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MEMBER BENEFITS
membership cards
regular contact through e-mail or snail mail updates on Society activities
bi-annual "Blues Notes" newsletter
Society sponsored Blues shows
Society Blues socials
reduced ticket prices on most society events
opportunity to win blues related prizes at many of our events
opportunity to contribute to the support of local blues scene
We are building a list of member benefits and we'll let
you know the updates. (If any members are able to arrange
a deal for members, let any director know.)
Currently, we have reciprocal membership with Regina's Delta Blues Association.
As well, the following discounts have been confirmed:
Tramps - 10% off Blues CDs/records
Please remember to renew your membership for 2004.
If you have any suggestions for blues acts you would like to see in Saskatoon, please drop us an e-mail or give one of the Board members a call. We look forward to your feedback.
Saskatoon Blues Society T-shirts
Saskatoon Blues Society T-shirts for your all friends and family who love the blues...
Look for our merchandise table at most Blues Society sponsored events. We've ordered additional numbers of the larger sizes of our T-Shirt. All sizes are $20 to members. If you haven't got yours yet, give Derwyn Powell a call (249-0732) or send an e-mail.
This image in white on a black t-shirt.
Northwinds Entertainment
As many of you know, Rob Hodgins, through Northwind Entertainment, has been booking artists, including blues artists, in the city for a number of years. He has been supportive of the Blues Society from the beginning - usually giving members a discount at shows. Please support the blues and our local live music promoters!
Music of the 60's, 70's & early 80's.
Tune into "Rolling & Tumblin" .....blues at it's finest Monday nights from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on CFCR 90.5 FM & on the internet at www.radio306.com
Deadlines & Opportunities
March 31, 2005: The Pacific Songwriting Competition www.pacificsongwritingcompetition.com/
Aug. 6-20, 2005: Volunteer for the 2005 Canada Summer Games msdoka2005csg@sasktel.net.
www.2005jeuxducanadagames.ca/
Nov. 30: Song Contest Innovator Offers Real Opportunities for New &
Developing Songwriters, www.unisong.com/
Nov. 30: Press Kit Development and Demo Mentorship
Programs www.saskrecording.ca/
or (306) 347-0676
2004 International Songwriting Competition
(Blues Category)
The International Songwriting Competition is now accepting entries for 2004.
The Saskatoon Blues Society is helping to circulate information from the press
release below and letting the Blues musicians in our community know about the
2004 Blues category.
International Songwriting Competition Blues Category
ISC is now accepting entries for 2004. Over $100,000 in cash and prizes will be
shared by 50 winners. All Blues musicians/songwriters are invited to submit
their song. ISC is the only major songwriting competition with a category that
is solely dedicated to Blues music and judged by influential Blues artists such
as B.B. King (2003 judge), Taj Mahal and Bo Diddley (2004 judges). Other
judges include: Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Branford Marsalis;
Peter Asher (Co-President, Sanctuary Artist Management); Kim Stephens (VP
A&R, Lava Records); Barbara Sedun (VP Creative, EMI Music Publishing
Canada); David Hidalgo (Los Lobos); Michael Gudinski (Chairman, Mushroom Group
of Companies) and many more.
ISC provides the perfect opportunity for bands, artists and songwriters looking
to gain exposure in the music industry. In today's highly competitive
music scene, ISC bridges the gap between artists and industry by bringing
together some of the most influential and high-profile members of today's music
industry to our judging panel.
In addition to the cash and prizes, winners will benefit from a multilateral
promo campaign designed to give them maximum exposure for their music.
"The media has been really good for me since winning!...I am thrilled with
the prizes and the media attention!" Rick Fines, 2003 ISC Blues category
winner.
Enter the ISC online or download an entry form to mail in your entry. Enter
ISC by August 31, 2004 and save on multiple-song entries.
http://www.songwritingcompetition.com
Ongoing Deadlines & Opportunities
Tour Support and Network Travel Programs
www.saskrecording.ca/ or
(306) 347-0676
CJNE's Northeast Star Search in Nipawin. 306.862.1962
Java Express is looking for musicians to play on the weekend. Laurel
924-5282
Canada's airwaves for independent musicians, www.petitiononline.com/cdnsat/petition.html
England called the SaltPetre Radio Show with Resonance 104.4 FM Looking
for Canadian Music mtranscanadaradio@yahoo.co.uk
New Music Weekly now accepting submissions! www.newmusicweekly.com/
The 2005 World Exposition takes place in Aichi, Japan, from 'Peace Songs
For a Better World', www.sonicbids.com/abetterworld
, or www.abetterworld.ca/
Future Hits radio is now accepting submissions www.newmusicweekly.com/
Neutral Ground Artist-Run Centre and Gallery is currently seeking
submissions for its new initiative, The Art Market.
2004 ISC Competition Now Accepting.
songwritingcompetition.com
Indie Pool is accepting submissions from artists who want to sell their
music on Puretracks.com.
Artists With New Releases, Make sure you add your new release information
to the All New Releases Lounge at www.mincanada.com
800 CHAB Moose Jaw weekly features called "Saskatchewan
Spotlight" needs artists
For information on upcoming funding deadlines please visit www.saskrecording.ca
For information on Job Postings (0 New Postings) www.saskrecording.ca/quickhit
For information on upcoming Festivals (1 new posting) please visit www.saskrecording.ca
For information on upcoming live music please visit www.saskrecording.ca
For information on Notices & Classifieds (7 new postings) please visit www.saskrecording.ca
Please note that we have revised the format of the e-release. For expanded
information please visit our website at www.saskrecording.ca/.
If you have submitted information for the latest e-release we have noted it in
the appropriate category as a new posting.
Writer/Blues musician knew Mississippi Delta Blues fans demanded an encore
When the last copies of Steve Cheseborough's first edition of BLUES TRAVELING were selling out, the author and touring musician knew fans of his trusted blues guide would demand an encore.
"There are quite a few new blues museums and blues clubs, all over the place," he said. "Some roads have been improved, making the directions to some places simpler than they used to be."
So Cheseborough finished BLUES TRAVELING: THE HOLY SITES OF DELTA BLUES, SECOND EDITION (University Press of Mississippi). The new edition will guide you to all the hallowed grounds that nourished Mississippi's signature music.
Cheseborough discovered some heartbreaking closings. "Perry's Flowing Fountain, on Greenville's venerated Nelson Street closed," he said. "Besides being a great club, it claimed to be the original ?Annie Mae's Caf
é? that inspired Little Milton's song. It was always a fun place to stop in for a drink, and featured live music occasionally, especially around the time of Greenville's annual Delta Blues Festival. After founding owner Perry Payton died a couple years ago, an organization was formed to try to keep it open. But it just didn't last. The building itself is falling down now."But for every closing, Cheseborough found even more new sites opening for blues fans.
"Rosedale, a lovely little Delta town on the Mississippi" Robert Johnson mentioned it in his "Traveling Riverside Blues" has started picking up on its blues heritage. It has a new blues society, two annual blues festivals, a club with regular live blues, and a cool jook joint," he said.Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, Jimmie Rodgers, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin? Wolf, B. B. King, Little Milton, Elvis Presley, Bobby Rush, Junior Kimbrough, R. L. Burnside? the list of great blues artists with Mississippi connections goes on and on. And they all loved to drop place names and local scenes into their songs, Cheseborough said.
"Highway 61, the levee, the Mississippi River, the Pea Vine Railroad? all those places were familiar to the singers and their audiences," he said. "That's one reason to come take this trip yourself, if you've been listening to the blues all your life, all of a sudden those references will be more than just words or places on a map."
BLUES TRAVELING, SECOND EDITION is the up-to-date guidebook to Mississippi's musical places and blues history. With photographs, maps, easy-to-follow directions, and an informative, entertaining text, this book will lead you in and out of Clarksdale, Greenwood, Helena, Rolling Fork, Jackson, Natchez, Bentonia, Rosedale, Itta Bena, and dozens of other locales that generations of blues musicians have lived in, traveled through, and sung about.
Steve Cheseborough is an independent scholar and blues musician. His work has been published in Living Blues, Blues Access, Mississippi, and the Southern Register. He lives in Greenwood, Mississippi.
For more information contact Steve Yates, Marketing Manager, University Press of Mississippi at (601) 432-6205 or e-mail
syates@ihl.state.ms.us. You may read more about the book at http://www.upress.state.ms.us/catalog/spring2001/blues_traveling.htmlReach Steve Cheseborough at
www.stevecheseborough.com or 662-453-8559 or 757-880-3239Blues on Film:
"Antone's:
Home of the Blues"
From its humble beginnings to its current place as one of the premier
showcases in the world for blues - and other roots music - Antone's became a
beacon for blues legends and newcomers alike, who found in its friendly confines
a place to perform their music in front of an appreciative
audience and in an environment that nurtured both the music and the artist
alike. Starting with its opening night guest of legendary Zydeco king Clifton
Chenier, Antone's has hosted a literal "who's who" of the blues world,
with such artists as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Fats Domino, Bobby
"Blue" Bland, Jimmy Reed, Buddy Guy, Eddie Taylor, Sunnyland Slim,
Hubert Sumlin, Luther Tucker, Jimmie Rogers and Big Walter Horton gracing the
stage through the years.
In addition to the legends, Antone's became a school for such Austin locals as
Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Charlie and Will Sexton and
Angela Strehli, who, drawn by the majesty and power of the blues, embraced its
soul and took the music to new heights with their own interpretations of the
classic sound.
Laced throughout Antone's: Home of the Blues are rare interviews and previously
unseen performance footage. Included are interviews with many of the local and
national people who've helped nurture and support Antone's throughout its
history, as well as testimonials from a gamut of special guests ranging from B.B.
King, Willie Nelson, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Joe
Ely, Marcia Ball and Kim Wilson.
Antone's: Home of the Blues was directed by Dan
Karlok, an award-winning cinematographer and director, who has won two Emmy
Awards for directing and producing the Asleep at the Wheel long form
documentary, "Ride With Bob." He was also nominated for a Grammy Award
for the same project. In addition, his work has been honored at the MCA-1
Awards, the New York Film Festival, the Worldfest Film Festival and film
festivals in Chicago, Charleston and
Houston. He has also directed an episode of the NBC-TV hit series, "Law and
Order."
Executive producer of the film is Lucky Tomblin, founder and owner of SilverStar
Entertainment, who is a bandleader and songwriter. He founded the Fire Station
recording and film studio in San Marcos, Texas, where he recorded such artists
as Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Texas Tornados. In addition, he helped start the
sound technology recording program at Texas State University in San Marcos.
E. Colleen Saro is producer of the documentary, her first time in that capacity,
but who has extensive experience in the film industry as a set decorator, on-set
dresser and in the prop departments for such film and television productions as
"The West Wing," "The Replacement Killers," "Arli$$,"
"Hollywood Homicide" and "Hope Floats."
MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD by Derwyn Powell
Michael Bloomfield was born in Chicago July, 1943. By the time he was in his teens, Michael caught his Blues hero's playing the streets of Chicago.
Discovering that nearly everyone of his idols lived in his city, opened the floodgates for him. During the day Mike played in R'n'R bands wearing uniforms and playing top 40 hits of the day, while the all-white crowd danced on the floor.
In the evening Michael could be found on the south side soaking up the music he loved. Little Walter, Sonny Boy, Jimmy Rogers, and All Three Kings. Paul Butterfield, Nick Gravenites, and Charlie Musselwhite all sat in the clubs like Pepper's & Sylvio's. Muddy Waters took Michael under his wing because he could see Michael's interest in the Blues was indeed genuine. If you were playing' with Muddy, you were OK and not to be messed with.
All three of them seemed to provide comic relief for the black patrons.
Bloomfield and Butterfield played together lots, which laid the foundation for
the Butterfield Blues Band which was just around the corner. Michael also got
involved in booking acts for the "Fickle
Pickle," a local folk club. Black Blues artists like John Barbee, Sleepy
John Estes, and Big Joe Williams were just a few of the names to play
there.
The first album "The Paul Butterfield Blues Band" was released. They were invited to play at Newport Folk Festival and the band quickly became Dylan's back-up for that event. (Famous for the crowds reaction to Dylan going electric and breaking acoustic folk traditions.)
The next move for Michael was time spent on the band as a full time member in Butterfield's band. Butter's harp sounded like a saxophone and the rhythm sections worked as if their lives were on the line, while Mike soared over the top with his searing guitar work, which quickly became his trademark in '65.
Dylan and Bloomfield made history again during Dylan's recording "Highway 61," his first all electric album. He called and recruited Mike to play along with Al Kooper. After that session Bloom had to make a choice between playing in Bob's band or Butterfield's. With Dylan he had no identity and he knew his heart belonged to the Blues.
Honing their chops on the never-ending tours "East-West" suddenly appeared, taking Rock-blues guitar in new direction. Mike claimed his inspiration was fueled by listening to Coltrane and Shankar. Definitely a radical departure structurally from the R'n'R and Blues licks being played at the time.
This was most likely the beginning of the hype that imprisoned Michael within the context of having to play the same thing, night after night. He began to feel trapped. It was time for something new and that was the "Electric Flag." That band included session bassist Harvey Brooks, (who would later play on "Super Session") Buddy Miles, then drummer for Wilson Pickett, along with Nick Gravenites on vocals; and four more players and "the flag was flying." They became, along with Blood, Sweat & Tears, one of the first bands to fuse Rock, Blues and Jazz.
Although the Flag flew high for awhile it wasn't to last. They released one album "A Long Time Comin'" in '67, not long after an appearance at "Monterey Pop." Heroin eventually broke up the band, as well as overhype; the same thing that to some degree turned "Cream" sour. A few years later, Michael's bouts with insomnia and drugs turned him inwardly mellow, but some of his best work was yet to come. Al Kooper whisked Bloomfield away for "Super Session" which was an artistic and commercial success for both artists in late 1968. Due to Mike's inability to stay awake during recording sessions, Kooper enlisted Steve Stills to complete side 2 of the project. In between doing session work Michael spent time producing Otis Rush and James Cotton. It was a period of being unplugged for Michael. Around '73 he made an album with John Hammond and Dr. John called "Triumvirate". In '74 he attempted to resurrect "the Flag" which like other projects, didn't last. Other band projects came and went, often falling apart after just getting started. What is now considered possibly his best work of his recording career was "If You Love These Blues, Play Them As You Please," released in '76 by Guitar Player magazine, as an education tool.
It gave him a chance to record a project for integrity and also an opportunity to pay tribute to his blues heroes. It represents a final tribute to Michael Bloomfield's talents as a guitarist as well it collects individual styles of each player and introductions to each period of the artists. A history lesson to go along with each and the final track "Altar Song" he raps off each of his heroes who game him inspiration.
From '76 on, Bloomfield played the Bay area with occasional trips to New York where he was a big draw at the Bottom Line, a popular club of the day.
Michael Bloomfield's life came to a sad end in a parked car, on the side of the road in his hometown of Mill Valley, California. A victim of drug intoxication.
His influence is acknowledged far and wide. Clapton, Beck, Page and Johnny Winter all flashed licks that Michael first made popular. He practically made the "Gibson Les Paul," the preferred choice of Blues and Rock Guitarists overnight. Others include Robin Trower, Peter Green, Rory Gallagher, Mick Taylor and John McLaughlan, just to name a few of the players of the time, who cited Bloomfield as a major influence.
Selected Discography follows:
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band / 1965 / Elektra
- Paul Butterfield Blues Band / East West '67 / Elektra
- What's Shakin' / compilation / June 1966 / Elektra
- Highway '61 Sessions w/Dylan / Columbia / 1965
- A Long Time Comin' / Electric Flag / Columbia / 1967
- Super Session w/ Al Kooper / Columbia / 1968
- Fathers & Sons w/ Muddy Waters / Chess / 1969
- Triumvirate w/ Dr. John & John Hammond / Columbia / 1973
- If You Love These Blues / Guitar Player Records / 1976
- Between The Hard Place And Ground / Tacoma / 1979
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