Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24th Ave, Portland
Wednesday, January 3 – 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-Members $5.00
(Members please show your current cards at the door)
Opening Acoustic Set – Lee Blake
Second Electric Set – Ty Curtis

If you want to experience a tasty bit of great blues music to start out the new year, there will be no better opportunity than you’ll find at Catfish Lou’s on the first Wednesday for the Cascade Blues Association’s monthly general meeting. Two acts will be presented that have held long-time status amongst the very best of the region and you can catch them both in the same place for what is surely to be a dynamic night of music.

Opening the evening will be Mississippi Lee Blake. This expressive vocalist and sensational guitarist has been performing around the Portland area since the late 1980s, working as a solo musician and with groups such as The Rockin’ Razorbacks, The Snake Charmers, and The Lee Blake Band. For the meeting, Blake will be appearing as a solo artist, working his steel bodied resonator and slide guitars. A bluesman at heart, he can also deliver offerings of R&B, roots, and retro-style rock, both covers and original music, with a specialty of bringing people to the dance floor even with his acoustic playing. It has been a little more than five years since Blake last performed at a CBA meeting — way too long for us to host one of Portland’s true blues legends.

Over the past few years, the Ty Curtis Band has built a following not only around his home-state of Oregon, but for the past couple years in his second, adopted home in Austin, Texas. While visiting over the past month, Curtis asked to perform at the CBA monthly meeting and we’re more than happy to oblige. Along with the explosive rhythm section of drummer Jerry Jacques and bassist Tony Valdez, Curtis and his incendiary guitar work and over the top vocals bring a ton of excitement every time they take a stage. Accolades follow this young bluesman who has been a local mainstay for more than a decade; a second place showing at the 2009 International Blues Challenge and seven CBA Muddy Awards including a 2017 recognition for regional blues act of the year. Aside from his guitar prowess and singing, Curtis is a gifted songwriter who can turn up the heat on blistering rocking blues or tear at your heartstrings with emotional ballads.
This is a not to miss meeting, so you know that you’re going to want to show up early to find a seat and good view of the stage. Pick up your free drawing ticket as you enter the venue for your chance to win prizes, or purchase a ticket or even a few of our $1.00 a chance raffle to win a multi-CD package. January and 2018 is going to start the blues year off right at the CBA meeting.

Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24th Ave, Portland
Wednesday, December 6 –  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 – Blues Battalion

After a short return to The Melody Ballroom last month to celebrate the Muddy Awards, we’re heading back to Catfish Lou’s for the December General Membership Meeting for another incredible night of fantastic blues and great friends.

Remember, the December meeting is when we hold our annual Board of Directors officer election. Make sure that you have your membership card on hand to receive a ballot. We will be voting for next year’s president, vice president, secretary, membership secretary and treasurer.

Opening the December General Membership Meeting will be Justus Reece. Originally scheduled to play this past August, when we had to find a new location for our gatherings Catfish Lou’s was unable to provide a setting for an under-aged musician. Since then Justus has turned 21 and can now play at all venues in the state, so we’re happy to reschedule him for this meeting.

Justus has been consistently studying guitar while also being aware that he can never know everything, and that the guitar is a lifelong pursuit. He is currently studying 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 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.

For the band portion of the night, Blues Battalion returns for another lively performance for our members. The band has been together for about 4 years, with original members guitarist Fred Riedel and his daughter Kristi Riedel on vocals, still fronting the band. The band is completed by guitarist Michael Conner, Mike Kelley on bass and Leo Hartshorn on drums.

Each of the members have extensive backgrounds in music. Michael Conner is an educator by profession and also is the founder of MYConner Sound. He played with numerous bands around Eugene and Corvalis and has also released his own recording in 2002 titled Connected. Kristi Riedel  has been involved in music since she was young and works for Young Audiences. Mike Kelley, aside from being the band’s bassist, has also been a guitarist for many years and can often be found playing alongside Joe DeFoney. Leo Hartshorn has drummed for over 50 yeaers and was co-founder and co-director of Drumming for Peace, an organization that teaches publicly for peace through drumming, rhythm, storytelling and music. Band leader Fred Riedel recently retired as a music teacher and has been playing music since he was twelve. In the early 70s he played with a touring group called Questor and also led a band called Fred’s Garage before forming Blues Battalion. He is a prolific songwriter, with several of his compositions appearing on the Blues Battalion CD released a couple years back.

Always a popular act when they have performed for the CBA, this will be no exception. Expect to have a fun time with Blues Battalion.

Remember, Catfish Lou’s can fill up quickly for the meetings, so arrive early to find a good spot and to grab dinner. We will do our regular drawings so don’t forget to pick up your ticket at the door and purchase some winner-take-all raffle tickets too. The funds all go to support the CBA.

Catfish Lou’s, 2460 NW 24^th Avenue, Portland
Wednesday, October 4, 7:00 pm
Members Always Free – Non-Members $5.00 (Members please show your current cards at the door)
Opening Acoustic Set – Julie Amici
Second Electric Set – Thunder Brothers

October is here and we’ve been having a fun time at Catfish Lou’s for our monthly meetings despite the high temperatures that have been occurring in Portland the past couple months. The room has been packed with members and friends, with a full service bar and good food. We cannot thank the venue for opening their doors to us and for the assistance of Ed Neumann and Marty Henninger for lending their equipment to make the transition at the end of the night to the jam flow easy. Also, bit props to James “Coach” Hurley for stepping in at the last minute to supply us with needed microphones and stands last month and for watching over the PA.

The CBA is dedicated to bringing exciting local artists to perform at monthly meetings and this month we’re proud to bring two very popular acts that are previous Muddy Award nominees/winners and likely to receive notice again in this year’s awards.

Opening the night will be Julie Amici, our Journey to Memphis solo/duo act winners for this year who will be traveling to Memphis to represent us in the International Blues Challenge. Vocalist Julie Yanko and bass player Dean Mueller have received a pair of Muddy nominations the past two years, best new act in 2015 and traditional blues act in 2016. The band derives its name from the combination of Julie first name and Amici, the original 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. This past spring the duo released their first recording, Yellow Roses.

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, and that will be in showcased fully at the meeting.

The second set of the night will present the Thunder Brothers, recipients of the 2016 best new act at the Muddy Awards. This all-star grouping was first formed to participate in the 2016 Journey to Memphis and has developed into one of the most powerful and sought-after acts on the local scene today. The musicians had played with each other off and on over the years, but when they brought their talents together it was like magic. Everything struck perfectly.

The band features the twin guitars of Michael Quinby and Doug Rowell, who both provide lead vocals and songwriting skills. Both have been members of numerous bands over the years in some of the area’s best acts and first starting working together in the Karen Lovely Band a couple years back, where they also joined bassist Timmer Blakely, another long-time veteran of the Portland band scene. Rounding out the quartet is one of the finest drummers in the region, Edwin Coleman III. Any doubts about this band, all you need to do is to take a look at each of their lengthy resumes. Or better yet, just listen to them on stage together. They recently released a stellar four-track eponymous-titled EP, which is a wonderful showcase of the group’s sound.

Please join us at Catfish Lou’s for the monthly meeting. You just may be winner with our free ticket drawing or take a chance to win the multi-CD package for the month for only $1.00 a chance. But just by attending, you’re already a winner as you will be amongst friends listening to some of the best blues in town. We hope to see you this month, and every month!

Portland, OR
July 4, 2017

The Cascade Blues Association Journey to Memphis final competition was held on the final day of this year’s Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival. The finals started early, so it meant an early trip to the waterfront. This year the festival was five days, so you really had to pace yourself. This was my second time watching the competition and I knew to get in the coffee line early; there was only one coffee seller at the festival. The competition was held at the Oregonian Front Porch stage, which had a dance floor.

The Cascade Blues Association helps send three acts to Memphis to participate in the International Blues Challenge in January: one youth act, one solo/duo act and one band. This year the youth act and highest scoring solo/duo acts were selected during the first round of competition held earlier. The final four bands competed for the band spot. A panel of music industry professionals judges the bands. Scores are based on blues content, vocals, instrument talent, originality and stage presence.  The acts are timed and each band only gets 25 minutes.  Going over the allotted time lowers the band’s score.

Here are the four bands:

Randy Morrison Band: two guitars, bass and drums.

Randy brought great original lyrics. He got out attention when he told us about how he “got bit by my dog”. Laura, the bass player, did traditional style blues about leading a horse to water and she really brought the attitude to deliver the message. The band then brought out a jump blues “You Deserve Better” with a two-part harmony guitar solo. To me this was Randy telling his own blues man story, and he really sold it. The set ended with the upbeat “Blues Don’t Bother Me”, which brought out the dancers.

Gabriel Cox Band: two guitars, dobro, keys, harp, percussion, bass, drums

The band opened with an acapella number. Gabriel did his tribute to the wolf with “I’m No Wolf but I’m Howlin”. He nailed the Chicago walk. Gabriel brought a riser to stand on and boost his stage presence. All of the songs were originals. The “Downtown Blues” featured a shaker percussion part with multiple members playing shakers on stage.  Gabriel sang us one of his stories about “Being Late to My Favorite Show”. This rocker brought out the dancers. The true highlight of this set was a duet with Gabriel and Miranda the dobro player. Miranda has a fantastic voice. Gabriel had an inspirational message to the kids in the audience and shared advice he was given as a child: always believe in yourself. The band closed the set with another very believable “I’m Gone, Now Get Out” which featured a harp solo.

Sister Mercy: Guitar, keys, bass, drums, vocalist

Sister Mercy competed here and won two years ago, and represented the Cascade Blues  Association at the International Blues Challenge in 2016. They were semi-finalists but did not win a top spot. The band has changed a bit, but still features vocalist April Brown. The set opened with “Death Came Knockin” in gospel style. April was truly in her element, and the crowd loved it. The band then went to a slow blues with plenty of catfish. April told us the back story for the next song about the Doris Payne, a famous jewel thief. This was great use of a contemporary topic, which is a cornerstone of blues writing. If you didn’t know, the Frankie and Johnnie blues standard was based on a newspaper story. The breakdown in this song featured an extended jazz guitar solo. The band then went into a song about being alone. The band ended the set with a cover of “Tell Mama” with some great high kick dancing and a drum solo.

Lightning Kings- Horn section, keys, guitar, bass, two vocalists

I have to say that the Kings were brave to bring a ten-piece band to play a 25 minute set. They pulled it off beautifully. The group opened with an instrumental, the only one in the competition with an energetic beat.  The “Pirate of the Willamette” slowed the set down and got greasy. “Love You Like the Fourth of July” featured a rocking guitar solo. The horn section was very strong through the whole set, the harmonies were great and the horns traded licks on the solos. The band’s set featured a couple of slow songs, back to back. Right or wrong, this usually empties the dance floor. The set ended with a dance number that brought the dancers back. All in all it was a great set, especially the horns.

After the final act played, the judges tallied the scores. You could see the musicians trying to calculate their own scores. Though the judges were pretty quick, about 5-10 minutes, it must have seemed like an eternity.

Once again Sister Mercy carried the day! As we say in East Memphis: Mazel Tov! (congratulations). The band will be off to Memphis in January representing the Cascade Blues Association for a second try at the win. If you love festivals, do check out the International Blues Challenge. It is a wonderful opportunity to see hundreds of acts. It is not crowded and reasonably priced. And of course, it is in Memphis. If you can’t make it to Memphis, please watch for CBA events to help the band, youth act and solo/duo act raise funds for the trip.

Where ever the highway takes you, I hope to see you at one of the events very soon.

Until next time, keep it all blue!

Jeff Levine