2010 IBC Finalists Announced! by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms

(Memphis, Tennessee) This just in:

The Blues Foundation announces the finalists of the 26th International Blues Challenge after Friday's second round of semifinals. The finals will be Saturday at the Orpheum Theater with solo/duo beginning at 2:00pm and the band finals beginning at 7:30pm.

The solo/duo finalists are:

Matt Anderson (Harvest Jazz & Blues)
Alphonso Sanders & Bill "Howl-n-Madd" Perry (Crossroads Blues Society)
Becky Boyd & Tim Matson (Cleveland Blues Society)
Jimi Lee with PB Shane (Austin Blues Society)
Sherman Lee Dillon (Central Mississippi Blues Society)
Tom Walbank & Arthur Migliazza (Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation)
Ken "The Rocket" Korb (Long Island Blues Society)
Steve Cohen (Grafton Blues Association)

The Band finalists are:

Mojo Theory (Pomeroy Blues & Jazz Society)
R&K Brew Co (West Virginia Blues Society)
Big Boy Little Band (DC Blues Society)
Cheryl Renee and Them Bones (Cincy Blues Society)
Grady Champion (Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola)
Sonny Moorman Group (Columbus Blues Alliance)
Jesse Greene Band (Ottawa Blues Society)
Karen Lovely Band (Cascade Blues Association)
Jackie Scott & the Housewreckers (Baltimore Blues Society)
Labron Lazenby and LA 3 (Smoky Mountain Blues Society)
The Avey Brothers (Iowa Blues Societies)

These competitors will face off at the finals held at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis today.

2:00-5:00 pm Solo/Duo Finals; Gibson Guitar Giveaway; Best Self Produced CD Winner Announced. The Orpheum Theatre. $27

6:30 pm Doors Open for Band Finals at The Orpheum Theatre

7:30 pm Band FinalsThe Orpheum Theatre $32

Also, more contest action down the street at the New Daisy Theater as mentioned earlier, click here:

http://www.ameriblues.com/2010/01/ibc-this-week-by-robert-nighthawk-tooms.html

Check back later to find out the winners during our continuing coverage at American Blues News!

Bookmark us at:

http://www.ameriblues.com/


check out my website at http://RobertNighthawkTooms.com

RCT

©Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms, 2010

Interview with Little Joe Mclerran by Monica Yasher

"That’s what my show usually is, obscure blues things."

(Pittsburgh, PA) The passing of the torch... Today is the last day for Little Joe Mclerran to be the reigning king of the acoustic solo/duo act for the 25th International Blues Challenge. During his reign, he has traveled the world and released a new CD, "Believe I'll Make a Change".

As you read Little Joe's biography, you realize this competition isn't won in one night. He has played since the age of nine and was always committed to the blues. Little Joe, I hope nothing changes about that! Let me share our talk with you as I thank Little Joe for keeping traditional blues music alive and wish him a great blues future!

Monica: For all the upcoming contestants what kind of good hints can you give them? Why did it work for you?

Little Joe: You know it was my fourth year of doing it. So I did it twice with a bass player. Just me and a bass player. The third year I did it with my whole band that I brought down from Tulsa. I won by doing it all by myself, which I guess is kinda an ace in the whole for what I do. Well, really choose your material wisely and try to hit all aspects of the blues. Yeah that’s kinda what I did. I did a guitar rag, a New Orleans tune like a Mambo and just some really straight ahead barrel house blues stuff. I guess that’s what they wanted to hear. So….

M: I guess that’s what they wanted to hear. What does that mean for you and your band? Or you a sole performer now?

LJ: I travel with my bass player because I don’t drive. He drives me here and there and he plays bass. So a lot of these things I play with him. When I’m in Tulsa I have a band with me.



M: Do you prefer one kind of performance over another for any reason?

LJ: The band stuff is fun. You can really pull out tunes that I don’t normally do. Be able to kick the solos around. I love doing that. I love just singing and leading the band. The freedom of playing all by yourself is really cool because you can do what you want to do and nobody is there to hold you back from what you feel like doing. You can do really funky chord changes and stuff like that you wouldn’t be able to do with the band.

M: What has the International Blues Challenge done for your career?

LJ: I’ve been all over the place. I’ve been traveling none stop. I’ve been to Italy. So many blues festivals. It got me into the circuit of blues festivals. It’s very nice to be in with the blues festival crowd rather than a beer joint where people are there to get drunk or pick up girls. The people at the festival are there to listen to blues.

M: Do you still do the bar scene?

LJ: Around Tulsa every now and then. Different places it really depends. Those nights are fun in their own kind of way. I’ve seen some interesting stuff!

M: What have you noticed, if anything, in the differences of the audiences of Europe and the US?

LJ: That’s really strange. This is deja vue. In Italy it was really funny that I got a request for ‘Mule Skinner Blues’ which is a Jimmie Rogers song. It’s country music. Early, early country music. I don’t know ‘Mule Skinner Blues’ but I did another Jimmie Rogers tune called ‘My Rough and Rowdy Ways‘. It has a yodeling thing in it. The second I did the yodeling thing the place went nuts for IT! They wanted me to do country for the rest of the night! I ended up doing a couple more for them and I had a great time!

M: Great memory!

LJ: I met all kinds of wonderful people over there. I hope I get to do it again sometime.

M: What about CD’s?

LJ: I have a new CD that I did with a old friend from Denver Colorado who plays clarinet and saxophone. He was rated by “Downbeat Magazine” as the top ten best clarinet players in the world. Pretty heavy blues and jazz. Dexter is amazing. I did some things with him in Colorado. I love the Baritone Sax. People would come up and ask him when he was going to play it and he would say, “You don’t bring out the elephants at the beginning of the circus!” That is a great one liner. A lot of my friends from Tulsa are on it. These old guys I play with around there.

M: Are they originals or standard blues?

LJ: I’m doing half originals and the other half will be kinda obscure blues things. I’m not going to do 'Key to the Highway'. I’m not going to do standard blues songs. Pretty much obscure things. That’s what my show usually is, obscure blues things. I’ve been listening to this stuff since I’ve been a child. I kind of gained this repertoire of 500 old blues tunes that people haven‘t listened to since the twenties. There’s a section chain gang song I’m doing. It’s a legit real deal section gang tune called. It’s two of them actually into one. ‘Ratty Ratty Section’ and the other half is ‘Don’t You Hear Your Poor Mother Calling You?’ It’s a section thing song. There’s no telling who wrote it.

M: It sounds interesting. Anything you want to tell us that I didn’t ask?

LJ: I have a website. www.Littlejoeblues.com and if you are interested and want to book me you can reach me through that.

M: Thank you for your time and nice talking to you.

LJ: Well thank you Monica.



If you enjoyed reading this article, you may enjoy reading Izzy and Chris.

Copyright © 2010 Copyright Monica L. Yasher. All Rights Reserved.
Photograph Copyright © 2010 Maureen Ceidro. All Rights Reserved.

Will Jacobs got a Dirty Deal by Gatorman

(Chicago, Illinois) Windy City Blues society has made a wise choice in their selection of “Will Jacobs and Dirty Deal” for the youth division competition of the International Blues Challenge. This band is electrifying and their skill level is way beyond their years. The youth Division requires that the musicians be 18 or under to qualify for entry. They are. Their front man is 16. Man, if I could have played like that in 1967.

I have often wondered where the blues genre is headed. A lot of the Chicago blues veterans are getting up there in years. I did not think that any younger pickers could rise to the level of these blues masters, man was I wrong. No pun intended, but these young gentlemen are the new kids on the block.  I know now not to worry, because they will be around for a very long time to come. Good Luck you guys. You deserve to win. If you do not, then the only thing I can say is somebody was not paying attention.
 
Will Jacobs and Dirty Deal  
Video here
 
Tune in Saturday. Robert “Nighthawk” Tooms will be reporting direct from the competition and will be updating American Blues News  throughout  the day.
 
Terry “Gatorman” Lape
To see the band go to their website.

PhotoHot Kurst SWAnson

The Delta Flyers CD Review - by J. Blake

(New York, NY)

The Delta Flyers is a Houston-based blues duo creating new and exciting music that stays true to their Mississippi Delta roots, while managing to seamlessly incorporate flavors from Chicago all the way down to New Orleans.

Their 2007 album, ON THE LEVEE ROAD, showcases the talents of front-man Stevie DuPree and guitarist Jack Saunders. With this studio effort, the duo is not striving to take the blues to a new level or reinvent the wheel, but they do deliver a fun and authentic collection of originals; that jumps back and forth from upbeat acoustic/folk bounce to down and dirty electric roadhouse “raunch”…and I mean that in a good way.

DuPree’s vocals are clean and passionate and though his harmonica playing is not as flashy or upfront as many blues fans may prefer, it shows a refreshing amount of restraint and seems at home with the material presented. The same can be said about Saunders, whose playing also demonstrates a “less is more” attitude. His guitar-work is tasteful and low key; and his talents are best represented on the tracks where he is playing slide (like on "Dancin’ With The Devil" and "Aidie Jean"). It should also be noted that Rich DelGrosso’s mandolin adds a wonderful flavor to 3 of the album’s 10 tracks.

ON THE LEVEE ROAD is recommended for fans of “roots” music and acoustic/folk blues. The amount of flash and electric guitar shredding is practically non-existent here. So if you’re looking for the next heir to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s style of Texas blues-rock, this album may not be for you.

For our Memphis readers and everyone else that is lucky enough to be attending this week’s International Blues Challenge, make sure you keep an eye (and ear) out for The Delta Flyers featuring Stevie DuPree and his current guitar playing sidekick Travis Stephenson. They made their IBC debut in 2008 and have been a staple of the famous Memphis blues event ever since. So head on down to Beale Street and check ‘em out!

*If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy: Benny Maygarden CD Review

Thanks and keep reading American Blues News!!!

Copyright © 2010 - J. Blake. All Rights Reserved