NW Blues Gallery
AWOL Blues Band: Genesis of the Blues
Friday, 26 June 2009 18:16
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| AWOL Blues Band |
A beautiful painting...that's what music is to me.
— Cornell Garrett
From time to time, over the existence of the CBA, I have been sharing with BluesNotes readers what I felt was the best this town has to offer in the way of Blues music. This past year, I have been watching and listening to just such a band.
Bill Rhoades
Friday, 26 June 2009 18:36
Bill Rhoades at Burnside's 10th Anniversary Party
Muddy Awards
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1991 Back What You Believe In Award
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1992 Best Blues Harp
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1994 Best Blues harp
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1995 Bill Rhoades & the Party Kings won Best New Act
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1998 Bill Rhoades & Alan Hager won Best Traditional Blues Act
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1998 Best Blues harp
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1999 Best Blues harp
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1999 Bill Rhoades & Alan Hager won Best Traditional Blues Act
Boyd Martin
Friday, 26 June 2009 18:33
Muddy Awards:* 1994 Robbie Laws and the Urban All-Stars won Best New Act
* 1995 Robbie Laws and the Urban All-Stars won Best Contemporary
Blues Act
* 1995 Robbie Laws' CD "Midnight Rain" won Best Northwest Recording
* 1997 The Robbie Laws Band won Best Contemporary Blues Act
Related Links:
* Boyd Martin - Drum Animal (http://www.drumanimal.com)
* CyberReach - Web Services (http://www.indieavenue.com/cyberreach)
* FaceBook - (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=531242908)
Boyd has played music professionally since he was 11 years old in the
Midwest, studying jazz at a young age and becoming proficient on drums,
string bass and bass guitar. Boyd spent 10 years in Los Angeles as a band
member and studio musician.
Since coming to Portland in 1984 to escape the "L.A. insanity," Boyd has
proven himself locally as a versatile drummer, having provided his solid
beat and considerable finesse for the popular country-rock band, Longrider;
50s/60s band, The Shadows; Cascade Blues Association's Muddy Award nominee
blues power trio, The Mighty Sparrows; Top 40 variety band, City Lights;
Portland Music Association Crystal Award Winning R&B band, Paulette 'N'
Power; and performed for Robbie Laws and the Urban All Stars. While with
Laws, the band won the Cascade Blues Association's Muddy Award for "Best New
Act" in 1994, and "Best Contemporary Blues Band" in 1995. Boyd is featured
on the Laws' recording, "Midnight Rain," which also won "Best Northwest
Recording."
Boyd is in demand as an alternate player, and has performed with such
bands as the Curtis Salgado, Paul deLay, the Terry Robb Band, Lucky Dawgs,
Steamy Windows, Chris Miller, Dale Van Wormer Band, The Vibrasonics, Ellen
Whyte, Mel Solomon Band, Norman Sylvester Band, Lee Blake Band, Jesse Samsel
Band, Megan James Band, Keely Bradshaw Band, Andy Stokes Band, Chuck Adkins
& Easy Money, Jeannie Langston Band, Odyssey (a Moody Blues cover band), The
Imposters, Paul Whistler Band, J.R. Sims, Richard Day-Reynolds, Chubby
Johnson, Lori Bouck, Tommy Hogan, Garry Meziere and others.
Other noteworthy projects include touring with the Joanna Connor Band
(Blind Pig Records). Boyd returned in May, 1998, from a year-long tour with
the band across the U.S. and Europe and can be heard on the Blind Pig
Records release, "Slidetime".
After returning to Portland, Boyd was immediately recruited into Shade,
an R&B/blues outfit led by soul singer/keyboard player, Charlie Grant. The
band recorded "City Lights" in June of '99, which received considerable
airplay on KINK-FM and KMHD-FM, but the untimely demise of Charlie at his
day job ended the band.
Boyd was founder, publisher, and editor of the popular publication, The
Portland Live Music Guide from 1987-1992, and has written for Seattle New
Age mag, Common Ground, and FTN MediaWorks' One Stop Music Review, and was
the music editor for Our Town Magazine, a Portland downtown weekly.
Boyd regularly tours with the Terry Evans Band nationally and
internationally, and maintains an active freelance schedule. Lives in
Beaverton, Oregon.
Boyd Small
Friday, 26 June 2009 18:39
Boyd, before he left for Amsterdam... One day, he'll return to Oregon (we hope...)
Muddy Awards:
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1991 Best Drums (tied w/Jeff Minnieweather)
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1992 Best Drums
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1993 Best Drums
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1993 Inducted into the CBA Hall of Fame for Best Drums
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1995 Best Drums (tied w/Jeff Minnieweather)
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1996 Best Drums
Related Links:
CBA Hall of Fame Bluesman Boyd Small
Article Reprint from the April 1995 BluesNotes
Article by: Rick Hall
Boyd Small has been an integral part of the Portland Blues scene for a long time. He's known around town as one of the "best" drummers as well as one of the "finest" vocalists local Blues has to offer. He is certainly a "special" talent, well schooled in his endeavor. That schooling has come via some formal education, but more evident is his self taught lessons through his vast experiences in his chosen music career.
Carlton Jackson
Friday, 26 June 2009 18:28
Photo by Brian Walsh
Muddy Awards:
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1997 Terry Robb Acoustic Blues Trio won Best Traditional Blues Act
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1998 Best Drums
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2000 Best Drums
Related Links:
Carlton Jackson
CBA "Muddy Award" Winning Drummer
by Rick Hall
Article Reprint from the October 1999 BluesNotes
More Articles...
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