Dante’s Welcomes New Orleans Piano Man Jon Cleary & The Philthy Phew

In the hallowed ranks of New Orleans ‘piano professors,’ Jon Cleary is on the tenure track. Born in England and bred in New Orleans, Jon Cleary is a triple threat, combining soulful vocals, masterful piano skills, and a knack for composing infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. He balances a career performing on solo piano, playing with noted funk band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen and his new power trio The Philthy Phew, with a career as a notorious hired gun for artists such as Bonnie Raitt and John Scofield. Bonnie Raitt states, "Jon Cleary is the ninth wonder in the world."

Jon Cleary & The Philthy Phew will be playing in Portland on Tuesday, April 17^th, for a 9:00 pm show at Dante’s. Tickets are available through www.TicketsWest.com and are $15 in advance.

Bookmark with:

              

Time Running Out to Apply For 2012 Journey To Memphis

Deadline for Entry is April 4th

The Cascade Blues Association is now accepting applications for the 2012 Journey To Memphis. If you want a chance to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, you first must win a regional competition put on by an affiliate society of The Blues Foundation. The Journey To Memphis is the first step to take locally to reach the IBC.

Here’s what you need to do to apply:

1. First and foremost, all applicants must be a current member of the Cascade Blues Association. No act that has either won or has been nominated for The Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Awards may enter.

2. Put together a promotional packet including:

• A letter of intent

• Band/Artist biography (including the names and ages of any members under 21 years)

• A photograph for promotional use (must be a minimum of 300 dpi)

• A CD sample of your music (please use full songs as your music may be used to promote the event on local radio)

• Contact information including address, phone number and e-mail address if available

• $20 application fee. This fee will go toward the prize offered by the CBA to help defray travel expenses for the winning act. (Please make checks out to the Cascade Blues Association and note at the bottom “J2M” for our accounting purposes).

Depending on the number of applications received will determine the dates needed. At this time, we have the first Friday and Saturday of June booked for the Trail’s End Saloon in Oregon City for the event. The top acts from the first round will advance to the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4^th to decide who our representatives in Memphis will be.

Also included as part of the prize is a guaranteed paid set at the following year’s Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, the opening set at the 2012 Muddy Awards and a cash prize based on the amount of admissions sold during the first round of the competition.

Please send application packets to: Journey To Memphis, c/o Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 14493, Portland, OR 97293. Or you may deliver your applications at the CBA monthly meeting at The Melody Ballroom. All applications must be received no later than the April 4th CBA Membership Meeting, so we may have appropriate time to set-up semi-final dates in early June and to promote the acts in the BluesNotes that month. Absolutely no late entries will be accepted this year. That means it must be in our hands on April 4^th, not postmarked for the date as those entries will be considered late and will not be accepted.

All rules used for the Journey To Memphis follow those outlined by The Blues Foundation. These can be found at their website www.blues.org.

Bookmark with:

              

Tell Mama: A Tribute to Etta James & Benefit for Candye Kane

The Alberta Rose Theatre is pleased to present a very special event, Sunday April 1st starting at 6pm, paying tribute to the one of the greatest female vocalists ever, the late Etta James. Etta James, an inductee in the Rock & Roll, Blues and Rockabilly Hall of Fames, died of complications of leukemia on January 20th following a successful, yet troubled career. This special event will serve as a fundraiser to assist blues vocalist Candye Kane with her on-going battle with pancreatic cancer for the second time in 4 years.

This concert features an All Star cast, featuring D.K. Stewart as musical director and his Sextet along with guest Bobby Torres as the house band backing five of the Northwest's foremost women vocalists performing their favorite songs by Etta James. Scheduled to appear are Duffy Bishop, Lisa Mann, LaRhonda Steele, Rae Gordon and Amy Keys. The finale to the show will feature all of the artists onstage trading verses on Etta’s signature tune, “At Last.” In addition to the concert, there will be a silent auction with 100% of the funds raised going to Candye Kane.

Tickets for Tell Mama are available online at www.albertarosetheatre.com, by phone at 503-764-4131, and in person at the Alberta Rose Box Office. The Alberta Rose Theatre is located at 3000 NE Alberta Street, Portland. This is an all ages show (minors must be accompanied by an adult). Special Silver & gold VIP seating is available. Tickets are $20, $30 Silver VIP which includes preferred seating, and $50 Gold VIP which has preferred seating plus a meet & greet with the artists following the show. This is a Cascade Blues Association co-sponsored event; members will receive a $5 discount on general admission tickets; use the code CBA when ordering on-line.

Please note: In last month’s issue of the BluesNotes we announced that Karen Lovely, Marilyn Keller and Margo Tufo would be included in this event. All had to withdraw, unfortunately, due to prior commitments.

Bookmark with:

              

BEN RICE BLUES BAND~GUT BUCKET BLUES FROM THE BANDSTAND

Written by: Kathy Rankin

If you don’t know already, Ben Rice is a guitar player, a singer, and a songwriter. Currently, Ben is a full time musician. He says the feeling he gets from playing is pure joy. He tells people that he feels “Like a dog in a leash-less dog park!“

Ben likes to surround himself with people that can expand his musical horizons while expanding his creative thinking. If you attend any of the many blues jam in our community, you know there is genuine support for talented artists. Ben’s take on jams is he love mistakes, or what musicians call “train wrecks.” He says, “because it’s part of the experience, as a performer and an audience member; that performing music is a living breath thing,” (citing jams) and although not everyone appreciates “train wrecks,” per se, he says that he'd much rather make a mistake and get into some uncharted territory while feeling all the uncertainty, than sweat it out about playing something absolutely perfect.

Ben plays music of all styles, such as Delta, Country, Chicago, Texas, West Coast, Hill Country, and lots of improvisations. His current band mates have creative input which adds to the style because they come from various musical backgrounds.

Tommy, his brother, writes great melodic bass lines, which serve as a counter point or counter melody to what Ben does on guitar. Although Tommy’s background is punk rock, he also grew up listening to some of the same music Ben did, so they actually are on the same page. “The great thing about Tommy,” says Ben, is “he uses his ear to pick his bass lines, which adds to the sound of the group.”

Ryan Rustrum has played drums off and on with Ben since high school. He listens to a wide array of music, anything from pop and dance music, to metal and pretty much all the cores. Ryan is truly a great drummer to play with because he’s always willing to try new things; and that brings a lot of hip-ness to the group, Ben said.

These guys are people that Ben holds in high regard. He has a strong respect and a connection with them. “They

Bookmark with:

              

Read more: BEN RICE BLUES BAND~GUT BUCKET BLUES FROM THE BANDSTAND