I was glad to get back to the Tranzac to see my old friend Michael Jerome Browne. The Tranzac is a pretty unique venue that's been going for a long time, and Michael reminded me that he had come to play with me there back in the 90s. I realize the Tranzac was the first place I ever hosted a "jam." There were no jams in Quebec – at least not the parts where I lived. But when I got to Toronto somehow I ended up with this residency at the Tranzac – every Thursday was blues night with Brian + a guest – and I invited all the blues guys (and gals) that I was meeting in my role as editor of the MapleBlues mag. So it was a who's who. We would just swap songs and play with each other – jamming! – and I think both me and my guest got $50.
Back to MJB, I often describe him as the person who "saved" my second CD, "Overqualified." That CD was "in the can" (as they say). Producer David Baxter had signed off but I was not sure about two or three of the songs. The label, Northern Blues, was able to get 8k out of Factor (I was never able to get a penny when I applied on my own) and I decided I wanted to get MJB to help me lay down a couple more songs. We went into Montreal's Fast Forward studio with the dearly departed Rob Heaney at the board and cut 5 tracks that filled out the album quite nicely, I thought. Thanks MJB
....and what a great night of music. I thought it might be more old-time than blues and I said as much to Michael before the show but at the end I was thinking that was plenty blues. But when I first walked in and saw three gourd banjos on stage, I was expecting less blues. I had just googled his opener, Teilhard Frost, half of Sheesham and Lotus (not sure what half), and what a great musician and showman. That last tune, "Fixin to die" in my little compilation video brought back memories of sitting under a big ol' oak tree on Toronto Island and jamming with Bukka White. I was with Allan Fraser and we can't agree if we joined him or he joined us but had a little jam and storytime under this tree – and I just realized that "Fixin to Die" is what we played – or something very much like it. Then again, a lot of Bukka's songs sound like that…"
https://www.facebook.com/brianblain.home/videos/642770231314334