Dear John,
I think I've finally found the savior for our web site. After numerous calls to Go Daddy, one of their techs finally told me to give it up. But, we'll see soon. Stay tuned....
The Sistahs are in Scottsdale in a top-notch venue. This is a very high-energy Blues band and you can's sit still when Rochelle pops her cork and bubbles over. Go see them!!
Eldred is about to take off with his guys to tour for a while with George Thorogood. This is a big, well-deserved, deal for Mike, who has worked his coolo off getting his album "Baptist Town" out in the public. From all account it's doing very well.
R.d.'s latest release is also making some noise on various Blues radio shows and Bob C's latest with Big Jon is still drawing attention all over the charts. I've said it countless times, we've got some killer players amongst us. Way to go guys!!
We've got a wail of a show this Friday at the RR. Bid Daddy, Smokestack and the Acme Blues Band are ready to go. Hope y'all are too!!
It's still summer so take care of yourselves and drink plenty of water. No such thing as too much in this climate.
Have a week!!
Sincerely,Jim Crawford, PBS |
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 | | | Elwood and Jake caused a literal Blues revival with the creation of their iconic Blues Brothers act.
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Hey Bartender!!
by Darren Weale In the decades since they first donned their black hats and dark glasses, the Blues Brothers have not been fully acknowledged for their music or their impact on Blues music and musicians. Why is this? A best guess is that the Dan 'Elwood' Aykroyd and John 'Jake' Belushi were comedians who introduced the Blues Brothers on US TV show, Saturday Night Live. Why take two funny men, being funny, seriously? Why think they were more than two guys who had an idea for a comedy performance that happened to catch enormous popularity? The Blues Brothers have been derided by some as Blues imposters who made a mockery of the music and its history. The two movies have been much criticised by many, yet the Blues Brothers remain world famous to this day. This series of articles will tell the story of the Blues Brothers, with a briefcase full of original quotes from the stars of the story and the people around it. The Blues Brothers story is wide-ranging and involves numerous people. It is too big a topic to fully honour even in this series of articles, but we will try. It is time to pay some respects and to show that the Blues Brothers deserve their own very special chapter in the history of the Blues. We will come on to the story of the Blues Brothers, what they were and are, and how they started, but let us begin with that respect for what they have achieved. Fruits of the Blues Brothers From the beginning, the comic actors Dan 'Elwood' Aykroyd and John 'Jake' Belushi respected the musicians that inspired them, name-checking songwriters in shows and exhorting people to buy as many Blues albums as they can. An early test of their integrity came when they were invited to produce their first album, Briefcase Full Of Blues. Dan Aykroyd recalls, "When we went to make Briefcase Full of Blues, the record company suggested we contact the writers of songs by people like Floyd Dixon and Donnie Walsh from The Downchild Blues Band and Isaac Hayes and Steve Cropper - and cutting in fifty per cent on the publishing royalties. John and I refused, which was pretty unusual at the time. We've had no share in any of the songwriting royalties on the eight records. We have a little for the mechanical royalties, the voice work, but that's a pittance since Steve Jobs and Apple ratcheted down the value of music and it's all digital. All the publishing royalties went to the original artists. We could have owned a part, but we did not grab a share of it. That's not right." What did this novel approach mean for the musicians? American singer and musician Curtis Salgado has been described as 'the original Blues Brother' and looms large in the early days of the Blues Brothers. So much so, that Cab Calloway's character in the first movie was named after him. Curtis told us a story about Floyd Dixon, who wrote the second song on the Briefcase Full of Blues album, Hey Bartender. "The Blues Brothers album that sold two million copies was dedicated to me, a thing that really moves me. In the nineties, Floyd Dixon comes up to me, thanks me for 'the biggest royalty cheque in my career. It meant so much to me.' I got choked up. I go 'It's none of my business, but how much did you get?' Floyd says, 'Seventy eight thousand dollars, the most I ever got.' I think 'Enough to buy a house!' I asked, 'What did you do with it?' He looks into the sky. This was on the main stage at the Chicago Blues Festival. He says, 'I put it all on the horses. I had a wonderful time, man.' That's a Blues Brother right there. That's the real shit." Delbert McClinton, whose song 'B' Movie box Car Blues was also covered on Briefcase Full of Blues, provides further evidence of what this approach meant for musicians. "I had been talking with John Belushi, I went by his apartment at the Plaza Hotel, he knew I was coming to town and called me that he wanted to hear all the songs I'd recorded, and I gathered up all the records I had and took them to him. Shortly afterward he notified me that B Movie would be on the set. It being in the set and album didn't make much difference to me, I was doing pretty good anyway. I got royalties, I was paid for it. They made sure everybody involved musically made some money and it was unheard of for record companies to do that, they would still gouge it out of you. It's a mean old world. The music business then, the artists weren't people who would read and study a contract, they'd be given a 'standard contract' and sign it. I signed away a whole bunch of publishing in my twenties." More proof of the personal impact on the careers of musicians comes from the Blues Brothers' sax man, 'Blue' Lou Marini. He said, "The first movie was soundly panned by the critics, the movie wasn't a success for money or critically, and got criticism for ripping off the Blues. I was practising alto and went into the trailer next to mine and saw John Lee Hooker, who said he wished he could play like me. I met him years later. He said, 'I can't tell you how much the movie has done for my business and bookings.'" The Blues Brothers had a similar beneficial boost for the careers of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and many others. Another man who contributed music that the Blues Brothers covered in Briefcase Full of Blues is Donnie Walsh, of Canadian band Downchild, whose sets included Big Joe Turner's Flip, Flop, and Fly and their own Shot Gun Blues and (I Got Everything I Need) Almost. What is Donnie's take on the Blues Brothers? "Aykroyd especially, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield brought Blues to a white audience, it was a big thing, but the Blues Brothers were over the top! They brought the Blues to everybody, everywhere - they were the biggest thing to happen to the Blues ever! The Blues Brothers raised everyone up from where they were in the Blues." Yet, while we are paying our respects to the impact of the Blues Brothers, it is fitting that the Blues Brothers be assessed for their music and performances as well. Curtis Salgado - at the time playing with Robert Cray - was joined by John Belushi at a gig for a song. He was shocked by Belushi performing in the manner of Joe Cocker, who Belushi was known for impersonating on Saturday Night Live. Curtis punched Belushi in the chest and told the young comedian to be himself when it came to singing with a Blues band. Curtis, himself in 2013 a triple winner of Blues Music Awards, is, then, unusually well placed to consider the results of his advice and to offer a view on the Blues Brothers and the stellar band that backed them. Curtis summed up his feelings, "The Blues Brothers were the original Blues Brothers. They killed on stage. They were great frontmen. Their show was devastating. These were pro's pro's, a badass band, no doubt about it. They put it across, I'm proud to be part of it." |
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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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| Out & About Tuesday, July 26 Carvin Jones, 6: p.m., Rock n Ronnie's, Apache Junction Hans Olson, 7 p.m. EVERY TUESDAY, The Hall, Scottsdale Wed., July 27 Carvin Jones (acoustic), 7 p.m., Culinary Dropout, Tempe Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson Thur., July 28 Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Sugar Thieves Duo, 6 p.m., Camelback Inn, Scottsdale Paris James, 8 p.m., Sheraton Downtown, Phoenix Friday, July 29 Three-band Summer Showcase, 8 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Sistahs Too, 7 p.m., Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa JC & the Juke Rockers, 8 p.m., Rumors, Surprise Sugar Thieves, 7:30p.m., Janey's, Cave Creek Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., All American, Scottsdale Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Mesa Sat., July 30 Dave Riley/Bob Corritore & the Juke Joint Blues Band, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Blues Review Band, 7 p.m., Speakeasy, Sun City Carvin Jones, 9 p.m., all American, Fountain Hills Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler Sunday, July 31 Hoodoo Casters, 2 p.m., Spirit Room, Jerome Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., Desert Eagle Brewing Co., Mesa Two Flavor Blues, NOON, Copper Star, Phoenix Mon., August 1 Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Monastery, Mesa Nina Curri w/Dan Rutland EVERY MONDAY, 7:30 p.m., Coach House, Old Town Scottsdale |
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Weekly Jams
NEW JAM Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Saint Nick's Tavern, Phoenix
Ray Ray & BluZone, 5 p.m., Wild Willy's, Avondale
R.d. Olson JAM, 2 p.m., Sally's BBQ, Prescott
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler
MONDAY
NEW JAM, Performer's Institute, 7 p.m., Phoenix
Ray Ray & Bluzone Every other Monday, Opa Life Cafe, Tempe
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
NEW JAM R.d. Olson Blues Band, 2 p.m., Sally's BBQ, Prescott
TUESDAY
Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Front Page blues Band, EVERY THIRD Tuesday, 6 p.m., Far >From folsom, Prescott
WEDNESDAY Rocket 88s, 7 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., El Dorado, Scottsdale
Bumpin' Bud's 1st & 3rd Tuesdays JAM, 7 p.m., Marc's, Glendale
THURSDAY Tool Shed JAM Party, 7 p.m., Steel Horse Saloon, Phoenix Jolie's Place JAM w/Adrenaline, 8 p.m., Chandler Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week) |
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