Entries by Wendy Schumer

The Fourth Annual Mysti Krewe of Nimbus Mardi Gras Ball – March 1st

Saturday, March 1st, 2014

Bossanova Ballroom

722 East Burnside • Portland, OR 97214

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As the clouds and fog roll over Portland Oregon in the middle of winter, a select group of Louisiana aficionados are dreaming up a hot time for Fat Tuesday in the Rose City.

Mysti Krewe of Nimbus presents the Fourth Annual Portland Mardi Gras Ball at the Bossanova Ballroom on March 1st, 2014.

This year’s theme is “Saints and Sinners”.

Planning for the annual Mardi Gras Ball takes place all year long.  Mysti Krewe of Nimbus – the Portland based New Orleans style …

Third Annual Winter Blues Music Festival To Be Held At The Bob White Theatre – Feb. 22 & 23

“The blues is the roots, the rest is the fruits.” Willie Dixon

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness” Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a gloomy, rainy, winter night about 3 years ago. LeeAnn Gibbons, and some of her friends were sitting together, at one of their favorite venues. The group, in a great mood from the night’s entertainment, found themselves reminiscing about the fun they had had at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival earlier that year. They smiled as they exchanged stories about the performances …

Big Monti ‘Dangling From A Rope’ CD Release Party – Feb 21st

Big Monti Amundson - photo by Greg JohnsonBig Monti Amundson explains in his liner notes for his latest recording, Dangling From A Rope, that over the years he has written a lot of songs. Some that make it to albums and some that are filed away for future reference. “Then one day you’re playing guitar, working on something new and a song just seems to fall out of the sky. Like you had nothing to do with it at all. You realize that song is special and it requires a place to exist.” Monti states that song is the title track from the new album and it …

4th Annual Homegrown Mardi Gras Features Great Local Line-up – March 4th

The fourth annual Homegrown Mardi Gras will be held on Fat Tuesday, March 4th, at the Alberta Rose Theatre (3000 NE Alberta Street) and features four great local (homemade) bands and much more excitement. Music will be provided by The New Iberians Zydeco Blues Band, Lloyd Jones, DK Stewart and The Transcendental Brass Band. Also appearing will be the LoveBombGoGo Marching Society and Lively & Luscious Burlesque Dancers. Beads, King Cake and sundry for all.

This is a 21 & over event. Tickets are available at www.albertroseatheatre.com for $15.00 advance and $20.00 at the door day of show. This is …

B.B. King’s Salem Show Sold Out!

If you had intentions of seeing B.B. King at the Elsinore Theater in Salem on March 1st and you do not have tickets, then you’re probably out of luck. The show has been sold out for a few weeks now, but if you’re really intent on catching the show, there are tickets available throughout second-hand ticket sellers, but expect to spend about 10 times the original price.

But if you have not seen B.B. King before this might still appeal to you. After all, we’re talking about perhaps the single most identifiable name in the history of the blues. …

Ken DeRouchie Band

Muse
Self Produced

This is an album that I had long been anticipating hearing, but for some reason I just kept failing to catch up with Ken DeRouchie to obtain a copy. Now having listened to this over and over, as I just cannot get enough of it, I keep kicking myself and ask myself, “Why did you take so long to pick up this disc”? Muse is without a doubt one of the finest mixture of soul, blues, funk, jazz and R&B material to come down the musical road for some time. It is full of expressive lyrics, finely …

New Music To Note:

A listing of new music received at the CBA office or purchased personally this past month that should be noted:

Al Cook – Mississippi 1930 (Wolf Records)
Frank E. Gee and Jimmy Meunier – Social Moments (Self Produced)
Hard Garden – Blue Yonder (Hard Garden Music)
Harmonica Hinds – I’dGive You Anything If I Could (Wolf Records)
Holfar Blue – You Need Truth (Self Produced)
Justin James Bridges – Long Road To Nowhere (Self Produced)
Justin James Bridges – Medication Recreation (Self Produced)
Ken DeRouchie Band – Muse (Self Produced)
Kivett Bednar – Land Of The Living (Self Produced)
Robbie …

NW Soul! At Jimmy Mak’s – Feb. 28th

On Friday, February 28th, The Linda Hornbuckle Band presents a night of Old School Soul at Jimmy Mak’s, with three of the most dynamic vocalists in the Northwest. Linda Hornbuckle and Andy Stokes are both Oregon Music Hall of Fame members, and Lady A is the queen of Seattle Soul! The band will bring it once again with drummer Lenn Russell and locking up with him the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of funk, bassist Randy Monroe and guitarist Doug Lewis. Your one man horn section features sax giant Renato Caranto and Hammond organ master Louis Pain rounds out the …

Ramblings On My Mind- Jan 2014

ramblings201306BNGreg Johnson / CBA President

As I sit here with less than a week before I head to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge, things seem to be out of place in a way. Why? Because here we are putting the finishing touches on the BluesNotes and normally we would be reporting on the results of the competition. But we’ll have to wait until next month to report that (though you’re more than likely going to hear how things came out long before we even get to this point next month) and you’ll most likely be seeing posts from Memphis …

The Healers

Live At Knuckleheads
Blue Star Connection

This has been a recording that has intrigued me since I first heard of its release nearly a The Healers CD-DVD coveryear ago now. It has been something I have wanted to hear for a long time and finally the longing became unbearable and I broke down and made the purchase on-line. After all, what is not appealing about a live performance featuring luminaries like former Wet Willie frontman Jimmy Hall, former Stevie Ray Vaughan keyboardist Reese Wynans, Trampled Under Foot’s Danielle and Kris Schnebelen, and the double guitar mastery of Kate Moss and Samantha Fish collectively …