What’s on Tap for March’s General Membership Meeting (2010)

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Melody Ballroom, 615 SE Alder St., Portland
Wednesday, March 3rd, 7:00 pm
Members always Free ~ Non-members $3.00
Opening Acoustic Set ~ The Jerry Zybach Duo
Second Electrical Set ~ Berthaline & The Cajun Love Brigade

   What a great showing we had last month. We had a ton of people renewing memberships or signing up for new ones. It sure makes the heart fill with joy knowing that each and every member of our organization is out there doing their part to help support not only the Cascade Blues Association but the blues in our region in general. Thank you one and all.
   And you can count on us to continue to bring to you first-class performances at our monthly meetings featuring acts you may or may not know, as well as bringing in a few guests from outside of the Portland Metro area.
   This month we’re going to open with a very special duet of acoustic blues featuring a pair of artists from the Eugene area. I first met Jerry Zybach at a mini-festival held at the Hilton Hotel a few years back, put on by the then fledgling Rainy Day Blues Society, of which Jerry is a founding member. Jerry enchanted me with his adeptness on guitar as he played alongside Hawkeye Herman and Johnny Dyer that day. I have seen Jerry a handful of times since and he always is highly entertaining. Jerry has played with some of the biggest names in the blues, including touring with Honeyboy Edwards and Michael Frank. At home playing a fingerpicking Delta blues, smokin’ slide, ukelele or working out one of his own cigar-box guitars, Jerry Zybach has an ease on stage. For his performance at the CBA meeting, he will be joined by John Bryson, one of the finest and most soulful harmonica players in Oregon. Jerry and John have a real love for the blues and teamed up to play the many styles of the genre while sharing a little blues history along the way. Expect a foot-stompin’, danceable and authentic set from this pair!
Berthaline and the Cajun Love Brigade

    To describe our second set, I think the words sent to me by the band themselves best tells what to expect: “Berthaline-style blues is a warm stew that sounds like peace, love, and crawfish. Bubbling in an earthy, spicy mix you hear Bob Shoemaker laying down Delta slide, with Steve Kerin jumping keys a la his Louisiana roots, Kris Deelane floating vocals over the top like an angel with punch, and Heidi Shu embracing it all with various percussive stylings. The band draws it's name from Berthaline, the hearty Southern grandmother of Steve, who in her 97 years of life lived in joy and simplicity: ‘She didn't really notice there was a Depression going on.’ The rattling rubboard you hear played is the very one Berthaline used for decades to get the laundry washed. The metaphor pulls this eclectic group by a common thread. Though these musicians come together from various parts of the country and many other projects, this collaboration is uniquely part home and part stretch, and a welcome place for writers Steve and Kris, to bring original music to life. It's joyful. It's brightness during process. It's carrying your old suitcase of clothes up a new stretch of highway. It's rock and blues. It's provocative and tasty.” Wow! I could’ve never stated it as well myself. This is definitely one act I will be keeping an eye on!
    Remember, the meeting is always free for CBA members and a $3 cover for those who are not. With the great music we bring to you every month, as well as free ticket drawings for those in attendance to win great prizes like CDs, concert tickets or meal certificates, you just might want to consider becoming a member if not one already. You’ll save money if you attend every month, receive the BluesNotes with its monthly listings of where the blues is being played, discounts on co-sponsored events, plus you’ll get to vote for the Muddy Awards and attend the private members-only summer picnic and holiday party. It’s really a great bargain at only $25/year for a single membership.
   Hope to see you at the March meeting and every meeting. Continue to support live music. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

Greg Johnson
CBA President

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Additional Information

CD Reviews

"Sittin’ On The Right Side Of The Blues"

bernie_pearl_sittin Bernie Pearl

Major Label Recordings

It had been way too long since I last had the chance to hear music from Bernie Pearl. Not sure why, just missed out on his recent releases. But boy howdy, I’m thrilled that I listened in again on this newest disc, Sittin’ On The Right Side Of The Blues, because Bernie lays down some incredible guitar work that carries us on a journey over his time as a musician and the wonderful artists he worked with and played alongside. A good deal of this is documented in the title song, where he reminds us of his association with folk like Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb among others.

Pearl first caught the blues bug while a teenager in the 50s. And in the 60s what better opportunity for an artist than to have your brother own one of the best blues & folk venues in the country, The Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where Pearl had the chance to sit in with and learn firsthand from Hopkins, Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker, Freddie King and the like. Then there is also a radio career that he has carried on since becoming the first blues jock in L.A. in 1968 and a period working with the late Harmonica Fats that led to W.C. Handy Award (now the Blues Music Awards) nominations. For more than fifty years he has been performing the songs of his mentors and his own originals, and even as a youngster now in his early 70s, he has not lost any knack. This album is an acoustic gem. Sharp, crisp guitar that snaps and pops in all the right places; giving effervescent life to the material.

Teamed up with bass player Mike Barry and recorded live at Boulevard Music in Culver City, California on February 15, 2011, this is a wonderful performance with selections by Hopkins, McDowell, Lipscomb, Muddy Waters and Son House dishing up a tasty broth that his own self-written tunes add the meat and potatoes behind it all for such a flavorful stew you’ll be begging for more. All those years working with the greats certainly had their effect, as can be seen in his own tune “I Ain’t Hurt,” where he captures the essence of Mississippi John Hurt to a tee, or on Muddy’s “Can’t Be Satisfied” that the master himself would’ve been proud to have laid down such a remarkable take. Catchy original numbers like “I’m Up A Tree” and “Flat-Footed” flow really well and are quite memorable, too.

Shame on me for missing out on keeping up with what Bernie Pearl has been doing over the past few years. Glad that I heard this one, it has slapped me full force in the face for my oversight. Now I’ll have to go back and catch up on those I’ve missed. And for those of you who love acoustic, traditional blues, run out and pick up a copy of Sittin’ On The Right Side Of The Blues right away. Classic!!

Total Time: 64:32

Jailhouse Blues / New Hollow Log Blues / Outside Boogie / Sittin’ On The Right Side Of The Blues / I Believe I’ll Carry My Hook / Shinin’ Moon / Shetland Pony Blues / I Just Keeps On Wanting You / I’m Up A Tree / Flat-Footed / Can’t Be Satisfied / Night Time Is The Right Time / I Ain’t Hurt / You Can Break My Heart / Shake ‘Em Down

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