Ramblings on My Mind
Ramblings On My Mind May 2012
Greg Johnson / CBA President
This past year has certainly seen a lot of changes in the Cascade Blues Association’s board of directors and leadership. Our most recent change occurred at the end of March when Treasurer Deborah DeSarah moved out of state to Texas. A two-time board member, Deborah came back to us last summer when we lost John Etten, and took control of our books and finances with her expertise in accounting. A valued board member who was always willing to step up when needed, she will certainly be missed.
But it did not take long for us to find an apt replacement as Kathie Titzler jumped into the fray to take on the Interim Treasurer role. Kathie has an established history as an accountant including work in the non-profit sector. And besides that, she is an avid blues fan who has traveled on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruises and served as a volunteer at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. You cannot ask for a better fit and we’re happy to have her on board.
We also want to welcome our other newest At-Large board member, Karylee Harrison, an outstanding photographer and organizer of blues events who will bring many skills to the CBA. The rest of our At-Large board consists of Fred Morgan, Merry Larsen, Bob Neuner, Art Bullis and elected officers Jody Gunn, Wendy Schumer, Mary Maxson and myself. A pretty good group if I do say so myself, not to mention our BluesNotes editor Laurie Morrisey and webmaster Bruce Gifford. It’s always good to give a special shout out to these people who do so much behind the scenes for the CBA.
I am really excited to be heading back to Memphis again in May. The opportunity arose that would allow me to make the trip and I could not pass it up. For the second year in a row, I will be working with the stage management for the Blues Music Awards, the absolute biggest night in the blues world anywhere. It’ll be good to be on hand to support our local nominees Curtis Salgado, Mary Flower, Jimi Bott and Too Slim & The Taildraggers, as well as the chance to see many long-time friends once again. This is always an incredible night to attend, not only because of the awards and the performances of many of the best players to be found, but it gives you the chance to share tables and mingle with the musicians you love so much. Wendy Schumer will also be attending the Blues Music Awards so the CBA will be well represented.
Of course there is always a lot happening in our neck of the woods back home, too. Check out the BluesNotes calendar pages to see all the amazing traveling musicians and special events going on right here. Every month for some time has seemed to surpass the one before, and it isn’t even summer time yet when all the festivals and major tours take place. We are surely blessed to live in one of the richest blues environments on the planet. Keep on going to those shows everybody so they continue to happen.
And do not forget to pick up the brand new Cascade Blues Association Puddletown Blues, Vol. 2 CD that is finally making its way on the market. It is just as much fun as the first and I want to thank all of the musicians who donated their songs this time out and both Terry Robb and Dennis Carter for their studio excellence. There are still so many blues artists in Oregon that we have yet to touch on, so hopefully this series keeps on going for years to come. We believe you’re really going to like this one a lot.
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Ramblings On My Mind April 2012
Greg Johnson / CBA President
2012 is already beginning to be a hard year for losses in the blues world. As if 2011 was not bad enough. Over the past few weeks we have witnessed the passing of both Louisiana Red and Bugs Henderson. Henderson was a tremendous guitarist who never failed to amaze me with his dexterity and had ties to the Portland community having recorded on the Burnside Records label. I had the opportunity to see Louisiana Red a few times and to meet him on a couple of occasions. One of the truly nice guys in the blues with a heartbreaking past who overcame his challenges and made an impact with his music.
But the one loss that really hits the hardest is that of local guitarist Rick Welter, who had a smooth voice and a guitar tone that exceeded taste and style that made many envious of his talents. He had a career that spanned the country, working four years with Charlie Musselwhite, followed by stints with The Dynatones and John Nemeth as well as backing pianist Mitch Woods and fronting the long running Monday night jams at Salt Lake City’s defunct Dead Goat Saloon prior to moving to Portland.
I first met Rick shortly after his arrival in Portland in 2005. That summer I interviewed him for the cover story of the Waterfront Blues Festival issue of the BluesNotes. It was one of the most enjoyable interviews I ever had. A very humble and kind individual, you just had to like him from the get-go. He always had a kind word for everybody and took the time to greet you whenever he saw you, and not only with me, but with my girlfriend as well which she thought the world of.
His music touched everybody it came in contact with. And believe it or not that didn’t only mean with people. I remember one evening sitting in O’Connor’s in Multnomah watching him play as two dogs who were wandering down the street poked their heads in the door to see what was going on inside.
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Ramblings On My Mind - March 2012
Greg Johnson / CBA President
I want to take a moment and say what a wonderful time I had in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge this year. Many people go back to enjoy the large grouping of blues acts every year and to have a party. I truly do get to see a great deal of new acts that stun me, but if you are not aware this is actually a working vacation of sorts for me. I volunteer for The Blues Foundation to help make sure that everything runs smoothly. I am literally working almost every moment I am there from the time I arrive to the time I leave, with moments here and there to share with close friends I see maybe once or twice a year.
I arrived Sunday afternoon and spent the evening with IBC producer Joe Whitmer and his wife Sara, two of my absolute closest friends. But first thing Monday morning we were working on the event, putting last minute items together and starting the move to the headquarters on Beale Street and the host hotel at the Doubletree. Moving and setting up takes a lot of time and happens daily. Then there was band orientations, running the event at Club 152 three nights and the finals at The Orpheum, then everything back over to The Blues Foundation office. We made our last unload on the Monday after the event just about an hour before I had to be at the airport. But it is all worth it. Not only do our Northwest acts get attention by playing the event, I have built a reputation for the Cascade Blues Association for being dependable and a go-to group when the need arises. A huge thank you goes out to Joe, Sara, Jay Sieleman and everybody at The Blues Foundation for letting me be a part of the production of this event year after year and for being such generous and gracious hosts while I am in town. I do get the chance to see friends, but usually this is relegated to after-hours when the happenings have ended making for some late nights and early mornings.
I would not have been able to make the event this year if it had not been for the generosity of our local musicians, members and fans who threw me a fundraising jam allowing me to afford to fly back and having enough to purchase meals. A huge thank you to all, especially Kevin Selfe, Lisa Mann, Chad Rupp and Robbie Laws and also to the folks at the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Portland who at the last minute gave me an unexpected gift card for the work I have been doing for their upcoming Blues for MS show. I had told them I wanted to help them out without a charge for my services, but they insisted I accept this gift on their behalf. I have to say that being unemployed for so long has allowed me to give a little extra time to our blues community and it has been worth every minute involved.
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Ramblings On My Mind - February 2012
Greg Johnson / CBA President
Look at the upcoming shows happening in Portland this month. If you cannot find something that is going to excite you with everything happening, then as Albert King once said, “If you can’t dig this blues, you got a hole in your soul.” You’d think it was the middle of the summer was so many different artists coming through and the special events going on. There are Mardi Gras parties, an IBC winner, Blues Music Award nominees, the CBA Sweetheart Dance, a Mississippi guitarist, a tribute to British blues, acoustic, electric, harmonica, a brand new festival and even more. How much more can you ask for? Portland has the blues goin’ on without doubt!
I am personally standing on pins and needles as I head to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge. I have strong belief in both of our representatives this year, Madman Sam and the Robbie Laws Band. It’ll be another fine showing of our local artists as we continue to convince people from elsewhere that the Pacific Northwest has a wealth of talent that runs very deep. Good luck to both our acts and all those from our sister societies throughout the region.
At this time our Board of Directors, though we have exceptional members, is really lacking in numbers. I have received interest from a few people who are considering joining up, but we definitely need more people on board to help us with all the happenings and programs we want to succeed. Please let any of our current Board members know if you may have a desire to help out or attend one of our monthly meetings to see how things are run. Please let us know if you want to attend a meeting so we can let you know where it will be held as we often bounce between our location in Tigard and downtown in The Pearl. If you do not have the time to be on the board, volunteers for our efforts are always welcome, too.
Hopefully, if you signed up to be a member in the past couple months, you have already received your membership card. We are trying to catch up, but we ran into a little glitch with the change in the newly elected officers and the computers used. The format changed in the database programming and we had to upgrade to make everything work. But now that it has been resolved we should be back on track. If we missed you, my apologies, but let us know and we’ll get it straightened out for you.
We hope that you come out to the Sweetheart Dance on the 11th. This event continues to become one of our premier happenings each year. It’ll give you a chance to visit a newer venue for us, Vie de Boheme. It is always a good idea to support any new venue that offers live music, blues or any other style you may enjoy. Without your support they will not last. Another recent addition the past couple months has been The Grapevine in Beaverton, with a Thursday night jam and a variety of bands on the weekend nights. Also there is a new piano bar downtown called Ivories that often has blues-related entertainment. Let us know if you hear of any new locations so we can all check them out. And tell them advertising in the BluesNotes gives them a direct link to the people who want to hear the blues most. Also tell them listing their shows in our monthly calendar is free. If they do not tell us, we can’t tell you. And nobody wins when that happens. Support our local venues and the musicians as much as you can. Keep our local music scene strong and continuing!
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Ramblings On My Mind - January 2012
I want to take a moment for a more personal reflection this month. Having been unemployed for nearly a year, I was having a hard time trying to figure out whether or not I would be able to travel back to Memphis this year to help The Blues Foundation with the International Blues Challenge, something I have done for the past ten years. Friends in Memphis had told me they would make sure I had a place to stay, but I was unsure if I could afford the airfare. That is when Lisa Mann, Kevin Selfe and Chad Rupp all stepped in and told me I should do a fundraiser to get me back to work and help support our acts in the competition. This is something that I would never have asked for myself. But these three convinced me to do so and Hart Road Pizza in Beaverton kindly offered a venue where we could have it take place.
I told each of them before we even set the time and place that I would only agree to this happening if I set a goal for myself that would cover my airfare, baggage, airport parking and a little bit for meals. Anything that may go beyond that amount was to be split evenly between our IBC acts Madman Sam and the Robbie Laws Band to help with their expenses traveling back to Memphis.
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 27th we held the event. Not sure what type of response we would have in a venue that many had never been to before, I was completely overwhelmed by the number of people and musicians who showed up. Eight sets of music and over five hours long.
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