You might notice the CBA member meetings have a new home! We know that a venue in Lake Oswego might have been a controversial choice for some, but one of the things that is so important to the survival of blues as an art form is getting youths involved. At The Garages is a venue that welcomes all ages and the board felt this was the way to go for the future. If you haven’t been, it’s an amazing space, and Kent was kind enough to take a few minutes to talk about it.
AP:Anyone who goes into The Garages will notice the stage and dance floor are both very prominent! It’s obviously a venue centered on music. What’s your history with music and where did you find your passion for it?
KD: When I was about 10 years old I got my first trap drum set. I banged on those skins through my high school years in a band called The Flock. We were the “go-to band” for all school-related dances. We fanned out to other schools and some private parties. My house was the band’s “hangout,” so we had lots of parties in the basement. We even played in some battles of the bands and gained some Chicagoland notoriety.
My first album purchase was the first Santana album, which was full of great percussion and drum solos. I knew at that point that music would be an important part of my life. In college I graduated with a speech and broadcast communications degree. I served my internship at KPTV, which was an independent TV station back then. I also ran the Oregon State University radio station, KBVR-FM.
At that time I organized a live show which featured local bands. After college, KPTV hired me, where I worked for six years. Then I got a wild idea to move to Los Angeles, where I went to work for CBS Television/Radio. I spun records as a disc jockey on radio as a side gig, then full-time until returning to Oregon in 1986. My love of music has remained even though I got into other forms of employment.
In 2016 we started The Garages as an underground place to play live music. It became too popular and the city of Beaverton, where music venues are illegal, shut us down. We reopened a few months later in what was known as The Satellite Pub Bar/Restaurant. We built a temporary stage to avoid city regulations, and we grew into an “unofficial” music venue. With our recent move to Lake Oswego we can now be an official music venue. We have live music seven days a week with a great variety of music genres. We are lovin’ it!
AP: I’ve always wanted to own a bar. Tell me why I shouldn’t. What’s been most difficult for you running this place, especially in the context of COVID?
KD: Owning a bar/restaurant is not for the weak at heart. The reason is it takes a serious commitment of time and investment. COVID intensified both commitment and investment. We did everything we could to continue the live music path we have built. If anyone asked me how we have weaved our way through the past two years, it’s simple: The support for live music is very strong in the Portland metro area. When other venues closed or shut down, we never did. But to answer your question directly: Owning a bar is a huge risk. If you don’t like to take chances, don’t do it!
AP:Most memorable gig at The Garages?
KD: It was a tribute to Pink Floyd. The guests were mesmerized. It was amazing.
AP: Portland is a town where we like to keep it weird. What’s the strangest thing you have seen while running Garages – anything paranormal or extraterrestrial going on behind the scenes?
KD: We have a ghost we call “Henry.” He was at our original location and he died falling off the roof in 1955 when the building was being built. We love this guy. He has shown his presence throughout the years by moving items, turning on lights and following us in the hallways. We have talked with him and invited him to come with us. We just had evidence that he has come to the new location because we have him on camera late at night after everyone has left. Cool dude with nothing to fear.
https://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/studio-light-1418816.jpg18911824Anni Piperhttps://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CBA_Logo_top_main.pngAnni Piper2022-02-28 13:34:452022-02-28 13:34:45Spotlight on Kent Drangsholt by Anni Piper
They’re the dynamic duo who back up some of the nation’s top touring acts, including our own Karen Lovely and Ben Rice. They are coming to the membership meeting Feb. 2. Take a few minutes to get to know the Groovetramps, Melanie Owen and Joseph Barton.
What was your experience with gender stereotypes and perceptions as a beginner? Do you think much has changed for female bassists over the years?
Melanie Owen: I have to do a little history of Mel here to talk about it: I didn’t see women playing guitar or bass or drums growing up. Violin, piano. Singing, TEACHING music. (FYI I played piano really young then I picked French horn because I wanted to be different. Make of that what you will.)
In high school and college, I hung out with a bunch of dudes. They played in local punk and ska bands, but that’s kind of just what the dudes did. With the exception of a couple “all girl” punk bands I just didn’t see a lot of women playing these instruments. I didn’t start playing bass till I was 20, when a dude in a church group I was a part of needed a sub bass player and I said I could do it. To impress him. I did not know how to play bass but I had watched the dudes around me for years. So I taught myself the bass. I played for a few years and then put it down. I was playing more guitar, streamy folky music, and the bass I had was stolen.
A few years later when I started going to blues jams playing guitar, I met one woman (Jodie Woodward in Colorado) who plays bass and we became friends and I just thought she was amazing. (She is still amazing, by the way.) Then I saw Cassie Taylor open for Otis Taylor, just her and her bass, solo. And I was floored. And I thought, I WANT TO DO THAT. It’s true that one can’t really see themselves doing something until they see themselves doing it.
It was still years before I picked up a bass again. I saw more and more women doing it, and I needed to be able to lead a trio from the bass as I left my life and career in Denver to start a new life and career in Seattle. So I was a beginner at bass all over again, in a new genre of music, going to blues jams and leading a band. Choosing to be a beginner and work it all out in public definitely made my life harder. The willingness to be vulnerable and curious and make mistakes and learn from them in public can make people uncomfortable or assume you’re weak. And it’s amplified when you’re a “girl.” Sometimes you get pats on the head but not taken seriously, like some musicians on stage won’t even watch you when you’re leading a song — or the opposite, where people tell you you’re great when you’re not yet because the expectations for musicianship in women have traditionally been different. But I’m glad I went down that road and made the choices I made because now I work with amazing people like Ben Rice and Karen Lovely and Kris Deelane and I’ve gotten to work with the amazing Lady A #TheRealLadyA too, and I ride that old ’66 P Bass like a broomstick all over the country.
People will say “Wow, you just don’t see too many female bass players” at least once a weekend. And my response is, “Actually, there are so many of us. We’re everywhere if you look.” I still even sometimes get asked who I’m “carrying that stuff for” when I am carrying my bass and amp into the club. (Insert facepalm emoji here.) It’s awesome to tour with younger dudes than myself and tell my stories about my gendered encounters and hear them say “WHAT? That’s crazy!” I see a general change in young people who are just blasting the doors off of gender right now. My stories even feel outdated to me when I see young people and how they move through the world. Which to me means we’re headed in a good direction.
Can you describe your teenage years for me? Would you like to tell me a bit about how music fits into your family background or the culture of the places you grew up?
MO: I played French horn and piano and sang in choir, both school and church, and did theater and dance. I was a big performing arts nerd. There was music in church, music in school, music with my friends (grunge, then punk and ska — oh yes, it was the ‘90s). At home there was a lot of classical, but sometimes the oldies station and we had some Motown CDs and the (wait for it) soundtrack to “Forrest Gump,” which became my reference for classic rock. There was definitely the idea of “real music” and then the rest of it, and I never was able as a kid to bridge the classical music I was learning in my school training with the Motown and rock ‘n’ roll I preferred. So all my music training is not on the instruments I currently play.
Have you ever reached a state of spiritual nirvana where you become one with the music? Where you can’t tell where the self ends and the music begins?
MO: It’s not always easy for me to get there, but yes. I tend to worry about the things going on around me and how I’m sounding. When I can just be mindful and present, I can let the music wrap around me to the point where nothing else matters. Also, this past year I went totally abstinent from alcohol for about eight months. I am still mostly abstinent and I have been playing most shows without alcohol. It was difficult to learn how to play and trust the music without the chemical enhancement. Turns out I have a pretty good case of stage anxiety I didn’t know I had until I stopped drinking. Fun discoveries! And I had to work through that and what helped me was the music itself. A couple months into doing shows again this last year I really started to feel the groove for the groove itself.
What do you feel you have had to sacrifice the most in order to become a musician?
MO: When I was getting ready to stop doing the day job thing and just go into music full time, my friend Moses Walker, who is a musician I was a big fan of way before I even met him, told me regarding living as a musician, “I just have to make sure I don’t need much.” And that’s what I did.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience, or seen a UFO, while on tour?
MO: Yes. On tour I play in a lot of old bars and stay in some old band houses. The paranormal experiences I’ve had are usually just me going into a room or up the stairs tired from tour and something tries to get my attention and I (without looking, mind you) say out loud “Hello, I see you and acknowledge you but I have no interest in talking or interacting with you tonight thank you I’m going to bed.”
Most memorable gig ever, for better or worse?
MO: I’ll go with the Waterfront Festival 2019, playing bass for Marina Crouse. I had had the fortune to be on the Waterfront stage singing backup vocals for Karen Lovely a couple of times, but this was my first time on bass in a brand-new for-hire capacity and I was really excited. Right before the show I looked over on the side stage and there was one of Marina’s regular bass players and drummer from the Bay Area … and I looked out and I saw Lisa Mann, and I saw Calen Uhlig, and I had just gotten a text from Stacy Jones that she was there … so, so many people I look up to. And I just froze. And I kind of had to really step into myself in that moment and trust in my place there. I can’t be anyone else but myself and I gotta bring it the way I bring it.
What’s one thing about being a touring musician, or life on the road, that would surprise someone who hasn’t done it themselves?
MO: The best representation of touring I’ve seen in TV recently is in the TV show “Pen15.” One of the characters’ dads is a jazz drummer and when he calls from the road, he’s in a cheap motel with four other dudes, one’s on a cot, one’s noodling on a guitar right next to his ear and he’s trying to talk, the mom does merch and you see her come in with the table and two different servers tell her “You can’t put that there.” I laugh so hard because it’s so honest. I would add that sometimes you roll into the club after a 10-hour drive and you have a four-hour show that starts at 9 p.m. and you power through and they drunkenly yell “ONE MORE” and you just want to crumple into bed. But sometimes you get to see really cool stuff on the road or stay someplace really nice or get to hang out at the ocean, and you can kind of refill the creative cup to keep putting out good music.
You’re working as a visual artist as well as a musician – tell me about your designs.
Joseph Barton: I guess in 2015 I started doing artwork on guitar cases. It was pretty simple designs, ‘cuz I wasn’t really a visual artist but just really had a call towards doing artwork on guitar cases. You know, I just like painting on stuff. What I do is a lot of patterns, like with playing cards. I glue them down to the guitar case with Super Glue, and then I cover them with epoxy. Geometric designs and abstract, I don’t do pictures. I can see ideas for drawing, but I don’t have the technical skill. But I’ve been really enjoying the abstract and the geometric stuff has been real satisfying.
Can you describe your teenage years for me? Would you like to tell me a bit about how music fits into your family background or the culture of the places you grew up?
JB: I suppose this is going to be around me getting started playing music, specifically musicians in the family. My uncle played keyboards. I had, I guess, sons of my grand-aunt, my grand-nephews? Family back East from Connecticut to Pennsylvania. I didn’t catch on to music till later teens. It took me a while to get into, I started with the guitar. I wanted to play the drums originally as a little kid, but my parents didn’t want a kid with a drum set. So later on, a guitar showed up, and then I figured sometime later after that I picked up the bass. I thought, ‘I can probably find work doing this,’ and I did, and I did that for a few years on bass guitar. I love music, but I actually got into it in my earlier years by just being interested in vintage gear. My family is from back East and they would do antiques and I got into that strong interest in the vintage stuff. If you study the internet revolution, of the book and death of the printed knowledge, look at ‘70s ‘80s ‘90s and 2000s. I just came up with the general knowledge of love of instruments and vintage instruments through those decades. Of the Golden Era — you know, stuff from the ‘50s and ‘60s, Gibsons and Martins, you know. That’s what I remember from my teenage years. I did play a little, but I was too shy and didn’t really get a band together. Kind of had to come later, but that interest in antiques and antique guitars is where that fascination came from.
Have you ever reached a state of spiritual nirvana where you become one with the music? Where you can’t tell where the self ends and the music begins?
JB: Yeah, I feel like I’ve had those moments. You know, the moment I find I get most often is our three-hour gig just disappears. You know you were energized, and that by the end of it you could keep going or stay up the rest of the night or whatever is happening. You get lost in the moment of the thing that you’re doing. I need to get the right players together and you can get that often enough, that time lapse and I think sometimes that’s that moment for me.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience, or seen a UFO, while on tour?
JB: I want to say no, not that I know of. I hit a bat one time driving through North Carolina, it was just kind of hanging off the windshield. (Editor’s note: we reached out to his publicist but were unable to confirm if this bat was actually Dracula.)
Most memorable gig ever, for better or worse?
JB: There was this show, “Full Throttle Saloon” on one of those stations, you know 10 years ago, it was kind of what we now see like a Netflix reality show. It was a show about that bar in Sturgis. I was working with this songwriter from Texas. He was living in Rapid City — it’s like a half-hour drive to get to Sturgis. I don’t know how many, 100,000 bikes — you know the traffic! So we would do the “Full Throttle Saloon” and they would be filming it and there’s like three or four stars. There’s Jesse James, he was in the band Jackal and he had a band that was able to play sometimes. George Michaels was one of the guys at the show. Because it was a huge place, it burnt down but they rebuilt it. There was a good-looking woman who had a dance crew, Angel I think, and then her husband Mike Ballard, and they were always dressing up. There was a midget who would wear costumes like a leprechaun or a baby. They had the camera crew, like six or eight of them, to be taking shots of all the good-looking bartenders. They would wear military outfits, or cowgirl outfits. They had little spots all around where you can do like trios and stuff, we were working all the time. They had the sound booth for the main stage was a tractor, like a cabover diesel truck, 30-feet, 20-feet in the air. They had motorcycles inside the bar sometimes. All you could see was white smoke.
What’s one thing about being a touring musician, or life on the road, that would surprise someone who hasn’t done it themselves?
JB: Some of the work conditions. Some of the sleeping arrangements that you get, the hotels or band rooms. The stages or the backline that you have to deal with to make the work happen. People get a job and they go to a routine, I mean it’s like we got a routine too but routine changes at every f***’n venue. Every day is going to be different and I love it.
https://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Groovetramps-Promo-Photo.jpeg13652048Anni Piperhttps://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CBA_Logo_top_main.pngAnni Piper2022-01-31 10:33:392022-01-31 10:39:09Get to know the Groovetramps
From a local blues master:“Andrew Matthews is a young guy always working really hard to find his own sound. He’s an extremely talented musician/guitarist/vocalist that is influenced by the great blues and rock players of the past. But with his singing and songwriting, he’s more than just guitar riffs. He’s an 18-year-old who gets it!”
CBA: Thanks for giving us some time to talk together this afternoon. Why don’t we start with your musical beginnings?
Andrew Matthews: I started music at age 13 and was listening to old music, or at least relatively old ‘60s ‘70s ‘80s, classic rock stuff. Def Leppard, Journey and so on. Got an introduction to some of that and then streaming services like Pandora. You get music put in front of you and that’s the great thing about the internet. I started digging deeper into rock. And I don’t know why, but guitar seemed like something I wanted to do. I was playing a lot of video games and I just got bored. But I wanted something else to do. For Christmas I asked for this guitar from Amazon. I was 13 years old, probably when a lot of people start. I started with a cheap guitar, and I quickly found the importance of the blues.
I sort of worked my way down the “history of blues,” started to improvise, not sure what to do. You know, worked my way through the pentatonic scale, and so pretty soon got hooked up with my first guitar teacher, a co-worker with my dad. “Hey, my kid’s started playing guitar, can you give him a lesson?” So Jeff Black wasn’t doing music outside but is a great guitarist, so my dad started taking me over to Jeff’s house for lessons. But he didn’t have me pay, so my dad bought him cases of IPA. Jeff nailed the point: I had to learn to improvise, not play too many notes.
CBA: Yeah, I’m always working on that myself.
AM: he was real vocal about lines and speaking with the guitar, stuff like that. But at only 13 — going on 14 — I wasn’t real articulate yet. So I was jamming, but he told me to “play to music you’ve never heard before.” Let myself just be fingering, play just whatever comes out.
CBA: You get to where it’s, “Yeah, I’m thinking of that note and I know exactly how to get it!” And then you start building on that.
AM: And it took me a long while to where I could just hear stuff and play it. I’m still developing that.
CBA: So Jeff took you under his wing. That’s really special when someone loves their music so much that they want to — and need to — share it. Timmer is the same way: he cannot not teach. AM: That’s him exactly!
CBA: How long did that go with Jeff? You’ve got someone who’s moving you along and you’re getting the real feeling of it. But then, how did you continue to evolve?
AM: It’s been like a year or so since I’ve seen Jeff, but the pandemic slowed things down. Now he’s busy, I’m busy: I’ll see him soon. And I’m teaching here in my parents’ house. The students are teenagers, older guys, in between.
CBA: How long’ve you been teaching?
AM: That’s a new thing over the summer. A friend wanted to learn guitar, so she helped me learn how to set things up. Also, I was probably 14 when Jeff Black told me it was about time for me to go on stage. So we went over to the Blues Jam at Trail’s End Saloon hosted by Robbie Laws.
CBA: A lot of people agree that Robbie’s the underappreciated local guitar genius, playing fast and ultra-articulate.
AM: Yeah, and doing the phrasing, phrases you can remember. My first Blues Jam there, they played for a half-hour. I just sat there with my little SG and I learned a lot when Robbie brought me up. But, uh, I can’t say I was very good, you know (laughs)? So I was up there every other Sunday for at least a year.
CBA: Have you played much with Robbie?
AM: Yes, like in “6 p.m. youth jams;” and that was my first time playing with a band and learning band etiquette on stage and the rotation of soloing. You know, you hand the solo off to the guest first, and then follow with your own. And just learning about the blues in general, the structure of the 12-bar blues.
CBA: The one four five …
AM: Yeah, and eight-bar blues, for “Key to the Highway.”
CBA: You’re getting on stage quite a bit now.
AM: Yeah, so I don’t forget Portland stuff.
CBA: Thank you! (Laughter.)
AM: And a lot of this has gotten me going home and studying the blues guys that I should know.
CBA: Like who?
AM: Early on I discovered some Jimmy Reed, with “Big Boss Man.”
CBA: He often plays harmonica in first position. Mostly, maybe 75% of blues harp, is played in second position. You know — the band’s in A, the harp’s in D. So Reed wrote guitar notes to accommodate the possible notes from the same-keyed harp. It can really make a difference.
AM: I got into Muddy Waters. I really love the Chicago Blues. And just such attitude, you know?
CBA: If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the Netflix movie, “Cadillac Records,” that does a great job of showing the dynamic between Muddy and his protégé, Lil Walter. Almost a father-son relationship that gives a glimpse into how big Muddy’s heart was.
AM: Sort of a Buddy Guy-Junior Wells thing.
CBA: Oh yeah! When Lil Walter left Muddy, Junior Wells was hired away from the ACEs by Muddy as a replacement. Later, the ACEs gave the harp job to Lil Walter.
AM: The documentary, “Messin with the Blues”? That was serious for me. Specifically, showing “Messin With the Kid.” I could talk about a lot of influences. One was especially important in my progress. You heard of Davy Knowles? From the Isle of Man? He’s a really great modern blues/rock/folk guitarist and singer. You’ve heard of Rory Gallagher?
CBA: Yes, Bill Graham called him the “world’s greatest unknown guitarist.”
AM: Davy led the “Band of Friends”, featuring Rory Gallagher’s rhythm section after he was discovered via YouTube playing a Rory song. So, 22 years after Rory’s passing, Davy was leading the rhythm section, touring. So my grandmother found out, and let me know, that Davy and Rory’s band were coming to Portland and she hooked me up with Davy. December 2018, I was 15 and got to be backstage at the Aladdin Theatre and actually performed at the sound check.
CBA: This was only two years after you started playing your online guitar? But by then you spoke enough of the language to communicate about the music.
AM: Yeah, and Davy was happy to have me. And he had an old beat-up Fender replica Stratocaster of Rory’s for me to play.
I got to play for a little bit with Rory Gallagher’s band, jamming blues in A. The only other stage I’d been on was the Trail’s End. At the Aladdin, I thought, “This is a cool place.” And, I realized what I needed in a drummer! Ted McKenna was smiling all the time, just really enjoyed drumming. He was LOUD, and yet so much energy, so animated. He was really rocking it! So? “I need a drummer like THAT! Smiling, animated! I’ll look for a drummer like him!”
After that, I really dug deep and Rory Gallagher is now my biggest influence: He just put so much energy into his performances. After just the first song he was unloading buckets of sweat. He’d start a song by just repeating a couple of low notes and would get the whole place stomping and clapping along. You never know how much your music is going to catch up with people.
CBA: And if they’re clapping, stomping? It brings the joy from knowing you’ve touched something in people.
AM: Yes! And a part of that for me was being exposed to it at such a young age. It’s just … you can’t really explain how music is what it is to you. Maybe it’s just that you have a great memory of a song or the music.
Again, that Rory Gallagher-Davy Knowles thing had a big influence on me and not long after, I was able to actually start going to other jams, like Billy Blues in Vancouver, with a lot more rock. And I was able to just tell the bands, “These are the songs I want to play, we’ll see how it goes.” It never hurts when people show up and just want to play.
Then I was able to start my own stage act, playing a lot of blues and rock, like from Joe Walsh or Rory’s stuff. With a lot more discovery there, too. I was really into the ‘60s, ‘70s blues-rock: Cream and Zeppelin. And Clapton really was my introduction to Howlin’ Wolf. Then, I really got into Freddie King.
CBA: Oh! King’s instrumental, “Hideaway,” when Clapton’s doing it, really sounds like what he’s wanted to finally achieve in any Robert Johnson song — sounds like three guitarists playing! And locally, Josh Makosky does a killer version of Freddie’s “Have You Ever Loved a Woman.”
AM: And King’s voice, too, a HUGE voice. And of course I got into Stevie Ray Vaughn.
CBA: BB King said it best: “Any guitarist that’s GOOD can use those strings to write some fine sentences. But Stevie Ray? That boy writes full-on paragraphs! Beautiful!”
AM: Yeah, he really had it — the tone, the touch, the phrasing. Amazing. A monster. Similarly, Johnny Winter? He was an important source. Listen to the first coupla albums? That guy is ripping! I think he was way ahead of his time.
CBA: Especially for the sense of the ease he showed with it, the flow that was going on inside him.
AM: … like he’s just standing there.
CBA: Do you ever get that feeling that you’re just in a flow?
AM: Um, yeah. Yeah I do. I mean I felt that last night. I was on stage, playing some Robin Trower, jamming on “Day Of The Eagle”. I was really going for it! That was fun. I’m always listening and discovering stuff. And to BB King always. There was a DVD of a master class he gave. Pretty much just spilling all his secrets.
CBA: BB’s longevity was often seen to be from his ability to instantly read a room. His band’s set list started when he walked out and looked at the audience. Lots of couples nuzzling? “Yep, we’re just doing love songs tonight.” Lots of leather jackets? “Let’s Rock!”
AM: Wow! So, I joined the Cascade Blues Association, went to meetings, and from that got suggestions of who to check out. I met Jim Hurley, the sound guy, he showed me some important sound guy tips. But the pandemic hit, so: No go. Yet just before that I’d started on social media, pitching upcoming gigs. And my set was getting longer, so: more onstage time. Also started to audition a few guys. But, again, it was just COVID-hell and it all stopped. I started doing online — acoustic covers, things on YouTube. Some Rory Gallagher, classic rock songs. Then I went at it on Instagram, playing guitar solos, some videos, thinking “OK this’ll get me back.” People liked it.
In November 2019 I met Jennifer Batten, who’d done three tours with Michael Jackson (including the Super Bowl!). And then she had toured with Jeff Beck for three years. And is also listed as one of the “Top 15 Guitar Teachers in the World.” And, she knows my mom! At 16 I took a few lessons with her at Five Star Guitars. She taught me vital things: learning music, technical stuff on guitar, how to transcribe. But then, in-person lessons stopped everywhere. In August 2020 she began the “Guitar Cloud Symposium,” joining up some guitar-pro friends. A weekend of that, just nonstop education with great teachers.
And this here (“BluGuitar”) is equivalent of a 100-watt Marshall (@ 15” side, sq./ 8” high, fully enclosed) that was donated as a prize. I won it. For free! So that worked out pretty well.
CBA: You sir, do have a gift for understatement (laughter)! But I have something for my digital amp that is similar, in that it’s some complex, one-inch plasma “tube” that lets me plug into a digital amp — or even a PA — and give my harps the sound of a Fender tube amp.
AM: This is based on a similar “tube” idea.
CBA: Jennifer toured with Jeff Beck. From what I know, you don’t walk away from Beck without knowing a lot more than when you arrived.
AM: Oh yeah, he switches up the band a lot. You know his “Because We’ve Ended as Lovers”? Yeah? You know that Stevie Wonder wrote that?
CBA: Yes, the title was because Stevie promised Beck a new song but forgot about it. Much later he remembered, wrote it and gave it an “I’m sorry” sorta name. Did Jennifer Batten invoke the “wonder” of Jeff Beck?
AM: Oh, yeah, she taught everything about Jeff Beck (laughter).
CBA: That’d be a LOT!
AM: Yes! But not many people are like him.
CBA: Well, he was harsh on himself for a long time, playing maybe 10 hours a day. Not sure about now, but …
AM: And he’s still developing, shifting his tone. He’s just one of those artists who won’t stay in one place long. That’s what an Artist is.
Now I’m an official “BluGuitar artist,” an endorser of “BluGuitar.” Also, I represent PRS guitars at Five Star Guitar. Last year I started with PRS and am a “Pulse Artist.” All six of these standing here are the guitars I play. Am also a rep for other endorsements.
June 2021, Timmer Blakely invited me to Pat Stilwell’s blues jam At The Garages Satellite Pub. And I started getting back into the social circle. But I couldn’t go the “Lair” jam because I’m not old enough. So Timmer took me up to one of Chad Rupp’s private jams above Camas. That was really interesting. Since then, Chad’s given me a lot of helpful advice. You know, like “showmanship” — how to be a front man, stuff like that. His suggestions have been important and I’ve appreciated it.
Pat Stillwell called again, needing a guy for his Rolling Tones band. His guitarist had just quit. I’d never been in a tribute band, but … The Rolling Stones? It’s blues and it’s fun! And in just a coupla weeks we had it together for a winery event. I knew a lot of the songs anyway so it was just figuring in the parts. It worked out … people said I looked like Mick Taylor, anyway! Pat also got me my first time at the Garages to open the jam. So I did, with Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor.” That was really cool.
CBA: Do you spend nearly as much time on vocal practice as on guitar?
AM: No, because physically … my voice after a few hours? I’ll feel it. But I have a teacher, Mark Bosnian, who makes it like school. You have homework each week. There’s a whole science, an artistry to it. Like a guitar, it’s all the different dynamics you can do with your instrument.
The Sugar Roots Band? Timmer invited me to the recording studio to watch them record for three days. It was so influential to watch! I mean, with JT, Timmer, Chad? That band has the best guys in Portland! My plan is to try out for the International Blues Challenge (“IBC in Memphis”) next year. Also, I worked out on one of my songs, with Michael Kaz drumming, in a Camas studio. Then we added some things and I edited it. Now, with Timmer, we’re the “Andrew Matthews Band.” We’re doing a bunch of demos and I’ve been getting into music from like, Son House. I’m delving into the Delta blues, and the CBA invited me to play – solo — to open the next meeting. A cool opportunity.
CBA: What do you think of blues now? Where do you see it going in the future?
AM: From what I’ve seen, it’s in pretty good hands. Also, the internet and social media are important. Without that we’d be stuck hearing the same radio pop songs. Yet there are guys like Eric Gales — insane guitar, plus the local guys like Ben Rice, always coming up with new songs.
CBA: And blues songs are almost always about the stories that grab you. So, you feel hopeful about the blues’ future because of how it can tell new stories.
AM: And there are always cycles that come back around. There are some great songwriters and musicians out there you can find online. It’s important to know that there’s no end to it! And also to remember that there’s always somebody better than you, so there’s no point in comparing yourself to someone who’s way ahead. You can best compare yourself to …. yourself.
CBA: Yet you’ve been so devoted to guitar that it must impact any social life.
AM: Yeah, if I was going out with friends, having a real social life, I probably wouldn’t be playing guitar.
CBA: Maybe it’s a little easier for you because of the prime goals you’ve set for yourself? Thank you for sharing so much of your time. It is very much appreciated.
AM: And thank you! But is it OK if we let my dad take a picture?
CBA: You keep working Dad pretty hard, huh? (Laughter.)
Find information here on other endorsements for -and from- Andrew Matthews:
And Timmer Blakely? Yeah, he’s really true to form . He tells you exactly what you need to know.
https://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Andrewmatthews.jpg899600Anni Piperhttps://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CBA_Logo_top_main.pngAnni Piper2022-01-01 16:38:592022-01-14 19:25:30Interview with Andrew Matthews
I spoke on the phone with Canadian blues guitarist Colin James while he was in Courtenay B.C. on Tuesday March 3rd
We just had our first show the day before yesterday and I’m here [in Canada] with a three piece, but down there we’re doing a four piece with my drummer Geoff Hicks on all the US shows. We do have to scale the band down a little bit though, so my harmonica player, Steve Marriner, is playing bass and a contraption he’s designed where he can play harmonica at the same time. Tim and Kirk will be with us too. It’ll be a lot of fun.
Freedom and National Steel and Forty Light Years are powerhouse songs. Do you have plans to go back to doing originals after these two albums (Blue Highways, Miles to Go) of predominantly covers? What’s next for you?
Yeah you know, everything’s always in a constant state of flux, and for us in a way, although I love Hearts on Fire and records like that, I guess these last two blues records were kind of a bit of a rebirth in the States as far as listeners. We started playing the blues cruises because of the blues record that we put out and that opened a new market for us. So I didn’t mind putting out two blues records in a row and I probably wouldn’t mind putting three in a row, but I definitely feel that call to have more original material. Even if you go back to material you’ve already written, if it fits the bill you know that’s perfect. I do love writing and I know they both have their thing. I’ve also done some records where I don’t write and I kind of rely on great old songs. I like that too. But I get the itch both ways you know. Yeah I’m ready to put more originals on records. For sure.
I’ve seen you play the gamut of genres since 1988 … will you be doing another jump album or trying something new again?
We had some fantastic great shows with the [Little Big] Band. We opened up for three Stones shows with that original Room Full of Blues Little Big Band and that was particularly fun. The only thing is, in this day and age, it’s hard to tour it because they are big, and when people are already having trouble getting less revenue through record sales and everything, that’s the only thing. I’m always open to listening to see if there’s any kind of trend towards it. I’ve been lucky to be on the receiving end of good timing on that a couple times, maybe not as good as it could’ve been, but good timing. So I want to make sure I don’t go through a big effort to do one and then find out there’s no real movement to listen to that right now, because it’s a lot of energy. So it does come up. I’ve actually thought about why don’t we get the original band together and do a live performance at a famous venue for a few nights where we record it live. Anyway it gets brought up every once in a while, that’d be a blast.
A lot of our audience heard you for the first time at the Blues Bender, and I’m seeing Canadian blues being embraced down here. Given that you’re a household name in Canada, have you noticed there’s a difference between your Canadian audiences and American audiences?
*laughs* Yeah for sure, it’s always been a challenge for me in that regard. I was tied recently to an American label and at that time I had a big label push where they put me opening up for ZZ Top through the east coast states. But now I gotta go out there and started doing the Las Vegas shows and the Blues Cruises. And we realize there’s a place for us here because we did well on those things and that’s a great way to go. So we’re working on it, and that’s what this is about. I know it’s not going to be typical of a show up in Canada but you have to get out of your comfort zone sometimes. We’re gonna do it and have some fun and play the Albert Rose. We’re looking forward to it. I know my drummer is really looking forward to heading down. Last time we played the Alberta Rose we had such a good time, Curtis Salgado showed up last time and we had a really good time. We’re playing Bremerton (the night before) with Coco Montoya. Coco’s an old friend of mine I’m looking forward to seeing him again.
Congratulations on the latest Juno Award for Miles To Go and winning the 2020 Maple Blues Electric Act of the Year Award.
Thank you!
Question from a friend: What do you consider your greatest achievement or most memorable moment?
Uh! Jeez that’s kind of a toughie…. give me a moment … I suppose you know when you look over time, some of it is continuing to make records through life, through having children and all that, keeping the career going, keeping it all going. There’s musical memories for me … I tell ya, any time I’ve ever had a chance to play with Mavis Staples on stage or any of my heroes it’s one of those moments… like Bonnie Raitt. I’m not sure if those are accomplishments but yeah, all the times Bonnie’s got me up and I’ve sat in … or Pop Staples, when Pops got me up years ago, that was before I met Mavis, and I’ve been really lucky that way, lucky to play with a lot of my heroes. So that’s been really fantastic.
What’s it been like trying to access the US market?
Yeah you know [the Blues Cruise and Blues Bender] was a great way to introduce [us]. We’re doing Vegas again this coming year. They like us enough to get us back there so we’ll keep on doing that. Now we just have to find a way to get to the festivals and get to the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland and so on.
I’ve been used to carrying on a certain way in Canada. I can’t do the same thing here so we have to find ways to make it work. And it just takes work. But I’m at a time in my life right now where I’m ready to do that. My kids are in school, at university and left home, and I’m ready to play. And I think that’s where we’re at now which is a cool thing. We’re ready to try to open up some markets and we’re working in that direction. As of last year we started kind of working with some American agencies and we’re furthering that and I think it’ll help. And I’m excited about that. This time we’ll just have fun with what we got here.
Colin James will be appearing at The Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 NE Alberta Street, on Sunday, March 8, 8:00pm.
https://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Colin-James-Hi-Res-2-by-James-Omara-scaled.jpg750500Greg Johnsonhttps://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CBA_Logo_top_main.pngGreg Johnson2020-03-05 17:55:342020-03-06 16:57:57Interview with Canadian Bluesman Colin James
In order to “rage against the dying of the light” as Dylan Thomas so eloquently instructed us in his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” we enter the golden years holding our hearts open to the visceral moments that weaved the cords of a good life: Our families, our loves, the tragedies and triumphs, and our songs.
As we age, the depth of our memories can be strengthened by a familiar tune that takes us back — and full circle — to the people we were, and are, and will be. So it’s sad to consider that opportunities to experience live music are diminished for senior citizens who live in care centers and other communities.
Local musician and producer Dean Mueller realized the need for live music in senior communities and formed Fly Me To The Moon, a nonprofit organization based in Portland whose mission is to bring high quality performances directly into their homes — the care facilities. “Scientific evidence shows the benefit of bringing music to these facilities. But it’s more than that. Having a positive impact on their emotional state hits you in the heart. You have to give the music they want to hear. So, we provide music that stimulates memory and takes them to a sweet place, hence the name Fly Me To The Moon,” he explained.
His first performances at senior centers created an impetus to form Fly Me To The Moon. “We were loading in the gear and there were lines of seniors in wheelchairs and with walkers waiting to get in before the doors opened. During the show, about a hundred people were singing along and dancing; some were crying. There was this heartwarming connection, and when we played Crazy, the whole room exploded in love. I thought, this is having an impact, and we’ve gotta do it again.”
The late Jim Miller was an inspiration to Mueller in forming the organization. “I heard from many people about the good work by Jim Miller in bringing music to seniors. His are some big shoes that can never be filled, but if I can carry on his work in the same spirit, it will be an honor,” he said.
Fly Me To The Moon received fiscal oversight sponsorship by the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. Its focus in 2019 will be to deliver at least fifteen performances in local area senior communities. “Oregon’s music scene is rich with musicians who deliver a wide array of music that appeals to seniors,” said Mueller. “Many of these musicians are hungry to give back to their communities by offering their performances to audiences who don’t have access to traditional venues,” he added.
Mueller hopes to tap these musicians by supplementing the limited — or nonexistent — budgets most senior communities can pay for the performances. “I have gotten plenty of requests to arrange the shows, but there’s not enough money to cover expenses or pay the performers. So this will let us pull together quality events that benefit the seniors and compensate the musicians for their time.”
Merry Larsen, board member and Marketing Director of Courtyard Village Raleigh Hills, explains it well: “Listening to music has always been an integral part of life for our seniors. It began with listening to the radio, moving to the melodies on the dance floor, being touched with the emotions it brought in church. Music has been the fabric that built their relationships with each other and within their community. They are subsequently losing this ‘fabric’ when their ability to spend time with others is limited. When they gather for musical performances, they quickly return to those feelings of joy, hope, peace, emotion, and the sense that everything will now be alright with their souls. They deserve for us to give back the gift of musical rhythms.”
Fly Me To The Moon kicked off its fundraising cycle for 2019 with a holiday event at Lake Theater featuring LaRhonda Steele and Julie Amici, and a holiday show at the Juanita Pohl Center. A Valentine’s Day performance will follow on February 13 at The Springs at Tanasbourne.
Missi Hasting Baker is the co-leader of Mojo Holler, a Portland-based roots Americana and blues band.
https://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/original2.jpg243750Greg Johnsonhttps://cascadebluesassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/CBA_Logo_top_main.pngGreg Johnson2018-12-29 14:30:042019-01-04 17:25:46Fly Me To The Moon – Live Music For The Golden Agers
