Amuse Bouche in the First State - by chefjimi

It is simply amazing at the high quality Blues festivals that are within a good days driving distance from almost anywhere out here. Case in point, The Riverfront Blues Festival in Wilmington, Delaware which is in it's 13th year put on one spectacular three-day event for fans from all over. This year set an attendance record of over 7000 for the weekend.

Local Selections from the First State
Kudos to the Tina Betz and others at the Wilmington Mayor's Office Department of Cultural Affairs and to Gene Fontana of the Diamond State Blues Society, and to all the volunteers (A.J., gets special thanks) who year after year put this festival on. A very nice thing, and something more should think about doing - have it downtown in the heart of the city. Hotels close, beautiful Christina River backdrop, holy crab cakes Batman, this place was very close to Blues heaven.



lower case blues. In case you haven't noticed my affinity for e.e.cummings (in my name ?) this power trio from Newark (New- Ark) Delaware fell immediately into favor with me. Featuring lead guitarist Jake Banaszak, B.J. Muntz on bass-vocals and Rick Webster on drums and muggs ! These boys were the local International Blues Challenge winners and are way too good for their age.

Gary Allegretto (2 time Grammy Nominee) a super harp player from Wilmington made a repeat appearance at the festival. He turned the 'second' stage into the main stage as he displayed some superb harp-attack sensibilities and threw some

heat with a local song entitled 'Dela-where' dedicated to his home state. Gary has been on the main stage three times prior and there was fear they might change the name to the Allegretto Blues Festival.

Firsts in the First State
First time seeing Bernard Allison, John Lee Hooker, Jr., Skyla Burrell, The Nouveaux Honkies and Mitch Kashmar. Not a disappointing act in the group.

My darling bride's mother, Geri, joined us for the Friday night show, we trekked her down from Devon, PA and she was the belle of the ball.


Meeting our friends, musicians and (her best moment) meeting Sugar Mae and Robert Jr. from Big City Rhythm & Blues Magazine. Geri knows no strangers, just friends she hasn't met yet !


The Delta Groove Harp Blast's Mitch Kashmar was cool in his white shirt and nicely coiffed hair, but hot on the harp and vocals as he had the crowd bringing presents to him after the closing set on Friday night.

The Nouveaux Honkies partnered with veteran Blues Man, Matt Guitar Murphy for some dazzling and varied forms of Blues. It was good to see Matt out there playing again, this man is clean, I tell ya, note for note each one rings true and clear.

On a hot Sunday afternoon (95) John Lee Hooker, Jr. & the Hooker Band were incendiary. Having lost their trailer on the way with their clothes and stuff, they hit the stage and grabbed the crowd by the scruff of their necks and shook

them till they had enough. Ok like if that wasn't enuf, John Lee, Jr. had a 'booty shake call' - wherein he brought up four women to dance and shake their booties and the crowd voted with applause to select the winner. That was just a hoot - a whole lotta shakin' going on !

Travellin' Bands
OK, so to show how well thought of this festival is by the artists, we had Mike Zito come in from Colorado on the red-eye. Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers from California. Deanne Bogart flew in mid-afternoon Sunday from Des Moines. But the wildest travel schedule was any the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Review band (a good part of them) as they flew in from Norway – yeh THAT Norway, not Norway, Michigan (look it up).

Each of these performers – all of these performers – gave outstanding shows. I had been contacted about Zito Band just slaying them in Colorado, well they repeated the gesture in Delaware. Rod and the Mighty Flyers brought that West Coast Swing style and transplanted it on the shores of Delaware. Deanna & the LRBR band brought a little bit of the Legendary Cruise Jam sessions with them and closed out the festival with such high-energy that people were left slack-jawed by the energy level and musical talent they displayed.

Senior Discounts and Kids Play Free

Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin, point man for The Perfect Age of Rock & Roll Band brought with him none less than the storied Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Williee 'Big Eyes' Smith, Mojo Buford, and Bob Stroger. These legendary artists are among our last links to The Wolf, Muddy and others who are gone but not forgotten. In spite of the defibrillators, oxygen tanks and a noticable slowed pace these gentlemen of the Blues just know how to play it right.

These guys were the most welcoming to the fans and those of us who were working the fest. Allowing pictures of them with fans, kisses (gentle) and firm handshakes highlighted the back stage occurrences.

As for kids, we did have Bernard son of Luther, John Lee Jr., both of these 'chips off the old blocks' proved that the Blues bloodlines run deep and sturdy. Both of these artists share the award for giving the 'best face' during their performances.




Now kids come in all sizes and ages. Gary Allegretto has an organization 'Harmonikids' that puts harmonicas in underprivileged kids hands and mouths and spread s the blues worldwide. On Saturday and Sunday between main stage acts he workshops on how to play a harmonica. His audience ranged from six to sixty (give or take a few) and everyone came away with a harmonica in the key of C, and a cheat sheet with Hootchie Cootchie Man and other exercises for the grand sum of $5. You can find out more about this organization at this link http://www.harmonikids.org/ .



Menu Planning
One cannot live on music and beer alone. Well, wait a second now....
speaking of beer the beer tent had roughly 7 or 8 types of beer on tap ranging from a light beer thru a banana toned weissen, to a thick roasted chocolate porter.

The food was an interesting mix of local chefs, all were quite good. Saturday my breakfast was a Caribbean Jerk chicken plate, with Beans and rice
and cabbage to catch the jerk juice. Lunch


(a short time later) was Fat Ricks BBQ, and good Q at that. Heck, when last seen, John Lee Jr. was carting off a small stockpile of plates from Rick. One fun snack was the Popcorn vendor who had a list of 20 or so options for your popcorn. Dill Pickle, Sour Cream and Chives, and others to compliment those colds drafts that kept appearing in my hand.

Dessert – A Tale of the Tongues
As has become a somewhat regular part of these menus, we now feature the piece de' resistance' or overheard snippets from the Riverfront Blues Festival.

“I want to go up and kiss him, he's so cute” – backstage missus on Pinetop Perkins

“Heck, give him a lap dance, he'd appreciate that a helluva lot more” - male friend to her.

“Why, in every picture of me, I am holding a beer?”

“ Just where will this all access pass get me with you?”

“Dela- who, Dela- what, Dela – when, Dela-why, Dela-where”

Second Helpings
As if the LRBR wasn't enough of a 'land cruise' adventure, there was a massive showing of force by the East Coast Bluescruise family. As the fest grew closer Face Book and the LRBC chat room were abuzz with peeps reaching out to see who was going to be on site at the festival. With the likes of Keb' Man & Mary Beth, Kenny from Long Island, the JoPats, Carrie, KatluvsBlues and many more it was a nice reunion in the warmth of Wilmington. We are all getting ready for the January Cruise, and some are making the trek to San Diego for the friendly confines of the October Blues cruise.

Second Son – Second Base, to First - Double Play !
With Gary Allegretto hailing from Wilmington, nearly everyone in attendance knew him. But none other than George Thorogood is from Delaware (band was 'Delaware Destroyers') and that he played semi-pro baseball in Wilmington in the seventies. Now, of course, everyone knows George, and from the sound of what people were telling me, just about everyone played baseball with him at one time or another. Go figure.
Now George was no slacker, he played second base and was Rookie of the Year in his first year with the Destroyers team. When I spoke to George about this a short while after the festival he only asked one question and it was “did they say I was the best guy playing there? If so then they really did play with me'. That's pure classic George, funny and sly like a fox.

And it would be remiss to not mention the third of the Wilmington Triumverate, Mr. Bill Wax, of Sirius/XM Radio, and recently was elected President of the Blues Foundation.

Until next time,
Love, Peace & Chicken Grease



If you enjoyed this serving of the Blues, you might want to check out my other articles, as I roam around seeking out the Blues wherever they are happening.
http://www.ameriblues.com/search/label/chefjimi

all photos used by permission
courtesy of Leslie K. Joseph, chefjimi.

copyright © 2010 – bluesuitspeaks, all rights reserved.

Shipless Blues Cruise by Jim Stick

(Boulder, Colorado) On March 12th and 13th of this year the The Boulder Outlook Hotel put on a blues event that was unique in many ways. They called it a "Shipless Blues Cruise". Owner Dan King and booker Honey Sepeda brought in two major national blues acts for the weekend that Neil Simon, who wrote the play "The Odd Couple', would have been proud of the diversity between: Bob Margolin and Jason Ricci and New Blood. They further spiced up the weekend by booking two of the most accomplished Colorado blues bands in The Informants and the Delta Sonics.

It was a fascinating blues experience to see the modern harp wunderkind Ricci and his band, who stretch the modern blues envelope multi-dimensionally to the breaking point with a dazzling display of jazz\blues\funk instrumental wizardry, invite former Muddy Waters band mate and guitar player Margolin on stage to play with them. Then the next night, Margolin returned the favor and invited Ricci up to jam with him. One thing was plainly obvious--though they are on different ends of the blues spectrum--they both have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.


Jason Ricci and Bob Margolin

Margolin explained it to me this way about playing with Jason Ricci & New Blood:

"We call it Jason Ricci & Old Blood when I am up there. Believe me, I live my life around nasty old blues, but I appreciate other kinds of music if it is creative and soulful and that is Jason. I think he is incredibly creative. I don't know how to play that stuff but it sure is fun to try with him and at least try and apply my greasy old blues to his funk songs or more outside things too. It's good fun for me and I am just in awe of him".


Insert the theme music from the TV show "The Odd Couple" here.

Margolin also weighed in on the talents of Ricci & New Blood's guitar player Shawn Starski:

"I'm knocked out. He's got incredible chops and a lot of creativity. What he and Jason are doing together with the band is just spectacular".

Margolin played a short warm up set on Saturday Ricci & New Blood's bass player Todd "Buck Weed" Edmunds who hauled out his acoustic upright bass for the duet. Margolin is also a fan of Edmunds:

"We were playing traditional blues and he can also play funk and jazz and all those other things with amazing chops".

Jason Ricci is a thoughtful, introspective and fascinating human being who has a lot to say. He is a very knowledgeable student on the history of the blues. I asked him about his thoughts on Margolin and the modern versus traditional views on blues. His eyes widened and lit up. He thought for a quick moment, and then a ten minute or so wave of thoughts poured out of his soul. Here are some of the highlights:

"What I found (in Bob) was a very nurturing human individual and I found an individual with an open mind. What I have gotten from Bob Margolin is much more than a traditional musical father figure or a lifetime father figure--although he is both of these--what I have is an ally. I have somebody that could represent better than anyone else the President of the Hate Jason Society---who doesn't hate me--who supports me. I mean the one guy who should--the one guy who has the credentials to say hey this kid ain't doing it right--is saying listen people the kid can do it any way he wants. Muddy did it any way he wanted and by the way when I sit in with your ass I don't want to play blues. I want to play whatever the f*** you guys are playing".


Ricci coaxes high notes out of his harmonica that remind one of a soprano saxophone. A truly amazing and unique musician.

Ricci continued:

"Margolin is his own cat. He doesn't play just like Muddy. If Muddy had played like Charlie Patton---there wouldn't be a Muddy. If some of the guys who play traditional blues today (who look down on modern blues players) were alive in the 50's--they would be telling you that Little Walter is out of control, plays too many notes, and that Sonny Boy I was the real guy. It is so amazing that they don't have the awareness to see themselves like that. Bob's the best and I don't know what I would do without him".

Shawn Starski also had kinds words for his fellow guitar player Margolin:

"With Bob, I consider it as inspiration. His tone is great. His dexterity is great. His element of time and swing is impeccable. I just love it".

There were too many musical highlights during the weekend to list. The bands all played individually and jammed in more combinations than can be remembered. Kudos must go to the Boulder Outlook Hotel for thinking outside of the normal box and coming up with the Shipless Boat Cruise".


Ricci sitting in with The Informants and their sultry lead singer Kerry Pastine.

Owner Dan King explained the origins of the event to me this way:

"The whole idea of the "Shipless Blues Cruise" really started several years ago after talking to people who had gone on the real Blues Cruise. I really want to go too, but with two kids in college--I am about $4000 short! So we decided to do a mini-version here at the hotel and keep the price within reach of more people".


Margolin with Delta Sonics' harp player Al Chesis

Margolin was also impressed with the thought process behind the weekend:

"Usually a new idea takes a few years for it to work out and be profitable. They have done well with it and by the second year, they've sold all the tickets they want to sell and actually are limiting it so it won't be uncomfortably crowded for anybody. Whoever thinks of things like that instead of: gimme the money, gimme the money, gimme the money? One of the things about blues and blues club's owners--and it doesn't happen with everybody--but blues is an asshole filter. People aren't in it for the money. They are usually in it for the love and they use their creativity to try and find ways to make it work. You can't generalize it too much, because each situation is pretty specific, but you can generalize that people do have to think outside the box and be creative".


Denver based The Informants--tied this year for Best Self Produced CD in Memphis at the IBC.

Jim Stick is a blues writer\photographer living in Longmont, CO.
He has his own blues information website for the state of Colorado:
BluesinColorado.com

©Jim Stick, 2010