage. The well-organized stage crew changed out the equipment with remarkable expedience and efficiency, among them former Sacramento Blues Society board member and local B3 hero John Noxon. A biker presence at an outdoor music event in Northern California is not unheard of, and doing her job keeping the peace and terrorizing the locals at this festival was none other than the

Sacramento Blues Society‘s own Lizzie Walker, who rode continuously throughout the festival grounds on her intimidating pink scooter. Nevertheless, the entire event

was remarkably smooth, peaceful and incident-free.

MC Dave Alcock next welcomed his old friend Mick Martin to the stage. His

rocking opener, ―Gonna Have a Good Time‖ was elevated by an exceptionally tight and talented 2011 edition of the Blues Rockers, including veteran guitarist and Stoneground alumnus Tim Barnes, bassist Steve Shofer, drummer Bruce

Pressley and keyboardist Russ Skarsten. Shifting musical styles and

hairpin tempo changes kept the crowd on its feet and migrating to the stage front grass to dance in ever-growing numbers. Mick and company moved adeptly from blues shuffle to rock to funk to soul and places in between. After a dozen songs that

wrapped up with the Stoneground chestnut ―Total Destruction (To Your Mind),‖ Mick brought out his 18-year old harp blowing protégé, Kyle Rowland, to close out the set with a rousing demonstration of cross-generational harmonica call

and response.

The crowd continued to swell respectably as night approached, but before Friday‘s headliners took the wheel and drove the show home, Jason Haxton drew the name of the first raffle prize winner, who received a guitar autographed by artists performing at the festival. MC Dave Alcock then

brought out San Francisco

legends Big Brother and the Holding Company,

whose memorable sound and familiar music might have set

The Nor-Cal! Auburn Regional Park, August 5 and 6, 2011

—by Steve Cagle; Photos by Bob Cosman

V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5 October-November 2011

Bruce Pressley

Kyle Rowland, Steve Shofer & Mick Martin

Dave Alcock and Jason Haxton

presenting guitar to winner

Todd Morgan & Emblems

Tim Barnes

Big Brother & the Holding Company

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V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5

off a massive group flashback for the over-50‘s in the audience. Three original members from the glory days with Janis fronted the current lineup, with vocalist Stefanie Keys doing an admirable and gutsy job

stepping into the shoes (and nearly identical bellbottoms) of the incomparable Joplin. Their set was rife with their psychedelic-era anthems including ―Down On Me,‖ ―Piece of My Heart,‖ and ―Bye, Bye Baby.‖ It seemed as though the band members had not significantly advanced their music skills since the 60‘s, yet this worked to their advantage by making it easy for them to recreate those

sounds of yesteryear in their original glory.

The nostalgic set was given a boost by the second cameo festival appearance of Sacramento‘s Kyle Rowland, this time

accompanied by 14-year old guitar whippersnapper Jimmy

Cleary for an extended version of ―I Need A Man To

Love.‖ While stretching out mid-song, the Holding Company stepped back and gave the spotlight to Kyle and Jimmy, who picked up their queue and shifted into jam mode, blending effortlessly with the old guard‘s groove. Understandably impressed, the band invited Kyle back for their take on Joplin‘s non-Big Brother mega-hit ―Me and Bobby McGee.‖ Before the song ended, Kyle was dancing on stage with singer Keys. Both Kyle and Jimmy returned to help close out day one of the festival with the encore

―Ball and Chain.‖

Saturday was the big day at the Northern California Blues Festival, and music fans lined up early outside the gate, most looking well-rested rather than looking like

they‘d pulled an all-nighter. Starting the full day of music were two bands that shared top honors in the ―Next Breakout Band Competition, Age 25 or Less‖ with third co-winner Todd Morgan and the Emblems. The challenge of getting a pulse from the festival-goers this early in the day was assigned to Population 5, an energetic rock band with a big sound and not a single band member old enough to drive. Although they are not a blues band by any stretch, the talent they displayed was undeniably impressive. The big wake up call came when 12-year old keyboard player Emma Griffin-Ortiz took the microphone and sang with the vocal

October-November 2011

chops of someone twice her age to everyone‘s

amazement.

With the audience now stirred to attention, Citrus Heights band The Soulshakers took over and kept the energy level climbing with their blend of funk, rock and old school

blues.

The Jeff Watson Band

promised to deliver an exceptional performance with a few special guests and they did not disappoint. In addition to keyboard player Russ Skarsten, bassist Jim Cobb and drummer Kenny Nichols, who was making a whirlwind

festival appearance prior to an evening gig in Detroit, Jeff brought out the big guns in fellow guitarists Terry Hiatt and Daniel Castro. The set opened with a new song co-written by the entire band, with Terry Hiatt joining in soon afterwards for a trio of tunes, followed by Mr. Castro, who

steered the others into an extended jam with an Allman Brothers groove during ―Got My Mojo Workin‘.‖ An unexpected treat was the appearance of Danny Hull, formerly of the Doobie Brothers, who brought out his harmonica and joined in as the three guitarists (referred to by Hiatt as ―guitarmageddon‖) tore through an exhilarating version of ―Let the Good Times Roll.‖ After taking turns belting out lead solos, the three guitar players chimed in for an ear-splitting 6-string chorus as the music boiled over the stage. There were plenty of blown minds in the aftermath, but thankfully no casualties

were reported.

When the smoke had cleared, the Bay Area All-Stars

took the stage, with their ―Sweet Meat Horn Section‖ in

The Nor-Cal! - continued

Emma Griffin-Ortiz

Kyle, Stephanie Keys, Jiimmy Cleary

Population 5

Daniel Castro & Jeff Watson

Terry Hiatt

Jeff Watson & jim Cobb

The Soulshakers

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V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5

October-November 2011

shading the area had to be raised to accommodate his height. Want to hear about the rest? Tune in next issue for photos and story on Carolyn Wonderland and Kenny Neal and the Neal Family Band.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE BLUES?

The answer is b.

Lighter and not nearly so dolorous as Delta blues, Piedmont blues was especially popular in both the countryside and the cities of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. In the thirties and forties, records from the Piedmont region sold extremely well to black buyers, with tunes like Blind Boy Fuller‘s ―Step It Up and Go‖ moving over 500,000 copies.

A strong ragtime influence made it easy to dance to. Rev. Gary Davis spent the latter part of his life in New York, where he made a lasting impression on young folk-blues artists like Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, David Bromberg, and Ry Cooder, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady‘s first Hot Tuna album drew heavily on the Piedmont tradition. Among the more

current crop of true Piedmont artists, perhaps the best known are the duo of John Cephas and Phil Wiggins, along with the sublime Etta Baker.

From the Knowledge Card deck, What Do You Know About the Blues? By Cary Wolfson. Reprinted with the permission of the

publisher, Pomegranate Communications, Inc., www.Pomegranate.com, (800) 227-1428

The Nor-Cal! - continued

tow and ready to support a revolving door of top-shelf soul and blues singers that accompany this product of the Bay Area Blues Society based in Oakland. A lot of west coast music history comes with this ensemble, and they wasted no time showing what they got as the band tore into a funk intro that featured tight horn lines and a fat organ solo. The vocalists took their turns at the mic, singing from the catalog of great American blues and soul, from ―Down Home Blues‖ to ―Knock On Wood‖ to ―What‘s Goin‘ On,‖ every gem was embellished by the precision instrumentation and heart and soul crooning. You could have easily said ―Good enough‖ about the program up to that point, but it was only halfway over.

The crowded stage cleared and seemed spacious in the company of the three musicians that followed, although band namesake and leader Dennis Jones‘ towering and muscular frame made his commanding presence known immediately. This was the second appearance at the Northern CA Blues Festival for the L.A.-based power trio that includes bassist Sam Correa and drummer Michael Tumar, following their debut a year earlier that stunned and amazed an audience previously unfamiliar with the

band‘s take-no-prisoners approach to the blues. They wasted no time tearing into their set, opening with ―Kill the Pain,‖ a dark ode to what remained of a drug and alcohol-addled ex, and then roared through a hard and heavy sampling of tunes from the band‘s three albums before wrapping up their sonic blues assault with a preview from their upcoming fourth release. After the set, Dennis made his way to the autograph table to sign cds, but before he could settle in the canopy

Dennis Jones

Sam Correa

Michael Tumar

9

When you introduce your business to our members with a contribution of a $100.00 annual business mem-

bership, you will receive a web-link from our site and a business card size acknowledgement in each of our

bi-monthly newsletters to show your support for our Blues Music and Education programs.

V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5 October-November 2011

CD Reviews

Bobby Blues Ray Blues Knight of the West Coast Sac Soul City

Local blues singer Bobby Ray is back! His gospel upbringing in the churches of Arkansas prepared him for his jump into the Northern California soul scene back in the 60's. Fast-forward to the summer of 2011 and Bobby has produced a solid disc of blues/soul favorites. His swarthy voice is fully

Hey, Blues lovers! We know you

love the blues and here's an opportu-nity to hear even more: SBS con-stantly receives CDs to review, and Kristen has agreed to Chair a CD Re-view committee and needs members. Please join and share the awesome, sometimes quirky, and always inter-esting stream of original music that comes to SBS. Contact

kay.dee55@yahoo.com for details.

Candy Kane Sister Vagabond Delta Groove Music

I just got done grooving to Candye

Kane‘s new cd featuring our friend Laura Chavez. What a delight! If you‘ve ever heard Candye do her live show you know that it‘s all about the story behind the song and that‘s cer-tainly true on this cd. Candye and Laura wrote the majority of the tracks and each is imbued with joy, heart-ache, hope and love. Laura‘s guitar playing has matured; she‘s trying new things, taking chances and is stronger than ever. Though she can still cer-tainly rip it up (i.e., ‗Hard Knock Gal‘) it‘s nice to hear the subtle guitar strains in ‗Down With the Blues‘, as well as the gumbo beat of ‗Have a Nice Day‘. These two have certainly found their musical partner. I dug it all. Lizzie

captured on "Blues Knight of the West Coast." The nine tracks show why Ray was called "The Blues Knight of the West Coast" during the late 60's, which become the title of this CD. Bobby selected some of the better musicians around the area to contrib-ute to this offering; rolling through standards such as ‗Driving Wheel‘ with Reggie Marks leading the horn sec-tion, ‗Somebody Have Mercy‘ & ‗Somewhere Down The L ine‘ and with Rick Estrin sitting in on ‗Everyday I Have The Blues‘. Besides the above mentioned Rick Estrin & Reggie Marks; this disc also includes: Kenny Marghese & Lew Fratis (guitar), Da l e L yb e r g e r ( b a ss ) , Je f f Minnieweather (drums), Jim Monroe (keys), Stan Powell (harmonica) and additional horns by Dave Johnson & Randy Starks. This is a nice sampler of blues/soul music made by our com-munity of musicians. SBS CD Review Committee

10

Northern California Blues Festival

3941 Park Dr., Ste. 20-339 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-4549

(916) 350-4640

e-mail: info@norcalbluesfest.com

Website: http://www.norcalbluesfest.com

313 Laurence Ave.

Kansas City, Mo

64111

1-888-BLUESIN’

www.bluescruise.com

Please Patronize the following Businesses and venues

that Support your Blues Society

Louie’s

Cocktail Lounge

3030 Mather Field Road

Rancho Cordova CA

95670

916-262-9151

louiescoctaillounge.com

11

V o l u m e 3 2 ; I s s u e 5

New Bands receive a Free Business card size ad in the first Blue Notes Following your

membership date and follow-up listings for as long as you remain a Band Member, a link from our

website to yours and the announcements and offers to Musicians received on our website.

H i r e a n S B S m e m b e r b a n d

Al Zaid & Classic Soul 916-627-8627 www.gigsalad.com/al_zaid_classic_soul_band_ sacramento Andy Keene & Kinda Blue 916-799-1544 ajkeane3@aol.com Blues Farm Band Dave Broida 916-996-5222 BluzHoundz Dave Anthony 916-991-6148 Bobby “Blues” Ray, Jim Monroe & The Blue Knights 916-422-5830 Chicken & Dumpling

www.chickenanddumpling.net 530-753-5265 or 530-902-7209 Delta Wires Prima Management 510-814-0872 info@deltawires.com Derek Abel Band

707-580-7052 derekabelband@gmail.com Diamond Bob & the Alley Sneakers bobperro@yahoo.com 408-313-7194 www.diamondbobsblues.com Doni Harvey 415-308-2836 www.doniharvey.com Gary Mendoza Band 916-599-9947 www.garymendozaband.com

Isis & Cold Truth 408-835-4168 Myspace.com/coldtruthband\ Jeff Watson Band 916-709-9696 jeffwatsonband.com myspace.com/jeffwatsonband Johnny “Guitar” Knox Dave Croall & the Soothers 916-455-6349 rightdave@hotmail.com Katie Knipp Solo singer/songwriter http://www.katieknipp.com/ (415) 272-7581 katiek4604@comcast.net

O Street Jumps

Dan 916 -944-7292

Cari 916-725-4889 Phil Berkowitz & the Dirty Cats 415-337-5448 www.philberkowitz.com Russell Bleus Band Clint Marrs, Vocals & Guitar 530-307-1709 crmarrs@crmarrs.com Rube & the Rhythm Rockers

530-518-9546 www.myspace.com/ruberhythmrockers Snake Alley

Tommy Ing 707-495-4779 www.snakealley bluesband.com

Spotted Dog Rockin’ Blues Revue Greg Gartrell—916-332-5417 raulduke52@sbcglobal.net www,spotteddogmusic.com Steve Foster Band 916-276-9170 Stevefosterband @comcast.net The BluSoul Band Daniel Watts 916-899-1043 www.theblusoulband.com The Blues Vandals

916-384-7457 bluesvandals.com Two Tone Steiny & the Cadillacs 916-765-5564 twotonesteiny@yahoo.com Used Blues Band Sean McGroarty 916-204-9800 Sean@myifp.com Volker Strifler Band 707-363-0080

www.volkerstrifler.com

October-November 2011

12

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U. S. POSTAGE PAID SACRAMENTO, CA PERMIT NO. 2149

Board of Directors Meetings

are the 2nd Tuesday of each month

7:00 PM at the SMUD Building, 6301 S Street,

Sacramento, CA.

All SBS members in good standing are invited to attend.

Blue Notes! is

The official bi-monthly

Newsletter of the

Sacramento Blues Society.

Co-editors

Vj Anderson & Jan Kelley,

Send information for the

newsletter to

editor@sacblues.com

or mail to

Editor,

P. O. Box 60580

Sacramento, CA 95860-

0580

The Sacramento Blues Society (SBS)

Is a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit corporation formed to

preserve and promote blues music as an art form.

Sacramento Blues Society is one of the oldest blues societies in California, founded 1979.

SBS has kept the blues tradition alive in the Sacramento

area by promoting the local blues music scene and bringing internationally renowned artists to the region.

SBS is an affiliate member of The Blues Foundation.

SBS provides educational opportunities for young people with the Foundation’s “Blues In The Schools” Program.

SBS produces a newsletter, “Blue Notes” Bi-Monthly

(six times a year) and mails to our membership.

Primary Business Address

Your Address Line 2

Visit our website at

www.sacblues.com Current calendar, news, past newsletters and more!

Not a member? You will find Membership forms online.

SBS Board of Directors

Dave Alcock

Willie Brown—President

Roni Cook

Kristen Dahl-Parliamentarian

Cynthia Jaynes

Kathleen Kelly-Treasurer

Linda McShane

Charlene Metzler–Secretary

Dennis Moffett—Vice President

Liz Walker