Chicago Carl's Blues Diner

March 22nd, 2013

Purgatory Hill at the Holiday Music Motel

pat mAcdonald and melaniejane perform “Invisible Pistols” during WPT’s 30-Minute Music Hour, hosted by Andy Moore. Recorded in February 2013 at the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, WI. The first airing on Wisconsin Public Television is tonight (3/22), if you still do TV.

View the full episode here: WPT.org

Also: The Road to Purgatory Hill

Also: WPT’s 30-Minute Music Hour’s full episodes online.

Also: Buy Purgatory Hill music and merch

Also: Holiday Music Motel

Also: Purgatory Hill Harp, a Lowebow by John Lowe aka Johnny Lowebow of Xanadu Music and Books in Memphis.

Also: Steel Bridge Songfest

March 21st, 2013

Or How I Killed Mark Hummel (on CD)

Good: I caught Mark Hummel and R. W. Grigsby during their March 21st visit to Westside Andy Lindeman and Mel Ford’s Thursday night gig at the Hody Bar in Middleton, WI.

Good: Blues harp mania! Westside Andy, Mark Hummel, Joe Nosek, and Billy Flynn all took turns blowing and drawing. Harpo John was in the crowd, but didn’t play. Plus, Billy Flynn and Mel Ford on guitar, and R. W. on bass.

Good: In between sets, I bought a copy of Mark Hummel Unplugged — Back Porch Music and a copy of his DVD, Harmonica Party.

Bad: Dropped my glasses at the show and they broke in half, but that has nothing much to do with the story.

Ugly: The next day, played the CD. Great! Later that day, went to play it again (before adding to my iPod), but the disc got partially stuck in the jewel box, then released and went flying, bouncing off a few things before it hit the floor. Scratched, unplayable, and dead. Damn it!

Time to get myself a new CD.

From Mark Hummel’s site:

BACK PORCH MUSIC
Mark Hummel’s new acoustic CD featuring vocalist/harpist Mark Hummel and guitarist Rusty Zinn going acoustic with Bob Welsh on piano and guitar, and R. W. Grigsby on bass on selected cuts. 16 tracks including: Ease My Mind, Shake Your Boogie, Love In Vain, She Moves Me, Evans Shuffle, Can’t Hold Out Much Longer.

Buy Now

Join me in buying a(nother) copy!

February 8th, 2013

“Sitting Here Singing My Blues”

“Sitting Here Singing My Blues” — Tail Dragger at the Knuckle Down Saloon in Madison on February 8, 2013

The sound system didn’t cooperate the whole night, but a show with Tail Dragger and faulty sound is still better than most shows.

In the photo:

Tail Dragger, vocals (front, seated)

Martin Lang, harmonica

Paul Filipowicz, guitar

Dave Wood, bass (right and back)

Jimi Schutte, drums

A.J. Love, guitar (out of the frame, except for his left leg)

Knuckle Down Saloon, Madison, Wisconsin

February 3rd, 2013

Blues Musician Needs Your Help: Eddie C. Campbell Assistance Fund

Short version:

Click here to help out Chicago blues musician Eddie C. Campbell with medical expenses due to a heart attack and stroke that he suffered while touring in Germany: Eddie C. Campbell Assistance Fund (via PayPal)

More Details:

As posted on Facebook, here’s a message from Barbara Mayson Campbell, Eddie’s manager and mother of their kids.

Eddie C. Campbell Assistance Fund

As many of you know, Eddie suffered a heart attack and stroke while on tour in Germany. He is out of intensive care and stabilized. However, he is at present paralyzed on his right side. We need your help. Time is of the essence; Eddie’s prognosis for a full recovery is dependent upon him receiving the appropriate medical attention including neuro/physical therapy. Eddie has no medical coverage in Germany, and, due to his condition, he may only be able to fly commercially with a medical escort or, ideally, in an air ambulance. The costs will be staggering in the coming weeks and months. Donations are being accepted at my PayPal account at the following link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EW7MD74X66SPE

As his manager and mother of his children, I appreciate your good will, your prayers, and, if possible, your financial support.

Barbara (barbara.blues@gmail.com)
Administrator, Eddie C. Campbell Assistance Fund

So many of my favorite blues musicians face financial difficulties, and covering uninsured or underinsured health expenses is one of the biggest problems. Here’s a chance for us to help out Eddie Campbell and his family.

January 11th, 2013

Buddy Guy at Legends (January 11, 2013)

And then it was star time! Buddy Guy and the Damn Right Blues Band.

Buddy Guy with drummer Tim Austin. Not shown: Marty Sammon, Ric Hall, and Orlando Wright.

January 4th, 2013

John Primer in Madison, WI
January 4, 2013

John Primer was the featured performer at the Knuckle Down Saloon for The Friday Night Blues Party DVD filming, with guest Martin Lang on harmonica, Merle Perkins on drums, and Mike Morrison on bass.

And, as it turns out, this was the first time ever that John Primer and Martin Lang had shared a stage. You’d think they would have crossed paths before.

About The Friday Night Blues Party DVD (from A.J. Love):

We’re putting together a DVD of some of the greatest Chicago Blues musicians alive today, many of whom (despite their vast accomplishments) have never appeared before on a commercially available DVD in their lives. This DVD will be filmed live at the Knuckle Down Saloon in Madison, Wisconsin over various Friday night performances.

This film will capture the intensity, excitement, and raw energy of the live Blues experience in a small club environment. Complete with extensive interviews with the artists themselves as well as full length song performances, this is a chance for these Bluesmen to tell their story, in their own words, of their experiences over many decades of playing & living the Blues, as well the life & lessons they learned from touring with some of the greatest musicians of all time.

PRE-ORDER THE DVD WITH A $25 PAYMENT TO
switness5@hotmail.com VIA PAYPAL.

Thanks! Your order will get you the DVD & CD package of “The Friday Night Blues Party” which will ship in late March.

We had a very successful fundraising campaign on KICKSTARTER, that has now ended, but folks can still pre-order the DVD via Paypal. This is a film that needs to be made NOW, while these great artists are alive and in their prime.

December 15th, 2012

A Steve Freund Weekend

Steve Freund at the Knuckle Down Saloon

Steve Freund and Oscar Wilson at the Knuckle Down Saloon

Steve Freund in Madison and Chicago
December 13–15, 2012

Steve Freund’s weekend visit to the Midwest dropped him in Madison for two nights and in Chicago for another.

The Thursday night Blues Clinic was a great idea… on paper. Here’s what one of the ads said:

Steve Freund is one of the world’s great traditional Blues guitar players. After spending 18 years in Chicago playing with Hall of Famers like Sunnyland Slim & Otis Rush, he has now been living in California for several years as one of the top Blues musicians on the West Coast.

We’re flying Steve in to perform at the Knuckle Down Saloon for a live DVD shoot on Friday Dec 14th and we thought we would offer the public an EXTREMELY RARE opportunity to learn directly from Steve in a Blues clinic format on Thursday, the night before. He’ll be sharing his knowledge about Blues, rhythm, guitar, and the music in general. You’ll have opportunities to ask questions and hear Steve’s perspective on the Blues in an informal environment. And Steve will be demonstrating live some of how he plays the Blues with a top notch backing band that includes Chris Sandoval on drums and Mike Morrison on bass.

Shit, read that and you’d expect standing room only, right? I did.

Where were you Madison? Madison Music Foundry hosted the clinic and warm-up night to A.J. Love’s Friday Night Blues Party DVD filming, but nobody showed up. Well, nobody else showed up. The band was there—Steve Freund, A.J. Love, Chris Sandoval, and Mike Morrison—and I was there. It was a little awkward being an audience of one, but it was interesting to hear a few stories and to listen to the band practice for Friday.

Friday night at the Chris Kalmbach’s Knuckle Down Saloon: Steve Freund, guest appearance by Oscar Wilson, blues, beer, dancing. What more could a person want?

Maybe this:

That’s Dave Specter, Steve Freund, Mud Morganfield, and Harmonica Hinds.
Photo by Harvey Tillis, lifted from Dave Specter’s Facebook timeline.

Reports from Saturday’s show at SPACE in Evanston hint that it may have been the top slot on the Steve Freund weekend highlight reel: solo Steve Freund opening for Mud Morganfield, with Dave Specter and Harmonica Hinds. Dave Specter himself posted this on his Facebook page:

This goes to the top of my list of Highlights of 2012.

ALERT: Open Your Wallet! Your money plus my money plus other fans’ money keep the music going. Support your favorites and future favorites by buying their recordings and merchandise. Simple to do; makes a difference! Here’s your chance now…

Come On In This House

Buy a copy today. Or buy two and play one forward. Steve Freund’s new release is available on CD directly from him. Use PayPal’s gift option and send $20 to him at his PayPal email address of steve.freund@speakeasy.net. Or contact Steve directly via e-mail for details: steve.freund1952@gmail.com.

Here’s what he has to say about Come On In This House (via SteveFreund.com):

On my last CD, and on my previous recordings, the focus has been on original tunes. On this latest release, I chose to do songs that have always meant something to me. I have been fortunate enough to have worked with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Junior Wells, and Detroit Jr, all of whose songs have appeared on this CD. Janis Joplin’s Turtle Blues has been a favorite of mine ever since the day I picked up Cheap Thrills in NYC back in 1968. Not many, if any, men have recorded this tune. I met Otis Spann in 1969, and his spirit left an impression on me that I feel whenever I perform. Evil Ways is a sad song that many of us can identify with, and its one that I have wanted to record for a long time.

What can I say about Freddie King???? I saw him perform many times and I also met him in the good old 60s. These are two very distinctly different songs that I chose to do, both of which I have loved for many years. Detroit Jr., when penned Call My Job, was a good friend of mine back in Chicago. I used to get a kick out of seeing him do this tune, as he would often climb out from under the piano and emerge to the sound of an alarm clock as if he was being woken out of bed. If you have a job, you can relate to this one.

I had heard BB King’s version of Blues Stay Away From Me many years ago, but Jan Fanucchi reminded me of the original Delmore Brothers version, complete with catchy bass line. On Scot’s suggestion, I used a whammy bar on my solo. I like it and hope you do, too. Roosevelt Sykes “the Honeydripper” is one of my all time favorite artists. Dangerous Man always brings chuckles to the audience, and it gives me a chance to try my licks on a different beat. Worried About My Gal, an original, is a tune that anyone who has had a crazy boyfriend or girlfriend can understand, plus it has a good bass line and lots of guitar!

Last but certainly not least is Easy Rider, which has to be one of the oldest known blues songs. On this version, we use a different arrangement and traditional instrumentation, the kind of which one might have heard in New Orleans in the early part of the twentieth century. I love the combination of mandolin and trombone. As I have always said, I am not trying to change the blues, I love certain genres of the music and I strive to interpret it in my own way. Scot Brenton and I worked hard on this CD to bring some tunes to the listener that they may not have heard before. We hope you enjoy this CD and that it leads you to further explore these artists and the classic blues stylings.

Steve Freund, November 2012

July 28th, 2012

Muddy Waters | The Rolling Stones | Checkerboard Lounge | Live Chicago 1981

Still frames from the new DVD, released July 10, 2012. (Eagle Vision/Eagle Rock Entertainment catalog number EV305529)

From the liner notes:

On November 22, 1981, in the middle of their mammoth American tour, the Rolling Stones arrived in Chicago. Long influenced by Muddy Waters and the Chicago blues, members of the band paid a visit to Buddy Guy’s club, The Checkerboard Lounge, to see the legendary bluesman perform. It didn’t take long before Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Ian Stewart were joining in on stage and later Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Lefty Dizz also joined in the fun.

And yes, the Amazon commenters are correct: Lefty Dizz is annoying. But he doesn’t ruin the DVD.

June 9th, 2012

Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials at Rosa’s Lounge in Chicago on June 9, 2012. As fun as the hot, sunny Blues Fest was during the day, there’s something to be said for air conditioning, dim lights, and cold beer. The wild and crazy guys in the audience were an extra bonus.

At the break, I picked up a copy of the new CD, Jump Start, from the lovely Mrs. Lil’ Ed who was working the merch table.

June 7th, 2012

Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore’s “Longtime Friends in the Blues” CD Release Party at B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted in Chicago on June 7. My pre-Blues-Fest warm up.

Bob Corritore talked about the show in his Blues Festival recap:

Thursday was the CD Release Party at B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted for Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore / Longtime Friends In The Blues on the Delta Groove label. The great band included Illinois Slim, Kevin Shanahan, Todd Fackler, and Twist Turner and we invited up a few special guests including the great Martin Lange, Rockin’ Johnny, and Joe Louis Walker. The club was packed with an exceptional amount of our friends from Europe and South America. This night was recorded by Delmark’s Steve Wagner who will present it on his internet podcast website. It was especially great to reunite with my friend Illinois Slim who I have known and performed with since 1975.