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International Blues Challenge - News Update from 2010 Event....
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26th International Blues Challenge Results Lets cut to the chase— Band 1st Place: Grady Champion, Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola 2nd Place: Karen Lovely Band, Cascade Blues Association 3rd Place: Cheryl Renee with Them Bones, Cincy Blues Society Best Guitarist: Matt Kelly, Big Boy Little Band, DC Blues Society Solo/Duo 1st Place: Matt Andersen, Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, New Brunswick, Canada 2nd Place: Alphonso Sanders and Bill “Howl-n-Madd” Perry, Crossroads Blues Society, Rosedale, Mississippi
The Best Self-Produced CD is a tie between Fire It Up! by the Laurie Morvan Band (Santa Clarita Blues Society) and Crime Scene Queen by The Informants (Colorado Blues Society).
The Gibson Little Lucille autographed at the 2004 Blues Music Awards was won by Michel Germain from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. His ticket came through affiliate Le Relatant Société de Blues in Quebec Canada. What can we say? We will let Candye Kane say it for us: “THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING WEEKENDS OF MY LIFE!!! I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT. I WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR…. IT WAS JUST A TREMENDOUS HONOR TO MEET SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND SEE THE CALIBER OF TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD. AND SEEING THE KIDS LOVING THIS MUSIC IS A REAL INSPIRATION…. I MUST HAVE SEEN OVER 40 BANDS ALL OF THEM WERE TERRIFIC. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH. For my day after random thoughts on the IBC, go to the News page on the website With a successful IBC behind us, we turn our attention to the Blues Music Awards set for May 6 in Memphis. The list of nominees has been public since December. The voting continues through February. Tickets and tables have been on sale since December and you have been able to reserve a room at the Marriott at a special price since then as well. We are in the process of identifying which nominees will be attending though we know most of them will. We will be announcing the 2010 Blues Hall of Fame inductees in early February and will be making additional announcements about the Blues Music Awards in the coming months. Don’t wait for the details—just know they will be good. Get your tickets now, get your room now, book your flight so as to take in more than just Thursday night. Its Memphis and the Delta which can always fill a music lover’s dance card. Indeed, we already know that Nick Moss and the Flip Tops will be at the Rum Boogie on Wednesday, May 5. Duh, do you think he may have a few guests? Affiliate Spotlight—The Connecticut Blues Society (2010 Keeping the Blues Alive Award recipient) has been collaborating with the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs in The Winners Circle Blues Project. Blues musicians donate their time to provide a monthly concert at the main Veterans Affairs facility in Rocky Hill. With considerable assistance of blues musicians across the state, we have gone beyond the Project concerts and bring bands in for the annual Stand Down Day and the Black History Month Dinner. This is a way to give back to the Veterans who have served the US. With the support of The Blues Foundation’s affiliates, the intention is expand this project throughout the country. For more information, go to the affiliate spotlight on our news page. Feel free to contact Dom Forcella at TWBlus@aol.com to get started on your own project. The Winners Circle Blues Project is enriching for all.
For Members Only In honor of Bobby Blue Bland’s 80th birthday this past Wednesday, January 27, we begin a monthly feature where we identify what you—our members—can do this month for yourself and for The Blues Foundation to help your organization. Each month we are going to “make the ask.” Here are three easy ones to start us off. 1. Vote for the Blues Music Awards before the deadline February 28. 2. Buy a 30th Blues Music Award DVD—this is 2 hours of the best Blues Music Awards ever. All the awards; all the performances. This baby is really good folks. If you were there, you know how good it was. If you were not, it will make you want to attend this year’s show. You like once in a lifetime pairings? How about B.B. King and Curtis Salgado, Taj Mahal and Maria Muldaur, Marcia Ball and Elvin Bishop, or the sleeper combo of night Steve Guyger with Kirk Fletcher? You want ladies? You got Janiva Magness, Bettye LaVette, Irma Thomas. Guitarists? Wait till you see Bob Brozman and Michael Burks. I could go on and on to mention every single performance but the point is they are all bad to the bone. And, sadly, Koko Taylor’s final performance. But this is proof she was the Queen of the Blues to the very end. Get the DVD in the Blues Store for just $20. 3. We have some 26th International Blues Challenge shirts left. We are pricing them to move to make room for our spring collection. These are in the Blues Store.
With the IBC just past, lets revisit some past IBC participants—
Song “Got a Way With Women” Michael Burks took third place in the 11th National Blues Talent Competition in 1994. I first saw Michael perform at the 2002 Tampa Bay Blues Festival. After his set, I bought the CD on which you will find this song -- Make it Rain. He autographed it for me and I recall that he was still autographing CDs when the act following Michael was finished and walking over to start selling and signing!! Michael was that good that afternoon and when you see him on the 30th Blues Music Awards DVD, you will know that he still is. “Got a Way with Women” was not written by Michael Burks but as usual he made it his own. This song has one of those double entendres that make blues music so enjoyable. Michael sings “He sure got a way with women. He got away with mine.” Of course, the song has Michael’s meaty guitar—that increasingly rare sound that is both old and new at the same time.
CD You Need to Live a Little by Larry Garner (1994 Verve) Larry Garner and the Boogaloo Blues Band took first place at the 5th National Blues Amateur Talent Contest in 1988. This recording was my first exposure to Larry back in the day and this is one of those blues albums that makes you turn your head towards the player on the first note. The opening guitar lick on “Another Bad Day” is a sound that could not be made by anyone who did not really know the blues. It is chock full of smart, witty modern-day blues songs, all except one written by Larry. “Four Cars Running” and “Live A Little” are both philosophical tales of modern America. Every song is good and every song is different, but there is flow and pace and continuity. You do not start in on the third song or take it off after the tenth with this CD. You listen to the whole thing and maybe go back to listen to a couple of songs before taking it off the player and putting it away. FYI, Matthew Skoller, who placed 3rd in the 13th International Blues Talent Competition in 1996 plays harp on two tracks. If you are not familiar with Larry, he is still out there recording and performing. Check him out.
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