Journey to Memphis Archives - Page 4 of 9 - Cascade Blues Association

Applications Now Being Accepted For 2019 Journey To Memphis

The Journey To Memphis is the Cascade Blues Association’s regional competition to select the acts that will represent our organization and region in 2020’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. Up to 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry searching for new talent, with the chance to win recognition and prizes that include major festival performances and more. But the only way an act may participate is to win a regional competition held by one of The Blues Foundation’s affiliated societies like the Cascade Blues Association.

The Journey To Memphis competition consists of two rounds. The opening round will be held this year in mid-May at a venue to be determined. The event may take place over more than one night depending on the number of acts wishing to compete. Acts are scored by a trio of judges selected for their backgrounds and knowledge of the blues. The highest scoring acts from each night of competition (up to four acts) will advance to the finals held at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4th.

Applications to participate in the competition will be accepted from now until Wednesday, April 3 at the Cascade Blues Association membership meeting. No late applications will be accepted. All acts that meet our criteria as described below will be eligible to compete. The performance schedule for the competition is drawn at random.

Here’s the application information:

Entry fee is $25.00
Each act must have at least one person in the band who is a member of the Cascade Blues

Association.

Only acts located within the region of Oregon, or Wasshington are allowed to enter the

Journey To Memphis.

Any act or member of an act that has been nominated for or received a Blues Music

Awards from The Blues Foundation are ineligible to compete. No exceptions.

Any act that has competed in the International Blues Challenge two consecutive years,

regardless whether with the same society or as a solo/duo or band act, must sit out a year

before being allowed to compete again. Acts can only participate three times in Memphis

(acts competing previous to 2017 will be grandfathered and may compete three times

starting from 2017).

Along with your $25.00 application fee, send an up-to-date band bio including names of

all members, a 300 dpi photo of the band, full song samples of the band’s music (this

may be used on a radio broadcast to promote the event), and we need to be made aware

of any band member who may be under 21 years of age at the time of the competition so

the venue is aware ahead of time for Oregon or Washington Liquor Commission laws.

We require that any act that moves forward in the competition must use the same band

members that they won the rounds with. In other words, if you won with a certain bass

player or drummer at the Waterfront Blues Festival, that bassist and drummer must be in

your band to compete in Memphis. Exceptions will made in rare circumstances when not under control of the act, such as health issues.

We do not prevent acts competing with the Cascade Blues Association from doing so

with other societies. All that we ask is that if you win another group’s competition before

ours is held, or if you win ours before theirs, please remove yourself from further

competitions to allow other acts the chance to win the right to go to Memphis.

Ben Rice All Star IBC Fundraiser Slated for Catfish Lou’s

Journey to Memphis, Past PDX Blues Event, Uncatagorized

On January 20, help the CBA’s Journey To Memphis winner Ben Rice make his way to the International Blues Challenge at the end of the month by attending an all-star extravaganza of some of Portland’s most amazing talent. This all day event will feature local luminaries such as Karen Lovely, Kivett Bednar, Doug Rowell, Marty Henninger, Dante Zapata, Arrogant Bastards, and a performance by United By Music North America. 100% of all raffle proceeds and admission sales, plus 10% of all bar sales for the event will go towards helping Ben make his way to Memphis.

Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24^th Avenue. January 20 — Noon until whenever. Admission is your donation, $10.00 minimum recommended. 21 & over.

The Blue Diamond Hosts Fenix Project’s International Blues Challenge Fundraiser

Journey to Memphis, Past PDX Blues Event

The Fenix Project will represent The Cascade Blues Association at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis this month. A dynamic, soulful rhythm and blues band led by saxophonist/vocalist Fenix Sanders, the band has held court in Portland’s most venerable juke joint, the Blue Diamond, weekly for nearly twenty years. Fenix, with his gravelly vocals and stirring sax, reveals the depth of emotion and experience of an authentic blues man. He is backed by a smooth and well-oiled rhythm section: Jason Thomas on guitar, Jeffery Frankel on drums, Calen Uhlig on bass, and Danny Barnett on keyboards.

Traveling to Memphis is an expensive journey — especially for a large band like The Fenix Project. To help ease some of the expenses, on Saturday, January 19 there will be a last minute fundraising effort held at The Blue Diamond. Hosted by past IBC third-place winner Rae Gordon (who will also sit in with the band), the night will also include raffles to help raise funds, so come out and help support their trip to Memphis and cheer them on to the international event.

The Blue Diamond is located at 2016 NE Sandy Blvd. The fun begins at 6:00 pm and tickets are $10.00 at the door.

General Membership Meeting Slated for Wednesday, December 5

Journey to Memphis

For more than the past year we have been holding our monthly membership meetings at Catfish Lou’s thanks to the generosity of Michelle and Michael Bean who stepped forward when our time at The Melody Ballroom came to a close. In January we will move to The Mission Theater, so this month will be our final meeting at Catfish Lou’s. It is a bittersweet moment, as it has been a wonderful relationship; yet we just needed larger space and a desire to return to an all ages venue. Thank you so much for hosting us for these past months, we could not have done it without you.

So, for the final night at Catfish Lou’s we will be bringing in some long-time friends.

Ken Johnson opens the night. He is a former CBA board member, has produced a number of festivals, and is one of the original founders of the Hudson Rocket Band. These days he can be found working with either a band or as a solo artist as he will do for us. Ken says, “I’m a lucky man living the life. Music is part of who I am. It always has been and I’m sure will always be my safe place to go! Whether it’s dancing, drumming or creating songs on the guitar it’s something I truly love to do. Music has taken me around the world. The stuff that I play definitely has a blues influence and I am looking forward to sharing some music with you folks!”

We last saw Martin Henry & The Freedom Street Band in August playing at the CBA Concert in the Park. Always entertaining and crowd pleasing, the band returns for a membership meeting. Freedom Street is a tight collection of accomplished musicians from the Northwest, providing great high energy entertainment from a diverse set of songs ranging from rock, blues, country, and R&B. Their goal is to provide a unique and fun musical experience for all. Led by the harmonica playing and songwriter Martin Henry, the band includes lead vocalist Cameron Collins, the dual guitars of Jim Presley and Matt “Willie McGee”, bassist Joanne “Grandma Funk” Mead, drummer Bill Ebert and keyboard man Tim “The Deacon” Doyle and backing vocals from Julie Fairless.

So please join us as we have a little party one last time (for now) at Catfish Lou’s. You can win CDs and other prizes just by coming out to enjoy great blues, so don’t forget you free ticket drawing at the door. We will see you there!!

Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24^th Avenue, Wednesday, December 5th, 7:00 pm. Free for CBA members with a current membership card (please show your card at the door), $5.00 for non-members. 21 & over.

What’s on Tap for October’s General Membership Meeting . . .

Journey to Memphis

Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24th Ave, Portland
Wednesday, October 3 ~ 7:00 pm
Members always Free ~ Non-Members $5.00
(Members please show your current cards at the door)
Opening Acoustic Set ~ Justus Reece
Second Electric Set ~ Louis Creed & The Geezers

The Cascade Blues Association is not just a group to get together with and listen to great blues music. Well, we do offer that, but we also want to provide so much more. One of those goals that we strive for is to support our local musicians and to help younger artists gain the attention that they deserve. For our monthly general membership meeting we are proud to host two young musicians who are making a name for themselves up and down the Willamette Valley. Because we all know that these will be the blues artists that we’ll be listening to hopefully for years to come.

Justus Reece played for us last year when we first started booking shows at Catfish Lou’s. He has been consistently studying guitar while also being aware that he can never know everything, and that the guitar is a lifelong pursuit. He has studied with Terry Robb with whom he has appeared at venues such as The Venetian in Hillsboro for his IBC fundraiser and the Old Liberty Theater in Camas. And aside from the IBC appearance on Beale Street, Justus has performed at events including the Blues4MS concerts, Cathedral Jazz Festival, Portland Blues Cruise, Gorge Blues & Brews, Carlton Crush, and the Waterfront Blues Festival.

The music that Justus performs includes a wide range of styles, not only blues but jazz, folk, funk, jam band, and more. You can expect to see him offer a variety of American music such as ragtime, Piedmont blues, American primitive, Delta blues and other roots music. His inspirations are many, but include among them the diversity of such as Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, Blind Blake, Yes, Mississippi John Hurt, Charlie Hunter, and Funkadelic among them. Certainly a young musician with an open mind and on a quest to learn something new from every direction.

The second set of the night will feature another young guitar player, Louis Creed. The last time he played for us he was accompanied by William “Froggy” Hyland, who makes up just one part of Creed’s band The Geezers. Heading up from the southern end of the Willamette River, Louis and Froggy make a rare return to Portland for the Cascade Blues meeting, this time with the more Geezers.

Froggy describes the band as based south of the big city, tearing up winery and brewery venues and local dives from Cottage Grove to Newport to Eugene, and bolstering an emerging music scene in Lebanon, of all places. Louis Creed is the hottest young blues guitarist around, a Black Sabbath acolyte turned blues historian and traditionalist. His singing is fresh, his guitar antics unparalleled.

You may remember Froggy as a Cascade Blues Association representative and semi-finalist at the International Blues Challenge, or from his long running blues jam at the Calapooia brewery in Albany. He is currently working on his fourth album of originals, laying down harp licks, lap steel, rhythm guitar and vocals for the band and anyone else with money. More Geezers include Rex Baker on bass holding down the bottom for musical conglomerations in the area, plays with a pick and chews gum at the same time. He may know every tune ever written, or imitate it convincingly. He is a wise guy. Louisiana Andy Lade joined the band with a forged AARP card, adding some second line flavor and the thrill of the unexpected to the lineup. He is a hard working guy who puts it all out there every time.

This is traditional blues, folks. Not a rock band with a harp player. Blues by the masters, a couple of folks who are still alive, and an original or two. This band is hot and Louis fans the flames.

Head on over to Catfish Lou’s for the meeting, try their new menu featuring more fantastic Southern offerings, pick up a drawing ticket at the door for a chance to win prizes and enjoy a terrific night of blues music. What can be better than blues and friends. Hope to see you there.

Portland Blues Cruise to Feature the Journey to Memphis All Stars

Journey to Memphis, Past PDX Blues Event

Portland Spirit of Portland Blues Cruise

Join the Rae Gordon Band on October 6 for the biggest party and Fall Floating Fundraiser of the year! Once again, Rae and the guys will be hosting a Willamette River party on The Portland Spirit, featuring the acts who won the Cascade Blues Association’s Journey To Memphis competition this year at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Those winning acts, Ben Rice and The Fenix Project, will be traveling to Memphis, TN in January to represent the CBA and the region at the International Blues Challenge, one of the largest blues events in the world. Acts from around the globe will descend on Memphis’ famed Beale Street for four days of competition to help find some of the best unsigned Blues bands on earth.

Music will be flowing on all three levels of The Spirit, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm as the ship cruises up and down the Willamette River for amazing views of the downtown Portland skyline.

Come dance and sway with other blues lovers and support YOUR CBA representatives and help put Portland on the blues map. Food and beverages will be for sale on board, plus there will be drawings and a silent auction taking place. Funds raised through these and ticket sales will help offset some of the cost for the acts to travel to Memphis.

Buy your ticket to ride the river and dance to fun blues music at www.brownpapertickets.com/pbc2018

What’s on Tap for September’s General Membership Meeting . . .

Journey to Memphis

Wednesday, September 5 – 7:00 pm
Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24th Ave, Portland
Members always Free – Non-members $5.00
(Members please show your current card at the door)
Opening acoustic set – Julie Amici
Second electric set – Rich Layton & The Troublemakers

Is it just me, or are summers in Portland getting warmer every year? And by warm I mean hot!! Well that summer heat is not going to end with the calendar when it comes to the hot music going on in this city and you can always rely on the Cascade Blues Association to bring the heat the first Wednesday of every month at our general membership meeting.
We’re going to start September off with one of our favorite acoustic duets, Julie Amici. They were the CBA’s solo/duo entry in the International Blues Challenge in 2018 and the rave reviews about their performances and their recording Yellow Roses continue to stream in. The duo is made up of vocalist Julie Yanko and bassist Dean Mueller. The name is derived from Julie’s first name, and “Amici” the original family name of Dean’s father. Much like the name is a melding of the two, the music is much the same, combining Julie’s country roots and childhood dreams of singing jazz, with Dean’s deeply rooted blues foundation.

Julie’s strong yet sweet voice is reminiscent of the 50’s when female singers ruled the world of music, a time when jazz and blues co-mingled at the height of popular culture. Her repertoire combines the jazz of Billie Holiday with the soul of Nina Simone and the sophisticated country of Patsy Cline. Dean’s bass playing is rooted in the blues chops he earned playing with some of the finest blues legends in America and touring with the award winning international act, The Insomniacs. The pairing of a vocalist and upright acoustic bass is a magical combination that leaves nowhere to hide. It is a setting reserved for the most qualified artists, a mingling that Julie Yanko and Dean Mueller bring together with unexpected delight. Described as “a fresh take on a bygone era that is intimate, alluring, and hauntingly beautiful,” Julie Amici is the right way to start off a new month.

For the second set of the night we’re going to take the musical taste down to the sounds of the Gulf Coast. Rich Layton & The Troublemakers are the house band at the crossroads of twang and tremolo. They pump out a high octane blend of swampified honky tonk blues that sounds like Saturday night in an East Texas roadhouse. It’s music that keeps the dance floor packed and the liquor flowing.

Together more than a decade, the band has released two albums and have performed at multiple festivals and events throughout the NW, including the Safeway Waterfront Blues Fest, The Bite of Seattle, Sunbanks Blues Festival and many more. Each year, Rich joins Lyle Lovett as a special guest when Lyle tours the NW, and he has also played with friends Lucinda Williams, Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps, Dale Watson and the late zydeco great Stanley “Buckwheat Zydeco” Dural jr as they travel through Portland.

Rich is a multiple Muddy Award nominee for harp and is featured along with LaRhonda Steele on the title track of Rae Gordon’s 2017 Album of the Year, “Better Than I Was.” The band has a new album in the works for release later this year, but plans to preview a few of the new songs at the monthly meeting. The band is made up of Rich Layton on harmonica/vocals, Larry McCoy on guitar/vocals, Eric “Haus” Krabbenhoft on bass, and Charles Pike on drums/vocals. Step on to the dance floor with the band as they’ll tell you “There’s no parole for Rock & Roll!” And they’re going to prove it with tons of fun.

It’s always a great choice to come out to the CBA general membership meeting each month, where you know that you’re going to entertained with exciting music and sharing the night with good friends. Plus your chance to win prizes just by being in attendance. Hope to see you all there!

What’s on Tap for August’s General Membership Meeting . . .

Journey to Memphis

Wednesday, August 1 – 7:00 pm
Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24th Ave., Portland
Members always Free – Non-members $5.00 (Members please show your current cards at the doors)
Opening Set –The Killer Granddaddies (acoustic)
Second Set – Johnny Wheels & The Swamp Donkeys

Hard to believe that it has been a full year since we moved our monthly meetings over to Catfish Lou’s. Remember that first night so well, it was miserably hot, but we still packed the room with friends and music. A huge thanks goes out to Michelle Bean and the folks at Catfish Lou’s for giving us a home each month.
This month’s meeting is going to be fun. Of course they all are, right? We’re featuring two bands, both exciting and crowd pleasing for certain. One will be in a different format than you may have seen them mostly as they will be working acoustically. The other is one of the fastest rising acts of the region.

Opening the night will be The Killer Granddaddies. Their genesis began in 1998 when Ladd Justesen sat down with Dave Dahl to play and sing “Lay Down Sally” on the yard at Snake River Correctional Institution. Since then, it’s been quite a ride. Dave got out in late 2004 and sold his first loaves of killer bread at Portland Farmers Market in August of 2005. Ladd got out in 2008 and their friendship—and their music—was rekindled.

The name, “Killer Granddaddies” was used tongue-in-cheek to introduce the band beginning in 2012 when they played “Blues for MS” with drummer Lenny Lanahan and bassist Jerry Skol. The band had been mostly inactive from 2014 until the spring of 2018, when Eric TwoRivers joined Dave, Ladd, and Lenny for rehearsals at Dave’s portable studio—modified from a shipping container. Since then, the Granddaddies have been rehearsing regularly, and playing a few times a month for special events. They play a lot of blues and blues-influenced covers, along with several originals. Usually this is an electric band, but they’ll be playing acoustic tonight with two acoustic guitars, one electric, stand-up bass (w/pick-up) and djembe with shakers, so we’re looking at an extra special treat. And they’re a lot fun to see, so we anticipate a big time CBA welcome to a band that will surely become favorites.

Johnny Wheels is a singer / songwriter / harmonica player inspired by the soul of the Pacific NorthWest. The “Swamp Donkeys” are Johnny’s band-mates who are inspired by Johnny to “live a song” on the edge. Johnny: “Nope! You won’t hear a song exactly the same way twice – that’s what CD’s are for. We like to add some spice of musical exploration” The son of a traveling bass player and singer, Johnny “Wheels” Kennicott had music in his blood since birth, but expressing himself musically took on new importance when Johnny broke his neck in a childhood accident, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

Johnny found, through determined trial and error, he could manipulate his paralyzed diaphragm to not only sing, but also blow the harmonica. Since that time, Johnny has been traveling the Pacific Northwest music scene, spreading the gospel of the blues and the band were finalists in this year’s Journey to Memphis competition.

Collectively, the band hails from Oregon, Texas and California and is typically tagged as a Blues band; Although, the diversity of the members’ musical backgrounds becomes evident as the worlds of R&B, soul, jazz, funk and rock are blended under a blues umbrella. Members include Brandon Logan, Vocals, Guitar; Doug Knoyle, Drums; Michael Rabe, Vocals, Guitar; Sky Wescott, Vocals, Guitar; and Taylor Frazier, Vocals, Bass

One year later and we’re still showcasing hot blues music at Catfish Lou’s. Plan on joining us for more great excitement and friends. You just may be a lucky winner in our drawing, too. See you there!!

Journey To Memphis Winners Selected

Journey to Memphis

The finals for this year’s Journey to Memphis competition were held on July 4 at the Waterfront Blues Festival. Four strong acts, who had won the right to participate out of a field of fifteen original acts at Mekong Bistro in mid-May, brought out their best before the scoring judges and an enthusiastic crowd on the Front Porch Stage.

This year was unique in the fact that we had two bands, Fenix Project and Johnny Wheels & The Swamp Donkeys, and two solo/duo acts, Rae Gordon & Kivett Bednar and Ben Rice, vying for the right to go to Memphis in January. So it was guaranteed that one from each category would have that honor. Each delivered amazing sets, but when it was all over Ben Rice was named the overall winner of the event and will represent the Cascade Blues Association in the solo/duo category. The top band of the day was the Fenix Project who will also be heading to Memphis to compete in the band category.

Thanks to our finals judges, Chris Azorr, Kendra Carpenter, Michael Bard and Tony TC Coleman. This is a very tough job having to score each act individually in blues content, vocals, instrumentation, originality and stage presence, without trying to compare one act against the other.

Congratulations to the winners and all those who competed!! Good luck in Memphis. Watch for upcoming events to help these acts raise funds to defray travel costs.

2019 Best Self-Produced CD Competition Entries Now Being Accepted

Cascade Blues Note, Journey to Memphis

The Blues Foundation has annually held a competition to recognize excellence in independent blues recordings since 2005. The Best Self-Produced CD competition is open to affiliated blues societies from around the world to submit one entry each, preferably selected by a regional competition. The Cascade Blues Association has taken part in this event since its inception, including having the overall winner chosen in 2011 with Joe McMurrian’s Get Inside This House.

The CBA is now accepting submissions for this year’s Best Self-Produced CD competition. All are welcome to enter with the exception of artists who have been nominated for or received a Blues Music Award; or recordings that are released on labels that have been nominated or received a Blues Music Award. No compilation discs are accepted. Only discs from artists in Oregon, Washington or Idaho will be accepted by the CBA for consideration. Only CDs released after November 1, 2017 are eligible for consideration as the 2018 Best Self-Produced CD.

Entries will be judged by a committee and will be based on the same criteria that The Blues Foundation will later use in their own judging. These are: Blues Content, Musical Performance, Audio Quality and Production Value of the Recording, Professionalism and Visual Appearance of Cover Art and Design, and Credits and Liner Note Information.

After submissions from each affiliated blues society have been received, The Blues Foundation will conduct judging in three stages, with the first two rounds being conducted by a select group of radio/print media people. The finalists will be announced a week prior to the 35th annual International Blues Challenge and the winning recording will be named at the IBC finals in Memphis in January 2019.

All entries for the CBA must be received no later than the October 3 membership meeting at Catfish Lou’s. Entries can be mailed to: BSPCD c/o Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 6566, Portland, Oregon 97228 or can be delivered in person at the August, September or October general membership meetings.