YOU CAN HELP CASCADE BLUES ASSOCIATION EARN DONATIONS

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 Fred Meyer

 

 YOU CAN HELP CASCADE BLUES ASSOCIATION EARN DONATIONS
JUST BY SHOPPING WITH YOUR FRED MEYER REWARDS CARD!

Fred Meyer is donating $2.5 million per year to non-profits in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, based on where their customers tell them to give. Here’s how the program works:

  • Sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to Cascade Blues Association at fredmeyer.com/communityrewards. You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number 84376.
  • Then, every time you shop and use your Rewards Card, you are helping the CBA earn a donation!
  • You still earn your Rewards Points, Fuel Points, and Rebates, just as you do today.
  • If you do not have a Rewards Card, they are available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store.
  • For more information, please visit fredmeyer.com/communityrewards.

What’s on Tap for June’s General Membership Meeting . . .

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Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St., Portland
Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set – Still Water Vibes
Second Electric Set – Ted Vaughn Blues Band

It’s June already, and summer is about to kick off. It’s the start of festival time and that means there is going to be plethora of great music humming throughout our region. Make sure to start the summer months off correctly and attend the June Cascade Blues Association Membership Meeting. We’re going to have two fun and exciting sets of music that will certainly set the pace.

Nick Wixom Still Water Vibes press photoOpening the night will be an act we normally do not see in an acoustic setting, but, as they always do when playing an electric set, they’re sure to ignite the dance floor. Still Water Vibes, based in the Salem area, is one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in the region.

Blending their soulful sounds with a steady dose of blues influenced from a variety of musical stylings and musicians makes Still Water Vibes unique. Their original music echoes Jonny Lang, Joe Bonamassa, Anthony Gomes, and more, while their own take on cover material are influenced by those artists as well as Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and classic blues artists like Eric Clapton and BB King. Whether you are a true blues connoisseur or a fan of today’s modern music, Still Water Vibes won’t disappoint!

The band is made up of vocalist Nick Wixom, bassist Jarrod Venti, guitar slinger Brandon Logan, drummer Derek Jones and keyboard man Mike Windsor. A finalist in the 2014 Journey To Memphis, Still Water Vibes will be releasing their debut album the week before this meeting, so consider picking up a copy from the band at the meeting and taking it home with you.

The second act for the night also comes from Salem, proving that the Willamette Valley is indeed fertile ground for blues musicians. The Ted Vaughn Blues Band, fronted by harmonica ace and vocalist Ted Vaughn, is a group of blues pros with decades of recording and performing under their belts. They have all individually shared venues and stages with some of the top artists such as John Fogerty, Timothy B. Schmidt, Ted Nugent, Kenny Loggins, and blues icons Doug MacLeod and John Nemeth. The band has played at many of the largest and smallest blues festivals around the country, electrifying audiences.

Ted Vaughn Blues Band - press photoAlong with band leader Ted Vaughn, the band also includes Clay “Bone” King on guitar, Leon Forrest on keys. Ted Larson on bass and John King on drums. As mentioned, each member brings a wealth of experience making this band brimming with talent and is a must see act. As described by All Music Guide regarding the Ted Vaughn Band, “The music is tight, the sound is sharp . . . a blues persona all their own.” And The Corvallis Advocate adds, “Straight up blues rock for those that can’t get enough. These folks are quickly becoming THE Pacific Northwest band to watch.” Come to the CBA membership meeting and find out why!

It’s sure to be an exciting night of fantastic blues music, good friends, and a chance to win concert tickets, CDs, and more just by attending. Be sure you pick up your free drawing ticket as you enter the venue. Or, for a mere $1.00, take a flyer on a ticket to win the multi-CD package put together just for the meeting. Hope to see you all there — it’s the best way to kick off your summer blues activities.

Renegade Blues Series Kicks Off Big Time In May

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May marks the beginning of a bold new musical series at The Lehrer that focuses on introducing the blues to younger audiences by presenting its newer and cutting edge sounds. This is not your traditional I-IV-V or twelve bar progression. This is modern blues done with an attitude. It may embellish the sound with up-to-date musical styles, many that may seem out of place but nonetheless stem directly from the source itself. It may be called roots or Americana at times, or maybe indie and alternative, but it all comes out in the end to be blues and blues-related music.

The brainchild of Brad Lehrer, the owner of The Lehrer, with assistance from promoter/producer Cherie Robbins and Cascade Blues Association President Greg Johnson, the series will happen every Thursday evening with a special once-a-month workshop/performance on the fourth Sunday (please note, the May Sunday performance will take place on the 31 due to the holiday weekend occurring the week before).

This is blues for the next generation, and it’s exciting and refreshing. All things must adapt to change and make a new mark. The blues have done that over and over during the past hundred plus years — because, like anything else, if it doesn’t grow, it’ll fade away.

Thursday, May 7 – Opening the break-out night of Renegade Blues will be southwestern touring band Next 2 The Tracks, an act that originally formed in 2006 in El Paso, Texas. The band is made up of the powerful trio of Christian Talamantes on guitar/vocals, Todd Seelau on drums and Johnny Bang on drums. Influenced by the best of the blues-based rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Guns N Roses or The Black Crowes with a hint of Latino roots. They use no gimmicks or need for hype, just groove, great songwriting and sexy guitar riffs. $5.00 admission.

Thursday, May 14 – Portland’s own The Eric Sugar Larsen Group will bring a little soulful R&B flavoring to their blues mix for the series demanding the urge to fill the dance floor with their tasty grooving sounds. $5.00 admission.

Thursday, May 21 – The Neil Darling Band is a young group with an old soul, with years of experience between them in rock, reggae,funk,soul, blues, gospel, and everything in between. The band’s front man, Neil Darling, is a new Oregonian from Alaska, by way of Austin,Texas, with a heartfelt,unique style reminiscent of Johnny Lang and Stevie Ray Vaughan, with just the right touch of John Mayer. The Neil Darling Band has a sound like no other that will put a smile on your face and a groove in your soul. $5.00 admission.

Thursday, May 28 – The Ty Curtis Band: Those who subscribe to the notion that only age and a lifetime of hardships can produce a blues musician have probably never heard Ty Curtis play guitar, sing, or listened to the powerful lyrics of just one of his songs. Ty, being one of Oregon’s youngest blues musicians, has already released five award winning CDs at the age of 27. Greg Johnson, the president of Cascade Blues Association, could not agree more: “Ty’s lyrics and music show growth and these tunes shouldn’t just appeal to the blues crowd, Ty’s fully capable of crossing over for any audience that is put in front of him.” $10.00 admission.

Sunday, May 31- For the inaugural Renegade Blues Sunday Workshop presentation, The Lehrer is proud to present Joe McMurrian. Recognized as one of the most innovative acoustic guitar and banjo players, and a creative songwriter, McMurrian has twice been recognized by The Blues Foundation in their top five best self-produced CD competition, winning overall in 2012 for the album Get Inside This House and is the leader of the cutting edge blues band Woodbrain. The workshop will involve McMurrian performing songs with question and answers from the audience. Following the performance will be an acoustic jam. Admission $5.00.

Watch for future Renegade Blues shows every Thursday and Sunday workshops in the coming months. Some of the performers already scheduled to appear include: Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band, Land Between The Lakes, Gabriel Cox, and The Soul Commanders.

Has This Been The Year Of Lisa Mann?

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Looking back over this past year, it seems that Portland’s own beloved blues musician Lisa Mann has been marking one

Lisa Mann

Lisa Mann

stellar accomplishment after another following the release of her Move On recording and major touring and festival appearances. The end of the year accolades keep rolling in, so we thought we’d give you a quick run-down on what an amazing year it has been:

  • Move On receives steady action throughout the year in both the Living Blues and Roots Music Charts and international radio play
  • Lisa is a featured story in America Blues Scene online magazine
  • Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band play the Blues Bender Festival in Las Vegas and have been invited back in 2015
  • Move On is selected by the Cascade Blues Association as its representative for The Blues Foundation’s Best Self-Produced CD competition
  • Lisa receives three Muddy Awards for Contemporary Band of the Year, Bass Player, and Northwest Recording of the Year for Move On
  • Lisa is named the Sean Costello Rising Star Award winner by Blues Blast online magazine and she performs at the Awards Ceremony in Champaign, Illinois playing with Andy T and Josh Hoyer
  • Move On is named the Blues Rock Album of the Year by Blues 411 online magazine
  • Lisa receives a nomination by The Blues Foundation for the Blues Music Awards in the category Best Instrumentalist – Bass

Congratulations Lisa! You make Portland and the CBA proud!

(Please note, due to her nomination for the Blues Music Awards, her entry as the CBA’s representative in the Best Self-Produced CD competition has become ineligible. That’s just how the rules are written and we were aware of this possibility in advance.)

Cascade Blues Association’s Red, White and Blues Dance – Feb. 14th

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Keep the date Saturday, February 14th open. Yes, that is Valentine’s Day and traditionally the Cascade Blues Association has held an event over this weekend for more than ten years now. That has not changed, though the name has. No longer the Sweetheart’s Dance, we have renamed the event the Red, White and Blues Dance. Too many people felt that they were not welcome to attend the event in the past if they did not have a sweetheart, and we never wanted that to be the case. So now, it’s a friendlier and welcome name for all.

This year, the Red, White & Blues Dance will be held at The Trails End Saloon in Oregon City. Please watch our website and Facebook pages to learn more about who will be performing at this event and showtime More information will also be available in the February BluesNotes. The Trails End Saloon is located at 1320 Main Street. Admission for this event will remain as always, $10.00 person / $15.00 couples.

Applications Now Being Accepted For 2015 Journey To Memphis

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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 5th and Saturday, June 6th. 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 4th.

Applications to participate in the competition will be accepted now until Wednesday, April 1st 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.

What’s on Tap for January’s General Membership Meeting . . .

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Melody Ballroom – 615 SE Alder St., Portland
Wednesday, January 7th – 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set – Hippie Love Slave featuring Kathryn Grimm
Second Electric Set – The Dan Hess Band

Kathryn Grimm - photo courtesy of Kathryn GrimmAs we ring in 2015, the Cascade Blues Association is looking forward to another fantastic year of helping to bring you the best in blues musicians at our monthly meetings. Each month we will feature two great sets of music, offering artists that you may or may not be familiar with. But we know that you’re going to be entertained by a variety of artists throughout the year, and who knows, if they’re not your favorites or somebody you already know, perhaps they will be soon.

Opening the year’s performances for the CBA will be Hippie Love Slave, an eclectic mix of talent brainstormed by longtime guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Kathryn Grimm. Kathryn escaped from Seattle many years ago and headed off for Los Angeles where she took the city by storm. She performed there playing and writing with such folks as Jeff Buckley, Bo Diddley, the notorious Screamin’ Sirens, and more. She developed a love for the blues which culminated at the time in the 2004 recording Grimm Again, which was picked up by Portland’s Burnside Distribution and also received an honorable mention by NARAS, the Grammy Association. Many bands and years later, Kathryn happily landed in Portland where she says she is “finally at home.”

Kathryn’s dream band has come to fruition in Portland and they will be featured at the January CBA meeting. They include Bill Heston on keyboards, “Fizzle” on bass, and Jimi Hardin on drums. This will be a stripped down take on the band for the acoustic performance, but will still retain their self-described “blues meets psychedilia meets the best parts of 70s rock.”

For the second set of the night, we will present the Dan Hess Band. Dan has played at CBA meetings before with his former group, The Undercover Band. His new group is filled with stellar musicians who have worked with him over the years helping to provide that groove of classic blues and R&B. Dan Hess himself has been performing in Portland for the past fifteen years. The exceptional drummer John Dittmore has worked with Dan in a variety of bands over the past eight years. Tyler McDowell completes the trip as the newest member of the group, having worked with Dan for the past three years.

Dan Hess - photo courtesy of Dan HessJoining the Dan Hess Band for the meeting will be special guest, Dan’s sister Sonny Hess. The Muddy Award winning guitarist and band leader has been steadily bringing some of the finest blues groupings in the Northwest with her NW Women in Rhythm & Blues Shows and her own bands, including the 2013 Muddy Award Best New Act The Vicki Stevens Sonny Hess Band.

Please join us in January and every month at The Melody Ballroom for an exciting night of blues music. Be sure to pick up your free ticket for the prize give-away drawing we will do between sets and if you feel lucky purchase one or several $1.00 tickets for our multi-CD winner take all package. Always a fun way to support the blues in our region each and every month. We’ll see you there.

2014 Holiday Party – Thank You

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By Richard LaChapelle

This year’s Holiday Party, hosted at the Spare Room, and was packed with entertainers, CBA members and guests, celebrating the Christmas season with excellent blues.

A big thank you goes out to The Bridge City Blues Band, The Gabriel Cox Band, Kevin Self & The Torandoes, The Ken DeRouchie Band, and Ellen Whyte, with Albert Reda and Terry Robb, for providing the music that makes Portland a first class blues town all year long.

This would not have happened without our hard working CBA Board Members for organizing this well attended event. Thanks to our generous volunteers–Winnie Richards, Kendall and Cheryl Kalimper, Gary Jaskowiak, Randy Murphy, Sandy Forst, Jody Gunn, Barry Blackwell, Tom Jurhs, Janet Tolman and Cherie Robbins–who know how to have a good time and make it happen.

And finally to the Spare Room for accommodating our CBA holiday crowd, and the friendly and efficient wait staff that took good care of all of us.

CBA Best Self-Produced CD Entry Selected

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In mid-October a group of Board Members gathered at the Cascade Blues Association office to listen to the eight CDs submitted to us forLisaMann-MoveOn-Cover1-275x246 consideration of being selected as our entry in The Blues Foundation’s Best Self-Produced CD competition. Each of the discs were judged on the same categories that they will be scored on by committees in Memphis: blues content, talent – instrumentation & vocals, sound quality, liner notes and art work. The eight entries we received were: Ashbolt Stewart – Beats Workin’, David Pinsky & Phil Newton – Over The Moon, Gabriel Cox –Gabriel Cox, Lisa Mann – Move On, McFadden Planet – Stories, Robbie Laws – Between The Lines, Tess Barr – Do What You Want, Tommy Hogan – Howl Like The Wind. The scoring was very close, but in the end the committee selected Lisa Mann’s – Move On. Copies of Lisa’s disc were sent to Memphis where it will face a series of up to three panels of judging to potentially reach the final five discs, with the overall winning CD being announced at the finals of the International Blues Challenge in The Orpheum Theatre on January 24th.

Intent to Run – Secretary

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This is to express my interest in serving again as Secretary of the Board for the Cascade Blues Association during 2015. During the past year I served in that role, after beginning service as an At-Large member of the Board in July of 2013.  In addition to participating in Board meetings, I have assisted the Association by working at the CBA merchandise tent during the Waterfront Blues Festival; participating in the annual Picnic; working at the rummage sale; and assisting at the Muddy Awards ceremonies.

My background includes a strong record of volunteering, including serving as President of the Promotional Marketing Association of Northern California (2011), President (2006 and 2007) and several other roles for the Northwest Promotional Marketing Association (2003 – 2008); Board Member and Treasurer for the Northwest Collegiate Umpires Association (1996 – 2006); and for two terms as President of the Portland Baseball Umpires Association (1996 and 1997).  I was named the Promotional Products Association International / RAC National Volunteer of the Year in 2012.

I look forward to contributing further and learning more about the CBA and the Blues, and to the opportunity to serve the Association. I will appreciate your voting for me for Secretary.

Respectfully submitted,

Jon Pierce