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"

REAL BLUES MAN OR NOT?

What is a true Blues man? I will utilize my 35 some odd years of hanging with the real deal Southside, Westside, East side, and North side Chicago Artists to try to answer this question. I have humorously answered this question in the past and will try to seriously answer it here.

Please realize that this is my opinion and mine alone.  I will use the term blues man in a generic way as one would use the word mankind. You can substitute gender where you like.

A blues man can be defined in many different ways and in order to define him we must first identify or examine a definition of blues music.  The “Blues” is a feeling that runs the gambit of all emotions from the happiest to the saddest. A blues artist uses music to communicate the emotional feeling he experiences. Just like any other artist he uses a certain type of media to express these feelings. A blues man in this case uses audio.  

A text book characterization of the blues genre is built around a simple framework of the musical scale that utilizes notes of the key signature.  It is principally played in a 12 bar framework. In the key of C the scale would be as follows; C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. If we number each note starting with the low C as the first note of the scale and the D as the second and so forth, we would play the first (C), the fourth (F) and the Fifth note (G) of the scale. This is not a definitive definition by all means, but rather I offer it as a foundation.  John Lee Hooker made a considerable contribution to the genre and he primarily focused on the one or the root note of the key signature.

There are numerous variations to the above definition. Some examples are illustrated in these songs such as the 9 bar format of “The Mississippi sheiks’”  “Sitting On Top Of the World” and the 16 bar format of Herbie Hancock’s   “Watermelon Man”.

John Lee Hooker’s format is clearly shown with his “Boogie Chillun”. This one song hit the top of the charts in 1948 and influenced songs such as; ZZ Top’s “LaGrange”, and Magic Sam’s “I Feel So Good”.

By the previous examples one would conclude that a blues artist is one who plays or uses the above musical framework. This is not the case.  Rock and Roll (Baby of the blues) uses the I- IV- V twelve bar format throughout its genre. Some Rock And Roll musicians who have been labeled Blues men are in fact not.  They are still Rockers. They primarily focus on rock and occasionally venture into the streets of Bluesdom. 

A Blues Man can be defined as primarily playing, that’s right, the blues. An example of this is B. B. King. I do not believe that he has ever ventured away from the blues and tried to do play rock. Just because Rock and rollers have this desire to play the blues does not make them a blues man. I do not care if you are at the top of the music biz. If you earn your living by playing Rock and Roll you are not a blues man, you are a rocker.  

Think of it this way. I served a five year apprenticeship in woodworking.  My primary job was making complex wooden patterns for the steel casting industry. The training I received in those five years served me well over the years. I learned all phases of woodworking, including cabinetmaking.  I could make cabinets, bookcases, furniture, chairs and the like. I could do a cabinet makers job, but I was a wood patternmaker, not a cabinet maker. If you play Rock and Roll and earn money at it you are not a blues man. 

I discussed the above with my friend and blues mentor Wolf Records recording artist Smilin Bobby. I wanted to get his perspective on this essay.  Bob and I have been hanging out together for over 30 years and he is a real Blues man. I read this article to him and he is in total agreement with it. It has a blues man’s stamp of approval.

Smiling Bobby’s new release on Wolf Records is out October 1.

It is called Big Legged Woman Catalog Number CD 120.821

Here is the news release direct from Wolf Records

Wolf Releases

SMILIN' BOBBY with the  HIDDEN CHARMS - Big Legged Woman

 

CD 120.821

Smilin’ Bobby & Hidden Charms – Big Legged Woman

!!!new!!! His first CD ever!!!

Release date is 1st October.

Smilin’ Bobby always played in small clubs or in corner taverns way out in the suburbs. He is for many blues lovers the favorite unknown bluesman in Chicago. His guitar style is a cross between Magic Slims stinging leads and Magic Sam’s cool little rhythm fills while his great singing doesn’t really sound like anyone else. In 1958 Smilin’ Bobby started to play music in clubs and playing at Maxwell Street Sunday mornings beginning around 1961 or 62. He became a close friend to Magic Sam and used to hang around at his house. Smilin’ Bobby got his nickname around 62 or 63 because he was always grinning so much. He was influenced by Jimmy Reed and Willie Mabon, also Little Milton, Albert Collins and Albert King. His guitar style is not Delta Blues it is much more modern, somewhere in between R’n‘B and Chicago Blues. He is now 69 years old and his son Carlos Showers is another great guitar player who played in Willie Kent’s band the Gents. Nobody knows why Smilin’ Bobby has no CD out until now – but it doesn’t matter. On his Wolf CD you will listen to the best hidden Chicago Blues talent since Vance Kelly. Smilin’ Bobby is very young with his 69 years!

 

"GATORMAN"

copyright 09/30/09 Terrance B. Lape

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Kelly Richie

My week is filled with Music. Previous readers of my posts know what a great time can be had at one particular venue; the “Cool River Draughthouse and Eatery.” I can hear music literally 24/7, but sometimes I just have to cool my jets. Thursday night is one night that I really look forward to. You will always find me hanging at that club. It is a great place not only to play, but to pick up new story ideas. A journalist/musician would have to be pretty stupid not to take advantage of the networking capabilities available in that venue. I have listened to some great artist’s and have made some lifelong friendships there. The owner Mike and I have become close friends and we share info about different acts and venues. I might add that Mike and I are “Blues Fanatics” plain and simple. We have closed a couple of west side clubs these past few months. I shared with him Kelly Richie.

I woke up Saturday morning and checked my Facebook page. I use Facebook to help monitor the music scene and also use it for story ideas. Lately I have been looking at women guitar slingers. Kelly Richie is one such artist. I have been trying to check out her act for a couple of months. Saturday there was a message telling me that she would be performing in Laporte, Indiana. Laporte is 100 miles from my house. Kelly Richie was to perform at 6pm

I packed my notebook, camera, folding deck chair and off I went. An hour and a half later I was there. The fest was held in Fox Memorial park on the shores of I think Fish trap lake. It is truly a beautiful setting. The park has a natural bowl shape that affords everyone a very nice view. The promoter of the fest was SDY Promotions and the main mover and shaker was Shane. I did not get his last name, but he is to be commended for the wonderful job he did putting the fest together. The sound was handled by Audio One* from Laporte (219-561-1169) with Tommy spinning the dials. Shane made a great choose in choosing Tommy and his company. They know what to do and they do it very well. The sound I heard from the audience side was crisp and clean. I extend Kudos to Tommy and Audio One.

Kelly kicked off at the exact time. I sat there pen in hand ready for a great show and it was not great, but rather indescribable. I was stunned. Kelly Richie is in the top ten of not only women guitar slingers, but men slingers as well. Wait a minute make that the top five. Yours truly considers her to be the top guitar slinger I have ever seen or heard period. I’m sure I’ll get comments about that, but hey that’s my opinion.

An attempt to put into words what I saw and heard is futile, because the written word can not accurately describe my experience, but the written word is the only media I have to convey to you what transpired.

I have finally found my guitar hero and it is Kelly. I had seen Stevie Ray Vaughn in a banquet hall prior to his hit record “Pride and Joy”. He was a brand new upcoming guitarist at that time. He was backing up Albert Collins in an eighty seat venue. The feeling I got watching Stevie came back to me watching Kelly. When you see an artist that is destined for stardom you just know. I was awestruck and folks I am pretty jaded when it comes to guitar players’ young or old. With the arrival of the computer age anyone can learn to play guitar, but few of them can ever expect to approach the Guitar wizardry that Kelly does.

Jimmy Hendrix’s version of “Hey Joe”, has been beaten to death by so many artist’s that I personally am tired of it. Kelly you changed my outlook entirely. Your approach was extraordinary. During your performance the audience rushed the stage. Could it be a coincident that the first day of Woodstock took place forty years ago to the day of your performance? I looked up in the sky and saw a cloud formation that looked like Jimmy, strat in hand playing along. He strummed that strat while mouthing the words “You go girl”. I am not saying that Kelly copied the song, but rather far from it, she owned it and happily shared ownership with us. The first thirty seconds set the tracks for the musical train journey. The next ten minutes took yours truly and all those in attendance on a psychedelic ride. Jimmy was the initial conductor, but Kelly was the engineer. She took that song originally first recorded by the Los Angeles group “The Leaves” in 1965 and stood it on its head. I am going on record here when I say Kelly is a Guitar Goddess. The fluidity of her guitar playing was haunting and like a true artist, exquisite. Sometimes magical things happen on stage and this performance was one of those moments.

Kelly’s vocals are very reminiscent of a Cincinnatian. That is not a bad thing, but rather a wonderful one. Her voice is spot on and a true delight to hear. She can sing very sultry in one moment and then in the next blues out right from the gut.

In composing this post I utilized not only her live performance at the blues fest, but also information from her electronic press kit. Her songwriting ability is top notch. I love the John Lee Hooker style opening riff in “My Baby’s Gone Crazy”. “The Longest Yard” is pure artistry at its best. It is a haunting instrumental that reminds me of some of the great instrumental songs that precede hers. Kelly almost bought me to tears with this song. I will not try to pigeon hole it comparing it to a song that has been performed before. It is way beyond that. “Tears Like Rain” is an example of the blues on steroids. Kelly plays the blues like some of the great sixties super rock groups. You know the ones that had the private jets and the backstage extravagant buffets that almost bankrupted the music industry. Her vocals on “Tears Like Rain” are extremely bluesy and her guitar, utilizing octaves, is thrilling. The sound she achieves with that Stratocaster and deluxe reverb amp is truly amazing. Her lead guitar riffs are mind-blowing and awe-inspiring. I had a bottle of water in hand and just as I was trying to take a sip she broke out into a lead solo that dropped my jaw. I could not take a drink, because I was totally focused on her.

Her band includes Jimmy V on bass and Bryan Meyers on Drums. They are great sidemen who throw it down and play in the pocket. They are a solid foundation for Kelly’s virtuosity. They have just enough flash that the audience knows they are there, but they do not steal the spotlight like so many others try to. Kelly and her group complement each other and that is the way it should be. Jimmy on bass is a well seasoned bass man that has been with Kelly for four years. Bryan is the newest member of the troupe having only been with her for four months. You wouldn’t know it given the way he holds the groove. They are both outstanding musicians in their own right. I have always said that the whole sound starts with the kick drum and Byran knows how to kick it.

Kelly has broken or may I say tore down the gender wall of guitar players. She ended her performance by flashing the peace sign. Pretty cool considering that she is the “Warrior Princess of the blues.”

Look out Buddy and Eric there is a new kid on the block and she is kicking butt and taking names.

I will be back at Kelly’s performance again and again and again. I think I’m turning into a groupie. Oh what the H—E-- double hockey sticks for Kelly, I am one. After this performance I stopped in at The Cool River Club and told Mike all about it.

One closing thought, an artist that knows where the zone is, and realizes that the path to greatness has to happen in that zone will go right to the top. Kelly owns the zone.

BLUES ME OR LOSE ME,

Terrance "Gatorman" Lape

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Laurie Morvan

The "Freinds of the blues" main man James Walker sent an email inviting me to see Laurie Morvan at the Kankakee Elks club. She was touring in the area and FOB had caught her on a rest over night. I must admit that I was pretty tired and debated whether or not to attend. I had contacted her camp in the past, but sadly I had forgotten she was coming. I checked her website and was intrigued by her story.

Laurie is an Illinoisan that now makes her home just outside of Long Beach. She moved to California to work in the aerospace industry. She has an Electrical Engineering degree and utilized it for three years. She told me that she teaches at the College level in Long Beach. She also confided in me that the teaching job helps her with tour costs.
She invited me to a one on one sit down while she restrung (Ernie Ball.10) her re-issue 1956 Stratocaster. She is a wonderful individual to talk to and would certainly become a close friend if circumstances were different. We talked about schools she attended, Guitars and role models. I was very excited about her performance as I choose a table in back.

The people started to file in one by one and the one-hundred seat banquet room filled up quite quickly. I had chosen a table of ten and I was the only one there until Jack and Jean Miller joined me. Jack, Jean and I started to talk and it turns out we both had visited Singapore, small world. Sister Ellen Thomas sat down and introduced herself. She was not dressed as a nun so I immediately though along the terms of the slang hip style of talking brother and sister. Not the case, she actually was a Nun. I had to watch my mouth after that. It seems that Laurie's whole family was in attendance. When they found out who I was, man oh man did I get an earful. I was introduced to Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, Cousins, her Mother and Step father and on and on and on. I jokingly started a family tree with my notebook. It was a family reunion. I might add that Laurie's Mother was just as nice as she was.

Laurie took the stage and exploded into song. Her guitar work is extraordinary and her vocals, along with her backing Vocalist Lisa Grubbs, were beautifully done. Their combined vocals were song with a take no prisoners attitude. Very strong and definitive.

Laurie talked to her audience frequently. I like when an artist communicates stories about how a song was written. "Skinny Women Chicks" was written as a response to those old time blues men who beat the song "Big Legged Woman" to death.
"Kicking Down Doors" was one of my favorites.
Laurie Morvan is an unstoppable blues artist and I will see her again I'm sure. I was told that Lisa also plays bass. I got her number.

Terry "Gatorman" Lape

PS. Writing for a blues blog is "Not just a job it's an adventure".















Lisa Grubbs, Gatorman, Laurie Morvan