Damn! It's the end of August already! Time sure does fly by when you are having fun. I've been having fun, but it's also been a month filled with some sadness.
This month, Phil Guy and Little Arthur Duncan passed away. It's a pretty significant loss to the scene there. Both of those guys had been actively playing for well over 30 years. Little Arthur was one of the last harp players around with ties to the mid 50's scene.
Locally, drummer and guitar player Robert Leroy Jones (aka Lenord Silva) passed away on the 21st. He had been very active in the Bay Area music scene since the 1970's. He was a rock solid drummer and a really nice guy.
Now onto some more of the fun stuff.
"August 2nd" - Musically, the month started off pretty darn nice. I caught JT Ross, the Harmonica Boss at the Poor House Bistro. He was performing with Johnny Cat, Tim Wagar and Butch Cousins. He put on a helluva show. His sound is very reminiscent of William Clarke and George "Harmonica" Smith. He let me sit in on a couple of numbers. Here is a version of the Hound Dog Taylor classic, Give Me Back My Wig.
"August 5th" - I dropped into the World Famous Mojo Lounge Blues Jam hosted by Steve Freund. As always, this is a great jam with some very good players and it's hosted by one of the best Blues guitar players around. It was a blast playing with Steve Freund. I've got some videos of this to be added to youtube at some point.
"August 6th" - I was working in Menlo Park, so I decided to drop into the Redwood City Blues Jam and catch the opening set by the South City Blues Band. I signed up and played a couple of tunes with Russell Barber and Amy Lou. It's always fun jamming with them.
"August 9th" - I caught a very nice show by Kenny "Blue" Ray at the Mojo Lounge. Joining Kenny were Don Yonder, East Bay Wes, Eddie B, Aki Kumar and Artie Chavez. Kenny called me up to sit in during the final set.
"August 12th" - Mojo Lounge Blues Jam hosted by Kenny "Blue" Ray. Good times, good times. If I remember correctly, I played with Kenny "Blue" Ray, Eddie B and Norm Decarlo.
"August 15th" - Caught a killer show by Steve Freund and Charles Wheal at Cafe Van Kleef in Oakland. This was absolutely fantastic at one of the cooler venues in the Bay Area. Joining them was Steve Wolf and Robi Bean. It was an excellent show! I'm going back to this place!
"August 16th" - The very next day, I went to the Poor House Bistro and saw Jan Fanucchi & Friends. Her friends were Steve Freund, Walter Jebe, Burton Winn & Robi Bean. It was a good show.
"August 22th" - Started out the evening by dropping into the Poor House Bistro with the family. We had a nice dinner and saw an excellent set by Mighty Mike Schermer. We dropped off the kids and caught another fine show by Steve Freund & Jan Fanucchi at the Mojo Lounge.
"August 5th" - I played a fun show with Don Yonders and Eat Bay Wes at Babe's Place in Livermore. It's a pretty fun place to hang out and a great place to people watch.
"August 26th" - Jimmy Dewrance hosted the Mojo Lounge Blues Jam. It was a crazy night and everyone in attendance had a good time.
"August 29th" - I dropped into the Poor House Bistro to see Swingshift. They are a rock solid band featuring some of the Bay Area's best players. I sat in on a couple of tunes and had a blast. Afterward, I headed to Murphy's Law and saw Gary Smith blowing some fine harp. He was joined by one of my favorite guitar players in the area, Little Jonny Lawton. Charlie Musselwhite band members, Mike Phillips and June Core rounded out a World Class rhythm section.
"August 30th" - I went back to the Poor House Bistro to see John Nemeth. The place was packed with private parties. There was no place to hang out and see the band. We hung out for a bit hoping that a table would clear out, but it never happened. It was great to see John, Bob Welsh, Marty Dotson and Kedar Roy.
It rounded out a really great month of August!
