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Greetings Blainreaders! Never got around to an August edition, but that's summer for ya. Now we're back in the swing of things kicking off another season of "Second Saturdays" at the Old Mill Home Smith Bar. My very special guest for the Blues Campfire Jam on Saturday, September 14th is the wonderful Ken Whiteley who has done this with me on a couple of occasions. He brings good energy to the Campfire Jam and great (multi)musicianship. Michelle Josef will be at the drums and Patrick Merner on bass. Next month, October 12, my guest will be pianoman Jesse O'Brien who has been one busy bluesician, planet hopping with Colin James, Harrison Kennedy, Tom Wilson and I think a few gigs with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings (and numerous recording sessions, no doubt). And November 9, it will be the indefatigable Lance Anderson sitting at the Yamaha grand. Oh did I mention that my birthday is this week, so come out to the Old Mill on Saturday and raise a glass to my 73 years above ground.
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I'll be playing (probably solo) at the Antikka – a new venue at 960 Queen Street West – just a block away from the Blues Society office. The TBS is now co-producing a series of Blues shows there and calling it "Blues Revival" so I'll be reviving the blues on Thursday, September 19. 8pm start. Check out this cute place. It's a record shop/café/and now music venue. Also on Monday, Sept 16, I'll be joining my friends from Belleville, Peggy Voight and Ken McColm to entertain the folks at the Princess Margaret Cancer Lodge in Toronto.
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August was pretty quiet except for my big show at the Kitchener Blues Festival – that was pretty special. Great production, great hospitality and a terrific audience. Big Time! It went great except for me forgetting to plug in an FX cable, forgetting to give the band their beer tickets and forgetting (though I was told a couple of times) to go to the CD signing table after my set. Apologies to any Blainfans who waited patiently for me but we had so much gear to clear off that stage and my sister who I hadn't seen in ages was waiting to talk to me…and I totally forgot about the most important people in my career, you…the fans! Thanks to the few who bought a CD even after my no-show. Thanks to Kitchener Blues for giving me a shot - hundreds of great blues artists whose careers are mostly ahead of them want to play that festival and they gave this old boy a spot – and I think we put on a couple of great shows for the folks and made some new fans (including my sister!) I've been going to this festival forever but I discovered that when you're playing it, you don't get to see a lot of music. I got to hear this season's buzz act, Lachy Doley from Australia – I've played and recorded a lot with his brother Clayton and they're both organ virtuosos. Rushing to my own gig, I did hear a couple of tunes from Vanessa Collier and was knocked out by her and her band, especially guitarist Laura Chavez.
The next night I was at Sauce on the Danforth sitting in with Paul Reddick and Steve Marriner and when I looked over, there was Lachy Doley again. We had a nice chat. Paul's "signature" is the title of one of his albums, "Ride the One," and it was a special moment when Steve leaned over at the end of one of the tunes and said "ride the one" to signal that I should stay on the same chord. Perfect! Steve is pretty amazing on guitar these days – I'm talking Roy Buchanan/SRV good.
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Speaking of Steve Marriner, he just did a harmonica track for my album and it sounds great. That was the last overdub and now we're mostly mixed and getting ready for mastering. Last night was my first time listening to the (mostly)mixed tracks all together and I'm digging it. I'm sure you will too.
I am working with a young filmmaker to create a video for the Water Song and I guess you could say I'm getting a little political in my old age. This tune is a bit of a departure from my usual lighthearted fare. It's got a message and I'm going to create a video for it. We are forging ahead with the video even though the funding is not entirely in place. One generous Blainbacker has put up enough to get us started but we could sure use a sponsor for the video. If water conservancy is something that concerns you, take a listen to the Water Song and if you or someone you know (person/organization) could help us spread the message about the water crisis across the planet (and close to home, too), we are looking for partners who could help by providing some content (video footage), some opportunities to share the video and of course, some $$$.
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Regular Blainreaders will note that since I registered with Ancestry DNA, I've had cousins coming out of the woodwork and many hints to who might be my birth parents and as more of my new relatives sent in their DNA. The answer came closer and closer until a few days ago I found myself looking at a picture of my birth mother, who regrettably passed away in 2017. What a journey (and still a ways to go) but amazing to learn that she played guitar and always had country music playing on the radio.
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After all the great African music I've heard this summer it was wonderful to top it off with an artist I never heard of but I knew she would be great (because she's from Mali). Her name is Djely Tapa. See video clip below.
Before Djely I heard a bit of the young gal who was a runner-up in the Blues Society's Talent Search - Avery Rakel. All I heard was two ballads in a row but I know she can rock - she's a big talent. She was playing on that round stage and they've made that into a more pleasant space for music. And then I got to hear a set from one of our musical treasures, Kellylee Evans. Not just her artistry but her humanity is so impressive. Maybe she was a little over the top when she thanked, by name, the entire production and programming team and even the driver who picked her up at the airport - but that's the kind of girl she is. Beautiful music from a beautiful human being.
Harbourfront is such a great place to hear music in the summer – though I must say it's the only music destination in this town where I feel obliged to take public transit – parking has become prohibitive. For many years I always had a "spot" somewhere but no more.
I've seen a lot of other great shows, African and otherwise, and last Saturday it was Snarky Puppy, an amazing musical collective. I did a Facebook Live video and you can check it out on my Facebook page. For those who don't use Facebook, I'm going to put together a YouTube playlist of my compilations and I think I will resume the "Blaincast" that I was doing during the CD fundraising campaign. Except now it will be to promote the release of the CD. And how's this for an idea: Each Blaincast will feature a live performance of one of the songs that didn't make it onto the CD!
That's it for now – I'm off to see Sue Foley – and boy has her guitar playing come a long way since I first met her. Maybe I'll have a little video clip for the next Blaincast.
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Djely Tapa at Harbourfront
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Thanks for reading this far. Feel free to forward this to any friend you think might enjoy my occasional ramblings (and maybe my music, too). Every couple of days I get a notification that someone has just subscribed to the Blainletter - I don't recognize any of those emails and I don't know where they're coming from, but a hearty welcome to you. These clips and more are always available on my blog, www.torontobluesdiary.com.
See you out there,
BrianB, aka Butch, Nappy, Shaker, Two-Lane Blain, Colorblind Brian, Stringbuster, Buddha of the Blues
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