Janiva Magness

janiva magnessJaniva Magness is one of the most beloved figures in the Americana, blues, and roots music world. She’s reached a larger and more diverse audience with each succeeding album and developed a reputation as a live entertainer that’s made her a staple of the international festival circuit.  She is a perennial nominee for the Blues Music Awards, receiving the contemporary female artist award five times and the highest honor, the BB King entertainer of the year award in 2009. Her 2016 release Love Wins Again spent more than four months on the blues charts and led to yet one more nomination for the contemporary female artist recognition. She is currently on tour supporting her latest release, the EP Blue Again, exploring the music of some of her favorite musicians such as Nina Simone, Freddy King, Al Kooper, and Etta James.

Janiva Magness is bringing her dynamic show for one night in Oregon, stopping at McMenamins White Eagle Saloon, 836 N Russell Street, on Friday, July 28. Show time is 9:00 pm for this 21 & over only show. Tickets can be purchased in advance at CascadeTickets.com for $20.00. Admission at the door is $23.00. Don’t hesitate, because this one will sell out!

Ty Curtis, Too Slim Together

Ty Curtis, Too Slim TogetherThough they may have moved from the Northwest, their hearts are still here as these two prominent guitarists make frequent visits to the region every year. Tim “Too Slim” Langford is a multiple Muddy Award winner with his band The Troublemakers. He moved to Nashville not too long ago and continues to put out outstanding rockin’ blues discs that have garnered him attention with Blues Blast Award and Blues Music Award nominations. Ty Curtis has been tearing up the clubs in Austin since moving there a couple years back and has enjoyed high acclaim from his recent recordings. Both artists easily fill venues every time they come to the area, but together they’re going to have to call the fire marshall to control not only the attendance but to keep on eye out for this pair setting the venue on fire with their performances.

This double-headed showcase of the Ty Curtis Band and Too Slim & The Taildraggers is an event that you will not soon forget. And it all takes place on Friday, July 28 at Billy’s Blues Bar & Grill, 7115 NE Hazel Dell Avenue in Vancouver, WA. Admission is $12.00 at the door. Show time is 9:00 pm. Don’t miss out!

The Bite & Brew Of Salem

Gather around and help us celebrate Oregon’s Craft Beer Month at The Bite & Brew of Salem, the city’s premiere summer party. Set among Salem’s popular downtown Riverfront Park, this four-day festival  features live music, carnival rides and games, unique sweet and savory cuisine with a huge variety of cold beers and ciders on tap, Willamette Valley wine, and entertainment for kids of all ages. Take advantage of the warm weather and bring your family, blankets and lawn chairs for a relaxing day in the park and enjoy listening to unforgettable musical performances by some of the Northwest’s best talent.

There will be lots of blues & roots entertainment will be on hand:

Thursday, July 20
Gabriel Cox 4:30 – 6:00
Metts Ryan & Collins 6:30 – 8:00

Friday, July 21
Jacob Westfall 4:30 – 6:00

Saturday, July 22
Jacob Westfall – 1:30 -3:00

Sunday, July 23
Will West& The Friendly Strangers noon – 1:30
Lisa Mann – 2:00 – 3:30
Ty Curtis Band 4:00-5:30

The Bite & Brew Of Salem takes place at Riverfront Park, 200 Water St NE. Hours for the event are Thursday and Friday: 4:00 to 11:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, and Sunday 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. General admission is $5.00 on Thursay; $9.00 general admission, family rate max $20.00. seniors (65 & older), military ID and ages 6-17 is $5.00 on Friday & Saturday, and Sunday is free all day courtesy of Country Financial. Tickets can be purchased in advance at AftonTickets.com.

For more information and complete music line-up go to The biteandbrew.com.

CBA 30

The Cascade Blues Association celebrated thirty years of supporting, promoting, and preserving the blues in the Northwest with a huge show at the historic McMenamins Crystal Ballroom on Sunday, May 21. Our members and blues lovers came out in force for a day packed with nine sets of music featuring some of the best loved artists who have given so much enjoyment to us all over the past three decades. All of the musicians donated their time to help the Cascade Blues Association raise funds to help keep the organization running.

Musical sets were presented in order by Terry Robb & Adam Scramstad, Mary Flower & Spud Siegal, Bill Rhoades & The Party Kings/Queens with Dave Mathis & Mike Moothart, Too Loose Cajun Zydeco Band, The Strange Tones with The Volcano Vixens, Ty Curtis Band with Robbie Laws, Rae Gordon Band with Karen Lovely, Lloyd Jones Struggle with Bobby Torres, Norman Sylvester Band with Arietta Ward, and closing the night was the Duffy Bishop Band.

An event of this size takes a lot of work and efforts from many people. The Cascade Blues Association Board of Directors worked the entire show with a staff of volunteers running everything from silent auction, raffle tickets, merchandise sales, green room, access, set-up and break-down and numerous other positions and needs. Stage hands from JBL Sound all volunteered their time arriving early in the morning and staying late. McMenamins gave us a generous bargain on the use of both the main ballroom and Lola’s Room downstairs for our meet-and-greet and green room needs. Printing was donated by both Cory Burden at Cedar House Media and Mike Crider, with poster design by Andy Strange. Duffy Bishop & Chris Carlson were able to drive out from Florida thanks to a generous donation from David Leiken & Double Tee Productions. And Kathy Rose who photographed the meet-and-greet guests.

Thanks to the production team who worked on this event for several months: Joey Scruggs, Terry Currier, Greg Johnson, James “Coach” Hurley, and Lydia Salvey.

Thanks to all the musicians who performed throughout the day: Adam Scramstad, Al Hooten, Allan Kalik,Andy Gautier, Andy Strange, Arietta Ward, Bill Rhoades, Bobby Torres, Brad Ulrich, Chris Carlson, Chris Mercer, Chuck Laiti, Darryl Johnson, Dave Fleschner, Dave Kahl, Dave Mathis, Dean Mueller, Duffy Bishop, Ed Pierce, “Guitar” Julie Strange, Jennifer Smieja, Jenny Hauser, Jerry Jacques,  Joe McCarthy, Jolie Clausen, Karen Lovely, Katie Angel, Kivett Bednar, Lefty Head, Lenanne Sylvester, Lloyd Jones, Louis Pain, Mary Flower, Mike Moothart, Newell Briggs, Norman Sylvester, Pat McDougall, Paul Shoemaker, Peter Dammann, Peter Moss,  Phil “Suburban Slim” Wagner, Rae Gordon, Rick Obbink, Rob Shoemaker, Robert Lee, Robbie Laws, Scott Franklin, Spud Siegal, Steve Kerin, Talia Giardini, Terry Robb, Tim Shaughnessy, Tom Goicoechea, Ty Curtis.

And the biggest thanks of all to our members and blues fans who attended the CBA 30 concert. You are the reason why the Cascade Blues Association has existed for thirty years and will ensure that it continues for many more.

William Chapin

William ChapinHe’s like a super hero — guitar builder by day and guitar player by night. That’s the life of William Chapin, who has been playing music professionally for over 30 years. “I always loved music, but really was struck with the bug to play in high school. I did repair work on instruments before I really played,” he said. His day job is building custom guitars, basses, and wind pickups. His clients include Kirk Fletcher, Kid Andersen, Lloyd Jones, Eddie Martinez, and Josh Smith, among others.

William describes his music this way: “The core of everything I do is blues. It may lean towards soul, Latin, rock, jazz, psychedelic, or wherever…but it is all flavors of blues. The song is the foundation. I certainly stretch on things, but it isn’t form stock or cut and paste, it all goes back to singing the song harmonically through the guitar and rhythmically supporting, improvising and interpreting compositions. “

“I put myself all in when I play. I have a perspective, and try to get that across. I just try to get ‘me’ across and try not to worry about being a guitar slinger, which plenty of people can do far better than I.”

Musical Training

“I took lessons in college from some talented players including Dave Creamer (who played with Miles Davis), Billy Johnson (who played with John Lee Hooker and a bit with Chet Baker), Rick Vandivier, Tim Volpicella and saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh (Chris Cain had the lesson slot after me).”

Influences

His list of influences include many blues greats—BB King, Hubert Sumlin, Albert Collins, Freddie King, Billy Butler, Jimmie Vaughan, Luther Tucker, Otis Rush, Earl Hooker, John Lee Hooker, Snooks Eaglin, Horace Silver, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Bill Frisell, Harvey Mandel, Pat Martino, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield, Clarence White, Ry Cooder, David Lindley Jerry Reed, Jim Nichols, Hugh McCracken, Eddie Hazel…the list goes on and on.

CDs

William has a CD in the works with his band Catahoula Soul Stew. “We have to finish up, hopefully by the end of this year. “

Bands and Other Musicians

William currently plays in a band called Catahoula Soul Stew with Mitch Kashmar, bassists Federico Pol or Allen Markell, drummers David Melyan or Ed Pierce, and keyboardist Pat McDougall. Previously he played with Stan Ruffo, Ben Partain, and Dave Meylan.

He also plays with Monterey Purple, a rock/blues/folk band playing California music of the late 60’s, with Phil Garfinkel, Carey Rogers, Paul Noel and Keesha Wallace; and The Unspoken Four, blues and rock with Phil Garfinkel, Carey Rogers, and Paul Noel.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with truly remarkable players, both as a sideman and in groups of my own,” he said. They include: Duke Jethro (B.B. King’s organist and the piano player on his Live at the Regal album), D.K. Stewart, Billy Johnson, jazz guitarist Scott Sorkin, Lady Kat, Blues Train, Mike Sarver (blues singer/harmonica/guitarist), Buddy Smith, Ned Torney (syndicate of sound/Chocolate watchband), Fuzzy John Oxendine (Moby Grape/Rhythm Dukes), Bryant Mills (John Lee Hooker’s Coast to Coast Blues Band), Stan Poplin (Robben Ford/Jimmy Witherspoon), and Bob Boehm (Spang a Lang, Witherspoon). “Also some side projects with people like Phil Wagner, John Neish, Billy Blue, Dennis Lusk (All Bald Blues Band), Chris Carlson, David Kahl, Randy Monroe, Ed Neumann, Melissa Buchanan, Joe Conrad, Mike Klobas, and Les Hutchinson, as well as others that I know I am forgetting.”

In Closing

“The Portland area is a really fertile ground musically, the sheer level of talent here is truly staggering. On top of that, it is a tremendous community, and I am truly proud to be a part of that community,” William said.

Monterey Purple and Catahoula Soul Stew have Facebook band pages you can visit to see about upcoming shows.

Delgado Brothers

Delgado BrothersDriven by fierce independence, unified by family, and fortified by the brotherhood of music, the Delgado Brothers deliver the musical goods — topical anthem-worthy songs complemented by call-to-action lyrics and East L.A. Soul. For over 30 years the Delgado Brothers have been music makers, collaborators and ordinary citizens; raising children, grieving the loss of parents, marrying & divorcing. All of this life experience may explain their flare for illuminating everyman’s joys, sorrows, triumphs, and losses. The Brothers’ music has long been embraced both locally and globally by a wide spectrum of people regardless of culture, age, or socioeconomic status. From the shadows of their genre-defying brand to the forefront of musical Americana, passion, courage and a heartfelt love of humanity fuel The Delgado Brothers storytelling and musical focus.

Winners of the 2016 International Blues Challenge, The Delgado Brothers will be appearing at The Birk, 11139 Hwy 202, Birkenfeld, on Friday, July 21 for their only Oregon performance. Show time is 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased in advance through TicketTomato.com for $15.00 or at the door day of show for $20.00.

Esther Short Park

The summer is taking off big time with a number of blues shows happening in Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver, WA throughout July and August, and many are free. Esther Short Park is located at W 8th & Columbia.

Thursday, July 6: Curtis Salgado 6:00 pm: With a career spanning forty years, award-winning soul, blues and R&B performer Curtis Salgado is a one-of-a-kind talent. From co-fronting The Robert Cray Band to leading his own (and recording nine solo studio albums) to helping transform John Belushi into “Joliet” Jake Blues to touring with Steve Miller and Santana, he is a true musical giant

Sunday, July 16: Norman Sylvester Band noon: Norman Sylvester has been performing in the Portland area since 1985. The Band has shared the stage with BB King, James Cotton, Otis Clay, Tower of Power, Peter Frampton, and many more. Their sounds can best be described as a mix of blues, funk and R&B

Thursday, August 10: Patrick Lamb 6:00 pm: Patrick Lamb regularly tours and performs as the ‘saxophonist to the stars’ with Grammy winners and luminaries like Gino Vannelli, Bobby Caldwell, Jeff Lorber Fusion, Tommy Thayer, Diane Schuur, Bobby Kimball, Alice Cooper, and Smokey Robinson

Sunday, Aug. 13: Curtis Salgado noon: Curtis Salgado returns for a second not-to-be-missed performance.

The huge Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival will take place once again on Aug 25, 26 & 27. Artists TBA. This event always includes top name blues musicians so go to Vancouverwinejazz.com for updated information.

Journey To Memphis All-Stars

Eleven acts took part in the opening round of the Cascade Blues Association’s 2017 Journey To Memphis competition to determine who will represent us at the International Blues Challenge next January. Over two night at the Vinyl Tap, each act performed before three judges and were scored on blues content, vocal & instrumental talent, originality, and stage presence. All performers gave terrific 30-minute sets and the top two acts from each night are moving on to the finals that will take place on July 4, beginning at 11:30 am on The Oregonian Front Porch Stage at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

The eleven acts who took part were: David Pinsky, Gabriel Cox Band,  Holfar Blue, Jason “JT” Thomas, Julie Amici, Lightning Kings, Louis Creed & The Geezer, Randy Morrison Band, Rogue Rage Duo, Timothy James & The Portland Blues Revival, and Sister Mercy. Moving on to the Waterfront Blues Festival will be Randy Morrison Band (11:30), Gabriel Cox band (12:10), Sister Mercy (12:50) and The Lightning Kings (1:30). Each act will perform 25 minute sets at the festival before three new judges.

Note: Because the four finalists were all bands, the highest scoring solo/duo act will be given the right to represent the CBA in Memphis, Julie Amici. Timothy James & The Portland Blues Revival were the only under-21 band who competed, so they will take part in the Youth Showcase at the International Blues Challenge.

A huge thanks goes out to the judges who helped us during the opening round of the Journey To Memphis. This is perhaps the toughest job outside of competing, as these judges have to look at each act individually and score them without comparing them to the others. Thank you Bart Day, Chuk Barber, Rich Layton, Richard Martin, Tom Goicoechea, and Vyasa Dodson.

Thanks also goes out to Eric Johnson and Paul Hogland for working the sound for both nights. And especially to the Vinyl Tap and their staff for providing a venue where we could hold our event this year!

Bandstand

The Tornadoes (AKA – ‘A Selfless Act’)
Hello Blues lovers! Just a note to say thank you to our loyal fans and blues jammers!

Allen Markel and I (Don Shultz) have been holding down the fort along with our special guest musicians while our fearless leader Kevin Selfe is away. We appreciate your continued support and patronage of this fine venue, The Blue Diamond. I am excited about July’s special guest line-up as we will have Kevin Selfe back on 7/2, then Ken Brewer on 7/9, AC Porter,on 7/16, Ben Rice on 7/23, and Doug Rowell on 7/30. We are looking forward to seeing you there on Sundays from 6 to 9 PM!

Lisa Mann
Hey blues peeps!  Lisa Mann here, letting you know what’s up for July.  I’m looking forward to playing in a bunch of showcases this Waterfront Blues Fest, including the Sail on Sister Cruise, with Sonny Hess and the incredible Claudette King.  She’s BB King’s youngest daughter, and she is keeping his musical talent alive and well into the future.  Be sure and get tickets to at least one of the Delta Music Experience cruises, you’ll appreciate the camaraderie AND the air conditioning.  Money raised on the Blues Cruises will go to the Oregon Food Bank, just the rest of the fest.

Of course there’s musical magic every year, however the Waterfront Blues Fest is also host to some important causes and services.  Visit the Health Net Pavilion for FREE health screenings blood pressure, visual sight, glaucoma, diabetes and hearing.  Caring Ambassadors does Hepatitis testing as part of these screenings, so if you’ve ever wondered if you might have contracted it in the past, get checked!  I have heard personal testimony from folks who have gotten treatment after getting screened at Waterfront.  So take a few minutes out of your fun day to gain some peace of mind.  Also, there will be 12 Step meetings every morning at 11am at the Health Pavilion too.  You can find the Pavilion on the map they hand out at the gate.

My band won’t be appearing at the fest, however we have gigs in Portland, Boise, Salem and more, and will be performing an important fundraiser on Sat July 29th.  Catfish Lou’s is hosting us for their “Play it Forward” campaign, we will be raising funds for Mercy Corps NW’s Reentry Transition Center.  This program helps people transitioning out of the prison system find jobs, housing, drug/alcohol treatment and so much more.  Help give folks a second chance at a new life by joining us!
Happy summer, everybody!

Lisa Mann

www.lisamannmusic.com

Ashbolt
I hope everyone has a blast at this year’s Blues Fest! I’ll be working at the massage booth Fri. June 30th 3PM-6:30PM and Monday July 3rd 11AM-3:30PM. Half of your donations go to the Oregon Food Bank!

Also, thanks to all the folks that showed up for the 6th Anniversary of the Bolt Upright Jam at Montavilla Station this past month! Thanks go out to my co-hosts over the years and to all the fantastic jammers/dancers/and blues supporters that continue to show up and partake in our tribal stomp! Montavilla Station, 417 SE 80th, 9PM-1:30AM is the place. I hope we have another 6 years into the future there! Enjoy the summer!

ashboltstewart@yahoo.com

Bottleneck Blues Band
July will be busy month for Bottleneck Blues Band. They are spending the entire month playing shows out of Portland. They start July with a three day run first stopping in Maupin at The Riverside playing in the desert, then journeying on to John’s Alley in Moscow, ID, then reaching their final destination The Wallace, ID Blues Festival where they are a featured act. The band will return to Hood River and perform at one of their favorite venues The River City Saloon which is always a great fun filled evening. Bottleneck is happy to be adding The Cowlitz County Fair to their show list this July 28th. The band has been working hard on the material for their upcoming album Storm Bringer. Currently, some of the new tunes have made it into their live set and have been well received from audiences. Please visit us on line at www.bottleneckbluesband.com or come to a show and see Randy Monroe, Franklin Spicer, Nathan Powell and Noah Bell live. Thanks CBA!

Catfish Lous
Catfish Lou’s is celebrating it’s 6-month anniversary in July!  Time goes by quickly when an amazing journey is combined with a ton of fun!

We have met so many great people that I couldn’t begin to name half of them here, but we’d like to send a special thank you to a few people that have been at Catfish Lou’s since the beginning and set a musical foundation from which we have grown.

Robbie Laws & Jolie Clausen play their hearts out every Wednesday and Thursday for our jam sessions.  If you think that jam sessions are only for the artists, then you I recommend you check out the shows that they’ve each put together, and I promise you’ll think differently.  You’ll become a jam-fan like us!  Robbie has a heart of gold, he’s a “hoot”, and this cat can play! In fact, we have a video of him in the kitchen using a whisk as a guitar slide! (Did I mention we like to have fun?!) His weekly sets include everyone from Sheila Wilcoxson, Karen Lovely, and more. Jolie Clausen introduced many musicians to our venue when she, Whit Draper and Newell C. Briggs, began Jolie’s Wednesday Jam. When she picks up those sticks, all the musicians come out of the woodwork to play.  A big thank you to the both of you for bringing us quality music week-after-week and believing in the vision we have for Catfish Lou’s.

Likewise, Terry Robb & Ben Rice have brought a collage of collaborations to the stage every Monday since the beginning.  They sometimes play solo, but often bring a variety of duos and trio to kick the week off with intense, rootsy, bluesy, soulful, jazzy, sounds you won’t hear anywhere else on a Monday night!

Lloyd “Have Mercy” Jones, Norman “Boogie Cat” Sylvester, Andy Stokes, LaRhonda Steele – These are all names you’ll recognize from their decades of creating amazing music Portland metro area.  To borrow a word from Lloyd Jones, it’s SUPER groovy that they are now bringing their awesomeness to Catfish Lou’s.

Recently, Lloyd Jones came to us with the idea of doing a fundraiser for Curtis Salgado.  He’d donate his time and his tip jar (the “love bucket”) and ticket sales.  All we had to do was provide a place for people to gather, great tasting food, and a rocking sound system. No problem on our part. Brilliant, generous and thoughtful on Lloyd’s part. We donated a percentage of sales to the cause and were so impressed by the outpouring of support we thought, “we can do more”. As a result, “Catfish Lou’s Playing It Forward” monthly fundraiser events were launched.  Keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for your favorite artists and their charities of choice.

Looking forward to the next six months!

Michelle & Michael
Owners of Catfish Lous

Billy D & The Hoodoos
Hey Everyone.. it’s Billy D & The Hoodoos coming out of Winter Hibernation.. Lo & Behold we’ve got a busy Summer.. The Gorge Fest and Opening Day of The Safeway Waterfront Fest right here in Beautiful NW Oregon in June .. followed by a Trip to Cosmic Santa Fe in July, Walla Walla & Chicago in August &  finally California in Oct.. Pretty Awesome.. also after many years of being our go to guy for Bass & Vocal duties “Dapper” Joe Casimir.. the best I’ve ever worked with is retiring from “full time “ duty with us but will come back once in awhile to help out .. he and his  better 1/2  June Howell also a great singer(Actually two of the kindest and best peeps you can ever hope to meet) will be riding off into as many Sunsets as They Can & enjoying their retirements together.. Thank U Joey!!! His last official show with us will be Saturday Aug 19 @ O’Connors Vault.. so please come out and hang with Joe that night .. truly one of the finest anywhere!!!
Keep Rockin!!!
Billy D

Karen Lovely
I’m sitting here in a van heading north to Canada with 2x BMA Winner “Best Bass” Lisa Mann, her husband bassist Allen Markel, drummer Dave Melyan, and IBC “St Blues” Winner for Best Guitar is driving.

Lisa, Ben, Dave, and I have been talking about what a great time we had at our recent sold out shows in Basel, Switzerland, and how excited we are to be performing together again this weekend.  We are all really stoked to be playing again on the main stage at the Waterfront Blues Festival, Opening Day, 6/30.

Playing with Lisa, Ben, Dave, and guitar player Mark Bowden is a musical experience like no other…

For the past year, we’ve been fortunate to have done a number of shows together…in Arizona, California, Florida, Washington, Switzerland, and best of all, our hometown of Portland, OR.

The collective joy, creative energy, and connectedness of the band, shows. The Cascade Blues Association membership honored us with a “Performance of the Year” award for last year’s Waterfront Festival set.

It was a killer set…and with Special Guest Jim Pugh sitting in on B3 for the last half of the set, it was simply over the top good.

I can’t wait to play with this band again at the 2017 Waterfront Festival.  Joining us this year, will be Joe McCarthy on trumpet, Robert “Lefty” Head on fiddle, and the Lowrider Band’s percussionist Chuk Barber.

What’s especially exciting for me, and songwriting partner, Mark Bowden, is that we’ll be playing some of original material we wrote for my new album Fish Outta Water– which just debuted at #13 on the Billboard Blues Album chart.

See you, June 30th!

You can also catch my band 7/10 at Holliday Park for a free concert, courtesy the City of Portland, and at Catfish Lou’s, the city’s hip new blues club, on July 14th.

Dave Fleschner
Hello Blues Fans,

I’ve played the Blues Festival as a sideman for years with a number of different bands.  I think I first played a noon show with Gary Burford in the late 90’s, then went on to work with Chris Mayther, Kathy Walker, Karen Lovely, Curtis Salgado and Duffy Bishop. I proudly display my Muddy Award in my studio for the year that the Curtis Salgado Band won the Muddy for Best Performance.  I got to back up Phillip Walker, Andrew ‘Junior Boy Jones’ And Sherman Robertson for a Freddie King Tribute (Jimmy Bott and Willie Barber were killing as the rhythm section – Renato Caranto was amazing on Tenor sax). I have to thank the Waterfront Blues Fest for giving me so many great and memorable opportunities to play music over the years.

This year I’m extremely honored to be leading a tribute to Paul Delay.  I played with Paul just a handful of times, but his influence on me and the Portland music world is immeasurable.  His creativity within the genre has been an inspiration for me, and countless other musicians – not only from Portland, but around the world.  We’re going to have a who’s who of killer musicians paying tribute to Paul’s legacy: Andy Stokes, LaRhonda Steele, Saeeda Wright, Lisa Mann, Hank Shreve, Carlton Jackson, Ben Rice, Freddy Trujillo and myself.  Special guest Duffy Bishop will be revisiting a duet that she did with Paul – just a few years ago.  I can’t thank the WBF and Peter Dammann enough for all the work they do to put this amazing festival on – and for inviting me to be a part of it.

I’m excited to be playing a variety of other shows at the blues fest this year as well.  First off, I’ll be playing the DME Blues Brunches with United By Music North America every morning at the Hotel Rose from 11:00 to 1:00.  We have a brand new set of music, made up largely of the music of our guest mentors (from Marcia ball to Keb Mo’), that will showcase styles from the gutter to the swamp, somehow also maintaining a really positive vibe.  Expect some seriously heavy hitters to be showing up as guests at these Delta Music Experience “blues brunches.”

On the 3rd, look out for a special guest appearance from me on a secret stage to be named later.  I played with this band somewhere in Washington a few years ago, and I think they are building a super secret tunnel to the stage from somewhere under a volcano.

On the 4th of July, United by Music will take the stage at Noon, then I’ll do the Paul Delay Tribute at 2:00.  There will be an interview Q&A Session about Paul at 5:00 on the Crossroads stage, and then I finish out the evening with the Duffy Bishop Band.  This band has been playing around the Northwest this month, and I think we’re playing really genuine music.  Duffy sings from her heart, and that inspires all of us to play with the same zeal for life.

I’m grateful to be able to keep company with all these amazing artists, and what better way to celebrate the 4th of July than with a big helping of American music.

Thank you all for supporting me and all the great artists in this town.  This American music is what makes America great.

Dave Fleschner

Andy T Band

Double Strike
American Showplace Music

Andy T BandDouble Strike is a fantastic new recording from the Andy T Band, but sadly it is also the swan song for his partner and band vocalist Nick Nixon, with whom it released three sensational albums over the past six years. Forced into retirement due to health issues, Nixon appears on half a dozen tracks on the new album. They serve as a nice legacy alongside his previous recordings, showcasing his ever smooth voice that has graced many R&B and blues recordings since the 1960s.

To fill the void created by Nixon’s departure, Andy T recruited Alabama Mike Benjamin, a spectacular vocalist who has been bathed in the gospel tradition and made his reputation known around the Bay Area working with the likes of Anthony Paule in the trio The Hound Kings and by releasing three solo albums under his own name. He fits the mold of the Andy T Band perfectly. Alabama Mike also takes the lead voice on six of the thirteen songs on Double Strike, with the instrumental “Mudslide” being the one number left.

Though the Andy T Band is based out of Nashville, there is a strong Texas presence on the recording, including guitar ace Anson Funderburgh (who also co-produced the disc), The Texas Horns and Greg Izor applying harmonica to the song “Deep Inside.” The band is completed by Larry Van Loon on keys, Jim Klingler on drums and Johnny Bradley on bass, with Mike Flanigin contributing on Hammond for “Sad Times.” The album was recorded in Austin and later mixed in Nashville.

When you have the double strength of guitarists like Andy Talamantez (who worked in bands led by Smokey Wilson and Guitar Shorty before starting his own) and Texas guitar legend Anson Funderburgh, you know that the offerings are going to sizzle. It truly comes across throughout and shines brightly on numbers like “Doin’ Hard Time” and “I Was Gonna Leave You.”

The songs on Double Strike are mostly originals written by Talamantez and two by Nixon (one of which is sung by Alabama Mike, “Sad Times”), with collaborators in the band Van Loon, “Somebody Like You,” and horn player Kaz Kazanoff, “Where Did Our Love Go Wrong.” Another, “I Want You Bad” was written by Tom Hambridge. There are three covers on the album, all sung by Nixon, Goree Cater’s “Drunk Or Sober” and back-to-back Chuck Willis tunes, “I Feel So Bad” and “Juanita.”

Double Strike is both a bittersweet and a wonderful album. It is a sad day realizing that these are more than likely a final testimony of new recordings from the voice of Nick Nixon to be heard. But it is also a brand new opening of hope for new brightness to come from the band behind Alabama Mike’s vocals. Two vocalists, one sensational band. It is a double shot of bluesy goodness.

Total Time: 49:56

I Want You Bad / Somebody Like You / Deep Inside / Sweet Thing / I Feel So Bad / Juanita / Mudslide / Sad Times / Doin’ Hard Time / Drunk Or Sober / I Was Gonna Leave You / Dream About You / Where Did Our Love Go Wrong