This passed Sunday, the 25th, there was a fundraiser at the Brightwaters Inn sponsored by the LI Blues Society. It was to raise money for the Long Island winners of the International Blues Competition. The funds raised by the event will be used to send, in this case, Sweet Suzi & The Blues Experience, to Memphis, TN in February.

   If anyone ever wonders how to host a successful blues event this was a good model. Typical shows with a single blues band sometimes get good crowds. I know for a fact that there are many worthy acts here on Long Island but blues is not an easy draw. Many weekend nights you will find some very good blues acts playing to some very intimate crowds. I happen to like those settings but I understand that bar-owners do not agree. They need to make money. I have suggested that a good way to make money is to host multi-band events. It also helps to have one or two of the quality we saw last Sunday.

   The bill opened with the Blue Matter Band who put together a good set highlighted by a soulful rendition of Warren Haynes' Soulshine. Sweet Suzi joined Ray Wade, Arty Panico, Kelly Tyrell and Tom Foschino (sitting in for Ralph Santiago) and they really did the song justice. Arty Panico had some fun with the number and ripped it up with some nice guitar riffs. Ray Wade has been exercising his vocals lately and I think it might have been in anticipation of this show. He reached some good high's vocally and instrumentally and to top it off Suzi shined her soul and everyone else's. It was a good opening.

   T-Bone and Franny Mae followed and they have that stage presence and schtick that make them a fun watch. Tommy "T-Bone" always find some spots to show some good hands and Franny as always injected some tasty, sultry vocals. They were a nice touch and made the show feel real.

   Little Cliff &The Cliffhangers must have taken the Brightwaters Inn crowd by surprise because the place looked wowed by Mr. Cliff and the gang. They have big energy and in such a cozy place it's stunning. I think I saw some jaws open to the floor like Wally's who saw a harp show that made him smile even wider than usual.

   Little Cliff was a tough act to follow but this bill included Nicole Hart and the NRG Band. It was good planning.

   Nicole Hart & NRG is a real headline act. She backs up some dropdead looks with smooth and professional, high energy vocals. The well traveled act was quite a catch for the LIBS and did not disappoint. Ms. Hart with Lance Ong and Gary Sellers sitting in lit the place up and I think the Sunday afternoon full-house crowd was very happy already with the price of admission.

   One of the few artists that could follow Ms. Hart and NRG is Ms. powerhouse, Suzi Smith.  She, with Gary Sellers, Tom Foschino and the BE put in a full set of some up-beat, down-beat and soulful pieces. Suzi and Co. worked hard and showed some of the grit that makes her and them a blues presence. Sellers has the chops to offer a good 1-2 punch and I am looking forward to catching them in Memphis. Want to join me?

   Truth-be-told it was a long day but the quality of entertainment was impressive and not one person left wanting more. The LI Blues folks made a nice dent in their wishlist, the patrons got a great show, Brightwaters Inn did well and "da blues" had a good day.

   I hope places like Brightwaters Inn gain some momentum from events like that. They are open-minded enough to host an ongoing Wednesday night blues jam and they did a real nice job of hosting a premier event. They need to continue to make enough money so they can continue hosting the blues.  As players and patrons let's keep on supporting them and all the other local places that offer a home for live music and blues on Long Island.

   Thanks for checking in and stay tuned for details on the trip ro Memphis.

bill

  

    Almost a whole week passed and I had little to discuss as far as the world of local blues and live music is concerned.

   It's not that I haven't been living, thinking and listening to my little blues morsels every day. I have my iPod, my cd's, my radio stations, my Wednesday nights, my acquaintences and I have some plans (to be addressed shortly). It's just that the weeks events offered little that was new. Hey, these things happen. It can't be renaissance time every week... but I try.

   Last night (Friday, the 24th) I decided to trek a little bit. I needed some voices, some blues. I live in the burbs but I live in my own place. I exist in my own suburbia. I don't love admitting it but for this to work for me I need company and it ain't from my next door neighbors.

   The Wayz of the Groove were at DJ Riders. That's Chrispy (Chris Laybourne) Chicken and Perrita Hinson and Dave Pellegrino, Dave Burns and a fast handed cat on guitar. They're a loose bunch with some chops and they offer a mix of stuff that is both salty and sexy and pretty down and bluesy.

   DJ Riders is a good music room. It has the right light and there's a stage so you can see the band. There is a big bar with access all around and a barmaid with the right attitude and a fine smile. The band mentioned that they love the acoustics.

   I just sat my ass down and took in a night of some bluesy jazz and soul. The Wayz of the Groove played well into the night.

    Mr. Chrispy's sax was an upbeat sultry groove that he deilvered from the back corner of the stage. Perrita delivered some beauties and Mr. Fastcat on guitar tickled a few tunes to my fancy. I was grateful. I needed it. I have had my trials lately and the more that builds up in the day-to-day the more I need to sigh. It's all a big sigh.

   The Wayz of the Groove have had an off-season so to speak. They may be around more for the indoor season. I'll keep you posted.

   I mentioned that I am planning something. There is the International Blues Competiton down in Memphis, Tenn. in February. (2/4 to 2/7). Representing Long Island this year are Sweet Suzi and her Blues Experience and Motu. I have never been to Memphis and I would like to get there this year. I am planning a chartered bus for the trip. I will be putting information together and I hope to have something concrete soon. Anyone who would like to get information about that send me an e-mail.  bill@billfoolery.com .

   In the meantime there will be some fundraisers for the participants. One is this weekend.; Sunday, at the Brightwaters Inn. Check it out even if you don't intend to go to Memphis.

   One more thing...this is Breast Cancer month. Support the efforts to find a cure. There is a little link here that feeds off traffic. Just click on it. That helps and you can even buy a little something. Breast cancer has affected my life and many of yours I bet.

   Thanks for checking in.

bill

  

    It's been a long time since I've been to Mirelle's in Westbury. I think it was a Todd Wolfe show many months ago. Since then the place has kicked it into high gear with the efforts of Lori Promotions. Every week Mirelle's offers a line-up of quality music including jazz, blues, rock, funk, soul and fusions of all of the above.

   This past Friday night (Oct. 17) I got to Mirelle's for a bill featuring Felix Cabrera with Donnie Celenza on guitar and the band which includes Dave Diamond on drums, Chris Palmaro on keys, Chris Weigers on bass, George Bouchard on sax and Mr. Cabrera on harp and vocals.

   The room is nice, almost formal compared to the blues joints I frequent.

I was greeted by the lovely hostess Ms. Lori (as were all the guests I saw coming in) who does a nice job of making cool music possible at Mirelle's. It is a good size room with table-seating for the most part which is comfortable. It is a great place to enjoy music.

   I went there to hear Celenza on guitar in a jazz-ier setting than what I had seen him in. I got exactly what I wanted.

   Cabrera is a raw and free spirited vocalist, a skilled and versatile harp player and he makes things fluid if not perfectly orchestrated. It feels like a song could go in any number of directions. Most of the time it went to either joyful instrumental harmonies or really enjoyable solo's by the talented band members. Besides Celenza who shined on guitar, Diamond on drums was special as was Bouchard on sax and Cabrera on harp. What was striking was the vocal rawness of Cabrera. His sound is sincere, uninhibited. I heard more vulnerability in his vocals; prettier expression in his harp. He sounds like an artist with a lot of potentials as do the players around him.

   There were some great moments for Celenza, Cabrera and all the players.  

   Check out the line-ups at Mirelle's every week. There is always something good.

   Saturday night I had a personal engagement and did not get out until after 11. I have to admit that I got it wrong on my calendar when I posted Gail Storm at Sparky's in Farmingdale. I found that listing somewhere and it was wrong or old or something. I arrived there and saw the friendly faces of Paul and Karen and there was some pretty good music but it was not Gail Storm Band who I saw there months ago... and I dug. My bad! I hope no one else made the trip there on my say-so and got disappointed. Luckily this calendar has not (yet) hit the mass market...so possibly no one was put out. Sad but good....

   I thought I would mention my Thursday night escapade. I was out and had some time to explore. I called my friend, Ms. Audrey C, for some ideas since I was close to her location but we could not find a show close. We decided to meet for a drink at The Big Kahuna. It is on Jericho Tpke. just west of Rte. 231. Commack, E Hunt. area. There was a short lived jam there so Audrey found the place but that ended recently. The Big Kahuna is a huge billiard hall/ bar scene and a beautiful room, with friendly and attractive barmaids and a perfect setting for a band. There are tables and more tables and great sightlines for a band and a lot of people. The pool players can take it all in a huge room of their own off to the side. This is just a suggestion for a band that wants to play a good size room.

   Some news...I am now contributing to the Long Island Blues Society Newsletter and if you are a member you can read my pieces in the monthly e-mail/ Newsletter. If you are not  member join now. It is an inexpensive membership and they do a lot of good stuff for the blues and music community. With our help they can do more.

   Thanks loads for checking in and for keeping me informed. (bill@billfoolery.com)

bill

   I try hard to see new faces and new places. I also do my regular things like attending the jam at Brightwaters Inn on Wednesday nights. Even there I get to see new faces on occasion and I go to other jams a few Wednesday's a month.

   There are the other random nights when I get to take in a night of music. Last Sunday night was a holiday eve so I was free to go out, stay up a little later and take in some Sunday night music. I took the opportunity to check out Cafe Oasis in Baldwin, a jam hosted by Debbie Napper.

   The place was jammed like it is every time I go there. Come to think of it I may only have gotten there on holiday-eve Sunday nights. That is the only issue I have with the event. I have a real hard time getting close enough to see the players. The musicians set up in what looks like a lower area than the viewers or maybe it just seems that way. There is little room on the sides or back so the whole viewing audience competes for a small area in front.

   Given that fact I still dug the hell out of the music I heard Sunday night. The quality of talent is formidable. There were three of four singers, all amazing. I got a few names; Devyn (holy mama!),  Ms. Deddie, I think and another that was also pretty cool and I did not get her name either. There was Ajax on trumpet and vocals and he was also a great show. There was Ms. Napper who is amazing on guitar and vocals. Danny Kean also made an appearance. Awesome! There were drummers, harps, guitars... all really good. I intend to check that one out again on a less popular night. I'd love to sit down and just take in all that R&B magic and all that talent.

   I didn't last long to be honest. I was cramped, it was hot, I was standing and I was looking between noggins for glimpses of all the wonderful people. A walk to the bar to get a drink was a sure way to lose the spot I carved out for myself. I would have had to wrestle for another spot and that would have been difficult while holding an expensive vodka with olives.  

   So I did do my Wednesday night jam thing last night. Brightwaters Inn had another good one. The Blue Matter boys & girl had some good moments as did all the lovely guests like Pete Tursi and Grace of the same last name; Jim Kolman, John Anderson, Sweet Suzi, Joe Behar, Derek Hensley, Johnny Cola, Wally the Harp... lots more and I will add more names as I think of them. Did you ever notice that I often come back and edit after I post these things? I often write as soon as I get a chance so the impressions will be fresh...even if the cobwebs are still blinding me. Given the um...fragile state I am in under those circumstances I often have to come back and make sense of the words that have fallen out.

   Thanks for your patience with all that and thanks for stopping by.

bill

    This weekend (Oct 10/11) Friday was my night out and like my Wednesday nights and other weekend nights it was important to me. It is never easy seeing multiple shows on one night but I will never stop trying as my nights out are important to my emotional well-being.

   I started at Brightwaters Inn because it is so close I can almost hear the band from my driveway. The Urge was playing and I have never seen a whole set of The Urge. They were good. They were not young. They're a rock band. They're creative. They have a talented and interesting lead guitar player. The stuff is not blues but I liked the set I heard. But I needed blues and I was off to Patchogue after a set.

   First stop in Patchogue, Bobbique's. It was about 10:45 when I got there. Late, I know, especially for Bobbique's but  I thought I would catch the last set there. It was Stevie Cochran with The Soulbrothers also known in some forms as Blue Ruin; Little Buster's old gang.

   I got there in the middle of a cool song with Cochran on guitar and vocals. They sounded great. I ordered a vodka, sat down and I took in another really good song and then it ended. I caught all of two songs. I was bummed. Not knowing what the heck to do I approached Frank Anstiss and said hello. I saw he was packing up some CD's. I bought one. They were Little Buster Live cd's. Cool. I was happy to get one of those but I want to hear more of that band.

   This was Patchogue so I was lucky enough to have The Brickhouse across the street and this night O'Zone was playing. They are a funk band.; a little raw but full of funk and getting better every time. The place was full, people were dancing. Funk was in the air. The closest I could get was not close. I sat my butt in the back and dug on the rhythm (of funk) as opposed to the blues. Soon after I sat down the guys from The Soulbrothers came in and said hello to the band. I wondered if O'Zone knew the Soulbrothers. They must have but I wish I could have been up there to see the greetings of the incongruous assortment of players. It ended up being a satisfying night.

   I ended up getting out on Saturday night too but it was late and uneventful. I was low on funds and low on sleep. You guessed it. I went to the Brightwaters Inn to sit and listen to Wally's iPod. I was never a regular at a place like I am becoming at BI. I live so close and Wally is such a comfortable host and he plays good stuff and they have been hiring good acts and they host a Wednesday night jam so I am in danger of becoming a fixture. Someone tap me on the shoulder and let me know when that happens. I may have to take a few weeks off and just hang at some other places. I'd have to hire a driver but for a few weeks I could swing it.

   So this is a Holiday Sunday. I may, fingers crossed, hoping and praying that everyone crashes early here, get out for another night of music. There is the Brickhouse jam and the Oasis jam...hmm. Tough one. I'll fill you in soon.

   Thanks for stopping by and thanks for sending me your gigs. I like to think my calendar is a good one. I hope you agree. (send gig info and any other news or 411 to Bill@Billfoolery.com).

bill

  

 

   If you like da blues and you like live music you will end up at The Brickhouse Brewery in Patchogue pretty frequently. I heard they have ended some of their regular nights of blues like Wednesday's. It seems the lack of regular turn-out has caused some rethinking of the matter.

   Once again the reality of blues and the fact that it is not "pop" has brought about another step back, of sorts, at least in the direction toward commercialism. I happen to think that blues, even the really good stuff, is made for small, dimly lit, intimate places. It is about the expression of something more than a hook or two in a song. It is about a message, a clever sound using more than 3 chords hopefully and some nuance to help sell it rather than catchy one-liners and sexy artists although there are a few of them which is nice.

   It is convenient that smaller venues, and more of them, are becoming hosts. Restaurants and local pubs have become popular venues for blues. The blues acts are available in more towns and for smaller (and no) cover charges and in more personal settings. With the current climate of drinking & driving the smaller venue phenomenon is more helpful as patrons will have smaller distances to travel. 

   There are always the big shows and the big venues for the charity events and the holiday shows and the multi band events. They often draw well with big rosters and big promotional efforts so hopefully it can work with the two separate offerings. I see a healthy interest growing and I hear some buzz among suburbanites about the music being heard at restaurants so better ways to market blues will evolve.

   This weekend I went out a couple of times and it just so happens both shows were at the Brickhouse.

   Saturday night was my night to take in some music this weekend so I went to Patchogue for a shot at about four shows. I got my typical late start so I tried Tailgaters first. I found out that the listings on My Space are not always correct. I write my calendar from data I find there among other places and this was an incorrect listing. There was no show there. Could have been a bad listing or could have been my mistake. Not sure. Anyway I headed west to Hazy Moon for Miles To Dayton and driving slowly by the front window I saw the band ending a set and possibly packing it in. They posted an 8pm start so I thought it might have been ending then at 10:30. I decided to head to Brickhouse for Mike Scalzo's gig. I heard he had Sly Geralds with him among others. I also knew Kerry Kearney was at Bobbique's but I had seen KK a few times recently so I paid the small cover at Brickhouse and took in some Scalzo, Geralds funk/rock.

   Geralds brings a cool beat on bass and he coaxed a good beat out of Scalzo on drums. It was a good set by some veteran players and the rest of the cast was good with a sax player who was lighting up the dancing contingent with some juicy solo's.

   It just so happens I had a Sunday night to go wandering and I decided to take in the jam at Brickhouse again. Last time I was there it drew a lot of good players and it is not too bad a drive from Bay Shore.

   It was a slightly smaller cast this time but they were good. I like the horn players. There were four of them including Joe Behar on trumpet and I don't yet know the other names. There was Kolman hosting and on guitar, and Tim Smith and Tru Doty and , Ed the Hat, Jay Sharkey and Derek Hensley...more. It is a good jam night. Brickhouse might not have had great luck booking the regular Wed. night shows but they get a nice gathering for the jam night and the weekend shows.

   There were some big shows this weekend. They happened to be day and evening shows. It pains me to miss those but I find it really difficult to make shows at those hours. I hope to do better with day and evening events in the coming year as my child is now a little older and the parental commitments have become more manageable.

   So I will get to as many gigs as I can and to as many different artists as I can and I hooe you all do the same. We have a lot of good stuff around here and we need to support it.

   Thanks for stopping by.

bill

  

 

   It was Wednesday night and I was at a jam and there was good music being performed by good players. In fact there were some noteworthy occurrances like Ms. Audrey C playing the bass and some exceptional songs by the Blue Matter Band and some fun trumpet numbers by Pete Tursi.

   The place was the Brightwaters Inn and it was a typical and good Wednesday night jam in many ways but this time there was "Christina" (I changed the name to protect the vulnerable).

   Christina is an old friend. Christina is a single mom. Christina is petite, cute, a little waif blowing about the room like a leaf on a blustery autumn day. Christina is a novel. She is so ungoverned by the normal rules of engagement and behavior that being with her in public is an exercise in incomprehensible personal relations. My hyperactive, over medicated, manic and predictably unpredictable friend causes so much interference that I almost forgot that I was there for music.

   Christina mingles with the musicians as they try to play. She drinks until she wobbles and she talks (intimately) with whomever happens to be there when she looks up. She rebuffs helpful advice. She argues with strangers. She looks for a man and to add to the confusion she exudes promiscuity yet she holds Jesus very dear and practises more discretion than most would imagine. She is a paradox.

   Christina cried on the way home. She wondered why she is alone and how that will ever change. She asked me and I told her that her behavior is probably the issue and she quickly dismissed the idea. So Christina will go on being Christina and it hurts to understand her considerable puzzle and to be considered her friend and to be powerless to help. It was a difficult night for me in some ways but it was harder for her.

   The pain others experience is hard to witness but she carries on and that is what is important. 

   Another weekend approaches and I hope to get some moments of musical meditation so I can be considerate of my blessings and my friends.

   Enjoy something thought provoking this weekend and thanks for checking in.

bill