Loose Blues News

Happy birthday: Blues Legend Snooky Pryor celebrated his 81st birthday last month. One of the originators of modern blues harmonica, his 1947 recording "Telephone Blues" is regarded by many as the first postwar Chicago Blues record. His roots in Canada go back to the early 1970s, when he first appeared here on tour with Willie Dixon's All Stars. A new CD on the Electro-Fi label, Snooky Pryor and his Mississippi Wrecking Crew, will be available October 22nd. The disc was recorded at Alec Fraser's Liquid Studio in Toronto, and features special guests Pinetop Perkins, Mel Brown, Jeff Healey, Bob Stroger, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.

Amos Garrett (left) makes a return appearance at Hugh's Room on Wednesday October 30th Backed up by Ken Whiteley and Victor Bateman. Their last appearance at Hughs was one of the most talked-about shows of the season. Not to be missed.

Blues on the East Side: The 5th Annual Blues on the East Side is scheduled for November 3 at The L'il Big Horn Saloon in Cambridge. The show begins at 1pm and finishes around 9pm. This annual benefit supports the Cambridge Association for the Mentally Handicapped. Performers include Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Harmonica Shah with Howard Glazer, Jeff Healey and his Jazz Wizards, Mel Brown and the Homewreckers, Dawn Tyler Watson, Curley Bridges, and the Water Street Blues Band. A new Epiphone Electric Guitar will be given away as a door prize. Tickets are $25. Visit www.bluesontheeastside.com for more information.

Healey's sound: If you haven't been to Healey's in a few months, then you won't have experienced the new sound system which both improves sound on stage for performers, and provides an improved sound for the audience.

Sir Bob: Also at Healey's, musician and world-level altruist Bob Geldof was in attendance and was introduced to a few fortunate blues fans and performers when he took in the performance by Levon Helm on the night before his own performance at the Palais Royale.

More Band celebrities: Last month at the Rockit in Toronto, Lance Anderson and Michael Sloski were finishing their regular Tuesday night gig around midnight when keyboard legend Garth Hudson peeked in the door with an accordion in his hand, and a very memorable musical late night/morning ensued. Denis Keldie, who was also in attendance, retrieved an accordion from his car trunk, resulting in duelling stereo accordions, featuring a series of Tarantalas and obscure fifties instrumentals by two of the finest eclectic accordionists around. Organ, accordions, and piano were played until past 3:00am. Club owner Jim Poulis was gracious to allow the late night musical encounter to continue.

Georgette Fry (left) is appearing at the Women's Blues Revue on Saturday November 23rd but you can get a preview at RD's BBQ and Blues where she appears on November 1 (with Bill King's Rockitt 88 Band) and on November 2 with her own B-Side Band.

Harmonica Workshop: On Friday October 18 at the Silver Dollar Room, west coast harmonica master Mark Hummel will conduct a harmonica workshop prior to his CD Release Party appearance. Both aspiring and experienced harp players will appreciate this chance to attend an intensive one-hour workshop by the artist Blues Revue describes as "one of a handful of the best players ever on the instrument". An informal Q & A session will follow the workshop. Then Mark and his band the Blues Survivors will return to the stage to launch their Electro-Fi debut release Golden State Blues. The CD features a mix of original and classic material, and features special guests Rusty Zinn and Anson Funderburgh. For information contact the Silver Dollar Room at 416-763-9139 or www.silverdollarroom.com, or Electro-Fi Records at 416-251-3036 or www.electrofi.com.

North GTA Jam: The revolving jam north of the city is once again resurrected: The new `Sunday Night Jam' will now be held on Thursday nights at the Mad Hatter in Newmarket (just north of Hwy 9 and Davis Drive, on the east side of Yonge Street), with hosts Connie Scriver and Jim Krueger. The tentative starting date is October 3 around 9 PM.

After a four week break Raoul and The Big Time are back in action. While work continues towards the release of the band's second CD in 2003, The Big Time is looking forward to an active fall starting Oct.4th at the Silver Dollar Room (Big Time drummer Tom Bona's birthday. Tom is busy playing dates with Sue Foley in support of her latest release. He's recently been featured in several drum magazines. For more info go to www.tombona.com). Raoul is doing some acting this fall in various TV and film things along with an exciting workshop of Tequila Vampire Matinee, brought to you by the one and only Kevin Quain at www.kevinquain.com. He will also be doing some recording with the great piano player Graham Guest from Edmonton. For more info see www.raoulandthebigtime.com

David Gogo was selected to be the opening act for pop band Foreigner on their 25th Anniversary Tour date in Ottawa last month. (Remember Foreigner?: Urgent, Juke Box Hero, Cold as Ice, Double Vision, Dirty White Boy, Feels Like The First Time, Hot Blooded, I Want to Know What Love Is). David Gogo will then be touring Ontario, Quebec, and BC.

For guitar, harmonica, horn players, & vocalists: Pete Schmidt and Shane Scott have produced a CD of blues instrumental backing/jam tracks for the beginner or pro. This 10-song CD can be used to warm up for shows or to practice rhythm or soloing skills. For information and sound samples, visit www.peteschmidt.com, and click on Ultimate Blues Jam CD.

Skin Tight Blues: The First Peoples Blues CD compilation was released by Sweet Grass Records & Emi Music Canada last month at Toronto's Silver Dollar Room. Musicians on the recording include Keith Secola (Arizona); Jani Lauzon (Toronto); Murray Porter (Six Nations); Billy Joe Green (Edmonton); Jimmy Wolf (New York State); Ronnie Douglas (Mnjikaning First Nation); The Pappy Johns Band (Fort Erie, ON); Sandy Scofield (Vancouver); Butch Mudbone (Memphis); The Soul Kings (Six Nations); Blues Nation (Oklahoma); Gary Small Band (Oregon); Ken Rhyne (Georgia); Ulali (North Carolina/New York State), and represent many musical shades of blues. Perfromers at the release party included Murray Porter, The Soul Kings, Jimmy Wolf, The Pappy Johns Band, Jani Lauzon, and Ken Rhyne.

Upcoming Rez Bluez Showz: Friday, October 25, the first Rez Bluez at Healey's, featuring Murray Porter & The Pappy Johns Band, and Friday, November 29th, at The Comfort Zone. For more information, visit www.rezbluez.com.

Thought Festival season was over? Not in La Belle Province: The third edition of the Norandblues Festival was held September 20 & 21, the Festival Des Couleurs was held September 28 & 29 in Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec City, and the Festival De Blues du Vieux Clocher De Magog will be held October 11 to 13 in Magog, QC (Info: 819-847-0470 or info@vieuxclocher.com).

Also, La Grande Soirée Des Guitaristes De Blues De Montréal was held last month in Montreal at La Place à Côté. Hosted by John Detcheverry of CKUT-FM, the evening featured Jimmy James, J.D. Slim, John McGale, Steve Rowe, Rick Onslow, M.Blues Steel, Thomas Chapland, Sonny Wolf, Carlos Veiga, Nick Payne and many others.

Stony Plain News: Sonny Rhodes recorded the theme song for the new Fox TV Show "Firefly". When the creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Joss Whedon, conceived the new science fiction "space" series to be called "Firefly" for FOX TV's fall season, he began to look for a "deep, bluesy voice" to sing the theme song he had written for the show. When Stony Plain submitted Sonny Rhodes, everyone involved with the show in Los Angeles loved his sound, and he got the job. One snag: Nobody could find Sonny, who was touring in Estonia. By the time he had been located, he and his band were in Scandinavia - but, again, a phone connection wasn't made. Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, the prestigious Village Recorders studio had been booked for three days, with an all-star cast of musicians (including bassist Leland Sklar) standing by. All that was needed was the singer. Eventually, with a day to spare, contact was made when Sonny returned to his family in Oakland after a 14-hour flight and a couple of all-too-typical-these-days airport delays. Hearing about the assignment in a cell phone call from Holger Petersen as he drove home from the airport, he had a couple of hours sleep, and then to Los Angeles the next day for the session. "Firefly" is the network's flagship new series, and Sonny's voice will be heard in millions of homes around the world. Sonny Rhodes has also received a Living Blues Award for Most Distinguished Blues Musician (Other Instrument).

Similarly, Stony Plain is set to Release a sound track album for the award-winning CBC-TV show "Da Vinci's Inquest", a collection of music from one of Canada's most popular shows. "Da Vinci's Inquest" is a gritty drama built around the experiences of a Vancouver-based coroner, and it has close to a million viewers every week. The release is set to coincide with the opening of the fifth season of "Da Vinci's Inquest" in October, and will include theme music by Tim MacCauley, George Blondheim and Simon Kendall (still remembered as a member of Vancouver's pioneer rock band Doug & The Slugs). A number of Stony Plain copyrights by the likes of Maria Muldaur and Taj Mahal, Sonny Rhodes, and The Paperboys are also included.

Blind Pig Artists tour Canada: Omar & the Howlers tour western Canada in October, while Big Bill Morganfield will tour Ontario and the west in November.

The new Stony Plain release by Montreal's Ray Bonneville, Roll It Up, will now be released next year. "I'm very happy with it, but, because of the festivals I've played this year, I just haven't had the time to sequence it properly, and finish up the mixing. I wanted to make this one perfect, so I asked the label to hold off until next year; they very kindly agreed". Bonneville plans to reschedule launch parties for Roll It Up for March next year.

The National Jazz Awards: The NJAs will be held January 7, 2003 at the Palais Royale. This year's proceedings will celebrate the silent heroes from Toronto's Afro/Canadian community who forged a parallel path in advancing jazz within the black community centres and social clubs during the forties and fifties. For this night drummer Archie Alleyne will lead the ten piece Sy McLean Tribute Orchestra. The band will serve as house band and play music most familiar to the era. Other featured performers include the Jeff Healey Band, the Jane Fair - Rosemary Galloway Quintet, vocalist Jackie , violinist Mireille Proulx, and more to be announced. Seating will be cafe style, with ribs and chicken niblets catered by RD's. There will be two other house bands, from 6 PM to 7:30, and, after the awards, a traditional jazz band. Reserve seating is $65, and open seating is $55. Call 416-533-4883 for reservations.

Our condolences: Sadly, Austin Lowe, who suffered a heart attack while performing at Kingston's Limestone Blues Festival, passed away. He was well loved by his friends, family and students, and will be greatly missed. Austin was a teacher in a high school radio program in Kingston, and CDs have been collected for the school station in his honour. To contribute a CD, forward to KCVI, 235 Frontenac St., Kingston Ontario K7L 3S7, Attention: Austin Lowe. The school has a licensed transmitter, and is on the air at 91.9 FM

Mary de Keyzer's Melody Ranch has a new home: The popular Saturday afternoon matinee kicks off at Club 279, Yonge & Dundas (above the Hard Rock Cafe) and will continue every Saturday from 4:30-7pm

BLUES SUMMIT MEDIA EVENT

Details on the inaugural Blues Summit Conference (January 26 & 27, 2003) will be announced at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, Monarchs Pub, 33 Gerrard Street West, October 30, 3:00pm.

General Inquiries: TBS office 416 538-3885 / info@torontobluesociety.com

Media Inquiries: Richard Flohil and Associates 416 351-1323 / rflohil@sympatico.ca

Tech Tips:

The purpose of this column is to give musicians some basic technical skills to solve some very common technical problems related to performing music.

One of the most useful pieces of equipment to own, is a digital multimeter. There are analog meters, but the digital ones are easier for the amateur to read. Electronic stores will have a variety of models, I've seen them as low as $29, and as small as a pocket calculator. Almost all will do for our purposes provided they have two basic functions. The ability to measure DC volts, and a continuity mode with an audible beep. These are the two functions that the amateur can safely use. We will not attempt AC line voltage measurements due to the potential danger of electrocution. One very common problem experienced by many musicians on the gig, is trying to figure out if the batteries used in our musical gear are in need of replacement. The voltage supplied by a battery is DC voltage, while the voltage in the wall outlets is an AC voltage. The battery will have a voltage written on it. The most common ones encountered by musician's are 1.5 volts (AA or AAA), and the 9 volt rectangular type. There are two terminals, or connection points on a battery, the positive and the negative. One of these will be marked either + or - , with the unmarked terminal being the other. Your meter will have two leads, black and red. Turn on the meter, select the DC volts setting (consult your meter manual), and put the red lead to the positive terminal, and the black lead to the negative terminal. The meter will give you a digital readout of the voltage of the battery. What is a good reading? That depends on the device using the battery, but generally 70% or greater is probably fine. If two or more batteries are used, add their marked voltages together, and use this as a guideline for comparing the total of the measured voltages. For example say we have two 1.5 volt AA batteries, that is a total of 3 volts. We measure one battery, it has 1.2 volts, the other measures 1.3 volts. Together that makes 2.5 volts, or approximately 85% of the expected voltage. Not bad, you won't need to change these batteries before the gig. Some devices will operate properly with 60% of the required voltage, some will not. Knowing your gear is important so be observant. When you notice abnormal operation, change the battery, if that solves the problem, measure the voltage so you can start to get an idea of what is acceptable for that device. If your battery measures 70% and you have three sets to perform, you may want to change it before the gig (don't forget to unplug the cable from the input to your pedals while on a break so the batteries don't drain). Some guitar players even like the way distortion pedals sound with far less voltage than the required 9 volts.

Norman Robinson works as a Technical Engineer at Manta Digital Sound & Picture, as well he is the band leader and guitarist for The VooDoo Kings, and Howlin' Mercy.