Monday, October 27, 2008

It's Almost November

Not much time left in October. There are less than two shopping months left until Christmas. Here is the activity report for the past month.

"October 7" - Steve Freund hosted the World Famous Blues Jam at the Mojo Lounge. It was a very pleasant and mellow evening that I can't remember at this moment. The only thing I remember is that the music was excellent.

"October 8" -Terry Hanck was the host band at the Redwood City Blues Jam. It was their first Bay Area show in several months. It was great to see the guys. They sounded fantastic. Here is some video:





The Terry Hanck Band



"October 11" -Terry Hanck and his band performed three fantastic sets at the Mojo Lounge. This evening marked the return of Michael "Fly" Brooks. I had a great time jamming with Scott Miller who was in the midst of an Excello Records phase. He sang a couple of Lazy Lester numbers.

"October 14" - Papa Juke was hosting the jam at Ziggie's Saloon in Denver. Ziggie's Saloon is a historic Blues bar. Although, it's recently changed hands, it remains a pretty cool place. I was in the area on a business trip, so I thought I would drop in. Papa Juke was working on their show in preparation for the International Blues Challenge.

"October 15" - The Shuffletones were hosting a new Blues jam at Q's BBQ in Denver. This was a righteous jam. The house band is very tight with some really nice material. They called me up for a couple of sets. It was an excellent time. I'll be back there on future trips. I also met Mike Lynch hanging out. He's an excellent harp player from Seattle.

"October 18" - This show marked the return of King Arthur and the Round Table Rockers. It was their first appearance at the Mojo Lounge in several months.

"October 19" - The Sacramento Heritage Festival sponsored another great show at the Horseman's Club. Elmore James Jr, Eddie C Campbell and Ronnie Baker Brooks w/Joe Louis Walker were playing for a paltry $20. Elmore James Jr and Eddie C Campbell were backed by Cadillac Zack and his fine band from L.A. Those sets had a nice relaxed feel to them which fit in well with a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Elmore James Jr set had a nice Maxwell Street feel to it. Eddie C Campbell played some really nice Magic Sam styled stuff.





Ronnie Baker Brooks and Eddie C Campbell



Ronnie Baker Brooks has a super tight band with some very wonderful material. I had only seen him working with his father or sitting in with other people. He puts on a excellent show. Some of it was a little too "rock blues" for me, but he's one of the few guys that works that genre of music that can play Blues with fire, intensity and most importantly, soul. He mixes it up nicely. Joe Louis Walker did a few songs. He appeared to be under the weather, but he still sounded good. Eddie C Campbell joined them for a tune prior to closing out the day's festivities. It was a fabulous day.

"October 21" - Steve Freund hosted the World Famous Blues Jam at the Mojo Lounge. Jan Hagge came down and added some fabulous Hammond organ work to the house band consisting of Marc Carino and June Core.

"October 25" - Mighty Mike Schermer performed at the Mojo Lounge with an absolutely fabulous band. Mike has worked with a who's who of the West Coast Blues during the past decade or so. He's got some great material which spans almost every American musical genre, except Country. Although, I suspect he could play that too. He was kind enough to let me sit in during the last set.

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