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Greeley Blue's Festival: Age-Old Blues |
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Written by Glenn BurnSilver for NEXTnc
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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 There is truth to the statement that the blues will never die.
Just look at the four members of the Chicago Blues All-stars — Pinetop Perkins, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bob Stroger, and “Easy Rollin” Bob Margolin — who have a combined 295 years of life between them, most of those playing the blues.
Perkins tops the list at 93, while Margolin is the baby of the group at 58 years old.
“You got so many people who don’t even know their own name at 93 years old, let alone moving around on stage and being able to play. It’s very inspiring. I’m reaching for the same goal,” All-stars drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, 71, said with a laugh during a recent phone interview.
“I can’t answer why (bluesmen) live longer, but I can say that the music we play is the true blue blues, and it’s the true blue art of the performing. We really enjoy it, so I guess you live longer when you really enjoy what you do.”
The All-Stars headline the Greeley Blues Festival on Saturday, and their name is certainly appropriate.
Talk about the blues and names like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Joe Williams, Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Sunnyland Slim and B.B. King roll off the tongue.
Now blues legends in their own right, these All-Stars bring a wealth of blues core knowledge to the stage, having performed with the above-mentioned blues heroes at a time when the blues were just taking shape.
Stroger, 73, came up under Sunnyland Slim, and eventually did some time in Howlin’ Wolf’s band. Margolin was a Waters guitarist for years, while Perkins was Waters’ keyboard wizard.
Smith performed with most everyone on the A-list.
“I got to share the grandstand with a lot of these people. And I ain’t never had no problems,” Smith said, again with a laugh.
“They liked the way I played. They always enjoyed me because they said I was listening. … At that point I’d never had no woman trouble or no drinking problems, or none of that stuff. But I was able to feel what they were talking about. That’s the way I play. I can still feel that. I was young then, but I could relate to all that. I just wanted to keep the foundation underneath everything.”
He’s still holding down that foundation, banging away with the joy of a 17-year-old, the age when he began performing the blues.
His shuffle drumming style has been credited with giving direction to the Chicago blues sound. Smith laughs at such a suggestion.
“It’s the true art and you play the way you feel,” he said. “I don’t have the common sense to say this is Chicago blues or this is Texas blues, all I call it is the blues. I can relate to it and I can feel what’s going on. It don’t matter what it’s called. If I feel it, I play it.”
———— 2007 Greeley Blues Festival scheduleMain Stage Noon-1:00 Chris Cain Band 1:50:2:50 Jason Ricci & New Blood 3:40-4:40 Nora Jean Bruso 5:30-6:30 The Holmes Brothers 7:20-8:30 The Chicago All-Stars Blues Jam Pinetop Perkins, Bob Margolin, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Bob Stroger 9:00-10:30 Subdudes Back Porch Stagetap your toes with us! 11-11:50 a.m. Zydematics Zydeco 1:05-1:45 p.m. Hawkeye Herman Guitar Blues History 2:55-3:35 p.m. Spencer Bohren Louisiana Roots Music 4:40-5:25 p.m. Steady Rollin’ Bob Margolin & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Chicago Blues 6:30-7:15 p.m. Rob Rio Boogie Woogie Piano CBS BlueSkool sponsored by The Community Foundation Littler Youth Fund www.greeleyweldcomfound.org/scholarships/grants.htm 11:30-12:15 p.m. Jack Landon “Blowing the Basic Blues Pattern” Harmonica instruction Harmonicas presented to all attending. 12:45-1:30 p.m. Dan Treanor with David Booker History of Blues/Guitar presentations 2-2:45 p.m. Ronnie Shellist and Jeremy Vasquez with Rex Peoples “Blues Harmonica Tips & Tricks” Exploring proper technique and various styles of blues harmonica 2:50-3:10 BLUES KAZOO WORKSHOP with Hawkeye Herman Everyone gets a kazoo! Join Hawkeye in his BLUES KAZOO BAND 3:15-4:00 Hawkeye Herman “The Blues Had a Baby and they called it Rock ‘n Roll” 4:30-5:15 Spencer Bohren “Down the Dirt Road Blues” KID'S ACTIVITIES(Between BlueSkool sets) (12:15-12:45) Draw/color the BLUES Make BLUES music instruments Hands-on experience with BLUES sounds (1:30-2:00) Draw/color the BLUES Make BLUES music instruments Hands-on experience with BLUES sounds (4:00-4:30) Draw/color the BLUES Make BLUES music instruments Hands-on experience with BLUES sounds 11:00–5:30 Merry Makers Face Painters & Balloon Artists —————
 JASON RICCI AND NEW BLOODJason Ricci and New Blood are not your typical blues act. Seamlessly blending blues, funk, jazz, rock, and Eastern mysticism with classical overtones, New Blood is blues with a worldly view. They jam, but aren’t a jamband, play the blues, but not in typical fashion, dabble in jazz, but … well, you get the idea. With Ricci wailing on his harmonica, New Blood delivers a high-octane in-your-face sound with punk rock intensity, but do so with all the skill inherent in a typical jazz combo. Simply put, Ricci — who got his start alongside Mississippi blues legends R.L. Burnside and Jr. Kimbrough — and New Blood defy simple categorization, and they like it that way.  HOLMES BROTHERSWhether performing soul, blues, R&B, country or gospel, the Holmes Brothers three-part vocal harmonies were built by the force that drives them. Growing up in rural Virginia, where they spent plenty of time singing in church, and eventually roadhouse bars, it took a stint in New York in the 1960s for the group to breakout to a national audience. Today, their well-known musical menagerie is supported by the sizzling guitar of Wendell Holmes, Sherman Holmes’ bass and the robust drumming of Popsy Dixon — and, of course, those vocal harmonies.  NORMA JEAN BRUSOIn the tradition of blues belters like Koko Taylor and Etta James, comes Mississippi delta-born Nora Jean Bruso, whose initial musical inspiration came from the blues parties her grandmother hosted on Friday and Saturday nights — parties she wasn’t supposed to attend. It’s all hindsight now, as Bruso’s singing career began in earnest in 1976, including a seven-year tenure in Jimmy Dawkins’ band. Her Mississippi blues style and gutty vocals even had the aforementioned Taylor proclaim, “She is one of the new upcoming women that’s singing the real blues.”  THE SUBDUDESPerhaps the least bluesy of all the acts on the bill, the Subdudes certainly live the closest — at least half of them anyway. With a dual base of Fort Collins and New Orleans, the ‘dudes conjure up some heartfelt gospel and subtle blues with a touch of funky jazz among the varied Creole influences. Breezy harmonies and rhythms that bubble like a crawfish boil mix with Colorado mountain rock and good vibes, all shaken with a spicy bayou flare of blues, zydeco, and Southern soul. Good enough to eat, listener’s ears will certainly hunger for more. | Only registered users can write comments.
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