Roadhouse Blues                                                    March 7, 2017
Greetings! 
Well, as you can tell by the flyers posted below, this is going to be one Blues-filled weekend around these parts.
I was finally able to get our friend Eric featured. If you get a chance find him and attend one of his shows. You'll leave smiling, guaranteed.
PBS will be at the Deb Ryder/Shari Puorto gig on Friday and then in Apache Junction for JC festival on Sunday. Stop by and say "Hi."
I had the opportunity to see and hear Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule play on Sunday. Phenomenal show by one of the biggies.
The Valley is hopping at this time of the year so get out and soak it up before ol Sol takes over and we have to stay inside until Sept.
Have a week!!

Sincerely,
Jim Crawford, PBS
Eric can be found at any number of Valley venues on a given weekend. Check him out.
Humble Guy




by JC
Eric Ramsey is the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to bring home for dinner. Besides being a first-class musician playing Blues and all kinds of Americana music, he's just flat nice. He's unfailingly polite and a serious singer/songwriter who's been honing his craft since he was a mere lad.
We at Phoenix Blues Society became aware of Eric and his immense talent when he entered our annual Arizona Blues Showdown in 2015 and won. Until then he was totally unknown to us but after the first go round, a fast friendship was formed.
Then he came back and won the solo/duo category of our Showdown again in '16. He and Sistahs Too represented the Valley at the annual International Blues challenge in Memphis this year and both acts made it to the semi-finals before bowing out.
"I first started playing in the 7th grade because the high school kid across from me had a guitar and I thought he was the coolest guy ever," Eric recalls. "So my folks got me one of those (Sears) Silvertones that had the amplifier inside the case. Ever seen one.? It was a great little guitar. I'd give anything to have it back.
"Of course it wasn't cool enough. As I got older I wanted something that had three pickups and all kinds of bells and whistles. In our neighborhood we had a rich kid who had drums and a kid who had a bass but couldn't play it. We practiced whenever we could. We had to move from house to house."
Eric stayed with the band thing for a number of years but gradually evolved into a solo act which he does today.
"I played solo a lot through the years," he said. "Even when I was playing in a band I'd have a little solo thing sometimes. I guess it was probably in 2000 when I decided to do it on my own. It works for me right now. I like the band and the solo thing. The great thing about playing solo is you don't have to rehearse with anybody.
"You don't have to worry about the band showing up drunk. If I show up drunk it's my own fault, right? But I do miss the interaction you get playing with a group."
Eric considers himself primarily a singer/songwriter who plays the Blues. And much more so now that he has immersed himself in the Valley Blues scene.
"Most of my material is Blues-based somehow," Eric says. "I've always been a huge fan of that type of music. You know? three chords with a fourth for the bridge. It's not that simple but it's as simple as you make it. I grew up listening to that stuff. I went through a huge blues phase in college where that's all I did was listen to blues.
"I think I'm like almost everybody where I have gone through phases where I listen to different genres of music exclusively. I'm a Deadhead so they've been sort of an overriding influence on my music throughout my journey.
Like a lot of players today, Duane Allman was a huge influence coming up. Kind of like the SRV of today's youngsters.
"I learned how to play slide by copying the Fillmore East album," Eric said. "I would turn my turntable down to 16 (rpm) and figure out the fingering. At one point, and this is not a brag, but at one point I could play the whole album, solos and all.
"I used to listen to James Taylor a lot. It's all such a moving target. There's not too much of that kind of music coming out any more. Sometimes I kind of absorb stuff inadvertently.
"It seems to me now that the stuff that I'm writing seems to be more hard-core Blues. It was not a conscious decision on my part, I just found myself doing it.
"Part of it was connecting with Phoenix Blues Society. I've enjoyed so much being part of the Blues scene here. I was overwhelmed the first year by how embraced I was by everyone. How nice and how open everyone is."
That brings the story to Eric's involvement with the International Blues Challenge that takes place in Memphis, Tenn. every year (in the dead of winter). Eric entered and won so he reentered and won again. Imagine that.
"There was a world of difference in the first IBC and this year's," he said. "I almost felt at home there. Part of that is I went there with a game plan. I got feedback from my performance last year. I actually saw the judges' sheets and some of the things they had commented on. I think I was overwhelmed by the imagined enormity of being in Memphis. I'm like "Oh my god, what am I doing here.? I don't deserve to be here." Whether that overtly entered into my performances, I was like "Oh gosh, (hick voice) thanks for listening. I'm just so happy to be here."
"This year I had a game plan. I was going to play all my original stuff. I was going to play the same set every night. I was going to....well you know what Scarlet (wife) did to me clothing wise. Last year I was just going to do what I do. I was going to just be myself. I still did what I do but I went along with some of the criteria expected of each performer. That was reflected in my performances this year and I think I was a lot more relaxed.
"I'm a better performer this year than I was last year. A couple of the judges actually came to my other performances after judging me the night before. There was a fella named Taz Cru who judged me after the semi-finals and we were in the restroom at the same time after I was done. He said "that was really good stuff. You really brought it." I said thanks, I really appreciate it. He said "See you tomorrow night." I said you know how that goes. That really meant the world that he would say that. We were going to check Sistahs Too who played a little later. On the way out he said "We'll see you in the finals. If it's up to me we'll see you in the finals." I didn't know what to say. I just thanked him.
"What was interesting about the scoring last year was the first night I got 9's and 10's. The second night I didn't play quite the same set and I got 6's and 5's. You stay in the same venue but have different judges. I wouldn't want to judge our local thing. I can't imagine what it's like to judge something like that (IBC).
"One night I played in a little room off the Orpheum Theater. It wasn't a bar. They had a bar in there but it wasn't a club. The people in there were very respectful and interested in listening to the show. For the second performance I was at People's Pool Hall. They had a stage set up in there. Completely different environment. It was one of the last venues on the row. There were a couple of people watching TV. They had seats in there for maybe 40. It's the luck of the draw as far as the venue goes."
After winning twice in a row, performers are required to sit out a year and then they can come back and compete again.
"I don't know if I'll be back," Eric said. "I think I'll see what this year brings. It's a lot of fun. It's really a lot of fun. It's a nice trip for Marci (wife) and I because we've got five days without any kids. But I'll tell you one thing for certain, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything."
 





In This Issue
Out & About
Tuesday, March 7
Chuck Hall (acoustic), 7 p.m., Ziggy's, Phoenix
 
Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Mesa
 
Wednesday, March 8
Sugar Thieves Duo, 8 p.m., Culinary Dropout, Tempe
 
Hans Olson, 6 p.m., JJ Madison's, Mesa
 
Paris James, 8 p.m., II Vinaio, Mesa
 
Bad News Blues Band, Every Wed., 9:30 p.m., Chicago Bar, Tucson
 
Thursday, March 9
Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Handlebar, Apache Junction
 
Friday, March 10
Deb Ryder/Shari Puorto, 8:30, Rhythm Room, Phoenix
 
Hans Olson, 5 p.m., Gallagher's, Phoenix
 
Rocket 88s, 8 p.m., Rosie McCaffery's, Phoenix
 
PopTop, 7 p.m., Janey's, Cave Creek
 
Chuck Hall (acoustic), 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek
 
Blues Review Band, 12:30 p.m., Scottsdale Arts Festival, Scottsdale
 
Blues Review Band, 7 p.m., JC's Steakhouse, Gilbert
 
Paris James, 7 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Mesa
 
Saturday, March 11
Michael Reed w/Dennis Rowland, Andy Gonzales All Stars, 9 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix
 
Hans Olson, 2 p.m., AZ Folklore Preserve, Sierra Vista
 
Rocket 88s, 8 p.m., Rosie McCaffery's, Phoenix
 
Big Pete Pearson, 6:30 p.m., G's BBQ, Litchfield Park
 
Chuck Hall (acoustic), 6 p.m., Bryan's BBQ, Cave Creek
 
Blues Review Band, 9 p.m., Ginger Monkey, Chandler
 
Paris James, 8 p.m., D'Vine Wine, Chandler
 
Sunday, March 12
Laurie Morvan Band, 7 p.m., Rhythm Room, Phoenix
 
Hans Olson, 2 p.m., AZ Folklore Preserve, Sierra Vista
 
Hoodoo Casters, 2 p.m., Spirit Room, Jerome
 
Sugar Thieves Duo, 2 p.m., Scottsdale Arts Festival, Scottsdale
 
Two Flavor Blues, NOON, Copper Star, Phoenix
 
Monday, March 13
Two Flavor Blues, 8 p.m., The Womack, Phoenix
 
Sugar Thieves Duo, 8 p.m., Crescent Lounge, Phoenix
 
Carvin Jones (acoustic), 6 p.m., Monastery, Mesa
Weekly Jams
Sunday
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  
Ray Ray & Bluzone Every other Monday, Opa Life Cafe, Tempe

Bam Bam & Badness Open JAM, 9 p.m., Char's, Phoenix

TUESDAY
NEW JAM Rocket 88s, 6 p.m., Hideaway West, Phoenix

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

Tailgaters JAM, 7 p.m., Glendale

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 Wednesdays 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, 9 p.m., Chandler
 
Brad's Place JAM, 7 p.m., Ahwatukee (Every other Week)
 
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
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






 

Those Low Down Blues
with Bob Corritore
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6-11 p.m. Sundays  
only on 91.5 KJZZ

The Phoenix Blues Society, P.O. Box 36874, Phoenix, AZ 85067
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