JJ Grey cherishes the environment around him: he's outspoken about preservation and conservation, he gardens and surfs. He lives near Jacksonville, FL, on a swampy piece of land that has been in his family for generations. He's also a poet: across 5 acclaimed albums, JJ Grey & Mofro has mastered the art of creating timeless stories in song from simple, single inspirations, like life and landscape in North Florida, then tucked into sweaty layers of blues, funk and soul. 'Georgia Warhorse' takes its name from a grasshopper indigenous to the American Southeast. It's a bug that doesn't yield to a stomping boot. "I wanted to tell the story of all these people that had this connection to this dirt, to this place," he says.albums have been recorded at the same studio, Retrophonics, in St. Augustine, Florida, with vintage gear, to tape.

 

Guests on 'Georgia Warhorse' include Toots Hibbert (of Toots and The Maytals) on "The Sweetest Thing" and Derek Trucks on "Lullabye."

 

Duke Robillard's Passport to the Blues (SPCD-1349) follows the success of his Grammy-nominated release Stomp! The Blues Tonight (SPCD-1342) - it's a tough collection of songs that's a strong return to his grittiest blues roots.

This time, the spotlight has shifted toward the songs themselves, and Robillard offers "tunes for grownups" like "Text Me," "The High Cost of Lovin'" and "Fatal Heart Attack." The opening song, "Workin' Hard for my Uncle," parallels The Beatles' "Taxman" - Duke's American uncle, of course, is Sam, and he wants most of the songwriter's income.

 

 

 

Chicagotribune.com - Ken Shipley works from home. His dusty Little Village basement, crammed full of LPs, CDs and tapes, houses a record label called the Numero Group. And since its first release in 2004, Numero has bid farewell to a conference room, and in most cases breathing room, to house its swelling catalog and stock.

 

There's reason for the clutter. Most record labels are in the business of signing new bands. Numero goes about discovering old ones. Most haven't made music in decades. Numero collects and archives this music, then takes the best of the collection and creates well-organized, well-researched compilations — a smorgasbord of genres from around the world, though it is best known for soul and R&B. Put the 75-release collection on a shelf and it looks like an encyclopedia of music.

 

Rob Sevier, Numero's arts and repertoire guru, figures that eventually the label will pass its job on — to professors. "Blues and jazz has an aura about it," he says. "Soul and R&B will get there. Eventually, our mantle will be taken over by academics."

 

 

Indeed, Robert Pruter, author of "Chicago Soul," calls the research and archival work that Numero does "superlative." "They do an extraordinary job of documenting," he says. Pruter, a librarian at Romeoville-based Lewis University, says soul and R&B rarely get the same attention from academics that jazz and blues do, but he predicts that someday it will, and he believes that Numero's compilations will be key when that day comes.

 

"Twenty years from now, the sort of people (Numero) is talking to will be dead, and history will die with them," says Pruter.

 

For anyone who's wondering, Shipley and company don't go about producing historic documents by digging through old records. Any used records of use to Numero have already been picked up by someone else, explains Rob Sevier, Numero's arts and repertoire guru. Instead, Numero goes through primary sources like producers, artists and label execs to find the music it's looking for.

 

Take, for example, Numero's first release. In 2003, Shipley contacted Bill Moss, a Columbus, Ohio, DJ and singer who founded Capsoul Records. Shipley was inquiring about a license for a song called "You Can't Blame Me" by a group called Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr. Moss said he was open to the idea of licensing the song, but mentioned to Shipley that Capsoul had 30 or 40 more to its name.

 

"Then the idea rolled around in my head that a 20-song compilation of various things is nowhere near as interesting as being able to tell the story of one little operation that existed," says Shipley, 33.

 

So Team Numero — Shipley, Sevier and label co-founder Tom Lunt — drove to Columbus to talk a deal over with Moss. The goal was to reissue a collection composed entirely of Capsoul music.

 

"He met us with some skepticism," Shipley says. "He had been down this road several times before, and he had been waiting for the right people to come along — he had been waiting for a very long time."

 

They offered Moss some money upfront, and a deal was struck. But another hurdle remained: The master tapes, which Moss had stored in a friend's basement, had been destroyed in a flood. Numero went about collecting clean 45s of Capsoul songs and re-mastered them.

 

"The Capsoul Label," released in 2004, became Numero's "001," the first entry in what would become Numero's library of unheard music. Bill Moss died in 2005. The compilation, with extended liner notes and enhanced tracks, was rereleased in 2008.

 

Journalists, detectives, call them what you will, but Sevier, 31, dodges these comparisons.

 

"Detectives are trying to find people who don't want to be found," Sevier says. "We rarely arrive in antagonistic situations. Sometimes detectives are looking for someone who has killed someone else. We're looking for musicians — who may have killed somebody, sure — but they want to be found, and they want their music heard."

 

Numero, meanwhile, supplements the music with liner notes that read like sexed-up history books, complete with names, dates and obscure stories. It's a craft Shipley says most in the industry are getting wrong.

 

"'I'm holding the original master tape for the album in my hands right now, and 32 years have gone by since it was last played. I'm at a pay phone in southern Indiana.'" Shipley says in a mocking tone. "That's just garbage. Nobody cares about that. (The authors) write themselves into the liner notes — they want to be a character in the story. It's so embarrassing. I'm embarrassed for them."

 

Joe Tangari, a senior contributor at Chicago-based music e-zine Pitchfork, says Numero's liner notes stand out in the reissue crowd.

 

"They really do their homework," Tangari says. "They talk to everyone. Their compilations are driven by people, and Numero puts those people into context, into a larger narrative."

 

To wit, a four-CD, six-LP collection of Chicago bluesman Syl Johnson's music, to be released in October, packages liner notes in a coffee-table book size. They clock in at about 35,000 words.

 

TV shows such as "Weeds" and "United States of Tara" have licensed music from Numero. "Mad Men" featured George McGregor's "Temptation Is So Hard to Fight" and Edd Henry's "Crooked Woman."

 

But the appeal, Shipley says, is doing what he likes for a living, and knowing that a cadre of people like it too.

 

"This is the ultimate freedom," Shipley says. "To make whatever record you want. We own it. We control our own destiny. The limits are only our imagination."

 

Alfred Music Publishing, the leader in educational music publishing since 1922, is proud to release the newly revised editions of its best-selling guitar methods by Kenny Chipkin: Real Blues Guitar and Real Blues-Rock Guitar.

 

Real Blues Guitar (Revised) is the perfect guide to master the blues by learning techniques used by blues guitar legends. Revised with all-new engravings and now with a companion DVD, this book starts you off with the basics and takes a comprehensive approach to rhythm, lead, and solo playing. You'll be guided through the styles of blues guitar masters like Eric Clapton, Albert King, B.B. King, Freddy King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, T-Bone Walker, and Johnny Winter. With information that has been carefully researched and documented, you'll gain an understanding of each artist's unique approach to technique, note choice, and tone. Kenny Chipkin performs every example in the book and provides his unique perspective on the history and influence of the great blues guitarists on the DVD. High-quality MP3 tracks of all the examples and solos in the book are also included. Real Blues Guitar (Revised) is now available as a book and DVD set for $19.99.

 

 

Real Blues-Rock Guitar (Revised) focuses on the groundbreaking players of the 1960s blues-rock era, teaching you how to play like them by exploring chord progressions, licks, styles, and techniques.

 

This revised edition, now with companion DVDs and all-new engravings, guides you through the styles of blues-rock guitar masters like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, The Allman Brothers, Joe Walsh, and many others. On the accompanying two-DVD set, Kenny Chipkin performs every example in the book, breaks down how to play the solos effectively, and provides his unique perspective on the history and influence of the blues-rock greats. High-quality MP3 tracks for all the examples and solos in the book are also included. Real Blues-Rock Guitar (Revised) is now available as a book and two-DVD set for $21.99.

 

Pick up your copies at a local music retail store, or buy them today at Alfred.com.

 

Every day, somebody's got to fly somewhere and entertain the people of the world. When it comes to getting instruments on an airplane, musicians get nervous and sweaty, expecting the worst.
“It sucks for the most part," says L.A. rapper Busdriver. Gear gets tossed around, broken, and lost by baggage handlers and mismanaged by airlines. Just imagine what Joanna Newsom must endure trying to squeeze her harp through a metal detector.

 

Should musicians be allowed to carry instruments on planes? The American Federation of Musicians thinks Congress needs some official policy changes “so that traveling with an instrument is safer and more reliable." Check out the AMF petition:

 

“Musicians constantly face difficulty traveling with their instrument. Although AFM won a commitment from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to allow instruments through security checkpoints, policies for carrying instruments on to airplanes still vary wildly from airline to airline.

 

The inconsistencies in airline policies make it extremely difficult for musicians to plan their travel and earn a living. Thus AFM fought for language to be included in the Senate version of the FAA Reauthorization Bill (S.1451) that will streamline the airlines' carry-on policies regarding musical instruments. If this bill passes musicians will be able to carry most musical instruments on board and place them in the overhead compartment or in a seat (if a ticket is purchased)... (Read more & sign)

 

Last year, breaking a guitar cost United Airlines $180 million. Musician Dave Carroll watched from his plane window as his gear was tossed on the tarmac like trash bags. Later he retrieved his smashed $3,500 Taylor at baggage claim and got the shrug from the airline, despite his threat to write three songs about it and put them on Youtube. “United Breaks Guitars" went viral. Then United stock plunged 10 percent and lost the equivalent of 51,429 Taylor guitars. If only they'd let him carry his ax on-board.

 

“If airlines respected people's valuables at all, this wouldn't be an issue to begin with," says Marshall Moonshine of indie folk band Olin And The Moon . “It would matter less if you knew your things were in good hands, while not in your hands." Indeed, 191,971 mishandled baggage reports were filed by U.S. airlines between January and June 2010 according to the U.S. Department Of Transportation.

 

One of L.A.'s foremost drummers and producers, Butchy Fuego, has jumped on Facebook and Twitter trying to rally support for the AFM petition. He says, “Musical instruments are often rare and irreplaceable. Some would argue they are an extension of the musicians themselves. I hope airlines are able to recognize the valuable cultural resource of music enough to respect the importance of allowing musicians to keep their instruments within reach."

 

Roots rock jongleur James Apollo fears he'll probably lose another guitar when he flies over to Los Angeles this October. His lap steel player carries his instrument in a gun case and never gets stopped by security. He says his bassist can walk-on his electric upright 20% of the time, gate-check it 60% of the time, but it's been broken twice in checked luggage. Having lost three guitars and worked as a baggage handler, Apollo sometimes goes to extreme measures preparing his gear for flight: "The lost scenario is the norm, but there's also the broke scenario," Apollo says. "I've nearly given myself black lung while 'airline-proofing' my cases. This usually involves a mix of steel, fiberglass, caulk, and ingenuity. It also once got the EPA calling on me for hot-boxing a Brooklyn apartment complex with toxic fumes. I was an airline baggage handler before. I know what a fragile sticker means. It's just another thing to be pissed about. 'I'll show you fragile...'"

 

With the American Federation of Musicians on the case, they'll probably see some fine print amendment. After all, the union has negotiated and hollered about artist issues with the Establishment since 1896. Seems like a complicated issue, though, as airline policies have generally become crazy and ridiculous. Even if musicians earn the right to tuck their instruments in pillowed beds instead of overheard compartments, they'll most likely have to pay dearly for it. 

  

Des Moines music club Blues on Grand is scheduled to close its doors Oct. 23. Manager Jeff Wagner cited lack of attendance as the reason behind the closing.

 

Blues on Grand opened its doors in 1999 and has hosted concerts by touring acts Tommy Castro, Lonnie Brooks, Joe Bonamassa and others, along with local acts like Matt Woods and the Thunderbolts, and the Bob Pace Band. In 2002 it was given the Blues Foundation's "Keeping the Blues Alive" award for best blues club in the country. 

 

Wagner said he set the closing date this far in advance to give a heads-up to touring musicians.

 

"There's been a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth," Wagner said of the reaction from music bookers. "This is an important stop for them."

 

Tom Gary — who blogs as the Blues Historian at bluesman2001.blogspot.com — has been watching blues in the 1501 Grand Ave. location since the mid-1990s when it was known as the Grand Avenue Lounge. He sees Blues on Grand closing as having repercussions beyond Des Moines.

 

"I think it's going to hurt the national scene more," Gary said. "It's such a convenient stop between Omaha, Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis. A lot of the national acts depend on having that stop here. That's why Blues on Grand gets so many great acts. The people (Wagner) has in there rival anything you get in any big city."

 

Wagner is working on arranging a final performance on Oct. 23, but has not confirmed the details.

 

As of now, the final announced performer is New York pianist Bruce Katz on Oct. 20.

 

On Sept. 12, the Central Iowa Blues, Mississippi Valley Blues and Lizard Creek Blues societies will host the 2010 Iowa Blues Challenge Solo/Duo competition at Blues on Grand.

 

 (AP) LONDON — They were both immigrants in Britain who changed the face of music — one with a harpsichord and a composer's pen, the other with an electric guitar.

 

George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix also shared an address, living 200 years apart in adjoining 18th-century London houses. Now, 40 years after Hendrix's death, a new exhibition about his London years brings these two unlikely neighbors together.

 

Hendrix, who came to London as an ambitious but little-known guitarist in 1966, was aware of his link to the musical past. He bought recordings of Handel's "Messiah," and obligingly gave tours of his apartment to music students who knocked on the door looking for traces of the composer.

 

"He once claimed to have seen a reflection of Handel's face in his shaving mirror," said Martin Wyatt, deputy director of the Handel House Museum, which is mounting an exhibition about Hendrix's London years that opens to the public Wednesday.

 

"Hendrix was convinced he was living in Handel's house — but actually he was living next door."

 

Handel lived at 25 Brook Street — a Georgian house in the tony Mayfair area — for 36 years until his death in 1759. The museum devoted to his life uses the adjoining upstairs apartment where Hendrix lived as offices.

 

Museum curators hope to raise money to restore the apartment to its 1960s glory and open it as a permanent Hendrix exhibition.

 

For now, members of the public will be able to visit for 12 days next month. They will have to use their imaginations to picture the small, whitewashed rooms with their utilitarian desks as they were then, decorated in garish 60s style with red carpets and turquoise velvet curtains, chock-a-block with guitars, amps, rugs and knickknacks.

 

"All the photos look really classy until you see them in color," said the museum's learning and events officer, Claire Parker.

 

Handel had paid 60 pounds a year for the house, the equivalent of about 5,000 pounds ($7,700) today. Hendrix and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham paid 30 pounds a week — a consierable sum for the 60s, equivalent to about 350 pounds a week today.

 

By all accounts Hendrix enjoyed the domestic side of London life — though the appliances were not always up to his modern American standards.

 

"When they first moved in, Hendrix was horrified to find a 1950s gas fridge, which he thought was the most old-fashioned thing he had ever seen." Parker said. They bought an electric one, as well as a yellow Formica kitchen table.

 

Parker said Hendrix "was quite well known in John Lewis," the venerable London department store.

 

"It's this other side of him you don't really think about — Jimi Hendrix shopping for carpets and soft furnishings."

 

When he wasn't at home, Hendrix was honing his sound and building his reputation through incendiary live shows. He came to London in 1966 after being spotted by producer Chas Chandler playing in a New York bar with his band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

 

He began gigging immediately — a list of his British shows in the exhibition has scores of entries, from pubs to provincial working men's clubs to the vast Isle of Wight rock festival. In 1967 he released the acclaimed album "Are You Experienced?" and soon was touring internationally, gaining fame for his innovative, heavily distorted guitar style.

 

"He was an absolute revelation to everyone here," Wyatt said. "It was like an earthquake rumbling through the music scene."

 

"I think for Hendrix London was much more open — in America he was too white for black music and too black for white music. Here there was a burgeoning blues scene that wasn't that categorized."

 

The Hendrix exhibition, which runs to Nov. 7, is a bit of a shock next to the muted gray walls, oil paintings and harpsichords of the rooms devoted to Handel's life.

 

Among the exhibits are the Gibson Flying V guitar that Hendrix played at the Isle of Wight festival in August 1970, handwritten lyrics and a splendid orange velvet jacket and black Westerner hat.

 

There is also a copy of Hendrix's death certificate. He died in a London hotel on Sept. 18, 1970, aged 27. The certificate gives the archetypally rock 'n' roll causes as "inhalation of vomit" and barbiturate intoxication.

 

Wyatt said some of the museum's supporters were skeptical at first about the Hendrix display. But he is struck by the similarities between the two musicians.

 

"They were both great improvisers," he said — Handel on harpsichord, Hendrix on guitar.

 

He said that on the occasional past openings of Hendrix's apartment, the guitarist's fans have sometimes stayed to listen and learn about Handel.

 

"We're hoping the exhibition will open the road the other way."

 

A celebrated Gastonia blues singer famous for seducing audiences with her soulful voice is now trying to overcome the debilitating effects of a chronic disease.

 

Robin Rogers is well known in Gaston County and across the country for her talents with a microphone in hand. When not singing at local clubs, she often tours elsewhere in the United States and overseas. In 2009, she performed during the 30^th annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tenn., when she was nominated for Best Contemporary Female Blues Artist of the Year.

 

But acting on her love of music has recently taken a backseat to coping with the symptoms of Hepatitis C. Rogers was admitted to Gaston Memorial Hospital on Aug. 18 after suffering from internal bleeding due to varices, or enlarged veins, in her esophagus and other areas — a common symptom of the illness.

 

“She’s been really, really sick and it’s been really, really scary,” said Rogers’ husband of 12 years, Tony Rogers, who plays guitar in their blues band. “For the most part, she just woke up a day or two ago. She was supposed to go home (Tuesday), but her blood pressure started dropping a few days ago and she started bleeding again.”

 

Rogers has had three endoscopies and is slated to undergo surgery in Charlotte this week.

 

“At one point, the doctor told me the biggest problem we’d have is waking her up,” said Tony Rogers. “But she’s had some good moments. Right now, she’s pretty optimistic.”

 

 

Rogers, 55, is originally from the Tidewater Virginia region. She has long been open about the troubled family life that led her to run away from home as a teenager, which coaxed her into abusing drugs and alcohol as she struggled to take care of herself.

 

Rogers has led a clean and sober lifestyle for more than two decades. But she believes she contracted Hepatitis C from sharing needles years ago.

 

“She’s made no secrets about it,” said Tony Rogers. “We found out 12 or 15 years ago when we went to buy her health insurance and she couldn’t get any. She’s taken really good care of herself for 22 years, but it’s finally catching up with her.”

 

Rogers’ recent story is one of a singer and performer who achieved salvation from substance abuse through the love of her craft. She met Tony Rogers 15 years ago when she was performing country and rock ‘n’ roll house music at several Gastonia clubs.

 

“When you’re in a house band, you don’t have a career. You have a job,” said Tony Rogers. “I told her me and you could make a living doing this.”

 

Rogers had been on a 40-day tour of the west coast recently with other renowned blues musicians such as guitar player Debbie Davies. She performed during a festival in Norway with fellow singers Janiva Magness and Thornetta Davis as the “Women Who Cook.”

 

She and her husband had just returned from a trip to Missouri and Kansas last month when she had to be admitted to the hospital. Her lack of insurance has made her mounting medical bills a daunting reality, and she can’t make money performing while battling her condition.

 

“Suddenly we’re unemployed,” said Tony Rogers. “They don’t pay unemployment to musicians.”

 

 

Robin Rogers has recorded several CDs over the years, and her newest one, “Back in the Fire,” will be released Sept. 11. A planned CD release party at Gaston College has been canceled due to her illness. But fans can still order the CD and past releases at www.robinrogers.com.

 

Ordering from that website, instead of other sources such as amazon.com or iTunes, puts more of the money in Robin Rogers’ hands, her husband said.

 

A pair of fundraisers have also been planned to help with her medical expenses. One will be a nonprofit yard sale held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at The Bluffs at Northwoods apartment complex in Gastonia. Several bands will also perform during a special concert to benefit Rogers on Oct. 17 in Charlotte at the Double Door Inn, although details are still being worked out.

 

In the meantime, fans who want to donate directly to the Robin Rogers Medical Trust Fund can do so by making a deposit at any Bank of America, using the account number 0006-5617-0126. Checks may also be mailed to Rachel Pickard, Attorney at Law Trustee, at P.O. Box 547, Gastonia, NC 28053.

 

Tony Rogers said keeping up with his wife’s Facebook page is the best way to follow her progress. He has been reading her some of the comments and well-wishes fans have left in recent days.

 

“She’s really thankful and really appreciates it,” he said. “We appreciate all the great prayers.”

 

 

 

Editors note: All of us here at the Blues Festival Guide Magazine wish Robin a speedy recovery.

 

We are pleased to announce the debut novel and accompanying CD of author Allen Whitley. A masterful blend of mystery and historical fiction, Where Southern Cross the Dog pits first love and idealism against hatred and racism in Depression-era Mississippi. The novel is currently available at www.allenwhitley.comand includes a CD consisting of material, some unheard until now, recorded in the 1930s and early ‘40s. The compilation includes blues, prison work songs, children’s rhymes, and oral history narrations.

 

In addition to the book and CD, Allen is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Blues Foundation and the Music Maker Relief Foundation. The Blues Foundation is a nonprofit that preserves blues history, celebrates blues excellence, supports blues education, and ensures the future of this uniquely American art form. Music Maker helps the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs.

In the late 1930s, Jim Crow walked unopposed in Mississippi, and Europe was preparing for war. Though an ocean apart, the threads of hatred and fear bound these disparate places together.

When Travis Montgomery returns to Clarksdale after graduating from college, he finds his hometown cloaked in fear—four gruesome murders in six weeks. With no clear motive and few clues, the sheriff doesn’t have a suspect—until Luke Williams, a white sharecropper, confesses.

 

Across town, Dr. Conrad Higson is developing a cotton harvester, a machine that will replace field hands. Expelled from Germany for publicly humiliating a high-ranking officer, the well-respected scientist is secretly spying for the Nazis, hoping for permission to return to his fatherland.

 

While Luke awaits trial, the last four members of Clarksdale’s defunct Ku Klux Klan break him out of jail. Luke turns himself in again hours before the discovery of a fifth mutilated body. But the evidence doesn’t match up, and Travis and his girlfriend, Hannah, the daughter of a prominent African-American family, begin their own investigation, piecing together the circumstances of the murders.

 

As the town reels from a trial, arson, and yet another body, Travis and Hannah persevere in their search for justice as they illuminate the dark soul of the Deep South.

 

A masterful blend of mystery and historical fiction, Where Southern Cross the Dog pits first love and idealism against hatred and racism in Depression-era Mississippi.

 

Allen Whitley works in the field of environmental sustainability and has published numerous academic and professional articles. He serves on the Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries of Central Texas and is a former board member of the Writers’ League of Texas. Through his first novel, Where Southern Cross the Dog, he seeks to bring the rich history of blues to a wider audience and raise funds for two worthy causes.

 

 

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The House of Blues Recording Studio is moving to Music City, literally. The entire building is being picked up and carried along I-40.

 

You may not have ever been there, but the historic musical recordings produced there put the minds of listeners' right where they wanted to be when they heard it. Now with the departure of the House of Blues famed Studio D is another failing grade for the Memphis recording industry.

 

It was a wide-load truck almost ready for departure on Tuesday. The truck was transporting to Nashville precious cargo laden with Memphis musical history and the memories that go with it.

 

"I think one of the first acts to come through were the Bar-Kays. In the mid 90's we had a lot of rock and roll acts Collective Soul. Matchbox Twenty. We did a soundtrack for MTV, Beavis and Butthead," said Mike Paragone, Head of House of Blues Recording Studio.

 

Last week a Springfield, Tennessee structural moving company diligently worked to deconstruct the fabled House of Blues Studio D recording facility wit plans to be reassembled in the Music City.

 

The wooden structure, which once was a family home, had been separate from the recording company's three other studios located on desolate Rayner Street just off Spottswood. Its off-the-beaten path location figured into its eventual move due to "under utilization" by local artists in recent years.

 

"In Nashville we have three facilities there already. But, we're trying to break into a different market. Break into a different clientele that we haven't really touched," said Paragone.

 

The relocation sounds another sour note for the Memphis music scene. Since the rebirth of the studio in the '90's by original House of Blues nightclub franchise owner, Memphian Isaac Tigrett and former partner Gary Belz, efforts had been keyed toward bringing in top producers, writers and performers. Some like Ralph Sutton and Kirk Whalum were drawn in by the historical allure of making new music in Memphis.

 

"I believe that my effort along with others will help rebirth this region. Since there's a lot of strong musicianship down here and a lot of incredible writers," said music producer Ralph Sutton back in 2006.

 

"I kind of really focused on that one cause I felt like this is the one with the most kind of proactivity in terms of the Memphis music scene and rebuilding and Renaissance," said Kirk Whalum, famed saxophonist.

 

But, a stagnant economy and the equally "flat line" state of opportunities for Memphis musicians at home have combined to create the region's own state of the blues.

 

"At the end of the day it is about value and how we value this cultural asset. That needs nurturing, that needs developing so these musicians can work. If they're not working it's impossible for the studios to survive," said Johnnie Walker, Executive Director of Shelby County Music Commission.

 

Though Studio D may strike the right chords in Nashville, Whalum still believes Memphis' return as a mecca for modern music will come but not in time to stop this moving van.

 

"There's going to be that Renaissance and the timing is going to be right and there's going to be a lot of young kids stepping in the shoes of the folks who made this great music," said Whalum.

 

 

Movie actor Jeff Daniels, best known for roles in films like Gettysburg, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Dumb and Dumber, is also an accomplished guitarist.

 

Ahead of his Nashville gig on August 27 he told Tennessean.com about his music career.

 

“I really went to work on the guitar, the songwriting and the whole show. I went to school on guys like Utah Phillips and others, and said, ‘What are they doing? How are they doing it? What do I need to know on the guitar?’ I literally took lessons from Keb’ Mo’ and Stefan Grossman, guys that said, ‘You can play, but…’ and started showing me stuff.”

 

Daniels sells CDs on the road to raise money for the Purple Rose Theatre Company that he runs in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan. He uses experiences in the movie business for song material. The Dirty Harry Blues for example, tells of his experience playing opposite Clint Eastwood in Blood Work.

 

“I’ve worked real hard at the fingerpicking and being able to play up and down the neck, as well as tell stories, and write songs that can stand up.”

 

---

This Labor Day weekend – Sept. 4 & 5 – the Center for Southern Folklore will produce the 23^rd Annual Memphis Music & Heritage Festival, a family-friendly celebration of the musicians, artists, craftspeople, cooks, talkers, dancers, and community members who make Memphis such a special place.

 

The festivities will take place from 11am – 11pm both days on Main St. between Peabody Place and Gayoso on three outdoor stages and two more indoors. In addition to some of the region’s best blues, soul, rock, gospel, folk, and country performers, the Festival will feature cooking demonstrations, local artists, food and crafts vendors, dancers, storytellers, and fun for the kids!

 

This year’s festival will celebrate Memphis musical legend Jim Dickinson with a t-shirt and poster designed by the artist Gray (pictured above) and performances by Hill Country Revue (featuring son Cody Dickinson) and former bandmates Sid Selvidge & Jimmy Crosthwait. Other performers include: Bobby Rush, Kate Campbell, Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, Joyce Cobb, Smoochie Smith Trio, Hickory Withe Bluegrass, Jason D Williams, Eden Brent, Los Contadores, Star & Micey, Bluff City Backsliders, Eddie Bond and many more still to be announced!

 

A $2 suggested donation will help keep the festival free and open to all.

This Labor Day weekend – Sept. 4 & 5 – the Center for Southern Folklore will produce the 23^rd Annual Memphis Music & Heritage Festival, a family-friendly celebration of the musicians, artists, craftspeople, cooks, talkers, dancers, and community members who make Memphis such a special place.

The festivities will take place from 11am – 11pm both days on Main St. between Peabody Place and Gayoso on three outdoor stages and two more indoors. In addition to some of the region’s best blues, soul, rock, gospel, folk, and country performers, the Festival will feature cooking demonstrations, local artists, food and crafts vendors, dancers, storytellers, and fun for the kids!

This year’s festival will celebrate Memphis musical legend Jim Dickinson with a t-shirt and poster designed by the artist Gray (pictured above) and performances by Hill Country Revue (featuring son Cody Dickinson) and former bandmates Sid Selvidge & Jimmy Crosthwait. Other performers include: Bobby Rush, Kate Campbell, Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, Joyce Cobb, Smoochie Smith Trio, Hickory Withe Bluegrass, Jason D Williams, Eden Brent, Los Contadores, Star & Micey, Bluff City Backsliders, Eddie Bond and many more still to be announced!

A $2 suggested donation will help keep the festival free and open to all.

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It´s time to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the Budwesier Illinois Blues Festival featuring great blues entertainment on three stages at beautiful downtown Peoria´s Riverfront Park. Considered one of the top blues festivals in the Midwest, the 22nd Annual Budweiser Blues Festival comprises two days of internationally known Blues artists and workshops and is produced by Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, www.jaytv.com, with proceeds going to the Illinois Blues Coalition.

 

ADDED FEATURE: This year our festival is hosting the "ROAD TO MEMPHIS" the official competition leading to the Blues Foundation's world famous INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE. Sponsored by the River City Blues Society, this is an opportunity for unsigned Illinois bands to compete for entry into the IBC with expenses paid by the River City Blues Society with help from a funding grant from the Illinois Blues Coalition. You'll be able to see all these bands and more compete at the 2010 Budwesier Illinois Blues FestivaL

 

 

On October 10, 2010, the West Michigan Blues Society will celebrate 20 years of serving the blues community in West Michigan and beyond. Started in the back room of Jerry Dodd's record shop in Grand Rapids, the society has grown into the driving force for blues related activities.

 

Thanks to Tim Richards, Jimmie Stagger and David "Dr. Hamfat" Marin, they have developed an outstanding Blues in the Schools program that has been serving the West Michigan schools for the past 6 years.

 

To celebrate in style, the society is throwing a party at Billy's Lounge, 1437 Wealthy St. Se, Grand Rapids, Mi.  on Sunday October 10. Doors at 1:00, Music at 2:00.

 

The event features the music of The Rusty Wright Band and Harper. There will be a brisket buffet catered by Sandmann's along with raffles and prizes.

 

This event is FREE to all members. You have to show your membership card at the door. 

 

For non-members the cover is $20.00, BUT, it includes a free years' membership the West Michigan Blues Society.

 

There’s a great new biography of Johnny Winter, RAISIN’ CAIN, and Elwood takes the occasion to take a look back at the music and life of this highly influential Texas bluesman. Biographer Mary Lou Sullivan joins Elwood to share some prime Winter tales, and spin his tunes, including his work with Muddy Waters (giving Muddy a second career). Exclusive interview tape with Johnny Winter is also part of the mix. Plus: Bobby "Blue" Bland, brother Edgar Winter, and new music from the California Honeydrops. Go to our contest page and register to win two great Johnny Winter DVDs– Johnny Winter Live Through the 70s and Live Through the 80s. While you are there, there are also five copies of HARMONICA BLUES, from harp player Bob Corritore, just waiting to be won.

 

 

RBA Publishing Inc is based in Reno, NV with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, Florida. We produce the annual Blues Festival Guide magazine (now in its 7th year), the top-ranking website: www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, and this weekly blues newsletter: The Blues Festival E-Guide with approximately 20,000 weekly subscribers. We look forward to your suggestions, critiques, questions, etc.

Reach the E-Guide editor, Gordon Bulcock, gordon@bluesfestivalguide.com

or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
 

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