The IBC is fast approaching and we are super excited about our band entry this year. Charles Mack and Cros have been working feverishly to hone their chops to bring home the prize this year. We wish them huge success!!
It's New Year's Eve and the newsletter is a day early so I could include the NYE shows about town. I posted all I could find. Cold Shott is doing their annual show at the RR and you better get there early for a seat.
We're going through our annual week of winter and it's pretty messy out tonight so please obey the rules and wake up tomorrow in one piece. No DUIs. No bent fenders. Nothing but miles of smiles to usher in 2019.
It's 43 and raining out. Please be safe and have a great week!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS
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by Matt Marshall The landmark annual International Blues Challenge is coming up in January in Memphis, Tennessee, "the home of the blues". For people who don't know the IBC, as blues fans around the world lovingly call it, it's the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world, who compete in a week-long, "battle of the bands"-style competition for fantastic top prizes, prestigious guaranteed gigs, guitars, and more. "IBC is the largest gathering of blues acts in the history of the world," says Joe Whitmer of The Blues Foundation. "We say that every year and we mean it every year." Each year the event draws upward of 200 acts from around the world. In the 31 years since the first event (then called the "Blues Amateur Talent Contest") roughly 3,000 blues acts have participated in the challenge, and hundreds have gone on to amazing careers as nationally and internationally recognized blues artists, and winning many BMAs along the way. Not a single "loser" in the bunch! The Challenge, operated as part of The Blues Foundation's key missions, is a battle between hundreds of blues bands and musicians who are sponsored and sent by various blues societies from around the world. Most societies have local competitions to determine the act that will be sent. Which means, for many of the bands that are at IBC, the road there has already been hard-fought. As previously mentioned, the IBC began over 30 years ago as the "Blues Amateur Talent Contest" with the basic idea that up and coming bands could have a place to be discovered. This predated CDs and the home recording boom, when getting a record deal was essential for an artist at the time. The event grew, along with the Blues Foundation, and over time it has evolved into something that could not have been anticipated. In 1984, the first Blues Amateur Talent Contest, the brainchild of Blues Foundation founder Joe Savarin, was held at the New Daisy Theater. The winner that year was a band called "Reliance," from Memphis. They are still playing, but tend to focus on dance music, Hip Hop, and R&B oldies today. Their prize: a gig on Beale Street. Bands compete for cash, prizes, and industry recognition. One band and one solo/duo act each will win the top prizes, but winning the competition is far from the only goal many bands strive for. "Use this time to network and showcase," says Ricky Stevens, who currently serves on The Blues Foundation's Board of Directors. Stevens, who served as an IBC venue coordinator from 1999 through 2011, was part of the writing group for the current IBC rules and scoring criteria. "Make contacts and do the things that you do best when you get onstage," he recently suggested to American Blues Scene Magazine. "There is way too much good music and way too many cool things to do to fit them all in one week. Take the time to truly enjoy the things you can and come back next year and the year after to fill in the gaps." The IBC takes place on the world famous Beale Street, which Congress officially declared the "Home of the Blues" in 1977. Twenty-two Beale venues take part in the Challenge, all within walking distance - some next door to one another. The setting could not be more appropriate: for over 150 years, Beale has hosted Blues music, entertainment, drinking, gambling, and even murder. Blues men have long frequented Beale, including the seminal Furry Lewis, Johnny Cash, Albert King, and the father of the blues, W.C. Handy, who was Beale's most famous resident prior to Elvis. A blues bar bearing Handy's name still exists on the street, as does a museum in his former home, honoring the composer's mighty contributions to music. As a young man, B.B. King was known as the "Beale Street Blues Boy", which he eventually shortened to "Blues Boy" and then just "B.B.". Elvis Presley also frequented Beale as a young man, and throughout his life, always bought his clothing from the storied Lansky Brothers on Beale (now at the Peabody Hotel). "That's what he said, 'I put him in his first suit, and I put him in his last'," said Hal Lansky, about his father describing Presley. With the epicenter of blues history on the street, it would be hard to find a more perfect setting for a blues challenge on a global scale. "They should expect to see the best of the best blues acts from around the world," says Whitmer. "These guys are not only coming here to compete but they're also coming here to showcase and show that in each section of the world we've got an affiliate, the blues is going strong." Past winners include Trampled Under Foot, Selwyn Birchwood Band, JP Soars, and Grady Champion. "The IBC is the best networking experience and springboard a Blues Artist could ask for to excel their career," Selwyn Birchwood told the American Blues Scene. In 2013, Birchwood growled and played, sang, and, at one point, crawled across the Finals stage at the Orpheum Theater like an alligator to win not only Best Band, but the Gibson Guitarist award as well. As it grew it was decided in 2002 to split the acts into two categories, band and solo/duo. Since then not only has participation grown but so have the prizes and the overall level of the competition. What began as a contest for "amateurs" has evolved into a massive blues festival, with world class talent showing their stuff. But even as the level of competitors has increased, the experience for the first (and second) time contestant remains the same: a chance to play the blues on Beale Street, where W.C. Handy lived and wrote music, where Rufus Thomas walked his dog, where everybody who was anybody in the blues played. The emotion from the winners is palpable. You can feel what they're feeling when they get the opportunity to play on Beale. Blues fans now cross oceans and travel from around the world to attend the magical January event every year. And because of its storied allure, the opportunity to see the very best in blues from across the world, and the chance to be a part of a "family reunion" while meeting new like-minded friends, the IBC continues to grow. Last year, 82 solo/duo acts were registered. This year there are 101. "All of the interpretations of the blues, there's gonna be something for everybody," Whitmer said. "Whether you're into the delta blues or whether it's rockin' blues, etc., it's all being covered here."
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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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| Out & About Monday December 31 Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns, 9 p.m., Rhythm room, Phoenix Sugar Thieves, 7 p.m., Opa Life Greek Café, Tempe Hoodoo Casters, 9 p.m., Gabby's, Mesa Cadillac Assembly Line, 8 p.m., Mountain View Pub, Cave Creek Thermal Blues Express, 9 p.m., Beaver Bar, Phoenix Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., Hideaway, Cave Creek Paris James, 8:30 p.m., Scratch Pub, Mesa Motown NYE Party, 8 p.m., West Alley BBQ, chandler Tuesday, January 1 Chuck Hall, 3 p.m., Page Springs Cellars, Cornville Carvin Jones, 11 a.m., Good Time Charli's, Chandler Wednesday, January 2 Chuck Hall, 6 p.m., Corrado's, Carefree Carvin Jones, 5:30 p.m., Sicilian Butcher, Phoenix Hans Olson, 7 p.m., Time Out Lounge, Tempe Thursday, January 3 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 Friday, January 4 Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Gallagher's, Phoenix JC & The Juke Rockers, 7 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction Chuck Hall Band, 9:30 p.m., Cross-eyed Cricket, Peoria Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Azool Grill, Phoenix Saturday, January 5 Rhythm Room House Rent Party (see flyer), 6:30 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Rip's, Phoenix Carvin Jones, 8 p.m., Mi Familia, Phoenix Sunday, January 6 Elvis Celebration w/many special guests, 5 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix True Flavor Blues, NOON , Copper Star, Phoenix Monday, January 7 Carvin jones, 6 p.m., Hideaway, Cave Creek
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| Weekly Jams
Rocket 88s JAM, 4 p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix
Bourbon Jack's JAM w/Kody Herring, 6 p.m., Chandler
Sir Harrison, JAM every other Sunday, The Windsock, Prescott
NEW JAM Hosted by Ray Ray & Uvon, 6 p.m., Draw 10, Phoenix MONDAY
Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
Weatherford Hotel JAM, 6:30 p.m., Flagstaff
TUESDAY
JAM Sir Harrison, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix
Rocket 88s, JAM, 6 p.m., The Last Stop (Old Hideaway West), Phoenix
Gypsy's Bluesday Night JAM, 7 p.m. Pho Cao, Tempe
Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale
WEDNESDAY Tool Shed NEW 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
Friday
Saturday Bumpin' Bud's JAM 2nd & 4th Saturdays JAM, 6 p.m., Marc's Sports Grill |
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