Tuesday night marked the inaugural edition of RJ Mischo's World Famous Blues Jam at the Mojo Lounge. R.J. had returned from his three week tour of Mexico. For a guy that just spent three weeks in the sun, you wouldn't know it by looking at him.
When I first walked in I ran into Kenny "Blue" Ray. He showed me a really cool custom Stratocaster that weighed less than ten pounds. It had an absolutely killer tone and he made it sound great.
The house band for the evening was the fabulous Kenny "Blue" Ray (guitar), magnificent Mike Phillips (bass) and the always amazing June Core (drums). R.J. kicked off the first set with a fine version of the Little Walter classic "Juke" followed by "Everything Gonna Be Alright." After that he played a really cool Sonny Boy Williamson entitled "This Is My Apartment" and couple more instrumentals which really got things moving at a rapid pace. One of them featured him switching between four different harmonicas.
RJ asked Wylie Trass up to sing a few songs. A couple of saxophone players, John Lull from the South City Blues Band and another guy I hadn't seen before joined the band. They played a very nice and intense version of Albert King's "Don't Throw You Love On Me So Strong." Kenny "Blue Ray" displayed some fabulous guitar work that was true to the originals.
Marvin Greene came to the stage. He played and sang a few tunes. I've seen Marvin several times, but had never seen him sing before. He's got a good voice and he picks songs to complement his singing.
Next up, RJ asked Johnny Cat and me to the stage. R.J. sang "Blow Wind Blow," before turning the stage over to Mr. Cat who played a really cool version of Freddy King's "The Stumble." Playing that was a first for me, but it was a lot of fun. R.J. returned to the stage and we did a Sonny Boy Williamson tune.
The band took a short break...
Next up was a fine guitar player & singer named Tre. He displayed very nice tone. He also demonstrated expert knowledge of dynamics. His style reminded me of a young Buddy Guy. RJ brought another guitar player and singer named Lisa to the stage for a couple of tunes.
The band took a short break...
"My memory is starting to get a little fuzzy now."
Next up was a female vocalist from Australia named Armelle. Joining her was Kenny "Blue" Ray on guitar, Ryan Eric on guitar and Artie Chavez on drums. They did several tunes before being replaced Stan Erhart on guitar and vocals, Scott Duncan on guitar and vocals, Scott Miller on bass and the electrifying E-Rock on drums.
The final few tunes grouped Arthur Daugherty of the Swamp Coolers with Don Yonder. After a few swamp-infused tunes, R.J. came to the stage for a few numbers and the evening was in the book and a night to be remembered and cherished as the first of the New Year.
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