Blainletter for March 2008

Greetings faithful Blainletter readers and new subscribers (I¹ve been trying
to update the list and I may have subscribed a couple of folks who didn¹t
specifically askŠ.please excuse me if I did and I will unsubscribe you).
Even though I'm plugging a gig TOMORROW NIGHT (THURS), I'm glad I waited a
few days to send this out because I received lots of good news today: I got
confirmed for two festival gigsŠthree if you count this one:

Monday April 7
2 shows 4:30 PM and 8:00 PM
Galaxy Theatres, Orangeville, Ontario
Film Presentation of ³The Honeydripper² starring Danny Glover . it will
feature a live blues performance in the theatre by Colorblind Brian Blain.
a co-presentation of Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival and Monday Night At
The Movies

I did get the guitar out of the case today and ran over some tunes for my
gig tomorrow night in Thorold.

TOMORROW Thurs Mar 20 EARLY START: 8-12pm
Moose and Goose
54 Front Street Thorold 905-227-6569
Jack de Keyzer w/Brian Blain opening

Yes, I¹m opening for Jack De Keyzer and this gig is also for a festival -
it's the folks who do the Canal Bank Shuffle every October. For two years
I've had to decline their invitation to play the festival because that was
my time in Europe (hopefully this fall, too). So this will give me a little
taste of the canal bank vibe...

It'll be great seeing Jack. He never gives a bad show. I¹ve shared a
festival stage or two with him but never an opening set per se. I¹ve opted
to keep it ³peppy² ­ which means the Thoroldites (Thoroldians?) won¹t get to
hear some of my brand new soft and sensitive material like The Whaler¹s
Confession and Last Time I saw Lenny (but now anyone hear them by going to
YouTube.com and searching for ³Brian Blain² (I¹ve also got the same video
clips on www.MySpace.com/brianblain <http://www.MySpace.com/brianblain> ).
Tonight I just dug up a clip from a gig at The Silver Dollar a few years
back with the dearly departed Rod Phillips (Blues Is Hurting) and I will
load that up too. Pat Carey rips it up on the sax.

It¹s been a couple of weeks since the passing of Jeff Healey but the town is
still reeling from his loss. I heard beautiful tributes on the radio from
Colin Bray and Danny Marks and Jazz-FM has been re-running his old shows.
They just played a show I heard when it was first broadcast and it¹s
interesting to note that the only conversation I ever had with Jeff, besides
standing outside the Reservoir Lounge, was shortly after this show was
originally broadcast. I was at his club (I suppose he had just finished
playing a blistering setŠand the rest of his band would always rise to the
occasion). He was standing at the bar on a break and I went up and said how
much I enjoyed his radio show and asked about a piano player he had
featuredŠI couldn¹t remember the name, but he said right away ³That was
Herman Chitteson, he wasn¹t very well known in America because he worked
mostly in EuropeŠ² and proceeded to wax on enthusiastically with all kinds
of minutia about this obscure musician and you could tell he was so pleased
that he had been able to introduce someone new to this great unknown piano
player.² I was just listening to Jeff playing two recordings of Mae West
with the Dorsey Brothers (and finding out that she only did 3 recoding
sessions in her career!). On Danny Marks¹ show he played an old interview
with Jeff and a sneak preview of Jeff¹s new CD, coming out at the end of the
month.

May 3 & 4 there will be two special evenings for Healey fans to come
together and pay their respect. As has been repeated many times by different
friends and colleagues, ³Jeff was all about the music.² I only wish I¹d had
a chance to play with him once ­ probably could have if I was a little more
pro-active and came out to those jam sessions once in a while. I did play
with many of his bandmates though, Al Webster, Alec Fraser (who recorded my
first CD) and the wonderful fiddle player Drew Jurecka. My sympathy goes out
to those fellows and all who were close to Jeff. At the end of the re-run,
I hear Jeff saying ³we¹re going out on a high note as we like to do² Well
did he ever! I don¹t know if it was on purpose but there was almost five
minutes of dead air after Ross Porter¹s outro. A very deep silence, indeed.)

Speaking of being pro-active, I was starting to beat myself up because I
didn¹t apply to any summer festivals until this week and of course I¹ve
missed most of the deadlines. Needless to say, if you, dear reader, are
producing a festival this summer and and haven¹t quite filled your quota of
old Canadian bluesmenŠlet me direct you to my space
http://www.myspace.com/brianblain where I just loaded up some video clips of
me with band and solo. The solo tunes are all brand new (some not quite
finished) but we got these video clips from my set at Winterfolk at the
beginning of the month. One song is about Lenny Breau, ³Another Song About
Alice² is about Alice Brock (Alice¹s Restaurant) and there¹s my tribute to
the musicians of New Orleans (³Forgotten²) and a song about whaling (³The
Whaler¹s Confession²). Some years I¹ve made a big effort to get gigs and
other years I¹ve done nothing and it seems that either way, I end up playing
3 or 4 festivals. Anyway, it¹s always nicer to get invited than to go
groveling for a gig.

Out and About: As usual, I enjoy listening to music almost as much as
playing it and therein lies the reason that my career is not skyrocketing.
I¹m spending most of my time boppin around town hearing all kinds of
incredible music. Even though I¹m usually on the guest list, I¹d be broke if
I was a drinking man (hey, I am broke!). There¹s just too much good music in
this town. The other night I heard Charlie Hunter the renown 7-string
guitarist. This time he was playing for a young crowd and it was real loud
(but clear and loud - beautiful guitar sound). It's like listening to Robben
Ford or John Scofield in a bluesy mood except Charlie is producing the
thundering bass part with his thumb on that low B string.

After a stop-over at Thymeless where my son Joel (aka DJ C.O.I.) was
spinning I caught the last set at the Crazy Strings Wednesday at the Silver
Dollar. I thought I would be seeing a "skeleton staff" with Folk Alliance
Conference starting that day but they were all there in full force. I didn't
even count how many people on stage but there were lots - twin fiddles and a
great vocalist (Kristin, Christine?) I've always said that bluegrass is one
genre where you can't fake it. If you haven't been playing (or especially
singing) it all your life, it¹s so obvious. Well these guys are now old
enough to have been playing it "most" of their lives and it sounds pretty
official to me.

The next day I decided I¹d like to see Buckwheat Zydeco at the Horseshoe,
but didn¹t get in motion till late in the evening and all I heard was the
last couple of songs. In the old days, Buckwheat would have come back for a
half-hour encore but he¹s not a young man anymore and I heard he had
actually left the bandstand at one point and left the band to play a few
tunes on their own. On the week-end I saw two powerhouse guitarists - Johnny
V from Alberta and Big Gilson from Brazil.

On Saturday I took in three shows,,,first Laura Hubert and band at the Rex
(she had two great horn players, Chris Gale and Bobby BroughŠbut where was
the baritone?), then to the Silver Dollar to hear a touring outfit called
Big James and the Chicago Playboys (a blues funk outfit fronted by a
trombone player ­ he had played with many great blues stars and is now out
doing his own thing). Then to finish off the night I dropped in to a
neighbourhood bar where Michelle Josef was playing with David Wildsmith
doing a lot of cover material and packing the dance floor. David¹s
girlfriend Sarah works for Jeff Healey and she spent the whole time checking
her phone for an update on Jeff. Regretfully, the next day her worst fears
were realized.

I probably heard a dozen different bands during Canadian Music Week and
maybe I¹m getting old but they all sounded the same. They all had this
two-guitar thing with one guitar playing a repetitive riff high on the neck
so that it sounded sort of like a synthesizer. Roman Carter & Tom Rothrock
were the real dealŠnever mind three-chord blues. This was one-chord blues -
but Roman pulled it off. The film he premiered featured a whole bunch of
blues old-timersŠPrecious Bryant was the only name I recognized. Turns out
five of them had passed on by the time the film was finished. It¹s called
³Songs From The Soul².

Son Roberts Band and Steve Strongman made the best of a bad situation when
he was told he couldn¹t play ­ that the schedule had changed. He did manage
to hit the stage for a fiery fifteen-minute set and he did great. After
Steve, Son Roberts and the boys played. It did not have the intensity of
Steve but they take the blues to a different place.

This weekend I did an end-run across town and saw Roxanne Potvin at Hugh¹s
Room then Garret Mason at the Silver Dollar. Roxanne had Christine Bougie
playing guitar for her and Christine did a fine job but I know for a fact
that Roxanne can pull off a great solo and I couldn¹t figure why we had to
wait till the end of the show before she showed off some of her blues
soloing. Garrett Mason was quite the contrary ­ tearing it up with his
3-piece unit. Very Solid. I told him I had seen anybody using those big
Fender Showman amps since Johnny Winter in the 70s. He had this pedal that
made a real underwater warbling sound. I loved it.

Did u know? As I observed Conrad Black going to jail today, I had to say to
myself ³there but for fortune go IŠ² His publishing empire got a little
bigger than my non-profit desktop-publishing ³empire² but it¹s interesting
that we both got our start in publishing at the same place, The Sherbrooke
Daily Record. It was the first paper he owned and the first one I worked for
(actually John Bassett owned it when I started at the Record).

Today I was at the funeral of a fine gentleman who was probably my oldest
fan. Fred Houston was 92 years old. Five years ago he was celebrating his
60th wedding anniversary and I wrote them a tune called ³Together Sixty
Years²Šand they made it to sixty-five. Imagine being with the same partner
for sixty-five yearsŠ(hmmm, that could go either way, I guess). One time he
came up to me and said ³Brian you really make that guitar talk². I never
received a finer compliment.

Winterfolk and more

Finished off a hectic week-end by sitting in my son's room watching the
Grammys (it's the only TV in the house). I didn't see all of it but I
thought it was a great musical presentation...even Amy Winehouse! And I for
one was glad to discover Alicia Keys, even though Bob Lefsetz seems to think
she's a flash in the pan. And how about that Herbie Hancock - getting Album
of the Year! How often does that happen? (well, I think Herbie said it -
more than 40 years since a jazz album won Album of the Year).

Before my TV break, I heard lots of great guitar players today. Working my
way backwards, there was a beautiful set by Michael Jerome Brown, playing
his acoustic twelve string with a heavy tremolo - which I just learned is
referred to as a "wiggler" (wiggle?) by Colin Linden. Before MJB, I dropped
in briefly at another Winterfolk venue where Wendell Ferguson and Steve
Briggs were having a "duel of the flatpickers" Amazing players! More on my
own Winterforlk gigs later.

Today was the Toronto Blues Society's Guitar Workshop, so I dropped in there
before heading back to Winterfolk. Hosting the workshop was Ken Whiteley (it
was Ken who was telling us about the "wiggler"). His guests included Steve
Strongman who I was jamming with after the Maple Blues Awards a couple of
weeks ago but now I got to see him doing his own thing and he is a
formidable guitar player. Teddy Leonard played some amazing blues and a
newcomer, Christine Bougie acquitted herself quite nicely doing some jazzy
renditions of Beatles & Elvis songs. The always cheerful Bucky Berger was
playing drums and it was great to see the wonderful Victor Bateman...whom I
regard as kind of mentor - it was Victor who first encouraged me to record
some of my tunes and he even set up the demo session. The rest is history
(as they say)...

As for my Winterfolk experience, I had three appearances and none of them
were to a real listening crowd - though Tom Leighton told me he'd never seen
the Dora Keogh (an Irish pub on the Danforth) quiet down as much as they did
for my song about Lenny Breau. For all the folks who came up to me on Sunday
saying they were sorry they didn't make it to my set, you can "relive the
magic" because we did a little camcorder recording and I'm going to post
some of the tunes onto Youtube. The night before I did a workshop with
Harrison Kennedy and Al Lerman (from Fathead) - both of whom received Juno
nominations on Tuesday. My last show on Saturday was marred with sound
problems - I brought my flat-top this time and it has a new pickup so maybe
that was part of the problem, but I must be spoiled after playing 15 venues
in Germany last November and having the most clear and natural and *big*
sound at every single venue it's hard listening (or especially playing)
acoustic music when the sound is muddy and boxy. That said, it's a free
festival and they don't have a big budget for production so I should just
shut up and be happy for the gig.

My employers and the Jazz Society put on a concert with the young singing
sensation Nikki Yanofsky but I didn't go. I saw her doing her Aretha thang
at the Women's Blues Revue and she stole the show but part of me wants to
give her a little more time before I go see her for a whole concert. I did
go to the Juno announcement press conference on Tuesday, though. There was
no musical presentation this year and they sped through the announcements
because they were live on National TV. There were a few goofy things like
the host not knowing who Feist was. I recall a couple of years back they had
Joel Plaskett playing and nobody was listening - everyone schmoozing at the
bar. It's a thankless job playing those media events (hey, didn't I write a
song about that?) but look at Joel Plaskett now - he's a big deal. Maybe it
was worth it to raise the profile a notch or two. Harrison Kennedy was at
the announcement (did I previously mention seeing his "soul revue" in
Hamilton??? I think so.) and so was the most of the Johnny Max Band...good
on 'em!

And let me tell you about last Sunday - I had an exquisite time as Raoul
Bhaneja's guest at his regular Sunday Night residency at Olivia's. It was
just the two of us, no PA system, tiny room, tiny crowd, but they got a good
show because we were having a great old time. I have to say Raoul has come a
long, long way (on harp *and* guitar) since he guested with me a few years
back at the Tranzac. There's a reason that he was chosen Now Magazine's
Blues Artist of the Year though he may not yet have that "blues cred" from
certain corners of the blues community but this young man is going places.
What am I talking about, he's already been to many places not only playing
blues but also in his acting career. I'm a big fan.

--

OVERQUALIFIED FOR THE BLUES available at northernblues.com, iTunes.com,
music.yahoo.com, allmusic.com, amazon.com, cduniverse.com

***NEW EMAIL ADDRESS*** brianblain@brianblain.ca
***NEW WEBSITE***

www.brianblain.ca

PART-TIME (BARELY)MANAGING EDITOR
Downtown Jazz | Crescendo | MapleBlues
www.torontobluessociety.com
www.torontomusicians.org
www.torontojazz.com

Kicking off 08

It’s a New Year and I’m sending out my first Blainletter of 08. I know, I said I wasn’t going to be doing these blasts anymore but I keep getting such friendly feedback plus, several people came out to my gig at the Moonshine Café who would not have heard about it otherwise.

So let me tell you what’s coming up and encourage you to come out for one or more of the following exciting engagements:

Sunday afternoon at Hugh’s Room (the actual time is 1-4pm, regardless of what’s been published elsewhere) I’ll be repeating the popular “Blues Campfire” that I previously hosted at the Blues Summit and the OCFF Conference. This is a great warm-up to the Maple Blues Awards on Monday night and many of the nominees have indicated they would try to drop by including Dawn Tyler Watson, Danny Brooks, Little Miss Higgins as well as several visiting artists like Layla Zoe (from BC now settling in TO), Terry Gillespie (Ottawa) and Max Cann (UK). Danny Marks will be there too to keep me in line. The line-up will probably change because the nominees have a busy rehearsal schedule on Sunday but there will surely be some surprise guests, too. We only do a couple of songs each…yes, that includes me…but it’ll be a good time and a great opportunity to see some of your favourite blues artists playing some of their new tunes in a laid-back informal setting.

Next month I make a liitle trek to St Catharines on February 2 to guest with Mojo Willie at his regular Saturday Matinee at Fat Tony’s Pizzeria. Then on February 8, the Winterfolk Festival kicks off and I’ll be making a couple of appearances there. See myspace for gig details.

On New Year’s Eve I took some time to reflect on the year past and to cast the “runes” to give me a liitle hint for the future. This year I was encouraged to receive a message that this would be a “breakthrough” year. That was great to see because it was getting ridiculous – for the last few years, every time I did my runes, they told me “stand still”, “tread carefully” and the big one… “the seeds have been planted – now you must wait for the harvest.”

Maybe this will be the harvest. I can’t say I’ve been very aggressive about lining up gigs – in particular, festivals. But I’ve discovered something: Some years I’ve hustled and sent out packages to every festival and other years I’ve done nothing but I always end up doing 4 or 5 festival dates no matter how hard I tried (or not). Go figure. I guess this will be one of those “laissez faire” years but any festival bookers reading this are invited to see the Youtube clip I posted from last year’s Toronto Jazz Festival. Listen to those horns and tell me that is not a kick-ass band.

2007 ended with a great adventure – a big European tour with Kathi McDonald , Three weeks all over Germany as well as Switzerland and the Czech Republic then Amsterdam, Paris and the UK. You can read all about it on my blogspot (http://torontobluesdiary.blogspot.com). I really enjoy being a sideman, and especially when I get to play bass. Last week I had the opportunity to back up Mose Scarlett at Hugh’s room and what a pleasure it was. Even if I wasn’t able to keep up with some of those old jazz turnarounds, we were in the pocket and it was a pure delight. Maureen Brown was playing drums and she was most complimentary about my new tune “Forgotten”. It’s about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the musicians of New Orleans…but it relates how much they’ve contributed to American music and how little they received in return. Mo said it almost brought her to tears. I’ve got a bunch more new tunes and will hopefully get them onto a CD in the coming year. I’m about due.

Out and about: Last Saturday I was sitting at a big jazz event at the Convention Centre and found out after I left that three of the most important jazz festival directors were sitting directly in front of me. I could have slipped my package right into their purses and they would have had a nice surprise …or not. Sitting just a couple of rows in front of me was the legendary Quincy Jones and I couldn’t help watching his face as he received lots of accolades and as the “Jazz Masterworks” orchestra played some of his famous tunes. I felt sorry for the bass player who got off on the wrong foot (the wrong key?) at the beginning of “Q” medley. That must be tough when the composer is right there in the front row (probably thinking “I didn’t write that!”)

While at the Jazz Convention, I attended a Vocal “Masterclass” with Kurt Elling. His best quote of the day was “Improvisation is composition sped up, composition is improvisation slowed down – with an eraser.” Oliver Jones was being interviewed and spoke about choosing your material for the audience. “Never forget you’re playing for them,” he said, and he would always include familiar material “to give people a point of reference.” Then as he made his set list, he would choose the first, fourth and seventh song “for himself” and the rest for the audience. I won’t have that problem because practically the only songs I remember are the ones I wrote…and even then a verse might escape me.

I so wanted to attend the “walking bass” clinic but it was at 9am and that just didn’t work out. After the long-winded Jazz Masters presentations, I was ready to head home but Tierney Sutton was doing a showcase and I wanted to hear a couple of tunes (since she was my “cover girl” on the Downtown Jazz newsletter). Well even though I entered the theatre with a big fat headache (I hadn’t eaten since morning), I could leave until it was over – I was captivated with her unique take on some of the most banal standards. She was phenomenal, repeatedly getting the audience to their feet in the middle of a song and of course a lengthy standing-O at the end. Next night in the same theatre I was listening to some of that “out there” jazz and just couldn’t handle it any more so I high tailed it up to the Silver Dollar to see my fave – Duke Robillard and I was not disappointed. Now that’s virtuosity…with a groove!

Rumour of the week: Amos Garret’s next album is going to be all Percy Mayfield songs. That should be something special. Don’t know where I heard that…





Welcome to the Holiday Blainletter

I’m still decompressing from a month-long tour and happy to be back in Toronto hearing some great music and playing some too:

Friday, Dec 14
Brian Blain
Moonshine Café, Oakville
Show: 9pm $5.00


In January I’ll be making a couple of appearances at Toronto’s premier showcase room. Hugh’s Room (Jan 10 w/The Blues of Winterfolk and Jan 20 –noon- Brian’s Blues Campfire Brunch warm up for the Maple Blues Awards).

I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to play since I got back but I got to jam it up with Suzie Vinnick (and Rick Fines) at a birthday party last week. Despite skipping some fine functions like the Socan Awards and the Aboriginal Awards I heard some great music since I got back. Last Saturday Night it was the Women's Blues Revue. I have worked with most of those musicians at one time or another so I would not miss this for the world. Dawn Tyler Watson had the closing spot and she deserved it. Every singer was great but the one people will probably remember most is the 13-year old wunderkind, Nikki Yanofsky. Great review from Brad Wheeler:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071202.wblues1202/BNStory/Entertainment/home
I feel like I’m watching my family when I see those girls playing. Here’s a clip of Layla Zoe from the show that somebody shot from the balcony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfiEBa7pss

On the Road with Kathi

On the Road with Kathi McDonald: Hansi, the owner of the Palette in Kappeln is a flamboyant guy who came up to the stage at the end of our show with a tray of champagne and we all had a nice toast before the encore. First time I’ve ever been kissed by a club owner! He also served the best meal of the tour in my opinion – and there were many great meals! This was what a tour is supposed to be – never paid for a meal, never paid for a drink, never paid for a room and never had to share a room. Most of you probably know I’m not much of a drinking man but I developed a taste for Jaegermeister. I couldn’t bring myself to mix it with Red Bull as Kathi preferred (that’s called a Jaegerbomb). Driving along the highway in northern Germany Kathi and Butch are having a great laugh about “Richard” somebody and finally I say “Richard who?” and Kathi says “Penniman! Little Richard!” Ohhhhh K. There were lots of road stories, mostly Long John Baldry stories because Kathi, Butch and Hansa, the driver, had done this tour with Baldry many times. Later as we're approaching Hamburg, Butch points out three hills in the distance, each with the ruins of a castle or tower at the top and he tells us they belonged to three brothers in the 12th century who spent their whole lives quarrelling…or rather at war with each other. The next day we played a mini blues festival in Kellinghusen and I ran into John Campbelljohn from the Maritimes. He played great and so did the other bands, mostly local. And English performer called Julian Dawson was on the bill as well, and had arranged to do an interview with Kathi for a book he was writing about Nicky Hopkins, the great pianist who worked with the Stones and Baldry. The producer of this festival asked for one of my CDs and expressed an interest in having me back doing my own thang. That happened at a couple of other gigs and it was encouraging considering I was only doing a couple of my tunes to open the show. By now, Kathi and I had worked up a couple of duets, too, but whatever we came up with mostly happened right on the stage (or in the dressing room) because there was never a single rehearsal with Kathi – though there were a few attempts. Even though Kathi had warned me that she can get pretty teary at the last gig of a tour, that did not really happen but there was hardly a town we played where I didn’t hear stories of the wild and crazy adventures of Long John and band. I ended the tour with a new level of confidence in my playing – I’m not a jobber who knows 3000 songs, but I was able to learn a bunch of new material very quickly and hold my own with a powerhouse singer who had worked with a long list of amazing guitarists: Robben Ford, Nils Lofgren, John Cippolina, Neil Schon, Ronnie Montrose, Dave Mason…not to mention Ike Turner (R.I.P.) and Keith Richard. After this experience, I feel like I could accompany just about anyone. Anybody out there lookin? Lots more on the tour at http://www.brianblain.ca. You can see pictures by going to www.flickr.com and search for “Brian Blain Kathi McDonald”. And if you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a little montage of me and my band from last summer on www.youtube.com. Just search for “Brian Blain”.


Amsterdam: I think I was the only person having a coffee in the “coffeeshop” and come to think of it, that was probably the worst coffee I had in Europe. We must have dropped in to a dozen or so of these establishments, each with their own laminated menu that could not be removed from the counter. Each place had its own personality – the first one we visited was around the corner from the hotel, Spirit, and we were the only customers in the place – large screen TV blasted heavy metal videos. I was looking for “King Mohammed” (highly recommended) but I never found it there or in any other shop. Had to settle for “King Maroc”. Then we made our way to the red light district where we were accosted by a street barker who said to Kathi “Come in here and she’ll show you how to make two perverts happy.” Another “girl in window” gave me a nice friendly wink but most of the girls looked quite bored. We took a taxi the size of a golf cart to the live music area but didn’t find much interesting. We talked our way into the “Paradiso”, the big showcase room where Baldry had played many times – similar to the Phoenix in Toronto but with two levels of balconies wrapping around. At one bar, Tom ordered a round of Absynth and the barmaid came to the table with a tray full of equipment that was used to set alight a sugar cube over the glass, then the sugar melted into the drink, then…bottoms up! My one regret is that I never got to try the cheap and delicious Indonesian take-out food which Butch recommended. After 3 solid weeks on the road we got used to eating on the run. At every rest stop on the autobahn Kathi would ask “hand or bistro?” (meaning “take out or sit-down?”). Next day I was looking for an internet café (never did find an internet coffeeshop) and was directed to the Ben & Jerry’s where they had several workstations and, of course, great ice cream. I was telling the server that I used to live just a few miles from the first Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington Vermont (where you would be served by Ben or Jerry) but I don’t think he believed me. The cab I had reserved to take me to the airport never showed up so I started walking and was practically at the train station before I found a cab – I should have just taken the train but time was tight. The cabbie picked me up while he had another passenger to drop off and I got to witness a big kafuffle when the cabbie didn’t have the change for the American businessman (and probably expected he would “keep the change”).


Somerset: I didn’t get a chance to hook up with blues guy Steve Payne and his crew in Bristol but there sure was lots to see in Somerset, UK: Glastonbury, Avebury, Stonehenge… Wookey Hole. I almost had a gig in Wookey Hole but it didn’t come together. I did go to the place though and even got a peek at caves of Wookey Hole, which have become quite a tourist destination. It’s become a bit of a theme park, actually, much to the consternation of one of the custodians who was telling us about the history of that place, how Wordworth and Dickens used to drop by. Now it’s like Disneyland. Wookey Hole is famous for the Witch of Wookey Hole who -- having been jilted herself -- frequently spoils budding relationships. Finally one jilted lover went to her cave a killed her. She was known as “Bocus” and that apparently is the origin of the expression “hocus-pocus.” Before I saw the cave, I found myself at a gathering of modern-day Druids who were protesting in front of the Well Cathedral museum where the bones of the Witch of Wookey Hole are on display. They were demanding that the bones be buried and had a ritual at the entrance of the museum where we all held hand and the priestess blessed a loaf of bread which we all tasted and which was then buried instead of the bones. Wells is the town where they shot a popular movie called “Hot Fuzz” and the pub and other locations had memorabilia from the shoot. These folks should only visit Toronto where you can’t hardly walk around without tripping over lights and cables. Stonehenge was imposing, even though it was overrun with Japanese tourists. We also visited Avebury where there is a similar arrangement of huge rocks and more great mystery about it, but here there are no turnstiles and guides. We observed another group of Druids (a drove of Druids???) at Avebury where they were gathered among more ancient rocks. Here the priestess looked more like a schoolgirl with parka and backpack but she was giving her blessings to her fellow travelers. I really wanted to approach her and get a blessing myself but my shyness got the best of me

There were a couple of gigs, too. It kicked off with a jam session on the night I arrived, I met some of the players from Kangaroo Moon, the band I would be sharing the bill with on the weekend. They are a fabulous party band, hi-energy celtic-crossover and I dare say I crossed them over into some blues as we finished off the night on stage together. After the show everyone drove out to an encampment with a large circular tent (yurt) where a large group had gathered for the traditional making of “black butter.” They spend a couple of days (and nights) taking turns stirring this huge cauldron which is mostly apples that are reduced and flavoured until it becomes a paste that you eat on bread. We would have had to stay until the following morning to taste the results so we settled for some great homemade soup & cheese. Didn’t spot any Druids, but a strong scent of patchouli permeated the air.

Glastonbury is a very special place. It might be a bit commercialized now, as you walk down the main street every second shop is selling crystals and other esoterica. One thing is pretty well the same every country I’ve visited, though, and that’s the “blues jam” In Glastonbury the blues jam was at a pub called the Rifleman’s Arms and hosted by a young guitarist from Bristol called Damian. His idea of a jam was a succession of guitarists and harp players coming up to play along with him. I had to be a bit aggressive to get onto that stage and once there I had the audacity to suggest that I would like to sing one. He said to the crowd “The gentleman wants to sing a song” and I just launched into “Live the Life,” a blues standard (I thought) but the bass player never quite quite got the hang of it but we forged through it. After that, one of the “local legends,” Z.Z. Birmingham, got up and I played along with him. A real old-timer. He probably played with Cyril Davies and Long John himself at one time or other. My last day in Somerset, I went to a jazz brunch in Wookey Hole and heard a charming jazz quartet.

Next day I was off to Paris and that was a pretty short stop-over with the second day entirely pre-occupied with getting to the airport on time since the railway had just gone on strike and getting a cab was hit or miss. I did get to hear one of my favourite jazz groups playing in their home town - that was Paris Washboard. They put out as much energy as a heavy metal band but it’s all done by a bunch of old guys on acoustic instruments. My last evening in Paris was spent having a lovely dinner with Brad Spurgeon, a fellow alumnus of Puck’s Traveling Circus. These days he writes about Formula One for the International Herald Tribune. We jammed and had a great time then I made my way to the airport (with many hours to spare). As it turned out this was the only Air France flight (of the 4 or 5 that I took) that left on time. After the incessant delays, everybody was calling them “Air Chance.” However they get points for allowing me to bring my guitar as carry-on luggage and I am told that British Airways has a new policy allowing musicians to carry any instrument as long as it’s not larger than a guitar. We’ll leave you with that “tip of the day.”

On The Road with Kathi

[Posted by Brian Mon Oct 29, 2007] I just played 5 nights in a row and I can't remember that happening to me since the 70s. And it's a beautiful tour, fascinating venues, great audiences and short drives. Last night I was presented a bouquet of flowers as I took my bow (CAREER MILESTONE #33). It was also a milestone for me to play on a stage where the dressing room/green room is behind the stage and I was able to slip behind the curtain and into that room while Butch did his solo feature. That was also cool, but every gig is different and nothing was more different than last night when we played in a 13th century Castle - a Benedectine Monastary before that. Now it's just Schloss Gostek, home to some squatters turned entrepreneurs and now the info centre for the recently uncovered/restored 7000 year old solar observatory and some say temple of sorts. I stood in there alone and began twirling around slowly and then I was compelled to start turning the opposite direction. As I walked away, I thought to look back down into the valley at the site one last time and I received a very powerful message to NOT look back. Which I didn't. OK, enough of the spooky stuff. Back to Music:

The first night of this leg of the tour was Divaldo Pod Charou in Pisek, CZ. It's the first place I ever played in Europe and I was glad to be back even though I wonder if they remember me. We have to sell the CDs a little cheaper here - just because the Czech Republic is not as economically flush as many other European partners. This tour followed a 3 day break in Dresden where I was able to co-write a song with Kathi *and* edit my MapleBlues newsletter remotely. With me here in Germany, the publisher in Spain and the office manager in Paris, it was good to have the internet (and for those reading this who don't know me personally, I was making websites when they were text-only.


We took a train to Prague and it was a familiar ride to me. We were picked up at the station by Hansa, our driver fo the rest of te tour. In Pisek, they put us up in a "sports" hotel next to the arena. The bedrooms all had 3 beds in them, but we each got a whole room to ourselves. Saw some old friends and made a few new one (Malak is a local musician who really enjoyed the show and was very complimentary to my guitar playing - one other sound guy said my guitar was an "orkestre" - I guess he meant I got a lot of sound out of that $250 Johnson resophonic.) Anyway, enough patting myself on the back...did I mention I got a bouquet of FLOWERS???)


The club in Pisek put us up at what they called a "sports hotel". It was next to the arena and each room had 3 beds - it had been home to many a hockey team, I'm sure. As I walked down the dark hall, I had a vision of being a young hockey hopeful, a contender, on my way to play an important game that might bring me to the attention of the NHL. The hotel was called The Buly - we had lots of bully jokes in the van after that! Still, I can't complain about the accomodations on this tour. It's been first class, sometimes literally first class.

Driving down the road I'm hearing lots more stories - why is their a harpsichord intro on "For Your Love" by the Yardbirds (because there wasn't a piano or organ in the studio that day...btw, it was Brian Auger playing). Or how did Keith Richard get that distorted guitar sound on Satisfaction (he dropped his amp). And why was Sonny Terry not talking to Brownie McGhee (well, maybe some things are best kept private).





The Maltzhaus in Plauen, Germany took the record as the oldest club I ever played - it was built in the 1200s. We had a great audience (goes without saying in this country). I got a big roar from the crowd in the middle of a guitar solo. One guy in the audience even knew who Magic Sam was. Kathi and I had written a song on a day off and we performed it for the first time. All these towns are turning into a blur of cobblestone streets but what I do remember is when we got a TV with an english channel (or two). This one had CNN and BBC all-news along with a couple of channels that featured pretty graphic ads for phone sex and then some kind of phone-in gambling game with a semi-nude hostess. Also two (count em, 2) channels with jazz - one had old footage of Thelonius Monk and the other was showing more contemporary jazz. Curtis Tigers was playing a great tune that inspired me to start re-working "Last Time I Saw Lenny" (note to self: in F)

Next day in Pirna, we played a room where there was a spacious, comfortable dressing room right behind the stage. We were served a fabulous spread Tapas-style from the Spanish restaurant next door. How convenient to have a dressing room where I was able to slip in and sit for a minute while Butch did his solo feature spot. Great PAs in all these venues, this one was the Klein & (something) - considered the Rolls Royce of PAs (The Courthouse in Toronto just installed one of those high-end systems)



The last gig of this leg was The Schloss Goseck (the castle I mentioned at the beginning of this post). The gig was great - wonderful audience , a real cross section of "townies" and the ver alternative types who started out as squatters here and now interact quite nicely with the local populace. This morning after the gig, I got up at 8:30 and walked up from the Castle where we played and walked through the village and over to the site of this restored 7000 year old sacred spot where cavemen would calculate the time of the year by the way that the sun would shine through certain openings in this tall woodden "fence" which has been rebuilt according to the ruins that were recently discovered. I had the place to myself. I stood in the centre and did my tai chi set, then chanted and spun around slowly and without making any conscious effort I realized that I was now spinning the other way (???). Then as I walkied away from the site, I had a very strong feeling that I should not look back, so I didn't. That's as "mystical" as it got, but I did have a little incident as I was leaving the abbey where we stayed (part of the castle). There was a rack of tourist brochures and I grabbed one and as I was looking at it, another fell to the floor. I thought some light-hearted message like "well, if you're a ghost doing that then thank for leaving me alone to a peaceful sleep" and then a whole stack of brochures flew off the rack onto the floor....hmmmm. Kathi was shown the chapel last night and said she felt nothing spiritual in there and more likely that horrible things had gone on in there.


[Posted by Brian Wed Oct 24, 2007] I was going to send you all individual postcards but I left behind my bag with my address book in Switzerland so this will have to do.







Greetings from Switzerland! We've just completed the first leg of our tour. These gigs were with a full band that included a German rhythm section with very big ears - Ingo Rau on bass and Vladi Kempf on drums. Playing with Kathi McDonald is akin to being on the stage with Etta James or Aretha, and any connoiseurs of blues vocalists would probably agree. I have to get used to playing with goose bumps running up and down my body for half the show. Shortly into the first set on the first night, Kathi leaned into me and said "pretty good for the first night with no rehearsal..."

I ran into Madagascar Slim at the Toronto Airport - he was heading out on a Western Canada tour with Tri-Continental. He warned me about Air France being hard on instruments (they wrecked his Fender acoustic) but they allowed me to take the guitar in the cabin with me on two flights so far. And I dare say the food on Air France is tastier (even though they played the same damn Robin Williams movie I saw the night before at home)...I even had a bottle of wine with my dinner...good preparation for this tour allright. I just mentioned to Miss Kathi that I've been called upon to open more bottles of wine in the last few days than in the last couple of years in TO. If I had to choose between ice cream or booze, it would not be hard decision for this old blues guy. As some tight-ass reviewer wrote a while back..."Brian Blain Bluesman? Ha Ha Ha..." Well this tour could turn it around - I've had more wine & cheese than at a year's worth of CD launches. And tomorrow we head to the Czech Republic where beer is cheaper than water (and safer to drink) so here goes...

Just before jumping on that plane, I was at the OCFF conference in London where I think I managed to line up a little work in both Western and Eastern (as in St Johns Nfld) Canada. I have to accept the fact that if I want to play I'm going to have to hit the road. The highlight of the conference was jamming in our little "blues room" What a pleasure playing with some of the up and comers on the blues scene like Steve Strongman and introducing them to some of the veterans like Danny Brooks and Bill Bourne and Rob Lutes.

In a moment of rationality I bought a watch at the airport, but I realized after the first gig that the hands and the watch face look the same to Ole Colorblind and I can only see the time when the light is right (ie *not* on stage).

As soon as I got to Germany we headed down to Freiburg, on the edge of the Black Forest - right where Germany, France and Switzerland meet. We did a gig in Freiburg (this must be the bicycle capital of Europe) It is apparently the warmest place in Germany. A real college town. We did a show there then a couple in Switzerland (though nothing within a view of the Alps...damn). The first gig was a club called the Albani in Winterthur which transformed into an after-hours rave scene after our show. We were lucky to get our stuff off the stage before the place turned into a veritable mass of tatooed flesh. They were dancing madly to old Buddy Holly records and singing along to "My Boyfriend's Back." Go figure...

We ate our dinner in a rather funky place too - lots of leather and piercings but the food was great and the punks quite friendly. Actually the club had reserved a table for us at a nice Italian restaurant but we got there too late and it was packed. Man, those Swiss really know how to run a hotel. The place we stayed in Winterthur was not only clean and elegant but visually so modern...No rectangular mirrors in these rooms. The Alte Post was quite the contratry - very rustic. Kind of in the middle of nowhere but 90 people came out of nowhere and filled their little concert room. I felt pretty close to home when I saw the owner's wife wearing a Rita Chiarelli T-shirt and when I commented on it, they started playing Rita Chiarelli CDs. They love Rita at the Alte Posta. Very appreciative audience and I've already sold most of my CD's - I only brought 50. I was a little embarassed that I didn't know the last names of the bass player & drummer when I was doing the band introductions but then later in the set, Kathi whispered in my ear "I don't know your last name..."

As we ended the set with a Long John Baldry hit, It Ain't Easy, Kathy was in tears and I couldn't understand why until she told me afterwards that this venue was the first gig on the last German tour with Long John. I brought along a copy of the new Long John biography for her - she had not received one from the publisher so she was devouring it right away and I was hearing her having laughing fits as she read some of the things she had related to author Paul Myers (she is probably the most-quoted Baldry band-mate in the book...and boy have I been hearing Baldry stories as we travelled along those Swiss mountain roads. Tomorrow we head to Prague where Hansa, Baldry's long time road manager will be picking us up and managing the rest of the tour...I'm sure there will be more stories. I still can't get used to paying for a washroom (and it's not cheap, sometimes as much as a buck). And the quality of the facilities varies from a hole in the ground to the most sophisticated antiseptic toilet that has a seat that rotates around a cleansing pad of some sort...pretty freaky.

[Posted Wed Oct 10, 2007] Here I sit running over the chords for tunes I haven't played in thirty years. Whiter Shade of Pale, Southern Man...I've never been much of a "jobbing" musician. I don't have a vast repertoire of standards - I do what I do but here I am figuring out the guitar parts for Long John Baldry and Rolling Stones tunes. As I have probably bragged below in earlier installments of this blog, I am off to Europe in a few days to do a big German tour (big for me!) with legendary vocalist Kathi McDonald.


I'm sitting here listening to Steve Gash being the guest host on Low Down to Uptown on CKLN-FM, his old stomping grounds. I'm juggling my iTunes between the radio show and downloading songs that I have to learn in three days because in a few days I'll be on stage playing them with Kathi McDonald and Butch Coulter.


Mama! I'm a jobber! I can't remember the last time I actually had to figure out the chord changes from a recording. But who would have ever thought that you could dial up any song you want and download it...even if it costs 99 cents.


OK Folks, I'm going to get back to learning some tunes and then....I'm outa here. My Blainletters will be short and sweet from here on out.

Saturday October 6: Here are some of the gang at Michael Jerome Browne's Toronto CD launch at the Acoustic Harvest. Pictured above are Grit Laskin (Borealis Records), MJB, drummer John McColgan, the legendary Stephen Barry, Suzie Vinnick and moi. This was not a show I was going to miss even though I should be home preparing for my European tour - I leave in A WEEK! And meanwhile I've got the OCFF conference where I hope I might line up a little work for next year. I had also hoped to attend Liam Titcomb's show tonight but that was not to be. That song I wrote for him is getting to a good comfort zone for me. I had to put it into the third person but I think I'm going to pull this song out at an appropriate time - it's a bit rocky for yours truly but always nice to have a change. I was riveted by Michael's performance. I called him the "professor" because he has such a schooled approach, without diminishing any soul or heart. He's got it all. I saw Suzie Vinnick taking it in from the front row. After the show, I looked over and saw Suzie stacking chairs - just like the old church-basement concerts. Everybody pitches in.

Thursday, October 4: Here I am on the big stage at Healey's. I one of several guests at the jam hosted by Danny Marks - a throwback to the days when I first met him hosting the Stormy Monday blues sessions at Albert's Hall. That's back when the blues clubs were packed on the week-ends and you could even get a crowd out on a Monday night. I'm excited because I've got a new pick-up in the old Epiphone and now I will see what it sounds like through a big PA. Well, I plug into the DI (direct box) and...nothing. The sound man just points me to the Fender Twin and has me plug in there. Would it have been too much trouble to try another direct box. So much for hearing my new pick-up (LR Baggs I-Beam, fyi)...But what a treat playing with keyboard genius Dennis Keldie for the first time. He is most highly regarded in this town and now I know why. He picks up on what you're doing and fits right in - phenomenal solos. Danny also played some great guitar and I had Jerome Godboo on harmonica and the dream rhythm section of Al Webster and Alec Fraser. And on the break, there we were, a bunch of blues musicians in the "Green Room" talking about how to edit video clips for YouTube...


Before heading to Healey's, I swung by Hugh's Room to hear my old buddy Ray Bonneville who was opening for Guy Davis. I had actually jammed with guy in a hotel room at the Folk Alliance conference a few years ago. Ray played great and I only stayed for a couple of Guy's tunes - Ken Whiteley had just climbed up and played some killer mandolin.

Wednesday, October 2: I got invited to be part of the audience for a video shoot for Country Music Television (CMT). I'm planning a DVD so I wanted to see how they did it (six cameras, fyi). The band was Little Big Town, who I had never heard of but are apparently the next Dixie Chicks. beautiful harmonies, to be sure - never got to hear the band as a whole - they had set up a wedge monitor for the small audience but all it projected was vocals. All we heard was vocals and drums (the band were all wearing hi-tech in-ear monitors). It's the first time I've ever been to a session that got interrupted so that lipstick could be adjusted.

Sunday, Sept 30: Just back from a little getaway to the Eastern Townships & Montreal. Somebody said the fall colours were beautiful but they forgot that Ole Colorblind needs some pretty dramatic reds and yellows to enjoy the light show. The subtle colours escape me. Got to hang out with my old friends Allan Fraser & Donna (The first Fraser & DeBolt album has been re-issued and the Cleveland paper just reviewed it - "...no denying the raw emotion of this rediscovered gem"). Then I saw Maurice Singfield from Oliver Klaus and the brilliant Daniel Racine who's been producing some very atmospheric music. A great visit even though I missed 2 CD launches, a book launch and Nuit Blanche. It's hard to pull yourself away from Toronto - so much going on. As I pulled out of my old stomping grounds, Waterloo, Quebec, bluesman Bob Walsh was setting up for a concert in the old Masonic Temple. Wish I could have stayed.

Monday, Sept 24 - I'm sitting here putting some new strings on the old Epiphone and then heading down to the Now Lounge to do a couple of tunes at the Anniversary Party for Jennifer Claveau's Groovy Monday concert series at the Now Lounge which I played at last year. The long rambling Blainletter below was supposed to go out in August, but this time the technology got the best of me and I couldn't send it to my whole list - so here it is for any and all interested. This is going to replace my blog. It's so easy.

The August Blainletter was supposed to go out at the beginning of the month to promote my gig with Lily in Hamilton (and we sure could have used a little promotion) We played in a restored train station of sorts...weird setting.

...Anyway, here's your monthly update from the front lines in my "career development" (career development tips are highlighted in red, in case there are any other 60-something emerging artists out there who might benefit). This week-end I was planning to go down and check out the Burlington Ribfest where I have some friends playing and this morning I get a note from Michael K. who books it saying he's sorry he wasn't able to fit me in the programme this year. Now I just remembered he offered me a gig in the festival when we played together a few months back. So much for my follow-up skills. Memo to self: Follow up, follow up, follow up

Here's another valuable tip: Always bring a back up guitar in case you break a string and make sure it's tuned up. I'm usually good about this, but the one time I don't check the spare, I get a flat (so to speak).

For a while, I've been reading the infamous "Lefsetzletter"(yes, that's where I got the idea to call this the Blainletter) but lately I heard him speaking in a podcast from a music conference in Australia...and he was coming down pretty hard on artists who don't have a following (ie, "if you don't have any fans it's because you suck. If you are great, they will find you."). He's got a point. The good news is that it doesn't take a huge ammount of fans to support a career - not in this town anyway. If you've got 50 friends who will come out, you can play practically any club in this town.

Lefsetz was mostly talking about the MySpace phenomena. We'll I've got a MySpace and until now it served as my default website but starting now I will use this Google Page to keep everything under one roof - my bio page at northernblues.com, my old blog, my photo album and a couple of podcasts featuring...me. More podcasts to come, some right from my backyard.


These Google Pages are great because they're free and easy (I never paid for web hosting yet and I wasn't going to start now). Try it yourself, it's a robust elegant interface.


Anyway, back to music - my career development - which is what this blog is supposed to be about. The Hamilton gig was the last gig between now and my European tour with Kathi Macdonald and Butch Coulter - and I just got a call this morning with two new dates - Nov 2 at the Palette in Kappeln, Germany and Oct 25 at the first place I ever played in Europe, The Pod Garou in Pisek, gateway to the real Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

I've been messing around with video editing software and will soon be loading up more performance clips - maybe raise the "profile" a bit, and of course, show any potential employers what I can do. My friend Harry Manx was in town last week and we grabbed a clip of a DVD he brought and sucessfully loaded it up to YouTube (search for Harry Manx Portugal).

And a Blainletter would not be complete without a quick look back on all the great music I've heard this month: The latest was Carlos del Junco last night. Just him, Mark Sepic on guitar and Al Cross on drums. Three virtuoso musicians...it was mesmerizing. Lot's of really intricate worked-out stuff. I don't think Kevin Breit played those tunes with Carlos...though I love Kevin's wild abandon. I kind of missed Henry Heillig on bass but Mark had it covered, in some tunes he had a bass sound on the two low strings of his MIDI guitar. Anything Carlos tries is OK with me. The night before him, we went to the Bob Snider CD release. I was with my best-ex who never lived in Ontario and had no idea of Bob Snider's special place in the hearts of Toronto folkies. He was charming and Paul Mills did a great opening set but I realized that this would have been an ideal show for me to open. This was "my crowd" (though they hadn't heard me...yet). Tip of the Day: Don't be afraid to suggest yourself as an opening act when it seems like a good match.

The fellow who designed my CD (and Bob's), Michael Wrycraft, was sitting next to me and I couldn't resist mentioning that the one typo that had slipped through the long, arduous CD artwork process created a problem this month when a radio host Lynn Thompson played the wrong track while interviewing me live from Nanaimo. She was getting the track number from the booklet rather than the back of the CD. Oh well..

On the non-musical front, I'm back on the Board of Directors of my housing co-op (my last residency resulted in the song "No More Meetings" - maybe this round will inspire another tune...But this time I'm NOT going to be secretary! I was so eager to get back in the game that I seconded the first motion that came up - only to be reminded you cannot second a motion to approve the minutes of a meeting you weren't at (that would count as a tip, too, but not that important to your career development.


Earlier this month I had the extreme pleasure to watch my son Joel (aka DJ C.O.I.)on stage at the Rivoli and he put on a great display of scratching and beat- making - he had the crowd mesmerized including his mom who came up all the way from Cape Cod.

A few days before that I heard the internattionally renown bluegrass group, the Grasscals - I have been hearing about them for from my friend Donna Wilson and after hearing the group I went to their website and happened upon a picture of the group backstage at the Grand Old Opry with Dolly Parton...and there in the picture are Donna and Ken!


I had a chance to sit in with UK guitar whiz Steve Payne at the Gate 403. Haven't been there in quite a while and it's a great place with a PA, a real piano...who could ask for more. Well, an attentive audience would be the final ingredient. Steve played great and I hope to hook up with him in the fall when I go to Europe.


Here's my closing tip (got this from Tom Jackson, a "band-coach" (not the actor/musician) who is full of tips for performers. Tom believes that the audience wants to see something spontaneous - something that's never happened before. Well, no problemo when it's a Brian Blain show. Just ask anyone who's ever played with me. I couldn't play a song the same way twice if I tried...well, maybe if I ever took some time to rehearse, but for the moment, let's be happy with the spontaneous effect!

Quote of the Day

"I don't want to sell my music. I'd like to give it away because where I got
it, you didn't have to pay for it." Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet)

Orangeville Blues & Jazz

What a pleasure playing with the phenomenal Henry Heilig at the Orangeville Jazz & Blues festival. I was lucky he could get away from his intense rehearsal schedule with the newly reformed Manteca (who will be opening the Toronto Jazz Festival on Friday June 22). Henry will also be joining myself and the Blainettes (Carrie Chesnutt and Lily Sazz) for my gig at Toronto Jazz Festival - That's Saturday afternoon, June 30th at the Greektown Stage, Logan and Danforth.

June Blainletter plus Bob Lefsetz' take on managers

Welcome to my June Blainletter. I won't be playing in town until my Toronto Jazz festival gig on June 30th. (June 30th, by the way is the second full moon of the month, the "blue moon" – thus the expression "once in a blue moon". I never knew that, thanks Bette! This week-end I'm playing the Orangeville Blues and Jazz festival on Saturday night at a little bar called the Wild Wing at 75 Alder St. I'll be playing with the wonderful bassist Henry Heilig, whose band Manteca will be opening the Toronto Jazz Festival. Then on June 15, I'm at the Moonshine Café in Oakville. If any of my dear blog-readers live in the environs of either of those remote locations, please drop in

Your (barely)managing editor has just wrapped up another newsletter. This month I created a headline for the cover of MapleBlues and I realized as I was about to go to print that I didn't really know what it meant. I wrote "Reddick Redux" just cause it looked good on the page but then I realized that I wasn't really that sure what it meant. Well I looked it up and it turned out the "redux" meant exactly what I wanted to say. There couldn't be a better word. Now it will be interesting to see if the majority of our readers will know what "redux" means…but what the hey, it's about Paul Reddick and he is regarded as a bit of an intellectual on the blues scene. He'll know what I meant.

I've been thinking of calling him up to do a couple of gigs. I'm playing this week-end and I still don't know who with. I like to wait till the last minute and see who falls in my lap (not necessarily the best approach in romance).

Last night I went to see Mendelson Joe play (he I knew him when he was Joe Mendelson). He was a curmudgeon then and he's a curmudgeon now. I thought about introducing myself to see if he remembered that I auditioned to play bass for McKenna Mendelson Mainline 30 years ago. I thought better of it when I watched him brush off our senior publicist and my friend Jacquie with "I know who you are" and "OK, I gotta go". Still, he's Joe and we love him. He was riveting on stage. He had not played a music gig in Toronto for 10 years, imagine that. Talk about "I'm going to the country" (…and I ain't coming back).

He marched onto the stage in paint-splattered pants carrying his guitar case (with the hand painted warning "very, very, very fragile") and a back-pack. As he was being introduced, he took the guitar out of the case, sat himself down and had a drink from a big bottle of Perrier water (which he thanked Mose Scarlett for bringing). His first song was his most recent, he said, "I'm a folkie and that ain't no jokie." After a 75 minute show, he came back with a short instrumental encore…his fans still wanted more but he came back up to the stage, slowly packed up his stuff (while people still clapped for more) and then he was gone.

Joe's comments about the air in Toronto really struck home after my experience last week-end playing the Twisted Pines festival a couple of hours out of town. They billeted the bands in some kind of wilderness retreat and I could not believe how refreshed and invigorated I felt after only two days away from the pollution of Toronto. I realized it the next morning when I woke up to the sight of all kinds of colourful birds at the array of feeders just outside the kitchen window…with little squirrels and chipmunks scampering around the bases of the feeders. What a sight. What a breath of fresh air. I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of my blog-readers up there…so hi to you and thanks for your interest. I don't think I'd keep this going if I didn't keep running into people who tell me they enjoy it.

The original impetus for the "Toronto Blues Diary" was to pass along tips on "career development" (long before I ever heard the expression). I used to put the tips in red. I should really cut and paste some of Bob Lefsetz stuff – he's got a lot to say about career development…You can see his "blog" at http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

Anyway, back to Twisted Pines. My first "arena show" – though there was only enough audience to fit into a club, but it was a great experience and I'm sure the festival will build up from here. I just got invited to play the volunteer party. A couple of days before we had a "warm-up" gig at Free Times. It was my "Motherless Day" show and we had a nice friendly group came out…but once again, I looked out into the house and I knew pretty well every person. It's great to have a friendly, supportive audience, but this is not how careers are built…

Last night I attended the opening of the Art of Jazz festival at the Distillery. That room is the size of an arena, but it didn't sound nearly as good as Twisted Pines. Since it was opening night, there were a few speeches and the soft spoken guys like Don Thomson and Kenny Wheeler were not cutting through at all. I could not hear a word they were saying. Meanwhile, when Jon Hendricks got on the mike I could hear every word. So it's not just the PA. The music seemed kind-of uninspired and I was ready to leave but then Kevin Mahogany hit the stage and launched into a marathon version of "Route 66" and everybody started playing their ass off – leave it to the blues to pick things up. It was my first time hearing Kevin Mahogany and he is something to behold – physically and vocally (a giant in both respects).

What else did I do this month (besides start making a garden – thanks to all those that have contributed. I'm going to make a slide show on Flickr when I get a minute. I also started editing a video clip of me singing "Blues is Hurting" at the Hi-Tech Blues Revue. We'll see how long it takes me to get that together.

I had the delightful experience of seeing Allan Fraser's (& Donna Louthood's) daughter Kaya performing at the Now lounge. She played some fine guitar (very much like Allan) and when she sang it was like listening to Donna. What a trip.

I saw lots of great jazz at the new Courthouse venue this month – surely destined to be a world class showcase venue. Shakura S'Aida did a CD launch there and she rocked the joint. It was the first blues show in the place…tonight Susie Arioli begins a 3-night engagement. I hope she can get a decent crowd over three days.

The Blues Society had a birthday party at Jeff Healey's new club with Jack de Keyzer playing and yours truly as MC. I actually got some spontaneous applause when I introduced myself as the editor of MapleBlues. I wonder if I would have got such an enthusiastic response if I had introduced myself as the 60-year old emerging artist…

Just so you get a taste of this Bof Lefsetz guy, I'm going to paste in part of a recent rant about managers… Here's Bob. See you next time.

"…In other words, you don't need the heavyweight, well-connected manager to make it. Unless you're playing the traditional radio/TV hit single game.

If you're playing the old wave game, sign with someone who's got the chops, who knows the ropes, who isn't reinventing the wheel so much as applying what they know to your situation. You might grow, but your handler, he already knows the game.

Whereas if you're not signed to a major label, don't want to get signed to a major label, don't make Top Forty singles, then you don't need a manager connected so much as one who is savvy and HUNGRY!

The established management players are akin to mini-conglomerates, they're the new labels. They want to get paid, right away. If you're not delivering cash, if they sign you, you're not getting much attention. Or, you're getting attention from the untested newbie. If that newbie is truly great, break off and do it yourself, as Irving Azoff did with the Eagles. Otherwise, you're probably going to get lost in the shuffle.

If you're starting from ground zero, no name manager will probably be interested. But that won't hurt you.

What do you need most if you're a developing act?

Gigs. You need someone to get on the horn, go down to the venue, and cajole and connive 'til they get you a shot. Then you must deliver, but it's the manager that creates/midwives the opportunity.

Where are you going to find such a bloke?

Look around you, he's probably already a friend. Or that dude who comes to each and every show and hangs backstage and won't leave until you do. THAT'S your manager.

Oh, don't throw out your instincts. After all, Paluska went to Amherst, he's no dummy. But find someone committed who will do the job for you.

So much of what Phish did, they did first. Or their spin on an event made it unique. They did their destination festivals. They released live albums of their shows, and then downloads. Elektra didn't deliver these, rather their manager and agent, Chip Hooper, did.

Yup, Chip saw the numbers, he wanted to represent Phish. He didn't care about record sales, but TICKET COUNTS! Most agents feel the same way today, but fifteen years ago, the focus was on the label.

Yes, after you get your manager, and he gets you gigs, he tries to get you an agent. And the agent you want is not the one with the name, the one who wines and dines you so much as the one who BELIEVES in you.

As for music... In today's market, you've got to allow recording and trading, you've got to give the music away for free, you've got to let the seed grow into a tree. If you can't get significant airplay, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!

It's not the way of the major label, and not the way of the old line manager. But it's your way. You know the Net, you've got friends, both online and offline. You have to create something incredible and give your peeps the tools to spread the word. Not through fake incentives, you've got to trade purely on their belief, your honesty.

It's all about the music when you're doing it yourself. Everything must be subservient to the music. And you must create the best situation to experience the music.

When Phish played the Santa Monica Civic ten plus years ago, the police frisked the attendees. Paluska vowed to never play the building again, and his band DIDN'T! He didn't shrug his shoulders and say he couldn't do anything, that it wasn't his fault, he took matters into his own hands, to defend his band's relationship with its audience.

And when Phish started selling its music online, it offered FLAC files, so its fans could own the best sounding versions. Isn't it funny that EMI is offering 256 kbps AACs supposedly sometime in the near future when Phish sold CD quality YEARS AGO!

So don't lament that the manager with the name isn't interested in you. There's a good chance he might not be right for you.

Inexperience is no longer the handicap it used to be. Drive and appreciation of the band/fan relationship are paramount for today's touring acts. That's more about instinct than big time experience. Furthermore, you want someone who can develop on the fly.

Maybe you outgrow your manager, you end up signing with one of the big boys, who wrings out every last dollar for you.

Or maybe you stay with your guy, who delivers for you.

Or maybe your guy makes a deal with Irving, and uses Frontline's power to get you what you want and need.

It's a new game. It's the sixties all over again. The wheel is being reinvented. Don't be hamstrung by the old wave players and the old wave rules."

Celebrate Motherless Thursday

Happy Mother’s Day to all my fans and friends who are mothers, grandmothers, sons and daughters, orphans and adoptees. It’s becoming a tradition to have a show on the Thursday after Mother’s day – I call Motherless Thursday and this year it’s an early show:

Thursday, May 17, 7-9 PM
Free Times Café, 320 College Street
This is a warm-up gig for some festival dates with Colorblind Brian and the New Blainettes. The cover charge is $10 with a generous sliding scale for struggling artists, under-employed and working poor.

If you never heard it, got to www.myspace.com/brianblain and listen to “Don’t Forget Your Mother” a boisterous production of

I’ve been chained to the computer lately and had almost given up on the idea of a Motherless Thursday concert (a mostly annual event on my gig calendar but I am happy to announce that thanks to Judy Perly at Free Times, there will be a Motherless Thursday show. As Judy would say, “Come early. Eat!”

This will be a good warm-up for some upcoming festival dates, starting with The Twisted Pines Festival on the May long-week-end (May 18-21) in Midland. It’s a solid lineup – mostly blues on Sunday (I play at 3:45 in the afternoon) with Downchild headlining but I’m especially looking forward to hearing the great Fred Eaglesmith for the first time. He plays Saturday night. Friends of the Toronto Blues Society are entitled to a $20 discount if you purchase your week-end pass at www.twistedpines.com and enter the code “tbs0407”

I’m not being much of a media mooch these days. I think I’m losing that craving for free shrimp. A couple of days ago was was the big media launch for North by Northeast and I just didn’t have it in me to go schmoozing. Hell, I didn’t even get to the launch party for the Jazz Festival (that was because I was back at home frantically updating their website before they went live). Not a lot of gigs last month but I don’t mind being home on a week-end because I love the radio. Friday nights it’s Reiner Schwarz on jazz.fm. He’s one of the pioneers of underground radio and a guy who hasn’t lost that spirit. It’s a credit to jazz-fm that they’ve hung in with Reiner, even though I’m sure he’s considered a bit of a “bad boy” over there. Right now I’m listening to the inimitable Danny Marks (he’s interviewing Morgan Davis) and my Saturday nights at home are often spent channel hopping between Danny and Holger Peterson on CBC – at one time I even had it set up to record one while I listened to the other. Just flipped and Holger is interviewing Dan Aykroyd! And playing some great tracks, of course.

I got to play on the stage at the new Jeff Healey Roadhouse the other day, and it’s a beautiful stage with lots of monitors and a huge monitor board but I have to say it was not exactly a comfort zone for me. The problem with a big expensive PA system is that we tend to have expectations of a nice big natural sound. Not necessarily. Most of the time a bigger PA just sounds like a bigger box. I shouldn’t fault the monitor guy, it was a benefit concert with lots of acts and a quick turnaround. I saw him a couple of days later and I had the feeling he was a little peeved with me – maybe because I was the one that had to ask him to put the acoustic piano back on the stage. The young lady handling the mains is top-notch. Interesting that there are a respectable proportion of female sound techs (well, two) in the top rooms – Ann at Hughs‘s Room and Debbie (?) at Healey’s.

Harry Manx dropped by and we all went to the Reservoir Lounge where Marg Stowe was subbing with Bradley and the Bouncers, a group that my old buddy “Professor Piano”, Scott Cushnie was playing with until recently. Marg was playing up a storm – man when I watch a guitarist of that caliber playing it might as well be another instrument because they’re shaping chords and playing riffs that are so far beyond the simple country blues that I’ve been playing for the last 40 years (on the same guitar, as I am wont to say). The next day Harry tipped me off that Randy Bachman and Duke Robillard were going to sitting in with Jeff Healey at his club so I dropped in when it was almost midnight. When I walked in there was Randy Bachman on stage with a woman singing “You Got Me Running” or some such blues standard. Turns out it’s Denise his wife, and I listen to them all the time on the radio – they are a great team. Then Randy got a request to do “Taking Care of Business” but he announced that he was going to do it as a blues shuffle. The band was a little thrown off as he started up with those familiar chords in an unfamiliar rhythm but they caught on quick enough. I thought I wouldn’t get to hear Duke play, but he hung around and sat in for the last set, though by then the room had mostly cleared out and both Randy and Jeff and their respective entourages had left the building. After playing one tune on a borrowed Strat, he excused himself to go out to his car and get a big red Gibson that he had picked up that afternoon at the new Gibson showroom. He dug in with an old Room Full of Blues Tune that was requested by one of the horn players and it rocked. This was the first time I ever exchanged more than a couple of words with Duke, and when he heard my name he sort of recognized it and asked if we had ever played any festivals together. I realized afterward, he probably recognized my name from the MapleBlues masthead (…or maybe he saw it on my picture at the Silver Dollar Room, still hanging at the foot of the bar)

Next night we went to see Harry & Kevin at Hugh’s Room and it was a phenomenal evening. It was their first real gig together as a duo and they pulled it off beautifully, though reports were that the second night was even better, but I don’t know how it could get much better. Music, any music – not just blues, is about emotion and energy. And if you can pull out a bit of both in the course of an evening then you have created a moment that people will remember – and people were still talking about that show weeks later. The night after that, I was in the revered Massey Hall listening to Bettye Lavette and the Blind Boys of Alabama and they were all wonderful, of course, but I was still in the “Harry Zone”

Now the work has really piled up, and wouldn’t you know this is the time I get some inspiration to play guitar and work on some tunes. So deadlines or no, I take a liitle time out to play some guitar and I have no regrets. (it’s a good thing none of my clients read my blog, but I know there’s a few of you out there that get a kick out of this and that’s why I keep it up).

Correction, Address Change, Apology...and another Blainletter

THE CORRECTION: As many of you know, my "day job" is putting together MapleBlues, the Toronto Blues Society magazine (among others). I don't know if being the (barely)managing editor helps or hinders my performing career, but sometimes it leaves me in an embarrassing predicament. Tonight my dear Listing Coordinator pointed out that mine was the only name listed performing at the big BluesLink Benefit concert at Healey's Roadhouse on Wednesday Night (Apr 11). How could that happen? Well, she didn't know the names of the participants but she knew I was doing it and she figured I would add the other names later (which I should have if I hadn’t been rushing to get the magazine out on time). So to make up for this glaring omission. Here's the complete schedule. I hope a few people from my mailing list will come out and support this good cause. Read about it at

Here’s the actual running order:

“Colorblind” Blain 8 pm
w/Lily Sazz & Michelle Josef
Lucian Thomas 8:45
Gary Kendall Band 9:30
with special guest: Jani Lauzon
Mr. Rick and the Biscuits 10:20
The Harmonica Knights 11:00
Paul Reddick, David Rotundo, Chuck Jackson,
Dr. Nick, and host Mark “Bird” Stafford


See you at one of these gigs I hope:

Wed. Apr 11 8pm Healey's Roadhouse (see sched above)
Sat. May 19 afternoon Twisted Pines Music Festival, Midland (solo)
Sun. May 20 evening concert Twisted Pines Music Festival (w/Blainettes)
Sat. June 30 2pm Toronto Jazz Festival Greektown stage Danforth & Logan (w/Blainettes)


THE ADDRESS CHANGE: Oh yeah, due to the ever increasing volume of spam I’m getting (and having my address hijacked by spammers) I am changing my email to brianblain@brianblain.ca. blain@tojazz is still fine Please update your Blackberrys or whatever device you use.

THE PITCH: There is no dignified way of saying this, but if you are a festival director, I am still looking for some dates in July and beyond. A couple of festivals have booked my blues band, "Colorblind Brian and the New Blainettes" but at this point I can be a solo, tweener, whatever gap you might need to fill. In French you could call me a "bouche-trou." I'm fun, I'm bluesy, I'm bilingual. Hire me. End of commercial.

THE APOLOGY: If you have received this Blainletter on a listserve like MaplePost or MapleBlue, I don't mean to spam you. It's only because a certain listmom/friend has accused me of being too "shy" so I am sending this one-time-only e-blast to the world. If you would like to continue receiving the Blainletter, then please replay to this with the word “subscribe” in the subject line… and Welcome to Blainville! Some find it to be entertaining commentary - I send out once a month or when I can manage.

My night in Toronto: As I was typing away this blog, I realized there was some music I wanted to see tonight so at 10pm I jump in the car and head straight over to Clinton’s to hear Montrealer Rob Lutes. Rob delivers a great show, some great originals and well-chosen covers. One tune I thought right away sounded like Chris Smithers and sure enough it was one of his tunes. Then he did a cover of “That’s How Strong My Love Is” and even a credible version of “Wichita Lineman” His long-time guitarist, Rob Macdonald was in fine form, getting applause at the end of every solo (and sometimes in the middle of a solo!). Rob had a great sound and I asked him after what kind of guitar/pickup he had. It was a wood-body resophonic. I think he called it a “Listell” I told Rob if was heading down to Healey’s to hear Garrett Mason, and he said he might try to get down but I realized as I was driving away that he probably thinks Healey’s is still at Bathurst & Queen. Well even if he headed straight down to the new place, he would have missed the show – as it was I only heard the encore (but it was rockin’). Then I stop at a 7/11 on the way home, I park next to a small car with a dark, mysterious woman at the wheel. When I come out, she has rolled down the passenger and call’s me over to get some directions. When I approach, I realize she’s pulled down her shirt to expose some pretty massive breasts. She says “Do you live alone?” I said something like “Lookin good but not tonite…” and got back in my car but I guess she took that as some kind of encouragement because she pulls out right behind me and start to follow me. At the red light, she pulls up alongside still flirting, I make a left, and she cuts across the lane to keep following me. Yikes, I’m being stalked. I speed up up and she speeds, finally I see my chance and I race towards a light that is about to change and make a quick left and finally I’ve lost her. That was pretty exciting. I think I owe her a few bucks just for that little thrill!

Dan Hill: I don’t know if this guy has a new record coming out, or a book or a movie but all of a sudden I’m hearing “Sometimes when we touch” all over the CBC. That song does not bring back great memories for me. A lot of people may have issues with that song, but for me it represents a career altering moment (and none of my career altering moments have furthered the career). It was about 1973, I was visiting Toronto after having released a single on the Montreal-based Good Noise label. I was feeling pretty confident, I had done some nice showcases in Montreal and opened some big shows for Lou reed and Seals & Crofts and now I came up to TO. to try to get a gig. It was bad enough the record company (Polydor) was completely focused on a new release by Jim (?) called “Spiders and Snakes” which they classified as a novelty record and since mine was also considered “novelty” it was second banana and never got the pus to radio that it would have received otherwise. Anyway, I was here in Toronto and I had my guitar and someone dragged me down to an “open stage” at a club called Eggertons. I was set to play when the newly-signed Dan Hill came in with a big entourage (I think their might have been a flamboyant publicist with log white hair in that party – I must ask Richard Flohil if it could have been him). Anyway, I was “bumped” and Dan got up and played his soon-to-be mega hit and my window to make a little splash in Toronto evaporated. I went back to Montreal and did not pursue the solo thing. I think I spent the next five years on the road playing bass for all kinds of groups, country rock to wearing a tux backing up a Streisand clone. And did I mention that now Hollywood has come out with a movie called “The Pick of Destiny” which cops that “novely tune” of mine. It was called “The Story of the Magic Pick.”

Other Music around Town: Since getting back from Memphis last month, it’s been non-stop music. I know, I know, I should be home working on my own music, but when you’re a part-time media mooch like myself (I mean, desktop publishing mogul) you get invited to so many CD launches and great concerts. In addition, my boss has opened a new club which is destined to be THE showcase room for jazz in this city, and the whole country for that matter. The opening was packed with high-rollers and beautiful people. Since then I’ve been a few times to hear some local jazos and the wonderful Roberta Gambarini.

Then I took Jacquie to the Johnny Winter show (yes, this is the same Jacquie that screwed up the Blueslink listing in the MapleBlues). Jacquie had always wanted to see Johnny Winter and even though I heard that Johnny was not in great shape, I was glad for the opportunity to see him again since the only other time I ever saw him was at a rock festival at Varsity Stadium in 1970 (??). It was the most dramatic entrance I’d ever seen anyone make. The announcer had already yelled out “Johnny Winter!” a name that meant nothing to me, but then I heard a searing slide guitar intro, but there was only a bass player and drummer on stage. Then after another minute or so, he appeared from the side of the stage, resplendent in satiny black outfit with flowing white hair, playing a burning slide lead on a 12 string electric guitar. I’d never seen slide played on a 12-string and still haven’t to this day. Now it’s 35 years later, I’m standing by the side of the stage as his drummer does the intro after they’ve played a couple of tunes with a guest guitarist. Then I see Johnny being led in through the back door, directly up to the stage where he is placed in a chair with a cushion taped to the seat with duct tape. He walked like a little old man and his arms were so thin. My comment to those who asked was “He can still play” but the fire was not there. He chose a lot of very predictable blues standards to start – it made you wonder if this was just a pick-up band. One friend who’s band had opened a bunch of shows for Johnny a few years back asked if he had occasionally shifted keys in the middle of a song, and I do believe that happened once or twice. It was hard to watch the senior version of someone who had been just about the most glamourous figure in Rock and Roll at a certain moment. But “he can still play” and he can still pack a club. Good for him.

Downchild had a big CD launch of their live album at the new Healey’s and they rocked the house. I was at the gig they recorded – it was at the Palais Royale, where I’m headed in a couple of days for the National Jazz Awards. I also saw two of the great blues touring acts from the west coast, Coco Montoya and Mark Hummel (with Rusty Zinn). Some great guitar playing, and I want a hat just like the one Mark Hummel was wearing. Canadian Music Week kicked off with some interesting speeches (from record pioneer Jac Holzman and rapper Chuck D) and was followed with three nights of music that is all just a blur. I remember young Liam Titcomb did a great showcase and played some tunes from his new album – I hope it gets out pretty soon, it’s been in the can for a while. I told Liam that I had reworked the song I was pitching him back when he was writing his first album and that I was now performing it myself. I still want to play it for him one of these days. It’s called “The End of September” and it’s a “first-day-of-school” scenario. I remember when I was describing the tune to one of Liam’s songwriting pals, she said she questioned whether Liam would be interested in that “schoolboy” thing. She’s probably right, but if I’d got it to him back when I thought of it (of course, it wasn’t finished at that time).

This reminds me of my song about New Orleans. When a promoter friend said he was involved in a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I told him I was writing a song for the occasion. Still, I didn’t make it onto the bill, and it’s just as well, cause I’ve only just finished the song. Then there were a couple of events that I attended just briefly; the Lula Lounge celebration for CBC’s Global Village program and The Indie Awards.

One lasting image of Music Week is a bare-chested guy with eye make-up jumping around the stage like a chimpanzee and making weird gutteral sounds into the mic. I didn’t stick around for the whole thing but I discovered after that they were a group from Montreal called Les Breastfeeders and that they are “the next big thing” (in Europe, at least).

Speaking of Europe, I had bad news and good news from harp player who I played with last year in the Czech Republic and Germany. He said our Czech tour for this fall was not coming together and that he was not going to be available at that time because he would be on tour with Kathi Macdonald. She is a powerhouse (3 years as an Ikette with Ike & Tina Turner) – I sat in with her once at a tiny bar in Montreal called “G Sharp” and she raised the roof. Anyway, the good news was that Butch couldn’t track down the guitarist who was supposed top do the gig and he offered it to me. Here’s some of the dates…if you’re in the neighbourhood:

Oct. 18 Jubez - Karlsruhe
Oct. 19 Wodanhalle - Freiburg
Oct. 20 Albani - Winterthur, Switzerland
Oct. 21 Alte Post - Aeugstertal, Switzerland
Oct. 26 Maltzhaus - Plauen
Oct. 27 Kleinkunstbuhne - Pirna
Oct. 28 Schloss Goseck - Goseck
Nov. 1 Buchcafe - Bad Hersfeld
Nov. 3 Kulturverein - Kellinghusen
Nov. 4 Heimathaus – Twist

Folk Alliance in Memphis

I got to Memphis too late for the opening press conference so I missed hearing Buffy St-Marie who made a huge impression on everyone who heard her keynote address (I had a bit of a breakthrough when I opted to stay in, check out my gear and prepare for my showcase rather than go to the keynote). Maybe I should have just gone to hear Buffy because there were only five or six people at the showcase anyway, though it was an audience many of those showcasers would have killed for - Rounder founder Ken Irwin and wife Donna Wilson Irwin whom I've known for years and who were just there supporting a friend). Rather than play my prepared set, I pulled out some tunes I've never played in public including "Last Time I Saw Lenny" (Breau) and "Alice," a where-is-she-now ballad about Alice Brock, the subject of the now 40-year old "Alice's Restaurant." I've reworked the tune since Alice told me it wasn't her favourite Brian Blain song and that it wasn't exactly a "toe-tapper." I didn't feel so bad about having just a handful of people at my hotel room showcase when I walked by many "official" showcases in much larger spaces with even fewer listeners – in one case, I was the only person in the audience which was pretty awkward for both of us.

Then there was Rory Block's show on the Martin Stage. Rory is a blues headliner and probably got a nice fee from Martin Guitars (the better to pay the gas in her giant tour bus…I think it was hers, anyway). The Martin Stage was in a cavernous space in the convention centre outside the trade show area (double cavernous). There was hardly anybody seated up by the stage though there were lots of people wandering around in the distance. I gather from his recent post that the guy sitting a few seats from me was Steve Edge – hey Steve, if I'd known it was you I would have said hello! That was a thankless gig but Rory dug in and put on a show for anyone who cared to listen. She talked about her early days as a teenager touring the rural south with Stefan Grossman telling how he would stop in at every pawn shop and ask if they had any old Martin guitars. Many times the pawnbroker would pull out a banged up pre-war Martin and Stefan would get it for 40 or 50 bucks. When they returned to New York, he had accumulated ten or more of these priceless guitars. We can only imagine what they're worth today.

I slipped away from Rory's set to make my way to the Blues Workshop where I found Ann Rabson (playing guitar, which she pointed out was her main instrument long before piano). Also on stage was William Lee Ellis who I met earlier in our showcase room. I found out later that he is a prominent music writer in Memphis and he did the "celebrity interview" with Jesse Winchester. He's a great finger-picker too – I was watching carefully. There was a very small audience in the Blues workshop (I guess Steve Edge was there too) and the players opted to turn off the PA system, which was fine until the banjo workshop (amplified) got going in the adjacent room.

Following the Blues workshop, we had a blues jam and I joined in. Ken Whiteley and Alice Stuart were the hosts though Alice hardly played and split early. Apparently she is one of the first women on the blues circuit to play lead electric guitar and has been out of the scene for a while. Regrettably, I never got to see her doing a showcase. Ken was coaxing me to play Ben's electric string bass but I tried for a moment and realized it's been way too long (like 45 years). Maybe with a little tape to mark the positions I might have tried it, but it was just too strange.

At the same time as my showcase, the Quebec contingent were having a showcase with Penny Lang, Ray Bonneville, Jesse Winchester and others. I missed it, of course, but I had the privilege to tag along for a recording session with Penny and Ray and the legendary Sun Studios. Now there's a studio with some history. The front area had been converted into a souvenir shop and the upstairs was a veritable museum but the studio itself was pretty well the way it was when Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Howlin' Wolf had recorded there. The equipment was not the same, though. There were a few old tape machines hanging around for décor, but the control room featured what many would consider "semi-pro" gear. Regardless, they laid down some great tracks and Penny loved that classic Memphis "slap-echo" on her vocal. I hope they get to use some of these tracks on her next album. Penny is a true national treasure and Ray Bonneville is a road warrior who lives to play.

At the Awards soiree, I got to see a phenomenal kora player, Mamadou Diabate – tall, elegant and an amazing player. I've had a kora in my living room for months but have not got to first base.

I had decided to bring my Johnson resophonic rather than my beloved Epiphone guitar but as I looked around I could see that everybody else brought there finest and most treasured instruments. I've seen a lot of old Gibsons, but I don't think there's ever been such a collection of "banner" Gibsons, the really old ones, under one roof. Interesting that everyone was so concerned about getting the best sound from their guitars with the state of the art pick-ups and pre-amps but I think the best sounding guitar I heard all week-end was Jesse Winchester's classical guitar with no pickup. He just pulled a mic in front of it and it sounded so full and beautiful. Maybe I was caught up in the emotion of the moment – Jesse had just been honoured by the greatest musicians in the country at a special ASCAP reception and he played a few songs for the large crowd. I spoke to him briefly but I'm not sure he remembered me. Thirty-five years ago we worked for a couple of weeks as co-producers of the second Fraser & DeBolt album but Jesse bailed on the project when things were getting too loose for his liking. I wanted to reminisce with him about when he first arrived in Montreal and I remember getting a call from Sue Lothrop telling me that she and Allan Fraser (then performing as a duo called "Breakfast") were going to pay the musicians' union initiation fee for this great guitarist who had just arrived in Montreal…that was Jesse, of course. I was their manager and forbade them putting out that money for Jesse when there were many other great guitarists who were already in the union, but we can all be glad they disregarded my fiscal concerns and went ahead and got Jesse in the union so he could play the gig with them (I think it was at the Venus de Milo Room).

I'm looking at the list I made of artists I wanted to see, but alas I hardly got to see half of them. I didn't get to hear Digging Roots with their new band lineup, but I heard lots of great comments. Raven was the first familiar face I saw at the hotel and then we ran into each other on Beale Street. The Canadian contingent fared very well. New Brunswick's Hot Toddy were rocking the "East Coast" room. I overheard one attendee talking about Andrew Collins of Creaking Tree String Quartet "After a week-end of listening to mediocre mandolin players it's a relief to hear someone who can really play". I went out for breakfast with Australian Jeff Lang and he was trying to remember the name of some high-energy duo from Canada that knocked him out. "The Undesirables?" I asked. "That's it," he said, and asked me to repeat the name again later. My faves were the Lovell Sisters, the Illuminatti Orchestrii from the Bronx and a crazy trio of gypsy-style performers from Australia called Vardoz. I heard a young Nova Scotian guitarist whose last name was Leblanc. I've got to hjear more of him.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops were the buzz of the weekend and they had a great shtick but I wondered how it would sustain for a whole evening. The best moment of the whole week-end for me was one of the groups that played right after me in the Rolling & Tumbling suite. They were an gospel quartet (actually five elderly black gentlemen wearing dark suits and matching ties) called the Spirit of Memphis. They performed a capella and stated proudly that the group has been in existence 77 years and it was a most uplifting performance. I sat mesmerized in a big armchair right in front. To the left of me was music industry pioneer Chris Strachwitz filming the performance on his camcorder and next to him the renown musicologist Dr. David Evans.

We saved the best for last and late Saturday Night the jamming began. First Michelle and I set up in the lobby mezzanine and attracted Eivor and Bill Bourne (man that guy really has something all his own, and Eivor is a vocalist nonpareil), then we made our way up to a room where I had a quickie jam with Ken Whiteley and played him my song-in-the-works about New Orleans. Finally (at about 3am) many of the Rolling & Tumbling participants gathered in our suite for an informal jam and we were all delighted when David showed up with legendary bass player Freebo who lays down a real solid groove. We had a room full of guitar players but it did not get out of hand at all and some great moments were had. I don't even know all their names, but the group included David, Michelle, myself, Freebo, Jonathan Byrd, David Glaser, Steve James, Greg Klyma, Andy Cohen and Spook Handy. What a pleasure jamming with these great musicians. That's what it's all about for me.