BILLY BRANCH TOOK US TO “CHURCH”

Billy Branch

It was a Monday night, and some people arrived dressed as if they were going to or coming from church. Anytime I spend in a “Blues Club” is figuratively my church. You see, my church is filled with music and laughter and happiness. There is a certain camaraderie amongst Blues people that transcends religion, race, economic status, or intellectual level. Anyone who goes to Artis’ for the music becomes part of a family, and after all isn’t that what church is - just one big happy family?

When in town on a Monday, “Billy Branch and The Sons Of The Blues Band” call Artis Lounge home, as do various Blues fans. On most Monday nights it is standing room only because on Monday nights Blues royalty hold court there.

I met Billy Branch and Rosa just as they were unloading their car trunk. Billy yelled over something about taking a minute to move his car because he was taking up two parking spots. We exchanged pleasantries and proceeded through the side door. As far as Blues clubs go, the place is not much. But, that does not matter! It is the people and the music, the drinks and the laughter that make Artis’ something special.

At first glance, it just seemed like any other corner bar with which Chicago prides itself. I found a seat located along the back wall and started to peel back the layers of the club. A floor to ceiling front window was decorated with engraved musical notes that seemed to dance with reflective neon lights. Outside this window, a Chicago Transit Authority bus squealed to a stop with a familiar whoosh sound of its air brakes. As the front and back doors swung wide open, out would pop another patron of the Blues.

 Red, blue, and green neon lights reflected off that front plate glass window which reminded me of yesteryear. These lights were located high above the bar and were situated smack dab in the center of the club. Bottles of soon to be consumed liquor glowed white from strategically placed lights under their very own glass shelf.  Recessed multi-colored bulbs hung high above, and their 200 watt shine illuminated those who were sitting at the bar. Above and to the side hung a sign that read, “You must have a drink sitting or standing.”

Ball caps, fedoras, berets, and newspaper boy hats started bopping when the first S.O.B. notes landed on anxious ears. Women started that “slow sway-rocking” from their chrome and black vinyl bar stools. Three piece suits mingled amongst the younger blue jean crowd. The Monday night “services” had begun.

Clarence and Artis have a very hip, a very cool, and a very Blue place. You can call it a lounge, a bar, a club, a tap room, or even a “church,” but I’m just going to call it my “Home Sweet Home, Away from Home.”

Artis Lounge is located at;
1249 East 87th Street
Chicago, Illinois
773-749-0491

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The Chicago Blues Fest received its share of thunderstorms, and yet a reasonably large crowd still attended. Sadly I believe that the festivities days are numbered. The City has reduced its size compared to years past. There were no B.B. King or Buddy Guy type big acts, although Billy Branch, John Primer, Billy Boy Arnold and Lurrie Bell headlined Saturday night. Sunday evening's line-up is sure going to get wet.

I attended Saturday with my good friend Jim and  L V Banks (seen dancing in the opening of this video). The rain forced an early departure of 3:30 PM. Before we departed we got a chance to see Toronzo Cannon, He is an upcoming artist that will soon break nationally. Toronzo is a great artist. He played twice Saturday. Once as the headliner on the Gibson Stage then as a guitar player in the Chris Harper Band. Toronzo can also be seen in the same video with L V.  Toronzo is the southpaw guitar player with the tilted hat. Great job Toronzo.


Sunday I attended with my Blues Mentor Smilin' Bobby. Bobby has played five years in a row at the fest and because of this they would not book him again. He called to see if I wanted to go with to help try to sell some CD's. I did. I was going anyway to pass out flyers for the "All Star Night Of The Blues" Electro Glide Records show   September 11, 2010. Go to their site for more info.

It is amazing the amount of folks that come to the blues fest from all over the United States and the World. As Bobby walked through the crowd fans stopped to say hello. There was a couple from Cincinnati, Ohio that attended because of Smilin Bobby. They were overwhelmed with excitement that they finally got a chance to meet him.  Brits sat at the table with us and we had a couple of good laughs. I like the Brits, my stepmother is one.

The rain stayed away until 4:00 PM and then the skies opened with a torrential, typhoon type downpour. Driving south on Lake shore Drive I glanced towards the festival grounds and observed a sea of Golf Umbrellas . There are at least a handful of die-hard blues fans left. God Bless them one and all.

Love to you all from America's Heartland and of course,
BLUES ME OR LOSE ME
Terry Lape AKA Gatotman

Joliet Blues Man

I was pretty excited when I heard that a new blues club opened up in a far southwest suburb of Chicago. Last Friday night I was treated to one of the best blue shows ever. T-Bird Huck.  I previously hung out at a club that was cool. This one is even better. The manager, Sterling loves the blues and the other place got rid of the number one fan of the blues, Mike.  It is a dimly lit venue that holds just about 100 people. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. I asked Linda, our waitress for some paper to write this article. She came back with a whole legal pad and pen. She is my favorite pirate or should I say wench she was dressed as one of those because it was the Halloween weekend.  I cannot comment on the quality of cocktails served because I only drink non-alcoholic drinks such as cranberry juice. All drinks are $2 each. They should be at least 4 bucks considering the quality of entertainment that plays there every Friday night.  

T-Bird Huck is an often misunderstood Blues Man. He credits Howlin Wolf as his inspiration. The Bird man told me a story about how a friend and he went to HW’s house and knocked on the door. He was about 20 years old at the time.  The Wolf’s wife answered the door and invited the two of them in. He blabbered something about that HW is the greatest and he was his biggest fan. HW’s wife asked them to sit down. She went and disappeared for a minute and in walked Howlin Wolf.  Greetings were exchanged all around and after that first meet they become friends. T-Bird opened up for Howlin Wolf on numerous occasions and considered him a close friend. T-bird eyes watered when he told me about going to Howlin’ Wolf’s funeral. If it had not been for that knock on the door we may not have had this great blues artist.

T-bird picked up his Telecaster, plucked that guitar and strutted across that stage just like I envision that little red rooster he was singing about. Jimmy (keys) Caleca provided an amazing Hammond M 3 counterpoint to T-Bird’s guitar wizardry. (I never thought I would ever write that word “counterpoint” in a blues post.) Ben Smith, Bassman and Kalbo held the rhythm section in very tight.   I swear T-Bird was channeling the wolf during his performance. It was jammed packed with emotion and a bucketful of pain and absolutely the best rendition of “Little Red Rooster” ever. It is amazing the artistry that the Chicago land area has. It happens all the time around this town. I just wish I was able to hear them all, but I got to sleep once and awhile.  

T-Bird is a musician who absorbs guitar licks like a sponge and plays them in an entirely different blues style. He is a musician’s musician.  During his performance of “Boom, Boom” his shadow fell on a blank wall and that shadow looked like a profile of Stevie Ray. John Lee Hooker and all the “Kings” were manipulating his vocal cords.  Muddy had his right hand and T-Bone held his left.  He performed that song with such intensity and fury that it seemed like some of the candles dimmed in reverence to those departed souls.

“My Own Fault” is a song that is played and played and played over and over again. It has been beat to death.   T-Bird’s version was beyond compare. It sizzled. He sang it like it was the last song he would ever sing. The emotion he bought to this song was as if he was pleading for his life in front of the woman he scorned and she is standing over him with a meat cleaver ready to strike. The thing about T-Bird is the songs that are not his, become his as soon as he picks the first note.  He packs 2,000 pounds of creativity in each and every version and presents them to the audience as an audio delight of raw beauty. He is the Picasso of the Blues.

T-bird plays a damn wicked guitar. He also plays a gut wrenching, full throttle, damn the torpedoes type Mississippi saxophone (Harmonica).  Oh almost forgot, he does a great impression of Vito Corleone from “The Godfather” movie.

You can see and hear T-Bird, Jimmy Caleca and Ben Smith, every Friday night at the D’Blue Room. It is located behind the House of Hughes 201East Maple Street (RT 30) New Lenox, Illinois. 1-815-462-9000 Call ahead to find out who is playing Saturdays, there is always a different act. $5 buck cover pays for the band. It is

worth it, every penny. 

"Jimmy's Blues"  Video has Doug "Rifleman" Horan on bass

"If your Rocking I'm Walking!!!"

Terry "Gatorman" Lape

chicagobluesnews@gmail.com

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"BLUES ME OR LOSE ME"

A Friday Night in the Blues Capital

Last Friday night my "hey let's go hear some blues buddy" Jim and I picked up LV Banks and headed to Kingston Mines. http://www.kingstonmines.com/ Magic Slim and the Teardrops were playing in the south room and Joanna Connor was in the north room. They play one room (Magic) for an hour then everyone goes over to the next room for an hour (Joanna). Back and forth it goes until 4am. They start at 9pm. We caught two sets of Magic. I pulled into my driveway at 3am. It was a long Night.

If anyone knows anything about Chicago they know that parking anywhere in Lincoln Park Friday night is nearly impossible. Let me rephrase that, if you want to park in a parking garage for 20 bucks go ahead or park illegally, but be prepared for about $150.00 parking ticket. Recently the city of Chicago sold all the parking meters to a private company. The new company raised the fees. What they forgot to do was increase the size of the coin boxes. The company cannot empty the cash fast enough and the city has issued more tickets than usual. I have friends that live within a ten minute walk of the Mines. Their house is in a very expensive area of the city. In this area of town you cannot touch a property for less than 1.5 mil. Pete and his wife always invite me to visit. My favorite reply is, "Where do I Park?” They solved the problem. Now when I come over they let me park on the apron of their garage. In Chicago almost everyone has an alley and the garages empty into the alleys. parking in that spot saved us money. We piled into a cab that was driven by a guy from Somalia. In Chicago cabs are driven by guys from Somalia. It is a rule. We took a cab because it was raining. Short 5 minute ride 10 bucks. Wild and short just like a tilt-a-whirl.

Kingston Mines has very tight and large security. His name is BJ. I do not know why people connected with the blues use initials instead of names. You know LV, BJ, BB. I told BJ that we were with LV. BJ gave us a free pass. The Mines charges a $15 cover. LV saved us $75. We entered through swinging doors and there it was the infamous Kingston Mines. The place is not much of a show palace. It’s just a bar, bunch of tables and some Mississippi river boat scenes on the walls, but it is the most famous blues club period. Frank the emcee climbed the three steps up to the stage and explained about fire rules, dancing and his dad doc. Doc And LV go way back and have not seen each other for 20 years. Doc started the mines about 200 years ago. I’m just kidding Doc, about 60 years ago. If there was a blues kingdom Doc would be King. He is BLUES royalty. The list of musicians he employed during those past years are as thick as a Chicago Phone book. Name one that's not on the list.

Magic Slim is a very large man at about 6 and 1/2 feet. When Magic saw LV he smiled from ear to ear. LV and Magic gigged together in the mid 60's. LV told me later about a woman they were both involved with. I do not know if that's true or not. Sure sounds like a good blues story.

John McDonald, Magic's guitar player, and my "hey let's go hear some blues buddy” Jim struck up a nice lengthy conversation. John told Jim that the group is on the road for three months and home for two weeks. Then that cycle repeats. That is a grueling schedule. They are a hardworking bunch.

Magic’s band took the stage. I listen to a lot of blues bands and in my opinion can tell from the first four beats if the group has been schooled in the blues. Magic’s band has three college professors and each member holds a Doctorate Degree with a discipline in Bluesology. Magic's band kicked and kicked it hard. They are a force to be reckoned with.

Magic was escorted to the stage. He sat in a bar stool mid stage. Mike, the goups manger, handed him his guitar while Magic settled back. BOOM that “workweek waiting for Friday night” note hit. The blues lovers went nuts. He knocked it out of the park, he shoots he scores (insert here all catch phrases you have ever heard to describe excellence in performance).

Believe me when I say,” Magic is traditional West Side Chicago blues”. He makes the guitar sing as much as he does. I’ll quote Magic and say his favorite catch phrase “I ain’t lying.” He is well worth the cost of admission and is very approachable. He is one of the old school blues men. As we say in the business he is “THE REAL DEAL.”

.Blues Me Or Lose Me,

Terry “Gatorman” Lape

CD "Mark of The Gator"

CHICAGO BLUES: TWIST TURNER

I first met Twist Turner way back in the early eighties. Bobby introduced me to him while we were on break. Twist is a drummer who has played with an extensive list of artists,  including thirty Grammy nominees and an estimated 15 WC Handy award winners.  

Twist grew up in the northwest in particular Seattle, Washington. The blues artist that launched his career was the great Isaac Scott. Isaac passed away in 2001 from complications of Diabetes.

He carried the blues banner for the city of Seattle for many years.

Twist headed for Chicago in 1975. During the late 70’s twist landed a gig With Hubert Sumlin and played with him for almost 10 years. He also played at Theresa’s Lounge steadily for two years with Jr. Wells’ band.  He did a spell with Buddy Guy’s band also during this time period. He jokes that it is easier to name people he has not worked with than the ones he has.

He worked ten years straight six days a week with no holiday pay folks. Twist has paid his blues dues and it shows with his current music.

Twist is currently a songwriter and record producer with a focus on his own music. His music is primarily Rhythm and Blues very reminiscent of Tyrone Davis, Jackie Wilson, but it does not stop there.  He utilizes great horn lines with very nice Hammond B-3 accents.  If you listen close enough you realize that Twist is truly a great songwriter and the years of musical knowledge he has accumulated shows.

I was at an auction about two months ago and purchased about 50 old blues 78’s.  I had to dust off an old stereo set-up that played 78’s.  I hooked it all up and started to go through the records. Those 78’s are from the golden age of blues namely 1948-1953 and there are some great artists Little Walter, Jimmy Reed and the like.  I finished them and decided to pull out the 33 1/3 LP’s next. I looked through the stacks and found “Listen To The Blues”. When I first met Twist he sold that album.  I played it and after wards I called Twist.  He was working on an amp project. We talked a little about Smilin Bobby and I inquired if he’d mind if I did a story about him. He said yes as long as I did not mention the album. He is not happy with it. I’m sorry Twist, but that LP is a time capsule and  a very fine rendition of what was happening in the blues scene. Although it never had much acclaim and never made it to a gold record status, it is worth ten times its weight in that precious metal. Thanks Twist!

You can hear Twist’s music here

 Gatorman     www.zazzle.com/terlap/gifts