Entries by Wendy Schumer

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CBA Rummage Sale Rescheduled to October 15th

Who would have thought it? The entire week prior to the date for this year’s Cascade Blues Association’s annual Rummage Sale the weather had been sunny and comfortably warm, but on the Saturday morning of our rummage sale, the rains came — big time. Our trusty Rummage Sale leaders Cherie Robbins and Rae Gordon, Board Members Greg Johnson, Wendy Schumer, Fred & Joann Morgan, and a handful of volunteers like Deidre DeMier & Al Hooten, Jimmy Wong & his family, and Gary Jaskowiak (on Friday for truck loading), were on hand to set up the sale, pop-up tents and tables …

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The Annual Muddy Awards set for Wednesday, November 2

muddy_awardMark your calendars for Wednesday, November 2 as the Cascade Blues Association’s annual Muddy Awards celebration will return with a fun-filled night of excitement, recognition, and amazing music. It will take place at The Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder Street, upstairs in the main ballroom, beginning at 6:30 pm. Various music celebrities and CBA board members will present awards, as selected by our members, in a number of categories honoring the musical achievement from the past year.

Of course, the Muddy Awards would not be complete without musical entertainment. This year’s event will follow tradition set a few years back …

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

Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder Street, Portland
Wednesday, October 5 – 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set – The Tracey Fordice Band
Second Electric Set – The Beacon Street Titans

As the Cascade Blues Association’s thirtieth anniversary gets nearer, it is often fun to think back on many of the memories that the organization has put together to promote our local musicians. Many of those happen each month with our General Membership Meetings where we have introduced new artists that have since become some of the region’s and nation’s top performers as well as bringing …

Last Chance To Submit Entries For The Best Self-Produced CD Competition

best-cdIf you’re planning to offer your self-produced CD to the Cascade Blues Association for consideration as its entry in The Blues Foundation’s competition, then time is running short — all entries must be received no later than the October 5 General Membership Meeting at The Melody Ballroom. This is to ensure that we have plenty of time to have a committee together to listen and score the entries properly before they’re due in Memphis by the end of the month.

Since 2005, The Blues Foundation has held an annual competition to recognize excellence in independent blues recordings. The Best Self-Produced …

Ramblings On My Mind – October 2016

ramblings201306BNGreg Johnson / CBA President

Well this month’s Rambling column is not so much a rambling from my part, but rather an explanation. Every now and then, people ask just what they receive for their $25.00 membership to the Cascade Blues Association. Well, let me give a few examples here.

First off, your membership card guarantees you free admission to our monthly general membership meetings. Those who are not members are required to pay $3.00 to get in. If you attend every meeting of the year it’d cost you $33.00 — right there you have saved $8.00. I only have …

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Live in ’67 — Volume Two
Forty Below Records
By Randy Murphy

john mayall cd coverLast summer, I reviewed John Mayall’s new album chronicling a series of live dates in various London clubs during the spring of 1967. Now, Mayall and his pals at Forty Below Records have released, on honest-to-goodness vinyl no less, the next volume of these remarkable recordings.

To review how these historical performances came to light: Tom Huissen, a 16-year-old Dutch blues devotee, shadowed Mayall and this particular edition of The Bluesbreakers — Mayall on organ and vocals, John McVie on bass, Peter Green on guitar and vocals, and …

Chase Walker Band

Not Quite Legal
Revved Up Records

chase-walker-band-cd-coverThe Chase Walker Band’s second release, Not Quite Legal, is a great indication that these teen-aged musicians were not just another flash in the pan group of youngsters trying their hand at the blues. They really mean their place in the genre and their rocking it big time with their approach, while showing that they’re still growing as a band, too. It is kind of scary just how good these kids are, as songwriters as well as musicians.

Band leader Chase Walker is already quite an accomplished guitarist. He also has plenty of …

John Blues Boyd

Introducing John Blues Boyd: The Real Deal
Little Village Foundation

john-blues-boyd-cd-coverIf you listen to just one new artist this year, you should direct your attention to John Blues Boyd. At the age of 71 he has released his debut disc with the urging and guidance of the Little Village Foundation.  Boyd claims that he always had a feeling for the blues, but life had to come first, making ends meet to cover his expenses. It wasn’t until his wife of 49 years, Dona Mae, passed away in 2014 after an extended illness, that Boyd was finally able to look into …

Fabrizio Poggi

Texas Blues Voices
Appaloosa Records

fabrizio-poggi-cd-coverTexas has long been fertile ground for outstanding blues musicians. It has carved a tremendous niche in the history of the genre, stretching back to Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Lightnin’ Hopkins. It’s still serving as a birthplace for so many newer artists, too. So it was only natural that Italian bluesman Fabrizio Poggi has held a life-long goal to perform and record with the musicians of the Lone Star State.

Poggi is a Blues Music Award nominated harmonica player, with twenty recordings and four books under his belt. He has collaborated with …

Matthew Skoller

Blues Immigrant
Tongue ‘N Groove Records

matthew-skoller-cd-coverChicago-based harmonica ace Matthew Skoller is back with his fifth release. It’s fitting for a musician who has been laying down some of the sharpest harp music in The Windy City for nearly three decades, working alongside the city’s greats like Junior Wells, Lurrie Bell, John Primer, Koko Taylor, The Kinsey Report, that he has brought many of his best friends with him to create a masterful recording, Blues Immigrant, including guitarists Carlos Johnson and Eddie Taylor Jr. and keyboard professor Johnny Iguana.

Skoller is not afraid to address social issues in his …