Dear John,
Sorry for the delay in getting the newsletter out. An event taking place yesterday took up all of my concentration. I'll not comment any further.
As you might have gathered, the Blues Cruise was all it was cracked up to be. There is no place anywhere where you can see and hear your favorite artists alongside scores of your friends.
This is a highly recommended event to add to your bucket lists. Garonteed!
Sistahs Too has a fundraiser slated to Nov. 20 at the RR. The trip to Memphis is not cheap for a five-piece band and they can use all the help they can get. Let's all plan on coming out and showing them some love.
Speaking of Sistahs, congratulations to Mike Howard. He is one of the 2016 inductees into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame. He and bassman Andy Gonzalez will be enshrined in January at a ceremony here in Phx. Way to go guys!!
Lots of things on tap. We're gearing up for Blues Blast, the Chandler Blues & Jazz Festival and more, so stay tuned...
Hug your honey. They're gonna need it...
Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS
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In all my wildest dreams I never would have thought I'd celebrate my 70th birthday on board a ship headed to the Caribbean loaded with some of the best Blues players in the world. But...that's exactly what happened, and what ensued was the most fun a person could have with their clothes on. Seven days and nights of music from morning until morning. Unbelievable! Things started out a little rickety when our plane was diverted to Ft. Lauderdale instead of landing in Tampa on the trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico to catch the boat. I ended up three hours late to check in, 3000 miles from home. Remember, I'm from the Texas Panhandle and Puerto Rico might as well have been Russia. Seems a big FedEx jet caught fire on the Tampa tarmac and burned to the ground. My hotel was in an old, historic building and the room was immaculate. Good sign. On Saturday, my birthday, I beat feet for the boat and was amazed at the long lines waiting to board. Boarding was done in a nice orderly fashion with the Customs people being very polite and helpful. We set sail and the music started. I'll never remember in which order I saw the performers but I saw everyone on the list but one, Jon Cleary. You just can't spread yourself thin enough to see all of everything. I learned it is either pace or perish. I paced. I did see Buddy Guy three times and the 80-year-old legend can still shred with the best of them. Buddy brought his protege Quinn Sullivan along and the 17-year old can play the paint off a Strat. Los Lobos brought the house down with their cover of the Dead's "Bertha." Southern Hospitality just flat rocked the boat all week. I saw three of their complete shows and they are as good as anyone out there playing today. Harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar sat in with the band each time I saw them. He's awesome.
A huge, pleasant surprise was Diunna Greenleaf, a Blues shouter from Houston, who was a protégé of Koko Taylor. Man, the lady can sing the Blues. Selwyn Birchwood, the IBC winner a couple of years back had them eating out of his hand by the time he was done. Same with Kenny Neal, Johnny Rawls, Chubby Carrier, Nick Moss, Tommy Castro, Debbie Davies, Roomful of Blues and the reunited Trample Under Foot. Danielle was her usual irrepressible self and her brothers had to work hard to keep up.
Our good friend Sugaray Rayford was on board with his very cool wife, Pam. Sugaray sat in with several different groups and knocked a home run as usual. Speaking of home runs, the Cubs won the World Series in the middle of all the revelry adding another level of excitement.
One of the highlights was getting to see Ana Popovic make "sparks fly out of her guitar" (Dave Saunders). Besides being easy on the eyes, she can hold her own with anyone. She would be huge at a future Blues Blast. Li'l Ed was his usual happy-go-lucky self and had the audience rocking every time he played. His shows are a lesson in controlled chaos. Tinsley Ellis, who is scheduled to play the MIM soon, was his usual solid self. John Hammond is one of my all time favs for his acoustic picking and harp-in-a- rack playing. He's been around all my life and I finally got to see him up close and personal. Shook his hand, too. Another must-see player is Florida guitar whiz Albert Castiglia. Albert is part of a huge Florida Blues scene. The problem with us getting to hear him and others is logistics. Getting them on this side of the country is just too expensive unless the players are on tour. After midnight each evening things really got going as the artists gathered on the pool deck stage and pulled out all stops until the wee hours. Things usually wound down around 3 a.m. or, in some cases, later. Yours truly usually only made it to around 2ish. Seventy ain't the new 20. Another cool feature is we were all passengers on the same boat. The artists mixed and mingled and chatted with us civilians like we were neighbors. We made stops at the islands of Guadalupe. Grenada. Barbados and Dominica. It was interesting to walk the streets and hear the sounds of the islands and its people. The towns were reminiscent of border towns with a different shade of inhabitant. Everyone was very nice and extremely polite to the touristas. I purchased two bottles of rum for my wife. I was told to check out the small distillery offerings because each island has its own special product and each is different. So, I did. She was pleased. Steve (my benefactor) spends a lot of time on board recording audio and videos of the shows. He and I staked out a spot in the cavernous Celebrity Theater and set up shop. I'm not sure how many shows he chronicled but there's a bunch. One lady we met, Deb, lives in rural Northern California and Steve gave her copies of his recordings. She said she has no TV so the shows were her way of entertaining herself. Her companion Robert, lives in Oregon, near Portland and their relationship flourishes on the Blues Cruise. Very cool couple. Blues just brings people together. There was a nice mix of people on the ship: approximately 2,000 souls from all over the world. The ages ranged from mid-twenties to mid-hunnerds. It was reported that 19 countries were represented. The distance award went to someone from Australia. Talk about a Blues lover. I wore PBS t-shirts all week and several people commented and told me they are PBS members or they live in the Valley. One coup;e from Pittsburg, Pa., asked me if I know Gary Beloma. I said "sure, he sings with the Rocket 88s." They went on to tell me their history with Gary. Small world.
I asked the young man at customs if he'd ever seen so many old people at once and he said the staff would rather serve the Blues community than any other faction. "We deal with some rude people here and the Blues people are the nicest of all," he said. "You guys all just chill." Indeed.
The only negative about the whole trip is I was asked to go due to the misfortune of someone else. My new friend Steve's wife was unable to travel due to serious illness and the fees were non-refundable leaving an empty bed. So...I was asked if I wanted to go in her place. I'm not sure how you can slice a second any thinner than my affirmative response. "Not yes, but hell yes!" Here's hoping she recovers and is able to catch the next boat. I am forever indebted to them for the time of my life.
Jim Crawford
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Phoenix Blues Society presents Blues Blast 17! This Family Friendly event, held annually at MT Hance Park, brings together the best of local and national Blues artists to ensure a great day of music. As always, children under age 16 are FREE! Artists for this year's event are: Eric Ramsey Sistahs Too, Mike Eldred Trio, Karen Lovely & the Pacific Northwest Allstars and the 2016 IBC winners, The Delgado Brothers. |
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| Out & About Tuesday, November 8 Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Dirty Blonde Tavern, Chandler Paris James, 8 p.m., Triple 2's, Gilbert Wed, November 9 Southern Culture on the Skids, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Paris James, 5:30 p.m., II Vinaio, Mesa Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson Thur, November 10 Gina Sicilia Band, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Nina Curri (solo), 5:30 p.m., Troon North, Scottsdale M&M Duo, 6 p.m., Camelback Inn, Scottsdale Friday, November 11 The 44s, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Rocket 88s, 9 p.m., Rip's, Phoenix Sugar Thieves, 9 p.m., Kazimierz, Scottsdale Hoodoo Casters, 9 p.m., Starlite, Glendale Leon J & Juke Joint, 2 p.m., American Legion, Cave Creek Chuck Hall (acoustic), 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Mesa Saturday, November 12 Sweet Baby Ray's Blue Smoke, 11 a.m., Walkin' on Main, Cottowood Sugar Thieves, 1:30 p.m., Walkin' on Main, Cottonwood Bob Corritore/Dave Riley, 3:30 p.m., Walkin' on Main, Cottonwood Big Daddy D & the Dynamites, 7 p.m., State Bar, Cottonwood Rocket 88s, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room JC & the Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Dillon's Bayou, Peoria Thermal Blues Express, 8 p.m., Monastery, Mesa Chuck Hall (acoustic), 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek BluZone, 1 p.m., Pho Cao, Scottsdale Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler Sunday, November 13 Two Flavor Blues, NOON, Copper Star, Phoenix Monday, November 14
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| Weekly Jams
Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Saint Nick's Tavern, Phoenix
Ray Ray & BluZone, 5 p.m., Wild Willy's, Avondale
R.d. Olson JAM, 2 p.m., Sally's BBQ, Prescott
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler Ray Ray & Bluzone Every other Monday, Opa Life Cafe, Tempe
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
TUESDAY
Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Front Page Blues Band, EVERY THIRD Tuesday, 6 p.m., Far >From Folsom, Prescott
Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale
WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., El Dorado, Scottsdale
Bumpin' Bud's 1st & 3rd Wednesdays JAM, 7 p.m., Marc's, Glendale
THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 8 p.m., Chandler Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week) |
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Moved? Changed email addresses? Please let us know of any changes in your address, email, or phone number so we can keep you informed about the Blues community in Arizona. or write to: Phoenix Blues Society P.O. Box 36874 Phoenix, Arizona 85067 |
GOT BLUES? If you are a Blues musician, a group, or a club that features Blues music, and would like to be listed, please send your info to [email protected] and we'll be happy to list your event in our weekly Out & About section of the newsletter |
PBS would like to welcome our new members to the fold. We are always on the prowl for new folks to join our community and these Blues fans took the plunge. We hope we live up to your expectations.
Rich Greenfield Jere Gabriel Anne Lippert Robert "Jerry" Galy Jamie Waldron Kristin Kalla |
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