"Welcome to my world."

Here is a true story that opened my eyes to a rather basic fact.

From 2003 until 2010, I fronted a blues band.  When you are a harmonica player, the only way to play in a band is to be the front guy - singing, playing harp, getting the gigs, hiring the musicians, etc.  It is hard to have any success as a harmonica sideman.  Most bands, even blues bands, see harp guys as unnecessary.  Since I wanted to play, I started my own band.  It was Mr. G and the Mystery Band.  I played 2-4 times each month in relatively small and obscure venues.  It was a good blues band, but there were a ton of good blues bands in Chicago.  It was a competitive scene.  I expect the post Covid-19 scene will be even more cut-throat, since some venues won't survive the shut down.  Desparate musicans might kill each other for the few remaining gigs.

When I was fronting the band, I always guaranteed the musicians a fair wage, paid in cash, at the end of the night.  I often came out of pocket to keep that promise since the club owners generally gave us a percentage of the door or the bar sales during our sets and the pay was skimpy on a slow night at the club.   Since I was a reliable paymaster, I was able to attract some amazing blues musicians to the Mystery Band.  One of the great musicians was an African American guitarist in his mid-fifties who I will call Bill (not his real name).  Bill grew up on the West Side of Chicago. Otis Rush was a West Side guy; so was Magic Sam, Mighty Joe Young and a host of other terrific artists.  Bill was cut from that cloth, and he had his own sound - a sizzling rock-ish tone with a broad vocabulary of licks and creative musical ideas.

One of the obscure places we played on a semi-regular basis was C.J.Arthurs, a restaurant and bar in the leafy suburb of Wilmette IL.  If you have never been to Chicago, you might not know about Wilmette.  It is the second suburb north of the big city and it is quite a bit different from the West Side of Chicago.  Wilmette is a wealthy town, but still much less wealthy than its neighbors to the north, Kennilworth and Winnetka.  There are almost no Black people in Wilmette.  Most Black people didn't have the dough to buy houses there, and those that did have the dough didn't want to be the conspicuous Black person in a sea of White faces.  The White folks of Wilmette would claim to be "not racist."  Anyone could move in if they had the money.

The Mystery Band consisted of an aging White harp player (me) and seriously great Black blues musicians (including Bill).  The C. J. Arthur's owners and staff were very nice to us, as were the patrons.  We got good food and a decent number of adult beverages when we played at C. J's.  The pay varied from generous to almost nothing depending on how much product was being sold by the club.

One Friday night, the Mystery Band finished its gig at CJ's at midnight.  We got paid, packed up our gear and headed south to hit the sack.  Bill was my neighbor, so I would give him a lift to and from the gigs.  We were driving south in the left lane of Green Bay Road around 1 AM Saturday morning and a Wilmette cop car pulled along side of me in the right lane.  I noticed, but didn't think much about it - I was being careful to obey the traffic laws because the Wilmette cops were happy to issue speeding tickets.  The cop dropped back, shifted behind me in the left lane and turned on his lights and siren.

I was startled, but pulled over immediately.  The officer walked up to my car with his big-ass flashlight in hand.  I rolled down the window and said "Good evening, officer - did I do something wrong?"  He shined the light in my eyes and made a soft grunting sound.  He pointed the flashlight at Bill.  Then he said "we had a robbery called in and your car matched the description of the car driven by the perp."  He looked at me again.  Took my license and ran it through his system.  He came back and said "OK, you can go.  But your license plate light is out - fix it or you will get a ticket the next time I see you." He pointed his flashlight at Bill again.

The cop took off and I started to drive again.  "What the hell was that?" I asked Bill.

He smiled and said "Welcome to my world."

So, yeah, cops target Black people. Duh.  Bill said, "Since you were driving, he backed off.  If you had been Black we would be in the shit right now."

I have thought a lot about that night in recent months.

Fear and Loathing

I grew up in a segregated suburb in Northern California.  It was mostly white, with a smattering of Hispanic and Asian folks.  There was not one black person in town - they all lived over the city's border in Oakland.  My father was notoriously cheap, so we would drive to downtown Oakland to the Oakland Barber College to get our haircuts every three weeks or so (haircuts for 10 cents provided by student barbers - quality was inconsistent, but the price was right).  We went from a lilly-white environment to a mostly African American environment.  I can remember my seven-year old self feeling disoriented and fearful around these people that were different from me.  My dad's Tennessee bigotry and racist narrative about black people during these trips added to my unease.

Well, life unfolded and I grew up.  In high school, I fell in love with jazz, blues, soul and funk music. If I loved the music, I had to love the people that invented and performed it.  My heroes were Charlie Parker, Count Basie, James Brown, Miles Davis, Al Green, John Coltrane, J.J. Johnson, Roland Kirk, Otis Redding, Thelonius Monk.  I got out of the "white ghetto" and moved to Berkeley, went to Cal.  I actually got to meet and hang out with Real Black People!  I was thrilled.   The fearfulness of my childhood experiences in downtown Oakland became a faded memory.

So here is the obvious truth - fear and loathing springs from isolation and separation.  The cure to fear and loathing is to live with the people you find frightening.  Guess what?  Most of them are regular folks.  Just because our social infrastructure accommodates prejudiced thinking doesn't mean we have no choice regarding  how we behave towards people that come from backgrounds different from our own.  The other obvious truth - it is wrong to generalize about a large group based on misinformation or the actions of a tiny minority within that group.

The typical power move by authoritarian individuals or groups is to create fear and loathing.  This increases separation and inspires hatred. The authoritarians then promise to protect the fearful people from the hated ones, and to deliver retribution.   When people are gripped by fear and loathing, they can do some truly awful stuff - oppression, terrorist acts, all-out war, genocide, and miscellaneous depravity.   They also hand over their personal agency to the authoritarians that generate the depraved plan of action.

We are seeing this play out right now, of course.   The so-called Islamic State extremists are using the old fear and loathing playbook, and it is working like a charm. The terrorists unleash mayhem against defenseless people, creating fear and loathing. Some politicians in the West  inject bigotry into the mainstream,which increases fear and loathing.  The stated goal of the Islamic State is to attract Western armies to the Middle East for the Islamic Apocalypse (that is why they are doing awful shit - to provoke a military response).  There are politicians in the United States that seem ready to fulfill this grand ISIS goal.  It seems pretty obvious and basic, but lots of people are stepping right into the trap.

It is always easier to destroy and cause misery than to cultivate and cause happiness.  People are lazy and opt for the easy path, in spite of its horrible costs.  And let's not forget the "other guy" dilemma - it makes no sense to be a pacifist if the other guy is a warlord.

Steven Pinker wrote a great book four years ago called "The Better Angels of Our Nature."  It is about the decline of violence throughout human history.  I wonder what Mr. Pinker would say about recent events.  Is it a bump in the road or a shift in direction?

6th Annual Chicago Blues Harp Bash Featuring Johnny Sansone

I have retreated from the harmonica community over the past few years due to a spike in family needs and work commitments.  I still try to "visit" from time to time.  Since devotion to the harmonica is a decidedly peculiar passion, all devotees tend to bond immediately to each other and treat each other with kindness and empathy. It is the friendliest community of musicians I have found - not much ego and few "cutting contests" amongst harmonica players.  Of course, it is a somewhat nerdy community, because only nerds spend countless hours studying the output of deceased  blues harmonica players.

One of the leaders of this community is a fellow from Joliet IL, Joe Filisko.  Joe is a fantastic harmonica player with ferocious curiosity - he wants to know all about the tin sandwich, he seeks out the music of obscure players that died decades ago and he travels the world playing and teaching at festivals.  He has probably taught more aspiring harmonica players than anyone on the planet.  I am one of his former students, and I am very lucky to have fallen under his tutelage. He is generous with his knowledge and patient when dealing with  incompetent harmonica players.  He also customizes harmonicas (converting store-bought mass-produced pieces of junk into marvelous, high-end musical instruments).  Every serious harmonica player dreams of owning a Filisko harmonica; most never achieve that dream.  Filisko harmonicas are not, as Joe says, "for the general public,"  and he believes that most harmonica players are members of "the general public."

Six years ago, Joe realized that some of his student were serious performers.  He launched a harp bash featuring a handful of local Chicago harmonica folks (mostly his students) and one serious professional "ringer."  The "ringers" at past bashes have included Billy Boy Arnold, Jim Liban, Jerry Portnoy, Sugar Ray  Norcia, and Gary Smith.  If these names mean nothing to you, then you are not a blues harmonica aficionado.

This past Sunday evening, the 6th Annual Chicago Blues Harmonica Bash was held at the Old Town School of Folk Music.  The featured "ringer" was Johnny Sansone.
Sansone is based in New Orleans although he was born and raised in New Jersey.  There are tons of gigs in and around N.O. so Johnny doesn't get to Chicago much these days (he did spend time backing some of the Chicago greats when he was younger - Jimmy Rogers, Robert Junior Lockwood and others).  Sansone is part of the tight New Orleans music scene - hangs with Tab Benoit, Dr. John, Cyril Neville and a host of others.  He is featured at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  He is a formidable songwriter, and he plays accordion to boot!

Johnny Sansone closed out the night, playing a mix of originals ("The Lord is Waiting and the Devil Is, Too," "Once It Gets Started") and blues standards ("I'm Just a Bad Boy," "She's Nineteen years Old," "Raining in My Heart").  His harmonica work is technically adept and aggressive.  His tonal choice is edgier than the traditional "fat" Chicago blues harp tone.  He is closer to Paul DeLay; not quite as close to Big Walter Horton.  It is a great, large, passionate sound.  The sound matches Johnny's physical presence.  On stage, Sansone is like a more menacing version of Baloo from Disney's "The Jungle Book."  He commands the stage, and the whole room.  This is not a man to trifle with, no sir.  He played his ass off, and told some amusing stories, too. 

Near the end of his set, Sansone called out Jim Liban, another harp master who was in the audience.  Johnny asked him to come up and play; Jim demurred, saying "I left my harps in Milwuakee."  Joe Filisko quickly produced a full set of Filisko Customs, and Liban came forward.  The combination of Sansone and Liban was a harmonica summit that generated slack-jawed amazement and screaming ecstasy from the harp players in the audience. Liban is a Jedi master of the blues harp, the Yoda of the Mississippi saxophone.  All other professional blues harp players are Liban fans.  He cranked it so hard that Sansone began to complain, "Liban is kicking my ass!"

The Bash performers prior to Sansone's set did not disappoint.  Scott Dirks is a highly skilled harmonicist, author, educator and advocate for the blues harmonica.  He brings deep love and respect for the genre (not to mention chops and decades of playing experience).  Tall Paul Sabel is a member of the younger generation (under 45 years old) of blues harmonica players, and he is definitely an "up and comer" amongst the harp blowers in Chicago.  Grant Kessler and Kirk Manley are long-time Filisko students and local performers that have many gigs under their belts - both have achieved the "big tone harp" sound the Filisko strives to teach his minions.

But the biggest kick came from the opening act, Zoe Savage.  Ms. Savage began taking lessons from Joe Filisko when she was 10 years old.  She has studied hard, played in the advanced Chicago blues harp classes at the Old Town School and is now a formidable performer - and she is also teaching harmonica classes at OTS.  It is unusual to see a woman in her early 20's channeling Little Walter Jacobs, but Ms. Savage can handle the L.W. licks, the tone and the vocals.  This is a young blues harp player who might be famous some day.  It is very gratifying to old fossils like me to see a young person like Zoe come forward and respect this music.

The band that backed all of the harp players was a trio led by Shoji Naito, an excellent traditional blues guitarist.  Shoji is also a skilled harmonica player, so he knew how to support all of the performers that walked the stage last night.

This annual event is always interesting and full of surprises.  Let's hope that Joe Filisko and his crew keep it up.

James Cotton at SPACE in Evanston IL

First of all, I have to thank the founders of SPACE - the Society for the Preservation for Arts and Culture in Evanston.  Stuart Rosenberg, Craig Golden, Dave Specter and Steve Schwartz.  The combination of Union Pizzeria and SPACE has created a destination dining and entertainment landmark within walking distance of my house.  This is the best thing to happen to the Evanston entertainment scene since Bill's Blues closed - maybe since Amazingrace closed.  I can also have a couple of beers and walk it off after the show on my way home - what's not to like?

James Cotton came to SPACE for the first time last night - that is a picture of him in action last night at the top of this post.  Mr. Cotton is now 78 years old - a contemporary of Buddy Guy, part of the "second great blues generation" that came up to Chicago from the Delta in the 1950's.  Mr. Cotton learned his craft with Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters.  He cut his first records at Sun Records in Memphis when he was 15 years old.  In 1954, Muddy Waters heard him in Memphis and hired him to replace Junior Wells, who had abruptly quit Muddy's band.  So Mr. Cotton ended up in Chicago.

James Cotton was a cross-over blues artist.  He became "Mr. Superharp" and played big rock venues in the late 1960's through the 1970's.  Mr. Cotton served as mentor for many aspiring harmonica players; his furious licks and showmanship were much imitated, but never duplicated, by a gang of younger folks.  I have copped Cotton's licks myself, listening to his records over and over with my harp at my lips.  He is a titan of the tin sandwich.  I was excited to see him in my town - Mr. Cotton played Bill's Blues around 2004 or so, but he doesn't play the suburbs of Chicago much.

Mr. Cotton's voice is gone, but he still is a crazed monster on the harmonica.  His joy and enthusiasm have survived his voice.  He plays seated now (like B.B. King and other aging giants of the blues), but he runs the band and projects charisma and showmanship.  When a blues singer loses his voice yet still projects heart and power, you know you are in the presence of greatness.

The tunes that the band played were pretty predictable - "That's All Right" by Jimmy Rogers, "Honest I Do" by Jimmy Reed," "Rocket 88," which was a big hit for Cotton, and other chestnuts.  The beauty of blues music is in the depth, not the "newness," of the music.   Mr. Cotton brings that depth.

The sound man was having trouble getting the balance right between the harmonica, the vocals and the guitar/bass/drum unit.  Volume crept up through the evening until it became a crushing wall of pain by the end of the set.  SPACE is a mid-sized venue.  I don't understand why folks don't respect the size of the joint and amplify/mix accordingly.  This is not meant as a criticism of the sound man, by the way - sound engineers have the most thankless job on the planet, and their skills are underappreciated.  Everyone has an opinion about the sound, and the sound engineer has to listen first to the venue management and the artists.  I know that a sound engineer often gets many conflicting instructions.  And artists often do unpredictable things in a performance; a good mix can turn bad in a heartbeat due to those surprises.

My friend Tom Holland has been Mr. Cotton's guitar player for almost 10 years now.  Not only is this a great gig that offers ample opportunity for exposure and education, it has provided Tom with multiple "reps" so his chops are sharp as a razor these days.  Tom is very confident on stage, and carried the band as the only guitarist - and no keyboard player, either.  I have played a number of gigs with Tom back when I had my own little blues band, and I am really happy for him.  It is great to see a young guy carry the torch and grow as an artist.

Harp man Matt Skoller and guitarist Lurrie Bell opened for the Cotton band.  They warmed up the crowd and returned to the stage at the end of Mr. Cotton's set to jam.  James Cotton knew Lurrie and his dad, stand-out harmonica star Cary Bell, from the Chicago days.  And Mr. Cotton served as mentor to Matt Skoller.  Topping out the evening was Dave Specter taking the stage to play on "Black Night," the old Charles Brown standard that has been covered by everyone from Dr. John to Bobby Blue Bland.  It was good to see the SPACE founder cutting loose.

Since Mr. Cotton can't sing anymore, Darrell Nulisch sat next to him and filled that role.  Darrell has a solid, soulful voice and can mine the tunes for the emotion within them.  He is also a great harp player, so there were three harmonica guys (Cotton, Skoller and Nulisch) blowing on the stage at one point -   not something you see very often, and for good reason. I love the harmonica, but three guys showboating at the high-end of the harp at the same time can be very painful to the sensitive listener.  But, hey, it was still an awesome celebration of Cotton and his legacy.  And these three guys are all killer harp blowers, now doubt about it.

The festivities wound to a close at a respectable hour (11-ish) and I walked off my Guinness on the way home.  Thank you, SPACE!

Rust

I am a harmonica player of the blues variety.  This is a pursuit that requires a modest amount of talent and a significant amount of discipline.  Practice is important.  Harmonica maintenance is key - these little "toys" are surprisingly complicated and subject to annoying problems.  A simple diatonic ten-hole harmonica has a comb (the body of the instrument that contains the holes that the player blows through), two reed plates (10 reeds each for a total of 20 reeds) and two cover plates (the shiny metal exterior that shapes the sound of the harmonica).  Every part of this instrument can cause problems, but the most frustrating components are  the reeds.  They are tiny brass things, and they get stuck a lot (spit can be like glue to a harmonica reed). Harmonica reeds also go out of tune, come loose, break and mysteriously turn into dead metal.  Replacing or tuning  a reed takes time, effort and the mindset of a jeweler, or a dentist (not to mention a kit of obscure tools).  This is why many harp players are members of the "blow 'em and throw 'em" club.  When the harmonica drops a reed or goes out of tune, you throw it into the "harmonica junk" pile.  Every serious harp player has a bunch of wounded harps in a box or a drawer someplace.  I must have 100 of these sad, busted tin sandwiches in my basement.  I don't like to think about these instruments and the amount of money I spent on them.  Yes, I should dig into the details of harmonica repair, but it is not my desired activity.  I am a player, not a harmonica repairman.

I used to front a blues band.  I was an amateur, a harmonica blues hobbyist, but my band mates were top-notch Chicago pros.  I started the band on Thanksgiving in 2003 and shut it down in early April 2010. During that time, I became pretty comfortable as a band leader.  My harmonica chops improved, and I was careful to keep my instruments in good shape.  We sounded pretty good after a few years.   I haven't played much harmonica since the band shut down.

As I was hanging around the Chicago Blues Festival earlier this month, I ran into Harry Garner (aka Harry da Harp), a harmonica buddy of mine who was leading a "harmonica blow-off" on one of the smaller stages at the fest.  He convinced me to sit in for a tune.

I was caked in rust.

My chromatic harmonica decided to go wonky on me - several reeds jammed.  I felt nervous in front of the large crowd and the adrenaline surge caused me to overplay and over-sing.  To be honest, I stunk.  I have not been exercising the disciplines of practice and harmonica maintenance.  I did the best I could, but it was a sub-standard display.

Now many people wonder why anyone would ever be interested in devoting time and effort to the harmonica. I can't really explain it, except to remember that humans engage in many strange and pointless activities - bowling, karaoke, hoarding, fashion shows, etc....  Honking on a harmonica probably deserves to be included in this group.  The only thing worse than engaging in a strange and pointless activity is doing it poorly.  Everything worth doing requires attention and practice.  Even things that ARE NOT worth doing require attention and practice.

So my self-criticism has begun to motivate me.  I am looking up the guy that used to fix my chromatic harmonica.  If I am going to play the damned thing, it has to function correctly.  I have begun to practice, much to the distress of my little one-eyed dog (he howls and cries in agony as soon as I play a single note).

I may try to make a harmonica comeback.

Remembering Lowell Fulson

A dozen years have passed since Lowell Fulson died and I am still digging into his work. I think that he ranks with the other major blues poets - Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson, Son House and the rest. I have memorized one of his lesser-known, later songs - "Thanks A Lot." This is one of those tunes that tells a perfectly formed story - in this case, it is the tale of a married man resisting the advances of an unmarried woman. This song has some terrific couplets - here is one I love; "My wife would not suspect because her trust in me is deep; But I would suffer anyway. My conscience would not let me sleep." Arnold Schwartznegger should have listened to this song every day.

Lowell was born in Tulsa OK, allegedly on a Chocktaw Indian reservation. He claimed to be part Cherokee and part Chocktaw - it might be true. He learned to play the guitar and worked with Alger "Texas" Alexander when he was 18 years old in 1940. Lowell toured with the Texas bluesman until 1943 when he was drafted. After he got out of the service in 1945, he ended up in Oakland California. He started up his own band, which included some amazing cats - a young Ray Charles on piano, David "Fathead" Newman on sax and many others. Lowell began uncapping a string of classics in 1948 with "3 o'Clock Blues," a slow, sad tale about a wayward woman. This tune was B.B. King's first big hit.

Lowell's most famous tune is probably "Reconsider Baby," a mid-tempo blues with clever lyrics. This song has been covered by everyone - Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa and every singing blues guitar player in the world. Lowell had some other big songs ("Tramp," which is a favorite sample used by Ice Cube and many other hip hop artists), but none as huge as "Reconsider Baby."

Lowell Fulson played for over five decades, shutting down his act in 1997 when his health started to fade. He died in 1999; he was almost 78.

This is a guy that deserves to be celebrated - he was a soulful, funky dude that contirbuted a lot to contemporary music. He had a solid baritone voice and played terrific blues guitar. He was a huge influence on Ray Charles. Why isn't he famous, dammit?

A very Bad Day For the Harmonica Community

Robin Rogers and Chris Michalek both passed away within a 24 hour period. I never met either of them, but I admired them greatly. Since I sing a bit and play harmonica, I can recognize great singers and harmonica players. Robin Rogers was a marvelous, traditional blues harp player with a gorgeous voice - a true blues singer. She has been fighting cancer for a long while and was told that her time on this earth was soon to end. She faced that truth bravely. Listen to this interview, if you dare. My heart broke when I heard it.

Chris Michalek did not have advance notice. He collapsed and died yesterday. I assume that he was a victim of heart failure. Chris was one of the top diatonic harmonica players on the planet. He was a master of blues, jazz, rock, funk -- you name it. He had nailed the overblows and overdraws that frustrate lesser players (like me). He knew how to properly amplify the instrument to turn it into a massive musical presence, driving the band. Here is a YouTube Video of Chris playing some awesome jazz.

Chris hadn't reached his 40th year. Robin hadn't reached her 54th year. Those of us who love harmonica blues and jazz are bereft. It hurts to lose hugely talented people.

Top Ten Reasons that the Harmonica is an Awesome Instrument

10. When played in a particularly shrill fashion, the harmonica will induce all dogs within earshot to howl lustily.

9. You can buy a good quality diatonic harmonica for well under $50 - this is the cheapskate's favorite instrument.

8. You can practice your harmonica while driving your car. Try THAT with a trombone!

7. A harmonica provides you with something to do while riding the elevator (although you might not want to play it when you have fellow passengers in the elevator).

6. The harmonica is almost as flexible and interesting as the human voice.

5. You can front a blues band if you can play the harmonica and sing a little.

4. Harmonica players can say that they play the same instrument as Howard Levy - although Howard plays the harmonica like no one else in the universe (he is a very scary monster of the harp).

3. Harmonica + a bullet microphone + a vintage tube amplifier = world's best contemporary musical sound.

2. The harmonica is a wind instrument that plays chords!!! Try THAT with a trombone!

And the Number 1 reason why the harmonica is an awesome instrument:

1. It fits in your pocket, so you can express yourself musically at any time. My trombone most certainly does NOT fit in my pocket.

Pulling back

I have pulled the plug on the Mystery Band and gone back to being a harmonica noodler, playing in the backyard to annoy the dog. I like to play, but lining up gigs, trying to get paid, organizing my wonderful fellow musicians - it starts to feel like work. I already have a full-time (plus) job (which, by the way, deserves more of my attention). I was subsidizing the gigs because club owners can't afford to pay a living wage to musicians in this era of iPods and downloads - it gets to be a burden to "pay to play" at every gig. My family also deserves my full engagement. Life is busy, and sometimes you have to pull back in order to go forward.

Maybe I will go back to it some day. Maybe not. The band was starting to feel like a form of self-indulgence, a stupid ego trip for an aging white man who has no business playing the blues. So I will start acting my age and living clean. No more late nights in dive bars for me. My favorite dive bar has closed, anyway.

If anyone wants a couple hundred copies of the Mystery Band CD, let me know.

Bye Bye Bill's Blues Bar

Back in August 2003, the first "real" blues club in Chicago's northern suburbs opened its doors. On November 10, 2009, those doors closed for good. Bill's Blues Bar is another failed small business.

Bill Gilmore, the leader of the club, deserves respect for his determination and grit. Lots of people invested money and time into the club (including me). The club never did well; it was always barely hanging on. Over the past few months, things got worse. While the recession played a role, the primary culprit was accumulated desperation - as things got tougher, service deteriorated and fewer customers came out - it was a spiral.

Bill Gilmore brought big-time blues to Evanston IL. James Cotton, Son Seals (RIP), Magic Slim, Rod Piazza, Lurrie Bell, Big Time Sarah, 'Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials, Eddie "the Chief" Clearwater, Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band - just to name a few. Bill's Blues Bar is also where my band, Mr. G and the Mystery Band, was born. We are coming up on the 6th anniversary of the Mystery Band's first gig (on Thanksgiving). Bill's Blues played a significant role in the development of my blues harmonica addiction.

I am sorry to see the club go, but I never thought it would stay open for six years -I thought it would be gone in 36 months. So it was a valiant effort. Think good thoughts about Bill Gilmore, and go out to hear some live blues in your community - if you don't, the clubs that present these acts will all die.

Bye Bye Bill's Blues Bar

Losses - Jesse Fortune and Others

Jesse Fortune collapsed and died last night at Gene's Playmate Lounge, 4239 W. Cermak in Chicago. He was on stage, singing his heart out, and went down. He was 79 years old. There is something to celebrate here - a blues man living deep into his eighth decade, then passing while performing. If you have never seen Jesse perform live, you can see him on the Jimmy Burns Band DVD, "Live at B.L.U.E.S." He was a terrific blues singer, one of the greats. It is a painful loss.

We have had other serious losses recently - the legendary Les Paul, blues queen Koko Taylor, pianist Eddie Bo, human jukebox Snooks Eaglin, rockabilly great Billy Ray Riley...many of the greats that laid down the foundations of today's music have headed across the divide.

And now Ted Kennedy has joined them - not a musician, but a man with weaknesses, flaws and pain who achieved greatness in spite of (because of?) these features.

And we lost Tom Hebbard, the unfailingly cheerful and kind Viet Nam War veteran who worked the front desk during the night shift at the McGaw YMCA in Evanston. All of the early morning work-out people benefited from Tom's warm greetings and everyday concern (I am one of those early birds).

Mortality is the great leveler. We all will weaken and die.

The Mystery Band CD - Ugh!!

Yep, I sweated quite a bit putting the first Mystery Band CD together. I financed it myself, no record company involved. I wrote all the songs so it wouldn't be another disk full of blues covers (not that there is anything WRONG with that; I just wanted something different). The final product is pretty good - I can still listen to it without puking, which is saying something in view of the number of hours I spent on this. I usually get tired of listening to a CD if I play it repeatedly. The CD got decent reviews in the May 2009 "Illinois Entertainer" and the July issue of "Blues Revue." I have been pitching it at all my gigs for the past several months.

And it ain't been selling, folks.

Yah, well, I haven't been working it real hard, I guess, and I haven't tried to get a label to pick it up. I have a day job, and I have to take care of my non-musical profession (it generates all the cash, and for the past two months, I have been humpin' trying to offset the recession with increased effort). But I have gained a deeper realization that making a living in music during this age of downloads and piracy is damn near impossible for a lunch-bucket musician like me. Folks under the age of 45 just don't buy CD's anymore. Many, maybe most, of them steal music. I have family members that are big-time music pirates. This bleeds over into live music, too - folks refuse to pay a cover charge, even a small one, to hear local music heroes. Soon, these working class musicians will stop trying.

Musicians will continue to make music, but the number of professionals has been shrinking and will continue to shrink. The level of techinical skills among musicians might decline. Talented people are giving up and this trend is likely to continue.

So I have about a thousand copies of this disk in my basement. Guess I can use them for drink costers.....but if anyone reading this is interested, you can find the record on CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mrgthemystery

Daryl Coutts Band at the Blue Bayou - 3/27/09

Daryl Coutts is one of my good friends and he often plays keyboards in my band. As an immensely talented musician, singer and keyboardist, he has several projects going on simultaneously. One of his projects is the Daryl Coutts Band, a blues/R&B/rock band that plays around the Chicago area. I trekked over to the north side of Chicago to the Blue Bayou (a New Orleans-themed joint across from the Music Box Theater on Southport) to catch his gig last night.

Daryl had his 88-key Nord keyboard, a big, red monster with lots of buttons and such on the console above the keys. He also had his Leslie speaker cranking last night, so the Nord could sound like a big ol' Hammond B3. This unit also has a clavinet feature, phlanges and lots of other bells and whistles. Daryl knows how to use all of them, but he also went with an unadorned piano sound on many tunes. Daryl will always choose to play an acoustic piano if he has a choice.

The band hit some of the classic Chicago blues standards (Killing Floor Blues, Feel So Bad, Shake Your Moneymaker, etc.) but also played some very tasty funk (Out-a-Space - a great instrumental). Daryl's band was full of killers and everyone was right in the pocket all night.

Scott Tipping was handling the guitar - this was my first chance to hear Scott play. He has lots of chops, but he doesn't over-play (most Chicago guitar players with technical prowess feel compelled to shred all night). I especially liked the way Scott threw in horn-like riffs behind Daryl's solos. This guitarist also adds an interesting visual dimension to the band - he is solidly-built, bearded and looks like he just stepped out of a tractor-trailer rig. Scott also has a great voice and sang several tunes.

Roger Femali was handling the percussion duties and his time was impeccable. He has mastered a broad range of beats and was tightly attuned to his bandmates - never stepped on anyone. Roger is also an interesting-looking person - shaved head, an earing in each ear - sort of a "Mr. Clean" persona.

Roberto Agosto plays a 5-string bass and can lay down some very tricky, yet tasty, bass lines. He really was impressive when the band shifted into funk mode. Roberto and Roger are joined at the hip - a terrifc rhythm section.

This is an outstanding band worthy of support. They had a very small crowd at the Blue Bayou last night - I was surprised. Wrigleyville/Lakeview is full of party people. I guess they are pinching pennies along with the rest of us in the crappy economy. The Blue Bayou is a nice venue, and they don't even charge a cover, so it seems like a pretty inexpensive entertainment option to me. Get out there and support your local musicians, folks!

Another Living Musician I Love- Shuggie Otis

Shuggie Otis is one of those musicians that other musicians know about. He hit the scene at fifteen years of age. His background was quite unusual. His father is Johnny Otis, a Greek-American musician who decided to live in the African-American community. Johnny made this decision in the 1940's when it was definitely an unusual path for a white guy to take - and he married a black woman (illegal in many states at that time). I can (and will) spill about Johnny Otis because his story is crazy and amazing. But let's stick to his boy, Shuggie, for now.

As a teenager, Shuggie was acknowledged as a guitar phenom, mentioned by some in the same breath as Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. But he wasn't satisfied to be just a guitarist - he mastered bass, keyboards, drums and vibraphone. He also became a gifted writer and arranger. Shuggie started playing professionally at the age of 12, using disguises to appear older (phony beards & moustaches, dark glasses, hats, elevator shoes, etc.) so he could get into nightclubs. When he was 15, he was drafted by Al Kooper to be part of the second "Super Session" album (this was Kooper's project after he founded Blood Sweat & Tears and completed the first album). Shuggie released his first album as a leader in 1970, called Here Comes Shuggie Otis - he was around 17 at the time. In 1971, he released "Freedon Flight," an album that was way ahead of its time - and in 1974, he released "Inspiration Information," his masterpiece. And that was really it - he started to fade as a bandleader/solo artist and and basically disapeared by 1980. He is still alive and well, hip hop artists and others are covering his fanastic tunes (remember Strawberry Letter 23 by Brothers Johnson? That is Shuggie's tune).

Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Prince and other trippy/funky/soulful genre-mixers owe a lot to Shuggie Otis. I often think that Prince deliberately copped all of Shuggie's shit. The Rolling Stones tried to hire this guy in the mid-70's, but he said "no, thanks" because he figured he was going to rock the world on his own. Things didn't turn out that way, but his music stands the test of time - still sounding exciting and fresh 35 years after it was recorded. Shuggie used drum machines in the early 1970's; he played almost all of the instruments on his albums, he incorporated jazz, blues, rock and R&B. It still is wickedly great stuff.

I think Shuggie Otis is still living in Northern California. He records on occassion and has played a few concerts. While he missed stardom and celebrity, he also missed the drugged-out evil scene, so he is alive when many other pop stars died before they reached 50.

Lester Davenport - Another Harp Man Done Gone

Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport died last Tuesday - I missed the news because I was in New York. Lester was one of the best harmonica cats in Chicago, and he had brushes with fame. None of those brushes led to riches, unfortunately, but he did play on some of Bo Diddley's hit records when he was a young man. Bob Corritorre sent out this remembrance of Lester last night:

March 23, 2009
RIP Lester Davenport 1/16/1932-3/17/2009: Word has just come in from Kevin Johnson of Delmark Records that Chicago blues harmonica great Lester "Mad Dog" Davenport passed away on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was a respected figure in Chicago blues, best known for his stunning harp work on Bo Diddley's 1955 recordings of "Pretty Thing" and "Bring It To Jerome". Lester Davenport was born in Tchula, Mississippi on January 16, 1932, and moved to Chicago at age 14. Lester soon found work as a blues harmonica player working with Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and Homesick James before landing a gig with Bo Diddley that led to the famous recording session and a gig at the Apollo Theater. In addition to harmonica, Lester also played bass, drums, and guitar, which ensured him lots of work in the active Chicago blues scene. During the 1970s, he worked with W.W. Williams, Kansas City Red, Illinois Slim, Steve Cushing, Tchula childhood friend Jimmy Dawkins, and many others. In the 1980s he toured extensively with Big Daddy Kinsey & The Kinsey Report. Lester Davenport's career yielded 2 beautiful CDs: When The Blues Hit You on Earwig Music (1993) and I Smell A Rat on Delmark (2002). He also had a couple songs released on an anthology called It's Great To Be Rich on the Red Lightnin' label, and a song on Chicago Blues Harmonica, an anthology on the Wolf Record label. Lester's recording credits as a sideman are extensive: Bo Diddley for Chess records, Big Smokey Smothers for Red Lightnin', Willie Johnson, Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis, Johnny B. Moore for Wolf Records, Big Smokey Smothers, Big John Trice for Red Lightnin', Aron Burton on Earwig, and Bonnie Lee and Willie Kent for Delmark. Aside from all of these great credentials, Lester was just a wonderful man who was eager to welcome new friends and share his harmonica secrets to aspiring players. He had a warm smile and the ability to add humor to any situation. His harmonica playing will be remembered for its glorious, sweet tone and perfect phrasing. Though he never achieved great fame, he will always be remembered as one of the greats. Funeral services will be this Saturday, March 28, 2009, 10am to 12pm, at A.R. Leak Funeral Home, 5000 W. Madison, Chicago, IL 60644.

The Mystery Band CD Is Out!!!

It took 10 months, but the first CD by Mr. G and the Mystery Band is finished, packaged, manufactured and ready for consumption. It is on CD Baby - click here for the link. The CD will be available on iTunes in a couple of weeks or so.

All the tunes on this disc are originals so you can blame the whole thing on me. I have lots of copies of this CD in my basement, so help me clear them out.

The Morse Theater, Chicago IL

The two pictures above represent the present and the past of the Morse Theater on Chicago's far north side. Opened in 1912 as a nicklelodeon, the Morse has gone through many incarnations - a furniture warehouse, an independent cinema house (with air conditioning!), a synagogue and an abandoned wreck. I got to know the building during its sad years as a deteriorating, unoccupied space. The Morse was empty for thirty years. Now, the place is a bright and shiny state-of-the-art new music venue - an unbelievable change, really. And this change happened due to the dreams of three guys - Andy McGhee, Willam Kerpan and Devin McGhee (Andy's son).

I have a feeling that these three did not conduct a scientific consumer demand study prior to launching this project. It is driven by heart and soul, not flinty-eyed calculation. This venue is very musician-friendly (Mr. G and the Mystery Band got to play there on January 31, so I was able to experience the joy of a top-knotch venue with dedicated, attentive professionals in charge of the operation), I know Andy McGhee pretty well, and i think he is inspired by a deep love of music and an equally deep love of the East Rogers Park neighborhood. The trio behind the Morse went through hell to get the joint open - zoning hassles, construction delays and even an arson. The least we Chicago area folks can do is get out and support this marvelous place

You can check out the Morse Theater's schedule and story here.

Popping into the Jams

I have behaved like a butterfly the past few days. On Saturday, I chased down my buddy, keyboardist Daryl Coutts, at Joey's Brickhouse (on Belmont). DC and his trio sounded good, and I sat around long enough to get an invitation to play. I played one tune and split. On Monday (Jan 5), I stopped by Bill's Blues Bar to check out Paul Doppelt's jam. It was cool, and Daryl Coutts was there, too! Dave Herrero was playing tunes off his new CD, and he sounded great! I played one tune, then split. Tonight, I headed back to Bill's Blues for Tom Crivelone's blues jam. It was rockin'! I played one tune with Tom & split. I can't stay up to late now that I am old and have a day job.

Hitting these scenes and playing one tune is like hitting a bar for a quick shot of whiskey. It is a good thing, but not enough. I feel so lucky to have friends that will let me sit in on short notice.

Christmas Eve/2008 Wind Down

Heh, heh....Merry Christmas. The weather has been very evil here is Chicago. We had a goodly amount of snow this month, then temps dived to 8 below, then we had more snow and temps got above freezing, turning the snow to slush. Now we are back down in the teens and the neighborhood is a vast ice skating rink. It is "survival of the fittest" weather.

I just said goodbye to my pregnant daughter and son-in-law. We had a very nice British Christmas Eve meal - roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roasted root veggies and apple pie with ice cream. I am quite full, facing a kitchen full of dirty dishes.

On December 19, the Mystery Band had its last gig of the year at C.J Arthurs in Wilmette IL. We did not fill the house - the weather was awful - but the music was magical. In the words of my guitar player, The Fret-burner, "When we make the music right, it is better than an orgasm." True words. We had to recruit a drummer at the last minute, Brian T. Brian plays with Koko Taylor; he was in the horrific auto crash that injured Koko's entire band last summer. Brian is still limping; can't put his full weight on his leg (it was severely fractured in the wreck). Brian is a monster drummer, bad leg or no bad leg. Darryl Coutts sat in on keyboards, so the Mystery Band had a lush, exciting sound. It was a great way to end our year of performances. Too bad we didn't have a couple hundred people in the audience.

This past year was very unusual. The U.S. elected an African American president - and a liberal, to boot! The credit markets locked up and the world has plunged into a "Great Recession." Like many people, I am much less wealthy than I was a year ago. But I really don't care that much - easy come, easy go, right? I am heading south for a few days to defrost and won't be back in the frozen U.S. heartland until New Years Day. So Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy New Year. I will be back atcha in 2009.

Liz Mandville's CD Release Show - 12/13

Liz Manville is another under-appreciated blues artist (Chicago has an endless supply of talented folks that aren't well-known outside of a small group of true blues fans). She is releasing a new CD and is having the release party in Evanston on Saturday, December 13 at Tencat Productions, which can be found at

1316 Sherman Ave
Evanston IL 60201
847-475-3200
tencat@tencat.net

Liz is also a painter, and her visual art is linked to the blues life. There was a great article on Liz in the Chicago Sun Times yesterday. Here is the link.

Liz is the real deal - she has an outstanding, powerful voice and she can play that blues guitar with the best of them.