April 2010

In case you missed it, Lust For Blues III was great! The bands were awesome (lots of positive feedback). The Metropolis created an excellent venue with a Night Club feel. The food was very good (so I heard, as there wasn’t anything left when I got around to looking for a bite to eat), and we had a record crowd for Lust. The CVBS was pretty satisfied with the overall result. It wouldn’t have hurt to have had a few more people attend, but we still set a paid attendance record with fans from as far away as Missouri, Minnesota & Iowa. Several groups took advantage of the package the Metropolis offered for the stay, the water park, activities and concert. Thanks go out to Lucas K & The Coolhand Saint and 22 Oz Porterhouse for your support and superb performances, as well as to The Butanes who certainly lived up to their billing and reputation. Watch for these bands and go out and see them play! You won’t be disappointed.

We are determined to make Lust For Blues IV an even better event for next year, So if you made it to this years Lust, send us some feedback (cvbs_mike@yahoo.com) as to what we did right, wrong or what we might do to improve this event. We want Lust For Blues to be one of the premiere concert events in the region. Something folks look forward to all year.

Speaking of events to look forward to, we are only six weeks away from the beginning of the Tuesday Night Blues series in Owen Park in Eau Claire. We have the line up set with fourteen excellent bands. We have some of our most popular groups back from last season, and a handful of first timers to TNB. Last season we featured three benefit nights to aid some of the local non-profits. This year we upped it to seven benefit nights, which is half of our schedule. Here is this year’s schedule with Non-Profits in Parentheses. 

6/1/10     Left Wing Bourbon (The Veterans Assistance Center at Klein Hall)
6/8/10     The Pumps
6/15/10    Blues Dogs (EC Humane Assoc / Dogs for Dogs)
6/22/10    Pete Newman
6/29/10    Code Blue featuring Catya & Sue (Feed My People)
7/6/10      Mojo Lemon
7/13/10    Dave Lambert
7/20/10    Deep Water Reunion (Community Table)
7/27/10    The Nightcaps
8/3/10      Young Blues Night/Love Buzzards (Big Brothers/Big Sisters)
8/10/10    South Farwell
8/17/10    Ellen Whyte (UCP & Bike Show)
8/24/10    Tommy Bentz Band
8/31/10    Howard Luedtke and Blue Max

Unfortunately, or fortunately really, we have more great talent in the area than we can showcase in the Memorial Day to Labor Day schedule. So if one of your favorites isn’t playing this year, we very well may be featuring them next year, or at one of the other events coming up.

August 3^rd will be our Young Blues Night. Any Musicians under the age of 25 that would like to participate are encouraged to contact Dan Callan @ 715-495-8091. Dan’s band The Love Buzzards will be providing the backups for that evening. Thanks Guys for all your support, and especially Dan for all your work with this group.

As a side note, we are aware that Mojo Terry Demars has been actively trying to organize a benefit for Deb Klossner of the Blue Max band. As of this writing I have not been notified of when, where, bands, etc. but I will keep you posted.

We are always looking for new members. Check out our website at cvblues.com. A $10 Membership fee is a small price to pay to help promote all the ”free” music we put on.  The Blues Society doesn’t have many perks to offer it’s members yet, but we are working on it. If you want more info contact Mike at cvbs_mike@yahoo.com.

See ya round!

March 2010, Who We Are

What is the Chippewa Valley Blues society? According to the by-laws it is an organization dedicated to:

1. To preserve, cultivate, and support the blues.
2. To communicate current blues news and events for members
3. To increase awareness of and appreciation for the blues through Society sanctioned educational efforts, and
4. To provide a network of association for area blues lovers These are very simple ideas. What we are is a widely diverse group of folks from all facets of society.

There are many different personalities, characters and economic abilities that have at least a single common interest in a wonderful product of the American experience, a musical expression of a myriad of emotions….the blues.

Almost all modern forms of music have their roots in the blues. Some may protest and others may rebel, but this music that snuck out of the cotton and cane fields, at the very least, lent it’s soul to the foundations of every genre from jazz to rock, from Motown to rap. You find it peeking through in bluegrass and certainly in country music, both modern and traditional.

Someone once said the blues aint nothin but a good man feelin bad. The music was a way to escape the melancholy and often deep depression that hard times can cause. That doesn’t mean the music is melancholy or depressing, though it sometimes can be, the sky can be crying with tears runnin down the street, but it can rock, and it sure can boogie, it can be seductive or it can brag, it can beg and it can express almost every emotion that real people feel. It almost always makes you feel better, tappin your toe, swayin your hips and wanting to hear more.

I have heard people say I don’t really like the blues, and it always makes me ask, do you know what the blues is? Have you ever listened to the blues? Most often, probably not on purpose, almost always without knowing that was blues they were rockin to. I heard Luther Allison the first time at the University of Minnesota in 1970 and I was struck by what he said at the beginning and end of that concert. “If you don’t like the blues you got a hole in your soul!” I saw him several times after that and he repeated it at every performance. I Believe! You may like some music, and love or hate others, but the blues will touch you if you let it.

These are just some of the things members of the Chippewa Valley Blues Society have in common. Some are more passionate than others, some interested, and some of us can be downright obnoxious! We all love the music and want to promote it in the region. We want to promote the artists that play it and the venues where it is performed. We want to honor the music and encourage others to listen to it. Last summer at one of our free concerts in Eau Claire a gentleman told me that he didn’t even know he liked the blues until he came to one of our concerts. He said he had heard many of the songs before, but didn’t realize that that was blues. That night he said it was quickly becoming one of his favorite genres.

We try very hard to offer opportunities for people to get a chance to try this music out. Last summer we had weekly concerts and again this year their will be free concerts in Owen Park in Eau Claire every Tuesday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The music starts at 6:30 at the band shell for “Tuesday Night Blues on the River”. We have an excellent lineup of talented musicians and it’s a wonderful time. There will be food vendors like 9 Degrees Ice Cream, Famous Dave’s Barbecue, The Weenie Wagon with dogs & brats, a popcorn guy, and more. The admission is free. Through the season we hope to promote some special events to correspond with like a bike show, some non-profits like the Vet’s Center at Klein Hall, and a handful of others.

Later on this summer we will be supporting and promoting the 3rd Annual “Blues On The Chippewa” in Durand. The first full weekend in August at Memorial Park there will be two entire days of great music in the park, as well as a car show on Saturday. The music carries on into the night with many of the day’s bands performing in the local bars. Again, the price is right, it’s free admission to the park!

We are always looking for new members. Check out our website at cvblues.com. A $10 Membership fee is a small price to pay to help promote all the ”free” music we put on.  The Blues Society doesn’t have many perks to offer it’s members yet, but we are working on it. If you want more info contact Mike at cvbs_mike@yahoo.com. See ya round!

February 2010, Lust for Blues III

Is an opportunity for us to get out of the house on a Sunday afternoon in the end days of winter to celebrate the joyful noise that is the blues. Music that is a rhythmic soundtrack to life. Some cosmic grease to help release the listener from whatever drudgery or worry that holds us captive in darker times (sorry, my blues get a little moody now and then), OR it might just be the key to keeping our eyes smiling, our bodies swaying and our minds at ease. What ever the reason, need or want it will make you feel good, and you won’t be alone. As Luther Allison always said, “If you don’t like the blues, you got a hole in your soul!”

Sunday, March 21st at The Metropolis Resort & Hotel in Eau Claire (at the southwest corner of the intersection of I-94 & Hwy 93), in a room overlooking the Chaos Water Park, we will present, for your enjoyment, three bands. Doors open at 1 p.m. There will be a cash bar and food specials available. Music begins at 2 p.m. with,

Lucas K And The Coolhand Saints, a talented four piece group specializing in creating good times. Mixing up a stew of blues, funk, rock and reggae with a little jazz to spice it up, they’ll surprise you with their spin on some old tunes and light you up with their originals. Led by Luke Fischer on guitar and vocals as well as an understated presence, his original tunes are influenced by such diverse artists as Tom Waits and Marvin Gaye. Olaf Lind makes a fiddle and mandolin talk like nothing you ever heard before, an experience you need to have in your life. Brian Trullinger slaps a bass line that’ll make you sway and move your hips, while Ben Eggers keeps it cookin’ and tickin’ like a Timex. The Saints will play long enough to make you yell for more, but then they’re gonna serve you up.

22 Oz. Porterhouse. For years these guys fronted one of the most popular bands in western Wisconsin…Sparky And The Wipers! It’s Sparky himself, Paul Hintz and guitar slinger extraordinaire Mike Schlenker. These guys can rock and have been known to blow the roof off a juke joint or two. Today they are gonna serve it up to us unplugged, alone and acoustic, like you’ve never seen them. I can’t wait to catch this set! Hot licks and cool blues on acoustic guitars is gonna be like prime cut beef searing on a charcoal grill. WOW! Makes my mouth water – can’t wait!! As soon as you’re trying to catch your breath from that super second course we’ll really start cookin’ with gas.

The Butanes! Long a commanding presence on the Minneapolis blues/R&B scene, the Butanes began receiving numerous individual and group awards in the late 80’s. The early 90’s found the band holding down two house gigs that have since become a cherished part of local lore: the 10 strong Butanes Soul Revue brought southern soul to the Cabooze bar every Wednesday and the trio delivered Chicago blues to the 400 bar every Thursday. As the accolades piled up, local appearances became less frequent. The band could often be found playing behind luminaries around the world leading one New Orleans wag to dub them “the best band you’ve never heard of.”

Earl King hired the Butanes to back him at a dozen New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival appearances as well as numerous Midwest festival and Club dates. The band accompanied Earl on a seven country tour of Europe and recorded with him at the London BBC studios, performed at the Vin Expo in Bordeaux, France and played on his final unreleased Black Top tracks.

They toured the Midwest, California, Alaska and the Virgin Islands with Zydeco accordionist Al Rapone, backed numerous New Orleans legends at the 1st Ernie K-Doe R&B Tribute at the Mother-In-Law Lounge in New Orleans and were "saved" during rehearsal for the St. Louis Blues & Heritage Festival by Motown/Stax/Raelettes vocalist the Reverend Dr. Mabel John.

Their most recent collaborations with former Goldwax/Checker vocalist Willie Walker, Memphisapolis and Right Where I Belong, have both been ranked as number 1 "picks to click" on XM Radios' Bluesville station. Willie and the Butanes traveled to Utrecht, the Netherlands to perform at the final Blues Estaffette. They spent 10 days playing at the Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland and headlined the first P-vine Blues Festival in Tokyo.

Partial list of STARS the Butanes have backed: Long John Baldry, Johnny “Clyde” Copeland, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Ben E. King, Earl King, Mable John, The Memphis Horns, Pinetop Perkins, Francine Reed, Fenton Robinson, Percy Sledge, Big Walter Smith, Hubert Sumlin, Little Johnny Taylor, just to name a few.

This is going to be the best Lust For Blues yet, and that’s saying a bunch! The Chippewa Valley Blues Society is looking forward to seeing you there. Keep an eye out for Blue Notes in future issues of the Pub & Grub Report.

Don’t forget the other events we are involved in:

Tuesday Night Blues on the River at Owen Park in Eau Claire every Tuesday from Memorial Day to Labor Day with free music and camaraderie starting at 6:30 p.m. at the band shell.

Blues On The Chippewa in Durand the first weekend in August. Two whole days of free music and good community at the Memorial Park Band Shell.

We are always looking for new members, to find out more about The Chippewa Valley Blues Society check out our website at cvblues.com