Blues Community To Gather Again To Support Alyssa Lily ’s Run With Cancer- Mar. 1st

Alyssa Lily and Cancer TeeAlyssa Weiser-Lily (Alyssa Lily) is definitely a fighter. Two years ago the blues community first became aware of her fight with cancer and the friendship between her family and award winning musician Lisa Mann. Alyssa continues with her battle, having gone through surgeries, chemotherapy and infections, and now she and her family need financial assistance to not only help with her medical needs, but also to keep their daily lives in order.

And that is where the local blues and roots community is once again stepping up to help out. Please keep the date Sunday, March 1 open and make plans to be at the Trails End Saloon (at the corner of !4th & Main in downtown Oregon City) starting at 2:00 pm. A full day’s worth of music is planned and at only a suggested donation of $10.00 (but you will not be turned away if you’re unable to afford this amount) you’re not going to find a better spot to be on a Sunday.

Musicians schedule to appear at this time are: Gospel Blues with Rae Gordon, The Rae Gordon Band; Bigger Yellow Taxi; Sonny Hess Band with Lisa Mann; Men in Blues featuring Robbie Laws, Doug Rowell and Big Monti.

There will also be a silent auction and donations for the auction are being accepted at The Trails End Saloon prior to the event.

SAVE THE DATE – Sunday, March 1st, Trails End Saloon along with many local musicians will be having a benefit for Alyssa Lilly. This will help the family pay expenses while they continue to battle the cancer Aly has been fighting. Full details later this week!!

Right now, we are looking for DONATIONS for the silent auction. Drop any donations off at Trails End Saloon, corner of 14th & Main Streets in downtown Oregon City. Feel free to share this post. Thank you!!

Applications Now Being Accepted For 2015 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 the next year’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN that will be held in early 2016. Up to 250 acts from around the world converge on Beale Street to perform before the music industry looking 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 will be held in two rounds. The opening round will take place over two nights at The Lehrer on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. Acts are scored by a trio of judges selected for their backgrounds and knowledge of the blues. The two highest scoring acts each night advance to the finals held at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4.

Applications to participate in the competition will be accepted now until Wednesday, April 1 at the Cascade Blues Association membership meeting. No late applications will be accepted. All eligible acts that meet our criteria as described below will be able to compete. We will adjust the time schedule to ensure all are included. Each act will perform either Friday or Saturday and are scheduled as drawn at random, so we request that you do not schedule other gigs until you know which night you are scheduled.

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

  • Entry fee is $25.00 (This is an increase from last year and is the first time we have raised the fee in more than ten years. This is to stay consistent with what  other societies have been charging – though still less than many – and all fees collected go to the prize money to the competition’s winners to help cover travel expenses.)
  • 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, Washington or Idaho are allowed to enter the Journey To Memphis.
  • Any act that has been nominated for or received a Blues Music Awards from The Blues Foundation are ineligible to compete.

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.

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 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, then you remove yourself from further competitions to allow other acts the chance to win the right to go to Memphis.

Applications can be sent to Journey To Memphis c/o Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 6566, Portland, Oregon 97228-6566. All entries must be received no later than April 1.

2015 International Blues Challenge: Pacific Northwest Review

It was another great experience in Memphis during this January’s International Blues Challenge. And for all those who stayed away because they were afraid of the bitter cold that we experienced last year, you missed out on the mild weather that was had this year. What’s even better? The Northwest Blues Societies’ acts are really beginning to make more of a mark on the international scene each year.

Five blues societies from the Northwest sent nine acts and a youth group to Memphis. Five acts, one from each of the societies, made the semi-finals, and one made it all the way to The Orpheum Theater for the finals. All played their hearts out and gave performances that we should be proud of. As I have stated many times, it is not about the winning the competition that is most important — it is the impact you make for yourself. Winning would be great, but it is something that is not going to happen very often. There were more than 250 blues acts from all around the world, and only one of them can be named as the winner. And all of those acts are out of this world good.

The acts that represented the Northwest were: Ben Rice & Lucy Hammond (solo/duo) and Tracey Fordice & The 8 Balls (band) from the Ashland Blues Society; David Pinsky & Phil Newton (solo/duo) and the Rae Gordon Band from the Cascade Blues Association; Walker T Ryan (solo) and the Randy Oxford Band from the Rainy Day Blues Society; CD Woodbury Band from South Sound Blues Association; and Nick Vigarino (solo) and the Rafael Tranquilino Band from the Washington Blues Society.

Ben Rice & Lucy Hammond, the Rae Gordon Band, the Randy Oxford Band, the CD Woodbury Band, and the Rafael Tranquilino Band all made it through to the semi-finals after the first two nights.

The finals were held in The Orpheum Theater early Saturday afternoon. The only NW act to make it to this level was Ben Rice & Lucy Hammond. They were the third act second act (not sure which here) scheduled for the day and delivered a masterful set that made the entire region proud.

But when it comes down to the end, the judges selected the following as the 2015 International Blues Challenge winners: Band competition 1st place: Eddie Cotton (Vicksburg Blues Society), 2nd place: Noah Wotherspoon (Dayton Blues Society), 3rd place: Nico Wayne Toussaint’s Mighty Quartet (Southern California Blues Society. Solo/Duo competition: 1st place: Randy McQuay (Cape Fear Blues Society), 2nd place: Brian Keith Wallen (Dayton Blues Society).

Individual awards were also handed out to the Best Self-Produced CD to Altered Five Blues Band for their disc Cryin’ Mercy; the Lee Oskar Harmonica Player award to Nico Wayne Toussaint; the Gibson Guitar award for band guitarist to Noah Wotherspoon; and the St Blues

Cigar Box Guitar award for solo/duo guitarist went to our own Ben Rice! Congratulations Ben Rice!!

There are many other events that take place during the International Blues Challenge, including the Keeping The Blues Alive awards. And this year’s recipient of the KBA for best festival went to Erika Olsen for Washington’s Winthrop Blues Festival! Erika was on hand along with the Waterfront’s Peter Dammann not only to pick up this honor, but obviously to scout out new talent for their festivals.

A new event that was put together this year for the first time was the Pacific Northwest Showcase. The brainchild of Washington Blues Society president Tony Frederickson, it was held at Club 152 on Beale Street on Friday afternoon, hosted by Tony, Cascade Blues Association president Greg Johnson, and South Sound Blues Association president Jane Henderson. Each of the nine acts from the Northwest took part in this showcase, along with South Sound’s youth act Emily Randolph & Oaklawn, and special appearances by past contestant Sammy Eubanks and 2010 second place winner Karen Lovely who was joined by Houston’s Jonn Del Toro Richardson on guitar. This was an exciting and popular day, so hopefully it can be done again.

Overall, the 31st International Blues Challenge proved once again that it keeps growing and getting better every year. And the Pacific Northwest is right in the thick of things, turning a lot of heads with the incredible musicians we possess in our little corner of the country. Make plans to attend in Memphis next year, but between now and then make it a point to support all the acts attempting to go in 2016, the regional competitions and the fundraising to help them get there. It’s not easy to reach that level, but once there you’re among some of the very best.

PDX Jazz Festival Welcomes Lucky Peterson – Mar. 1st

Lucky Peterson - photo by Jean Marc LubranoLucky Peterson has been amazing audiences since he was discovered as a child prodigy at the age of three by Willie Dixon. The son of blues man James Peterson, Lucky grew up surrounded by the blues and has shown his adeptness at guitar and keyboards, as well as his outstanding vocals and songwriting, for over four decades. His music fuses the blues with soul, gospel, R&B and rock, he is a versatile musician whose talents have been termed as mind- boggling.

Touring on the recent release of his latest album, The Son Of A Bluesman, Lucky Peterson brings his electrifying performance to The Aladdin Theater for one night only on Sunday, March 1 as part of the PDX Jazz Festival. Show time is 8:00 pm and The Aladdin is located at 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. Minors are welcome when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Tickets are available at The Aladdin Theater box office or through www.TicketFly.com for $30.00 advance, $35.00 day of show.

Rockin’ Blues Act Kenny James Miller Band Coming To Portland- Feb 5th

Montana-based blues rockers, The Kenny James Miller Band will be making a rare trip down to the Portland area for a pair of shows the first week of February. This Inland Empire Blues Society award winning band is a favorite throughout Eastern Washington, Montana and Idaho with their high energy performances known for keeping audiences entertained and asking for more each and every night. The trio consists of guitarist/songwriter Ken Sederdahl, drummer Mark Miller and bassist Mark Cornett. They are a tight outfit playing mostly original music sure to appeal to fans of bands like Robin Trower, ZZ Top or Government Mule. With one album under their belts, Revelator, they have recently been selected to be showcased on Montana PBS’ Emmy winning show 11th & Grant that documents the best bands in the state, airing this spring.Kenny James Miller Band - photo by JMK Photography

The Kenny James Miller Band will be playing at Duff’s Garage, 2530 NE 82nd, for a 9:00 pm show on Thursday, February 5th. This is a Cascade Blues Association co-sponsored event, so remember to show your current membership card at the door for a $1.00 discount.

Then, on Friday, February 6th, the band will be on the West Side of town, performing at Coach’s Bar & Grill, just off the intersection of Hwys 26 & 217, at 10162 SW Parkway, for a personal friend’s birthday celebration. Showtime is 9:00 pm, contact the venue for admission and further details.

Jimmy Carpenter

Walk Away
VizzTone Records

Jimmy Carpenter CD coverJimmy Carpenter once again steps outside from his gig with Walter “Wolfman” Washington to showcase his own creative energy as a songwriter and leader with his second solo release, Walk Away. One of New Orleans premier saxophonists and sidemen, he takes on both guitar and vocals here displaying his depth of talent. And as is true with many Crescent City musicians, Carpenter eases between R&B, funk, jazz and blues seemingly effortlessly.

With a local band that features Casandra Faulconer on bass, John Gros on keyboards, Wayne Maureau on drums and percussionist Michael Skinkus. The album also features guitarist John Fohl throughout, plus Mike Zito and Anson Funderburgh on a song each. Antonio Gambrell blends his trumpet alongside Carpenter for a trio of numbers and Memphis-based vocalist Reba Russell takes the lead on the country-tinged “Fellow Traveler” to close out the album along with backing vocals on another three.

As a lyricist Carpenter has a knack for putting together classic lines such as “sometimes I wish that you would leave me so I could watch you walk away”(“Walk Away”) or “you’re a hard act to follow, there is nothing wrong, but she’s not you”(“She’s Not You”) and “everywhere I go they’re playing songs about you” (“Favorite Muse”).

His singing voice is pleasantly soulful with nice delivery, making him a double punch along with his tasteful sax work that comes across consistently, especially on something like the instrumental tracks “7th Street Shuffle” and “C King Blues.” Both are highlighted on “Hard To Be Cool” accented by John Gros’ organ playing. On “Crazy ‘Bout You” there is somewhat of a Springsteen quality on this catchy pop flavored number where Carpenter fills in both the feel of Bruce and Clarence Clemons’ parts. “On The Outside” also takes a more rocking take that will leave you snapping your fingers along; think in the lines of Dave Edmunds here.

But do not think for a minute that Jimmy Carpenter does not know his blues, this album has a little bit for everyone. Very masterfully crafted, all original and all a lot of fun. Walk Away is something you should hear and give it a listen now.

Total time: 59:54

Can’t Let Go / Walk Away / When You’re Ready / She’s Not You / 7th Street Shuffle / No One’s Ever / More Than Meets The Eye / Hard To Be Cool / Crazy ‘Bout You / C King Blues / Favorite Muse / On The Outside / Fellow Traveler

Ian Siegal

Man & Guitar
Nugene Records

With some people all you need to do is set them alone in a chair with a guitar and magic appears. So it seems with Ian Siegal, the British blues master who consistently is named one of the finest artists of the genre throughout Europe. Usually Siegal works with a band for his recordings and so when a solo release comes out it is certainly something to celebrate. Many fans had been clamoring for a new solo disc. Many more for a live album to capture the pure energy and guitar tenacity erupting from his strings onstage. So this new release, Man & Guitar delivers on both counts. Ian Siegal CD cover

Recorded in London’s famed Royal Albert Hall in late 2013, it is everything you could hope for from Siegal. Running through his own ingenious originals alongside beautifully rendered covers, this live performance easily offers the guitar man at his best.

Selections for this live performance ranged from numbers from his most current release at the time The Dust, to his Blues Music Award nominated Candy Store Kid, to traditional blues by Son House, Charlie Patton and Fred McDowell,” to Texas troubadour Tom Russell and even a little 19th century Stephen Foster. All are done to perfection . . . well almost, the only time something is out of place is when Siegal tells us he goofed on the Charlie Patton’s “Pony Blues.” But as he states in the liner notes, “This is all the songs from start to finish imperfections and all.” But that is exactly what makes live performances unique and inspiring in the hands of the right person. Ian Siegal is such a person. His take on Taj Mahal’s arrangement of “T’ain’t Nobody’s Business” is every bit as lively and tongue-twisting as Taj’s, right down to his impersonation of Wolfman Jack.

Throughout it all the guitar work of Siegal is not only impressive, it is superb. If you have never heard Ian Siegal perform before, or may only be familiar with his electric band output, Man & Guitar is something to definitely seek out. He may come across as a diamond in the rough on stage, but this is a pure gem in all its polished finery. For what everybody in Great Britain may already know, it’s time for the rest of us to wake up too. Ian Siegal is a blues master.

Total Time: 45:54

The Silver Spurs / Mary Don’t You Weep / Interlude: Big George / Mortal Coil Shuffle / Interlude: Charlie / Pony Blues / I Am The Train / T’ain’t Nobody’s Business / Interlude: Young Mickey / Falling On Down Again / Medley: Preachin’ Blues – Live So God Can Use You – You Got To Move / Gallo Del Cielo / Hard Times (Come Again No More)

Carolyn Wonderland Brings Texas Musical Excitement To Town- Feb 10th

Carolyn Wonderland - press photoA musical force equipped with the soulful vocals of Janis and the guitar slinging skills of Stevie Ray, Carolyn Wonderland reaches into the depths of the Texas blues tradition with the wit of a poet. She hits the stage with unmatched presence, a true legend in her time. For more than twenty years this multi-instrumentalist has been a leading force on the Austin blues scene and a major draw at festivals and venues across the country, with a handful of first-rate recordings and several appearances on Austin City Limits.

Wonderland will be bringing her rocking band back to Portland for another sure-to-be thrilling night at the Alberta Rose Theater, 3000 NE Alberta Street, for a 8:00 pm show on Tuesday, February 10th. All ages are welcome, minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Tickets may be purchased through www.albertarosetheatre.com for $16.00 general admission in advance or $18.00 day of show.

It Was Party Time On New Year’s Eve At Duff’s Garage!

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By Kat Rose

The Strange Tones were excited to play the first New Year’s Eve at the new Duff’s Garage, located at 2530 NE 82nd.

The band has developed a marriage of blues, surf and Rockabilly that they have coined “Crime-A-Billy” to describe their own distinguishable, unique sound.

This band is the complete package with Guitar Julie (vocals and guitar), Andy Strange (bass, guitar, and harmonica), Suburban Slim (vocals, guitar), backed by Andy Gauthier’s energetic drumbeat.

NYEJulie’s lyrical style vocals and steaming guitar are well teamed with Andy’s backbeat on bass. He also plays harmonica on the original tunes “Wigglin’ Fool” and “Runaway Dog”. Andy Gauthier’s precision drumming and Suburban Slim’s fierce guitar and vocals on songs like ”Strollin’ With You” and “Kathryn Style” add to the band’s versatility.

Due to a recent bicycle accident, Andy was relieved on some songs by Whit Draper. Whit was a member of the original band and performed on their first CD Stink Bomb!.

The Strange Tones performed songs from their latest CD At Home With The Strange Tones as well as some old favorites from their previous CDs We’re On Our Way, Crime-A-Billy, and Stink Bomb!.

The band’s live energy was reciprocated by whooping and hollering and a packed dance floor.

I talked with Julie after the show and she exclaimed, “What a perfect way to ring in the new year with all our Strange Tones family and friends. We have such a long history with Duff’s, so it was great playing in their new room. And having Strange Tones alum Whit Draper sit in made it extra special!”

Bottleneck Blues Band

Twenty First Century Blues
Self Produced

If you prefer your blues straight ahead with no frills, played the way it should be, then the Bottleneck Blues Band may just be up your alley. The group is made up of four long-time friends who have been enjoying performing for fans and friends for the past four years in local venues such as The Blue Diamond, The Stickman Brewery, The Lehrer and Biddy McGraw’s as well as a few festivals like Hempfest and the Kalama Blues Festival. Led by guitarist/vocalist Noah Bell and keyboard master Seth Zowader, the quartet is completed with the solid rhythm section of drummer Devon Shazier and bassist Dave Cushman.Bottleneck Blues Band - promo photo

Twenty First Century Blues is the first release from the Bottleneck Blues Band and most of the tracks were first take recordings, as stated on their website, which make for a true sampling of the way the band actually sounds live. The delivery is authentic. There is no over-embellishment that you’re likely to find with a lot of newer acts these days, and because there is no over-playing you are treated to a steady pulse that is raw and natural. Everything flows nicely. The sound mixes well throughout with the individual soloist brought to the forefront when appropriate and the solos work exceptionally well as noted on tunes like “Riverboat Blues” with Zowader and Bell trading the lead spots, and also Bell’s slide on “Jack & Jill.” The disc opens with a short Delta styled acoustic run on guitar that leads into a more rockin’ pace with “Life Gets You Down.” The band can certainly display a lot of fresh angles to their blues approach and even give a bit of country taste on the song “Barstool” that features guest Jerry Aasen providing a little extra flair with his harmonica.

Bottleneck Blues Band are the perfect way to spend the night with the blues, whether catching them onstage at a club or by spinning the Twenty First Century Blues CD. The band wanted to pay tribute to the genre’s past and they got it right.

Total Time: 39:32

Where We Come From / Life Gets You Down / Jack & Jill / Say To You / Love Dat Girl / Downtown / Hold Me Down / Social Security Blues / Riverboat Blues / Barstool / You End Up With The Blues