What’s on Tap for February 2012’s General Membership Meeting
Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St., Portland
Wednesday, February 1st, 7:00 pm
Members always Free – Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set – Barbara Healy
Second Electric Set – Bottleneck Blues Band
February is looking to be quite the busy blues month in the City of Portland and there is no better way to jump start it all off than with our monthly membership meeting of the Cascade Blues Association. Always guaranteed to bring you a terrific night of fun and blues, we’ve put together a very cool evening for you this month.
Opening the night will be one of Eugene’s finest vocalists, Barbara Healy. We last saw Barbara play a CBA meeting not too long ago as part of the Oregon super blues group I-5 Nine. This time she will be coming back to delivery her own music with guitarist Jerry Zybach accompanying her. Heavily influenced by “all” the soul singers, with special notation toward Otis Redding, she learned to play guitar from Los Angeles blues great Bernie Pearl and has been thrilling Oregon audiences for a number of years leading her own bands and sitting in with notable Northwest players like Paul deLay, Bill Rhoades, Robert Cray, Lloyd Jones and Curtis Salgado, as well as touring artists like James Cotton, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, The Fabulous Thunderbirds and The Neville Brothers. She has also performed at the biggest musical festivals in the state inciting crowds with her fusion of R&B, funk, soul and blues and her infectious stage presence. So come out and see why the late Gavin Fox said, “Simply stated, Barbara Healy is loaded with soul!”
Making their first appearance for the CBA will be Bottleneck Blues Band in our second set of the evening. This Portland-based band brings a fresh, red-hot, funky perspective to the blues that will get you moving, grooving and shouting out for more. The members hail from all parts of the United States covering the classics and showcasing their own original numbers. The group is made up of Noah Bell on guitar & vocals, Devon Shazier on drums, Seth Zowader on organ and Dave Cushman on bass. Bottleneck Blues states that the blues is music of life, love, happiness and sorrow and everything that happens in between. Imagine Albert Collins meets Jimi Hendrix jamming with The Allman Brothers Band. Bottleneck Blues will pull you in and make you feel alive.
We will also have our free ticket drawing between sets, our $1 per ticket multi-CD package and announcements letting you know about the great happenings in the area for February, so do not miss out.
Please bear with us at this meeting, though, as we will be short-handed with Board Members running the show. Both myself and Jody Gunn will be in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge and Wendy Schumer will be on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. But Deborah DeSarah, Mary Maxson and Art Bullis will be on hand to help you out with anything you may need. Enjoy the night and the music, and I’ll see you next month at the March membership meeting.
Good blues to you all,
Greg
Bookmark with:
If you’re a true-blooded fan of authentic Chicago blues, this new release by Tail Dragger and Bob Corritore is right up your alley. Especially if it’s a dark, gritty to the bone alley that you can only find in inner city streets that a blues soundtrack would be most appropriately fitting. This is that soundtrack. With greasy vocals supplied by Tail Dragger that harkens back to your favorite Chicago singers like Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters, they’re frightening and just oozing full of a lifetime of hardships that makes them so real. Backed by his longtime friend (as the title refers) harmonica master Bob Corritore, who may live nowadays in Phoenix, but has never lost that feel for the Windy City’s sound, this is one of the finest Chicago blues recordings to hit the market in years. And since this is a Delta Groove CD, you know that the label has thrown together a fine mesh of sidemen to compliment them every step of the way. And what sidemen! You just would be hard-pressed to find any finer than Kirk Fletcher and Chris James on guitar, Patrick Rynn on bass, Brian Fahey on drums and special guest Henry Gray throwing down fantastic keys and vocals on one track.
