Sonny Boy Terry & Michael Durbin at Conroe’s Corner Pub — Image by kenne
I wasn’t doing video on the night Sonny Boy and Michael appeared at the Corner Pub, but I had the camera going when they were at Ken & Mary’s Blues Project, October 28, 2008, with the Moe Hansum Band and Rich Del Grosso.
I love the music of all these guys, especially when they are part of the great jams at Ken & Mary’s house concerts. (See video below.)
We are planning on being in Houston in October when Rich Del Grosso and Jonn Del Toro Richardson will be at Ken & Mary’s. Rich and Jonn have a new CD out and are nominated the Blues Blast Magazine Traditional Blues Recording of the Year. You can vote for them by clicking here. You can learn more about Rich & Jonn, and listen to their music by clicking here.
Rhythm Room All-Stars at the 2010 Bisbee Blues Festival – Image by kenne
Last year, after being in Tucson for a couple of months, we looked for some good live Blues music and found it at the Bisbee Blues Festival. One of the groups at the festival was Bob Corritore and the Rhythm Room All-Stars.
We had planned on attending again this year, but instead, we will be at the 20th Anniversary of the Rhythm Room in Phoenix (Bob Corritore is the owner), which is on the same weekend. There is another reason for our being there — Diunna Greenleaf. Diunna is a super Blues singer from Houston and a dear friend.
The anniversary event will be three days with many great Blues acts. Click here for more information on the occasion.
Full moon rising at the end of the road. The still thick air clings to our sweaty skins, Big drops roll down the curve in my back, We follow the music coming from down the road.
The shadows of others reflected in the moonlight, Drawn by the heavy blues, thicken by the air, More real than ever in the old tin shack, In the Double Bayou Dance Hall’s 61st wind-blown year.
Blues lovers started coming in the 1940’s Creating generations of followers Captured by the feeling of the blues Returning often, or at least on Christmas Day.Â
Now standing badly damaged by hurricane Ike, Surrounded by overgrown weeds and storm debris, Yet inside the house still rocks By the ghost of Pete Mayes and his House Rockers.
(This was written about one of our visits to the Double Bayou Dance Hall, Christmas Day, 2002. Hurricane Ike came through September 13, 2008.)
Image produced by kenne turner from a photo by R.R. RodriguezÂ
This is the most viewed video I have produced with now over 3,500 views. It’s a montage of clips covering several of the songs Carolyn Wonderland performed at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston, a warm June evening, two years ago. It would be great if Carolyn would include Tucson in one of her tours, or Phoenix would be good too!
Leon Russell was in Tucson this last May and sadly, we missed him.
You know a musician is good when he is able to play successfully in any genre: pop, rock, blues, country, bluegrass, standards, gospel, etc. — did I mention that he’s a great songwriter! Russell was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, March 14, 2011.
This past Wednesday, the Doobie Brothers rocked the hot (but comfortable)Â Sonoran Desert night in Tucson, with some of the best American rock ever. This is not your average warmed-over band from the past — they are a fined-tune group that can jam with the best. These guys are willing to work. Believe me, if you can make it to one of their concerts you will be glad you did.
The concert included a few songs from their new CD, World Gone Crazy, but for the most part, it was a night of oldies, the music you hear on “Classic Rock” radio. The new stuff is good, but it sounds like the 70’s. Why come out with new 70’s music? It’s still old and has to compete with the old Doobies we love.
The Doobie Brothers could not get arrested with their new album. But they just did a CMT Crossroads with Luke Bryan and blew him off the stage, Tom Johnston can still sing! (http://bit.ly/iAKfFH) CMT works because the audience still believes in it. MTV airs no music and VH1 makes you look like a tool, stay away. Like Tom Johnston, you want to show you’ve still got it, you want to remind people how great you were…and still are. — Lefsetz Letter
The following video is a series of clips from the concert designed to give the viewer a feel for the personal view of our experience for classic Doobies in 2011. Remember, great music has no boundaries! Enjoy!
Any talk of The Blues being dead needs to check out the scene down in Houston. Live Blues music in Houston has been the star of Texas for some time and now with the help of the Houston Blues Society and the continued support of KPFT Blues programmers, healthier than ever. Â . . . more at Houston Press.
The Houston Press article doesn’t mentioned it, but I would suggest the that growth of social media is playing a big role in the live music market in Houston. One of my most viewed videos is that of Sonny Boy Terry IBC @ Dan Electro’s, October, 2009. (1,200 views)
Although the Coronado National Forest is closed because of the extremely dry conditions, the Catalina Highway to Summerhaven remains open. For the time being, the Sunday Music Series will continue to take place as scheduled. This past weekend, the Tucson based, Bad News Blues Band performed.
The music and cool mountain air (72 degrees) made for a very enjoyable afternoon. When we returned to the Catalina Foothills, the temperature was 101 — nice contrast!
Sonny Boy Terry, Rich DelGrosso & The Moe Hansum Band, October 2008 @ Ken & Mary’s Blues Project House Concert — Images by kenne
One of the best house concerts anywhere, Ken & Mary’s Blues Project, will be celebrating its 19th year with special guests Jonn Del Toro Richardson and Rich DelGrosso, October 15, 2011. As pictured above, Rich has made many appearances since moving to Houston, but from my recollection, this will be Houstonian Jonn Del Toro Richardson’s first time at the Blues Project. If I’m wrong on that, I’m sure Ken & Mary will let me know — what I do know is this will be their first time together in the woods of east Montgomery County.
Joy and I have been privilege to see Jonn and Rich perform many times, with many of Houston’s best blues musicians. Because of the following each of these guys have in their own right, this should be the biggest Ken & Mary’s Blues Project ever — get ready to camp out! You can get more information on this fall event and get on Ken & Mary’s email list by emailing to marken3@earthlink.net
Now that we have move to Tucson, the thing I try to do is keep some of my blues folks, because they are a part of who I am, or want to be, or might have been; people who came my way, by accident or incident, and got me going, kept me going — oh yes,caused me to now cross new readers paths. So, I keep an eye on all my traveling companions and do well to dream of down the road, since someone might show up who brings a fresh breath of air and makes our trip a bit more exciting. Sometimes we need to knock the tiredness out, letting some new energy in as we continue down the road.
The people who have passed through Ken & Mary’s Blues Project are a validation of keeping an eye on one’s traveling companions so we are able to meet at the crossroads where with our imagination, like viewing an Edward Hopper canvass through which we see life’s affection and frustration and occasionally, subservience.
Whether a blues musician or not, we are all singing about life’s passersby. Some are blessed with the skills to interpret the experience better than others, even so, “. . . my righthand itches” — see you on down the road.
The Blues is all about life’s joys and heartaches. Even though The Blues has its own genre, many in fact. But, to categorise The Blues is to defy its basic meaning, that of expressing the struggle to be reborn, to save one’s soul — “the optative mood.” Such can be said of most music genres, so I will leave the music genre definitions to Wikipedia.
However, in today’s world of “downsizing,” The Recording Academy has reduced, some would say “gutted” the Grammy Award categories from 109 to 78. Since the number is somewhat arbitrary to begin with, some might say, “big deal!” It is a big deal among those of us interested in keeping The Blues alive. For years, only two awards for excellence in the blues were offered — “Best Traditional Blues Album” and “Best Contemporary Blues Album“. But, beginning in 2012 there will only be one award, for “Best Blues Album.” Of course, The Blues is not alone, much of Americana music genres in general has been cut to one or eliminated. This is all being done to help keep the “out of date” big recording companies, in the traditional recording industry, alive. What we need to do is work at keeping the people’s music alive, not the recording industry’s music. “POWER TO THE PEOPLE!”
We were able to attend some of this weekend’s 26th Annual Tucson Folk Festival yesterday. This year’s event is featuring Tony Furtado and the Kevin Pakulis Band, an encore performance by 2010 headliner John Coinman and over 100 local, regional and national acts. The Festival is free to the public through the generous support of numerous sponsors and the hard work of more than 100 volunteers.
Sonny Boy Terry & Michael Durbin at Conroe’s Corner Pub — Image by kenne
The Blues is all about life’s joys and heartaches. Even though The Blues has its own genre, many in fact. But, to categorise The Blues is to defy its basic meaning, that of expressing the struggle to be reborn, to save one’s soul — “the optative mood.” Such can be said of most music genres, so I will leave the music genre definitions to Wikipedia.
However, in today’s world of “downsizing,” The Recording Academy has reduced, some would say “gutted” the Grammy Award categories from 109 to 78. Since the number is somewhat arbitrary to begin with, some might say, “big deal!” It is a big deal among those of us interested in keeping The Blues alive. For years, only two awards for excellence in the blues were offered — “Best Traditional Blues Album” and “Best Contemporary Blues Album“. But, beginning in 2012 there will only be one award, for “Best Blues Album.” Of course, The Blues is not alone, much of Americana music genres in general has been cut to one or eliminated. This is all being done to help keep the “out of date” big recording companies, in the traditional recording industry, alive. What we need to do is work at keeping the people’s music alive, not the recording industry’s music. “POWER TO THE PEOPLE!”
kenne
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