Cascade Blues Association, Many Opportunities for CBA Volunteers

Thanks to some of our wonderful volunteers these are the places where to find the printed Blues Notes.

Catfish Lou’s
delivered at the Monthly meeting
Ann Harcrow 
Music Millennium
Barley Mill Pub
Laurelthurst
Horse Brass
Paulette
Spud Monkey
Carol Hamley
White Eagle
15th ave Hop House
Café Destino
Alberta Rose Theater
Cannon’s Rib Express
Spare Room
Clyde’s  Prime Rib
Blue Diamond
Gastro Pub
Muddy Rudder
Vinyl Tap
McQueen’s
Kathy Rose 
Bagdad Theatre & Pub
Artichoke Music
Crossroads Music
12th Fret
Jackpot Records
Bishops Barbershop
Manley & Sons Barbershop
Dapper Barbershop
Jeanette Aglipay (new)
Trail’s End Saloon
Arrividerci
Gemini
Area 52
Montavilla Station
Dan Dalton
Trade Up Music
Everyday Music Sandy Blvd
Everyday Music Burnside
Goose Hollow Tavern
Guitar Center Tigard
Wendy Schumer
Mock Crest
Slim’s
VANCOUVER SITES:
Anne Purner 
Compass Coffee – Main St., Vanc.
Brickhouse Bar & Grill – Main St., Vanc
Niche Wine Bar- Main St., Vanc
Burnt Bridge Cellars-1500 Broadway, Vanc
Cellar 55 – 1812 Washington St., Vanc.
Old Ivory Brewery and Taproom- 108 W. Evergreen Blvd., Vanc.
Shanahan’s Bar & Grill – Columbia St., Vanc.
Brewed – Main St., Vanc  (coffee, wine & beer place)
Top Shelf – Main St.,Vanc.
Susan McCarthy,  acupuncturist  –   Main St., Vanc
Vinnie’s Pizza –  Main St., Vanc
Loowit Brewing, 507 Columbia St., Vanc.
Torque Coffee – Columbia St.,  Vanc.
Dirty Hands Brewing Co. – 114 Evergreen Blvd., Vanc
Dublin Down – Main St., Vanc
Everybody’s Music – Main St.,  Vanc.
Mt. Tabor Brewing – 113 W. 9th St.,  Vanc
Mint Tea -Main St.,  Vanc
J. Michael Salon – 1700 Broadway,  Vanc.
Liquid Gold – 11202 NE 4th Plain Rd.,  Vanc
Garage Bar & Grille – W. 4th Plain,  Vanc.
Billy Blues Bar & Grill –   Hazel Dell Ave.,  Vanc.
Jazzy Johns –  JM Plaza,  Hazel Dell
Country Store Bakery – 119th St.,  Vanc.
Latte Da –   39th St.,  Vanc
Confluence Winery –  19111 NW 65th Ave.,  Ridgefield
Rusty Grape Vineyard – 16712 NE 219th St.,  Battleground
Bethany Vineyard – 4115 NE 259th St.,  Ridgefield
3 Brothers Winery  – 2411 NE 244th St.,  Ridgefield
Gougher Cellars – 26505  10th Ave.,  Ridgefield
Old Town Battle Grounds Coffee & Deli,   Battleground
Music World – Battleground
Sportsman’s Restaurant – 121 N. Main St.,  Ridgefield
Blind Onion Pizza – Highway 99,  HazelDell
Blind Onion Pizza – 6115 NE114th Ave.,  Orchards
Low Bar
Sugar & Salt
Pauls
Koi Pond Cellars
Rockys Pizza
Band Bob Log III

Band Bob Log IIIBob Log III is an American slide guitarist and one-man band. During performances, he plays old Silvertone Archtop guitars, wears a full body cannonball man suit, and a helmet wired to a telephone which allows him to devote his hands and feet to his guitars and drums. The spectacle has been described as a guitar dance party, full of sweaty smiles, jumps, and kicks. Touring over 150 shows a year in more than 30 countries, Log and his guitar never, ever quit. Bob Log’s version of quick Delta blues is a continuation the sound that Bob Log and Thermos pioneered in the duo, Doo Rag. The major differences are: greater emphasis on guitar showmanship, and drumming -one-man band style-with his feet. It sounds like three drummers, two guitar players, and one sort-of singer.

Bob Log III will be returning to Portland for a show at Dante’s, 350 W Burnside, on Wednesday, May 9 at 9:00 pm. Tickets for this 21 & over show are $12.00 advance at Ticketweb.com.

For twenty years, the annual Untapped Blues & Brews Festival was a traditional Mother’s Day event in Tri-Cities, Washington, but sadly, like many other festivals, it came to an premature end. Now, with a partnership between the Washington Blues Society, Billy Stoops and Al Holman with A1 Refrigeration and Heating and The Clover Island Inn, the event is being re-established under a new name — The ReTapped Rhythm & Blues Festival.

Scheduled for Saturday, May 12 at the John Dam Plaza/HAPO Stage, 815 George Washington Way in Richland, ReTapped will open its gates at noon for a full day of entertainment featuring The Delgado Brothers, Junkyard Jane, Wasteland Kings, Coyote Kings with Tiphony Dames, Shoot Jake and Bent On Blues. There will be wine and beers for sampling and food vendors on site. Tickets are $30.00 in advance through Brownpapertickets.com or $35.00 at the gate.

The Clover Island Inn have also planned a kick-off dance party taking place on Friday, May 11, starting at 7:00 pm with regional favorites Tuck Foster & The Mosrites and Junk Belly performing, plus an all star jam. Admission is $10.00.

A special package including a two night stay at the Clover island Inn, entry to the ReTapped Festival and the Friday night kick-off party, plus an all day shuttle service between the hotel and Hapo Stage is available for $270.00 per couple. Call 509-586-0541 for reservations.

 

 

 

The Sportin’ Lifers

The Sportin’ LifersThe Sportin’ Lifers describe their music as a mixture of “jump blues,” “rhythm and blues,” “boogie woogie,” and “swing,” and the longer they perform as a unit the more their music fuses eras and bends genres. “As much as possible, we play what inspires us.”

Who are the band members and what part do they play in the band?

Erin Wallace – vocals
Whit Draper – guitar and vocals
Don Campbell – bass and vocals
Steve Cleveland – keys and vocals
Fred Ingram – drums and vocals

Were you all born and raised in the Portland area?

Erin: I grew up in Vancouver, BC. I moved to Portland originally to go to college. After I graduated, I moved to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music for a few years, but Portland called me back.

Don: I was raised in southern Oregon, of redneck descent, and migrated north to Eugene where I fell in with Bill Rhoades, Curtis Salgado, D.K. Stewart and the blues community. In 1981, I got a gig with the Paul deLay Band and moved to Portland.

Fred: I was born in Portland and grew up in Eugene and Roseburg.

Steve: I was born and raised in Oregon, and I’ve lived in Portland most of my adult life.

Whit: I spent a big portion of my youth in Greece, where my parents were working.

How long have you been performing together professionally and individually?

Erin: Whit started the band about 8 years ago, then I joined about a year after that. He and I had previously met in another band and really enjoyed working together so we stayed in touch. He could not have picked a more talented, enjoyable group of people for this band. We have an absolute blast together.

Fred: I met Whit Draper thru the auspices of Steve Morelli. He got us a gig playing blues at a friend’s birthday party one scorching August day; it was so hot outside the balloons were popping. Whit introduced me to Johnny Ward and Steve Cleveland, then Brad Ulrich and Erin Wallace. When Morelli had to leave the band Whit brought in Don Campbell. It’s been clicking ever since and I’m having an absolute ball playing with these guys.

Steve: I met Whit and Fred over a decade ago, through Johnnie Ward. I’ve played with Erin and Don for quite a few years. It’s a privilege to play with all of them.

Don: I have known Whit Draper by association for many years, and played once in a while with Brad Ulrich. Brad called me four or five years ago to fill in for some Tuesday nights at the Blue Diamond with the Sportin’ Lifers. I was way out over my skis with those guys because they played frisky, arranged music that swung so hard and was way more than three-chord blues. It turned into a very groovy thing.

Did each of you always want to perform professionally or if not, what did you “want to be when you grew up”?

Don: I grew up around music. I saw Tennessee Ernie Ford do “16 Tons” on TV and that was it. I started playing in school bands in grade school, but fell prey to rock and roll in the ‘60s, and found my way to blues and jazz (even though I am by no means a jazz guy). I have never not played music.

I played professionally all through the ‘80s–meaning it was basically my sole means of income, though that income was, um, for the poverty-level kind. I have held various jobs over the years, most of them in the editorial field, another extremely lucrative profession.

Steve: I knew early on in life that I wanted to play music professionally on some level. I didn’t really know how to go about it though. So it took a while.

Who has influenced your music?

Erin: I have always been heavily influenced by female artists. Growing up my parents used to play a lot of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Edith Piaf, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez. When I got a little older I discovered Aretha Franklin, Carol King, Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Etta James, Cassandra Wilson. And as a singer and a child of the ‘80s, I can’t go without mentioning Whitney Houston. I’m sure my bandmates will appreciate that. In my adult life, I listen to everything from Ruth Brown and Little Esther to Janelle Monáe, Lake Street Dive and Missy Elliott. And Sharon Jones all day long. I’m all over the map. Currently I have Meshell Ndegeocello’s latest album on repeat.

Don: My influences are numerous: anybody who ever played bass with B.B. King, Leroy Vinegar, Ray Brown, Christian McBride, Ron Carter, Jaco (mostly for inspiration for what a bass could do), Scott LaFaro, Paul Chambers, Carol Kaye, James Jamerson, Jerry Jemmott, Mingus (again, mostly for butt-kicking inspiration), Rocco Prestia, George Porter, Jr., a whole ton of African bass players whose names I don’t know, and hundreds of others, and those are just the bass guys. I met Victor Bailey in the Cape Town airport one time, and that was oddly and cooly inspirational. I love anything with soul.

Fred: I come from a musical family. My Grampa Joe would entertain us kids with vaudeville songs, accompanying himself on a tenor banjo. Dad was a professional musician and played trumpet and vibes in his own trio. He brought us up on Dixieland and swing music… Louie Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ray Charles, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Shelly Manne, Clark Terry, Stan Getz, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery. He brought home an old Slingerland drum set when I was in 5th grade and had his drummer, Stan Rhees, give me drum lessons. A few years later, my older siblings introduced me to Miles’ Filles de Kilamanjaro, Gary Burton’s Duster with Roy Haynes, John Coltrane‘s Africa Brass with Elvin Jones, then Horace Silver’s 27th Man with Mickey Roker and the world of CTI thru Freddie Hubbard’s album First Light. Even though I was immersed in rock n’ roll music with my friends, the exposure to jazz stretched my idea of possibilities. The summer before my senior year in high school I got a gig playing drums in an organ trio–my first professional job. I’ve been playing ever since, everything from country to funk, zydeco to jump, cumbia, samba, second line, hillbilly, bebop, polka… find that groove.

Steve: I’m influenced by any soulful music of any genre. I like roots music. Music with deep roots. When I play in this band, I draw specifically on Ray Charles, Otis Spann, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmy Rowles, Nat Cole, Bud Powell, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Teddy Wilson, Jimmy Smith.

How would you describe your music?

Steve: I think this music we play is swingin’, danceable, and drenched in the blues.

Erin: My personal musical endeavors are pretty broad. Right around the time I joined The Sportin’ Lifers, I also started with a band called The Sentiments–a big, fun, energetic 9-piece soulful ska and rocksteady band. It is a complete blast to play with those folks as well and a whole different world than my other projects. The connections I made in that band led to me having the opportunity to do a couple of tours singing with the amazing Ernest Ranglin – Jamaican jazz guitar legend. More recently, I started a solo project called Wallace. That band plays almost all my own original material and influences range from soul to funk to rock to pop with a little bit of hip hop mixed in. It is a much more personal endeavor for me. I definitely take what I have learned from the Sportin’ Lifers with me into that project.

Don: My music? Anything roots based played with soul and inspiration. I love authentic country, blues, jazz, reggae, rock, soul, world beat, and anything that draws or melds or pushes the envelopes of those. I hate music with no lineage, no historical sensibility, and no soul.

Did you have any formal training or self-taught?

Erin: I started singing lessons at age 11. After years studying classical, jazz and musical theatre, I attended the Berklee College of music and started focusing on soul, blues, jazz and rhythm and blues. Honestly, I loved being at music school and wouldn’t trade it for the world. But I have learned so much more from my real-world experiences – particularly with a group as challenging, fun and supportive as The Sportin’ Lifers. They are such bad-ass musicians, they push and inspire me to learn more and do better every time.

Don: I had minor formal training, but mostly curiosity about how to make cool sounds and find grooves on an instrument. Playing with the Sportin’ Lifers is constantly inspirational and educational. These nutballs bring a lot to the party.

Steve: I had some good piano teachers as a kid, and I’ve had some wonderful mentors, such as the late Kent Glenn, a brilliant post-bop pianist, composer, and arranger. And I continually learn from everyone I play with. Music is a lifelong endeavor and we are all self-taught at some fundamental level, even as we continue to learn from others.

What CD’s do you have out?

We have one album out: Cigars, Billiards, Lunches. It was released about 4 years ago. Available on CD Baby, Amazon, iTunes, etc.

Any more CD’s in the works.

Don has an amazing studio space out in the Gorge. We keep threatening to lock ourselves up there for a while and write and record until we have another finished album. Hopefully soon!!

Who have you played with?

We usually play shows on our own but we have, on occasion had the pleasure to share the stage with amazing local bands/musicians like The Jumptown Aces, The Pepper Grinders, Jim Wallace, Suburban Slim and others.

Are there any former band members you want to mention?

Bass player, Steve Morelli was one of our founding members. He put a lot of love into this project. You can see the restaurant name is “Morelli’s” in the photo on our album cover. That was our loving shout out to him.

Brad Ulrich was also a big part of the band from the beginning. You can hear him on the album on sax and clarinet. We have been really lucky to have such talent come through our ranks.

Closing comments:

We can be found playing Happy Hour at the Secret Society on the third Friday of every month. The Sportin’ Lifers Trio (that’s Whit, Don and Steve) plays the fourth Friday of every month at The Muddy Rudder. You can find some version of the band at Catfish Lou’s and The Blue Diamond on a fairly regular basis.

Lake Theater & Café

Lisa Mann, Bre Gregg, and Mary Kadderly join forces to bring you a show at The Lake Theater & Café on Monday, May 21, complete with soulful performances, three-part harmonies, and powerful musical interpretations. Because these women emerge from different musical backgrounds, their show will cover the blues, soul, jazz, and pop, and is packed with original music — some of it brand new. All three musicians are on-stage throughout the show, creating a band with three lead singers, three songwriters, and three times the energy and joy to share with audiences.

With two Blues Music Awards, eight Cascade Blues Association Muddy Awards and a Blues Blast Award, Lisa Mann has been a major force on the national blues scene for a number of years. Mann’s voice effortlessly straddles the line between the honey sweet warmth of the South, and the force-of-nature sound Mann has cultivated by mastering everything from rock to Memphis soul.

Bre Gregg has one foot in the blues and the other in swampy soul. Although her red hair and freckles remind you of a sweet Irish lass, if you close your eyes and change your expectations, you will hear strong influences from Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, and maybe even a dash of Patsy Cline.

With a range of musical styles that reaches from jazz and blues to R&B, country western and pop, long-time Portland favorite Mary Kadderly is a singer and songwriter with a truly distinctive voice that’s soothing, authentic, and compelling.

Joining the three ladies will be one of Portland’s finest guitar players, Dan Gildea.

The Lake Theater & Café is located at 106 N. State St. in Lake Oswego. Tickets for The Trifecta Mat 21st. can be purchased at the venue’s website Laketheatercafe.com for $15.00. VIP tables seating four closest to the stage are available for $80.00 while they last.

Award-Winning Sunbanks Festival 2018

The Sunbanks Festival is a four-day, semi-annual music festival located against the backdrop of Banks Lake near Grand Coulee Dam at the beautiful Sunbanks Lake Resort in Electric City, Washington. The prestigious event is a seven-time Washington Blues Society B.B. Award recipient for “Best Music Festival” in the state! Founded in 1995, local, regional, national, and international artists alike have performed on this diverse stage that features rhythm & blues, rockabilly, funk, roots rock, Americana, singer songwriters, and more.

Held biannually, the 2018 springtime version of the festival will take place on Thursday, May 17 through Sunday, May 20. It all begins on Thursday evening with Acoustic Music in the Cantina – an intimate rock garden amphitheater located behind the grand log cabin lodge. Then the main party continues Friday through Sunday on the main stage with featured acts performing in an awesome setting surrounded by the stunning scenery of the lake framed by the rolling foothills.

Performing at the festival will be The Delgado Brothers, Janiva Magness, Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps, LeRoy Bell & His Only Friends, Randy Oxford Band, TJ & the Suitcase, ​Black Lillies, James King & the Southsiders, Rod Cook & Toast, Cody Ray & the New Favorites, Billy Stoops & the Dirt Angels, The Hoyer Brothers, Mark Riley Trio, Octopus Ballet, Heather & Donny Jones, Be Tricky, Champagne Sunday, Rachel & Roger Williamson, Tod Lemkuhl, and Walker Sherman.

For more information, including tickets, lodging, camping and more, visit the festival website at sunbanksfestival.com.

Madeleine Peyroux

Madeleine PeyrouxMadeleine Peyroux will showcase music from both her latest release, Secular Hymns and her upcoming album, Anthem, (due for release in August) at The Tower Theater, 835 NW Wall Street in Bend, on Sunday, May 15. Twenty years after her recording debut Dreamland, Madeleine Peyroux continues her musical journey of exploring beyond the ordinary with Secular Hymns, a spirited and soulful masterwork of loping, skipping, sassy, feisty, and sexy tunes encased in a captivating mélange of funk, blues, and jazz. With her seductively expressive voice, Peyroux intimately renders tunes covering blues, gospel, dub, contemporary, traditional spirituals, and nineteenth-century music.

This is her only Oregon performance on this tour. Show time is 7:00 pm and tickets can be purchased at towertheatre.org, ranging from $51.75 to $74.50. Opening for Peyroux will be New Orleans-based singer/songwriter Carsie Blanton.

Lake Theater & Café

Nina Simone was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century and an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller — a griot, as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love expressed through a magnificent body of works. She earned the moniker ‘High Priestess of Soul’ for her ability to weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that listeners lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment.

In tribute to the late legendary master, LaRhonda Steele and Julie Amici will be bringing their vocal talent, along with pianist Mark Steele, bassist Dean Mueller, drummer Carlton Jackson and saxophonist Pete Moss, to The Lake Theater & Café, 106 N State Street in Lake Oswego for a performance on Monday, May 14. Admission to this 7:00 pm show is $20.00 through the venue’s website at laketheatercafe.com. VIP tables seating four, closest to the stage, are also available for $100.00.

Ramblings On My Mind-March 2021

Ramblings on My Mind - May 2018Greg Johnson, Cascade Blues Association

The summer is about upon us and festival season is breaking out already. This year the Cascade Blues Association is planning on being a part of many different events to bring our brand back out to the public. Of course plan on seeing us with booths at events like the Cider Summit and Waterfront Blues Festival, but we’re also looking at various street fairs and other festivals, too.

To do this we need our members to help volunteer. Shelley Garrett will be at the upcoming membership meetings to sign-up volunteers for the CBA booth at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Let her or anyone on the Board of Directors know if you’d like to be involved with other events, like the CBA Concert in the Park in August. We can always use your assistance.

Please don’t miss out on the Journey to Memphis competition this month. We have 15 acts going head to head for a chance to represent us at the International Blues Challenge next January. We’re excited to be holding the event at Mekong Bistro on May 19 and 20. Lots of new faces this year in the competition too, proving that the blues are still strong and alive in our city — as if we didn’t already know that.

Remember there are multiple ways that you can help out the CBA every day. If you shop at Fred Meyers, sign up for the Community Rewards program. It’s free and when you earn your own rewards points with purchases at the store, it will match those points for the CBA and we receive a donation check regularly from the company. Check with your employer, too. Many have matching donations for your gifts to charitable organizations, including the CBA.

We want to thank those who have also made a point to single out the CBA. We’ve had a couple of generous gifts from the wills of members who have passed, and Dean Mueller and Julie Amici recently received a grant from the Oregon Community Foundation that they kindly shared with the CBA. Thank you so much!

Look for other exciting news from the CBA. We’re currently investigating new merchandise outlets to better serve and offer more to our members. And we’re thinking about new events that again will put us more out front and bring our brand in focus to the community.

And as always, support our musicians and local venues. You are the strength behind their success by attending their shows and clubs. Nobody wants an empty room. Tip the bands and buy their music, if not at the show then support our local businesses like Music Millennium. See you all in the clubs and at the festivals.

Dennis Johnson

San FraDennis Johnsonncisco’s Dennis Johnson is one of the virtuoso slide guitar players performing today. Guitar World Magazine calls him a “slide guitar master.” A self-taught guitarist as a teen, he discovered the music of Robert Johnson, Roy Rogers, and Norton Buffalo and was hooked on the blues. With a deep passion for rhythm forms his performances are extraordinary.

“This guy is up there in the pantheon of outstanding purveyors of the slide guitar tradition.” Blues Blast Magazine

Dennis Johnson and his band, The Mississippi Ramblers, will be performing at the White Eagle Saloon, 836 Russell Street for a 7:00 pm show on Sunday, May 20. This is a free event. 21 & over only.