Dear John, I've been a huge fan of GCJr ever since I heard and saw him at the first-ever Austin City Limits Music Festival. He was 16 and just blew everyone away. Now he's in the up there with all the biggies. This was a long story so I'm going to run part two next week. Stay tuned. Hans is having his annual 30th birthday party tomorrow night at the RR. This is always a great time to see Hans rip it up with an all-star lineup. Go there!! NAZBA is throwing a party at the lake in Prescott. Good place to cool off for the afternoon. Big Daddy is on board so you know there'll be some real blues. Showdown is coming. Get crankin' guys and gals. This is great event to showcase your act and vie for a trip to Memphis and the IBC.In the mean time get out and about and show some support for the venues that feature live music. Any genre, any time. And hug somebody this week. It'll make you feel good. Have a week!! Sincerely, Jim Crawford - PBS
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Torch Bearer By Dave Everley
Gary Clark Jr. is a calm man in a furious world. Kicking back on a leather sofa in a dressing room in the Revention Music Centre in downtown Houston, Texas, he's the picture of zen: six-feet-something of effortless cool in skinny jeans, slouchy beanie hat and defiantly non-hipster beard. A beaker holding a couple of fingers of Jameson's whiskey sits on the table next to him - blues medicine to help get him in the mood for the show he'll be playing in this 3,000-capacity venue in a couple of hours' time. But even someone as laid-back as Clark can struggle to stay calm in these demented times. The title track of his new album, This Land, is the most raging song any rock musician has recorded in a long time. In it, the usually placid Clark takes aim at the racism and violence of Trump-era America. Channeling the radical insurgency of modern hip-hop, he spits fury over a grinding guitar: 'Nigga run, nigga run, go back where you come from.' It ends with the livid refrain: 'This land is mine.' "I had a lot of questions, concerns, comments as far as the climate of the country," he says. "All this stuff was happening in the news when I was in the studio: people not being allowed in the country; the KKK rally in North Carolina where the lady got killed; police killing young black and brown folks." He reaches for his Jameson's and takes a sip. "Basically, what it comes down to is being black in America and growing up in the south of Texas. It's an angry song. I'm not asking for acceptance any more. People were shackled to the bottom of boats, traded and sold, whipped and tortured, hanged for nothing. We built the farms and cotton fields and tobacco fields. So right now we are here through death and devastation, rape and pillage. We're here now regardless of what we look like and where we come from. We are citizens. We should all have the right to make a living and to protect our family and not be bothered. That's all there is to it." "The savior of the blues..." he says, trying to not to sigh. "That's like people standing in front of the museum going: [throws arms wide across an imaginary door] 'No, don't bulldoze it.' Look, there's blues everywhere, it's not going anywhere. It's just not on top-forty radio, 'cause it's not what's popular. The Savior Of the Blues? It's more like savior of my youth. Which is not my responsibility." He says this good-naturedly. Clark is as in love with the blues as anybody. He came up through the vibrant blues scene in his home city of Austin, a liberal oasis in the conservative desert of Texas. But his tastes went beyond the usual suspects: he was just as likely to listen to rappers like 2Pac or Outkast as he was to Howlin' Wolf or Muddy Waters; he loved Stevie Ray Vaughan, but he loved Kurt Cobain and Michael Jackson too. That broad musical bandwidth is reflected in This Land. The car of the title "Pearl Cadillac" is real. In 2003 he took off on tour with his friend and mentor Jimmie Vaughan in a pearl-colored Cadillac his father had bought for him. He was still in his late teens and was dreaming of being a star. "I packed up my stuff, took off, trying to make something happen. I still got it, too. It's my baby." Clark was already a veteran of the Austin scene by then. He'd fallen hard for the blues as an 11-year-old, when his best friend, Eve Monsees, got her first guitar. Clark followed her lead, and soon the two of them were listening to local blues stations and devouring as much music as they could: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins, Freddie King, T-Bone Walker. "Me and Eve, we'd listen to the radio, and dub shows on Memorex D90 tapes then go back and listen to them. We'd sit and figure out licks." Clark was 14 when he played on stage for the first time. Monsees said she wanted to go to a blues jam on Austin's Sixth Street - aka 'Dirty Sixth Street', home to many of the city's clubs and bars - and Clark agreed. Together with a couple of friends, they hit a bar called Babes. It smelled of burgers and spilt beer and smoke. Clark had never been anywhere like it, never even seen a live band before. "First time I heard an amp turned up. First time I saw a Gibson Flying V. First time I saw a Fender P Bass. There was all these cool, weird-looking guys, old folks and young folks in cowboy hats and boots. It was Texas Blues 101, right there on a Sunday night." The adults there welcomed these kids who had just stumbled through the doors. It was an open-mic night, and they put their names down on the list to play. "We played Stevie Ray's Pride And Joy. [Shrugs] It was okay, but the older people who were there would come up and say: 'Wow, kid, you really are into this stuff. Come back next week.'" They did come back next week, and the week after and the week after that. Other musicians would teach them songs, on stage in front of everyone. "You guys know San Jose by Freddie King? Come up here, we'll show you.'" They started getting gigs right away, playing in front of anything from six to 60 people. "We were 14, 15 years old. It was kind of to lure people into this dirty, nasty blues club: 'Here's Gary and Eve, the young kids.'" Jimmie Vaughan was one early mentor, Clifford Antone was another. Antone was a big figure on the Austin scene. He had his own club, Antone's, and a record store and label. "He would drive me and Eve to the store and grab piles of records. My whole CD collection was from him."
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| OUT & ABOUT Tuesday, July 2 Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., What the Hell Bar, Mesa Wednesday, July 3 Hans Olson's Birthday Bash, 7 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Chuck Hall, 6 p.m., Corrado's, Carefree Leon J, 5 p.m., Moon Valley Grill, Phoenix Thursday, July 4 Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Rags, Youngtown Paris James, 7 p.m., St. Armand Kitchen, Chandler Eric Ramsey Hosts OPEN MIC, 6 p.m., Fatso's Pizza, Phoenix Hans Olson EVERY THURSDAY, 6 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Arizona Blues Project, 8 p.m., Harold's, Cave Creek Mother Road Trio, 12:30 p.m., Ft Tuthill County Park, Flagstaff Friday, July 5 Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Gallagher's, Phoenix Eric Ramsey, 7 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa Blues Review Band, 8 p.m., All American, Fountain Hills Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., O'Kelley's, Mesa Tommy Grills Band, 5:30 p.m., West Alley BBQ, chandler Paris James, 6:30 p.m., Scratch Pub, Mesa Tommy Dukes/Roger Smith, 6 p.m., Charly's, Flagstaff Saturday, July 6 Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Rip's, Phoenix Big Pete Pearson, 7:30 p.m., Janey's, Cave Creek JC & The Rockers, 8 p.m., Fibber Magee's, Chandler Blues Review Band, 11 a.m., Chandler Harley-D, Chandler Nina Curri w/Doug Schultze, 7 p.m., Voodoo Daddy's, Tempe Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., McKenzie's Midtown, Phoenix Sunday, July 7 Mike Eldred, 3 p.m., The Vig, Scottsdale True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix Monday, July 8
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Jams Sunday Rocket 88s JAM, 4 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler JAM Hosted by The Scott O'Neal Band. Every other Thursday, Windsock, Prescott Sir Harrison, JAM every other Sunday, The Windsock, Prescott MONDAY Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix Weatherford Hotel JAM, 6:30 p.m., Flagstaff TUESDAY OPEN JAM Hosted by Jilly Bean & The Flipside Blues Band, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix JAM Sir Harrison, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, JAM, 6 p.m., The Last Stop (Old Hideaway West), Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 6 p.m. Gabby's, Mesa THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 9 p.m., Chandler NEW JAM @ The Bench, Hosted by BluZone, 7 p.m., The Bench, Tempe Friday Saturday Bumpin' Bud's JAM 2nd & 4th Saturdays JAM, 6 p.m., Marc's Sports Grill |
GOT BLUES? If you are a Blues musician, a group, or a club that features Blues music, and would like to be listed, please send your info to info@phoenixblues.org and we'll be happy to list your event in our weekly Out & About section of the newsletter |
Moved? Changed email addresses? Please let us know of any changes in your address, email, or phone number so we can keep you informed about the Blues community in Arizona. Email us at: info@phoenixblues.org or write to: Phoenix Blues Society P.O. Box 36874 Phoenix, Arizona 85067 |
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