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How Blue Are We in January? by Monica Yasher
Hello everyone! How did your first month go for the new year? Did you make a few New Year's Resolutions? I did! I shared what I had in mind for 2010 by retrospecting on who I talked to in 2009 and what they said. I hope it offers some insights for you!
We are excited to announce a few changes for 2010. We changed our name to American Blues News. We have just unveiled our new logo. Look for our FACEBOOK page in the next month. And we have altered our lineup a little bit. In case you have a favorite writer, here is our schedule:
Sunday will be picture day by Nelson in New York City.
Monday will be our resident flyer, Nighthawk. When he isn't touring, you can find him living and breathing the Memphis Blues Scene.
Tuesday finds us with J. Blake in New York City covering the scene and he seems to be our resident expert on blues reviews.
Wednesday you can find me. I enjoy interviews so that is typically what you find me sharing with you and most of my interviews are conducted in the Pittsburgh area.
Thursday is our day in Chicago with Gatorman. You just never know what Terry is going to write about, so check him out!
Friday is our newest writer, Bluesman, from Washington, DC. Blues Alley seems to be a really cool place to be.
Saturday is the day we spice things up a bit. We have Abby from Houston, Jim from Colorado, Maureen and CR in Pittsburgh, and guest writers from all over the country! Our first guest writer of the year was Daryl Davis, keyboard player for Chuck Berry and countless other artists!.jpg)
Now that you know what's coming from American Blues News, let's look back at the month for the music community. It was a pretty awesome start to a new year! We had the International Blues Challenge and the Grammys all in the same month! I would like to welcome all of the new readers that perused our writing with our coverage of the IBC!
The Grammys were just on Sunday and it was quite a show! I think I'm getting old. I can remember my parents saying things like, "All they do is scream" and "I can't understand what they are saying!", when I would listen to my music as a teen. And now having a teenager, I found myself saying the same things! The cycle of music is ever evolving, which is a good thing. The arts must live on whether I like the changes or not.
As I watched the Grammys it was pretty cool to see Leon Russell playing with the Zac Brown Band. I had the chance to interview Leon's lead guitarist, Chris Simmonds, which I will be posting this month. That was a fun night hanging out with these guys. And, I have to say for the record, that out of all the CD's that have been given to me in the past year, Chris' is the one I find myself listening to the most! I guess that's because of my country background and blues background. Out of all the artists I hear, Chris has the sound that I would most like to emmulate.
To kick off our coverage of the Grammys, I interviewed a Grammy nominated artist, .jpg)
David Bromberg when he was in Pittsburgh with Jorma Kaukonen.
Speaking of the Grammys, the nods went to the following:
Best Traditional Blues Album:
Ramblin' Jack Elliott for "A Stranger Here" album
Best Contemporary Blues Album:
Derek Trucks for "Already Free"
Best Historical Album:
Little Walter for "The Complete Chess Masters"
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album:
Buckwheat Zydeco for "Lay Your Burden Down"
Maureen and I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Derek Trucks this summer at The Flood City Music Festival in Johnstown, PA. You can read the review of a great night right here.
Now moving onto the IBC's. We had Nighthawk running ragged covering this event. And the stats show you read what he had to say! Thank you readers for checking in! If you missed what happened, here are some articles for you to catch up on:
We covered a couple of acts that performed in the youth division. Please support these up and coming artists. They are the future of the blues.
Will Jacobs and Dirty Deal a very young blues band from Chicago.
Michaela Ray a very young lady showing her chops on the guitar.
For those of you that don't know, there is another award ceremony for managers, publications, photographers, blues festival promoters, and the like. You can read about it at:
2010 Keeping the Blues Alive Recipients
If you went to the festival. Hopefully, Nighthawk gave you good advice on where and What to Eat in Memphis
We offered interviews and pictures of past IBC Winners with
Delta Highway , who talked about their IBC experience. The Interview of Little Joe McLerran, who was the winner of the solo/duo category in 2009 was shared. 
Nelson offered a pictorial of past IBC winners such as Eden Brant.
Now for the IBC News, here is a great place to look!
IBC This Week
Schedule of Acts for Friday
IBC Roars on Old Beale Street
2010 IBC Finalists
AND THE WINNERS ARE!
Memphis was a place of great happiness for many at the IBC's. It was a town of grieving too. The blues community seems to be grieving every month any more, which saddens us. Nighthawk shared about his friend, Willie Mitchell. On behalf of all the staff of American Blues News, our sympathy to the family of Mr. Willie Mitchell. It is with joy and grief that his life was celebrated in One Last Time Down Beale Street and at his memorial service. 
Nighthawk, our resident flyer, ventured to Germany for the Eutin, Germany Blues Fest. It just goes to show you that you never know where the music will take you! Gatorman didn't travel far, but he was truly impacted by the performance of Buddy Guy.
You know, I'm beginning to think Nighthawk likes a really good party. He covers all the blues balls. This month he was seen at the Toyland Ball in Tulsa! And, he was seen at Bobby Blue Bland's 80th birthday party. You go Nighthawk!
Nelson captured another blues great when he photographed Hubert Sumlin. He captured a favorite of mine, Coco Montoya. I saw Mr. Montoya for the first time at the Heritage Blues Festival, which is about one hour from Pittsburgh. Did I mention that the efforts from the festival have been bestowed a Keeping the Blues Alive Award?
Hubert Sumlinhttp://www.hubertsumlinblues.com/
photo: Nelson G. Onofre © 2010 Copyright
As I said, Bluesman is our new addition to the group. He started a few weeks early and offered writing on Madams Organ. He shared his take on the North Mississippi All Stars. Bluesman shared his interview with Bob Margolin and CR, a Pittsburgh writer, shared his pictures of Bob when he played at Moondog's in Pittsburgh. For those of you thinking about a trip to DC, you should read about the Birchmere Blues.
We are pleased that Abby is with us. She shared a review of a local band on the Houston scene, The Mark May Band. Look for another article in the month of February from Abby. This month we will hear from our man in Colorado, Jim.
J. Blake has shared his CD reviews of Geoff Muldaur, The Delta Flyers, and Tail Dragger Live. His movie reviews of "In the Electric Mist" and "Blues Before Sunrise" were also a good read. Terry tipped his hat in the review arena with his take on Jimmy Warren and Billy Branch.
We love interviews! Terry sat down with Jimmy Warren. Nighthawk chatted with his friend, Victor Wainwright. And, speaking of interviews and the Grammys, look for an interview I conducted with Tim Woods, who recorded a CD with David "Honeyboy" Edwards, a lifetime achievement award recipient.
Whew! That was a lot to share. Bookmark us! American Blues News will strive to be your number one blues source for 2010.
If you found this helpful, you may wish to read the summary for December.
Copyright © 2010 Copyright Monica L. Yasher. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Copyright © 2010 Copyright Maureen Ceidro. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Copyright © 2010 Copyright Nelson Onofre. All Rights Reserved.
Photo Copyright © 2010 Copyright C.R. Bennett. All Rights Reserved.
