Monthly Archives: September 2010

September 29, 2010

Karen Lovely – Still the Rain Falls Around A Lucky Girl

     

CONGRATS TO KAREN & HER RELEASE ‘STILL THE RAIN’ 3 BLUES MUSIC AWARD NOMINATIONS !
In just over a year, Karen Lovely has shot onto the blues scene like Stack O’ Lee’s pistol, capturing the 2nd Place Band Prize at the 2010 International Blues Challenge and picking up (2) Muddy Awards in 2009 for BEST NEW ACT & PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR. Backed by her stellar band, this singer delivers a blistering mix of contemporary & old school blues.    

I originally met Karen thru my work on FaceBook, and then in Memphis for the 2009 Blues Music Awards. She is a sweet. talented and honest woman. Just recently we spoke at legnth and I am thrilled to share it with all of you.    

- – - –     

B411:
To me it seems that the Pacific Northwest is becoming a breeding ground for some of the finest Blues music around. With you, Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies, Too Slim & Taildraggers and many more that fail to come to mind right now. Now that, the Pacific Northwest,  is different to me, from West Coast Blues scene, and East Coast scene – does that jibe with your thinking?

KL:Well, I think the Pacific Northwest has a different vibe from the rest of the West Coast – hip & urban but sweet. In fact, I live in a mythical place called the State of Jefferson – an area of Northern California & Southern Oregon that has tried several times to secede from both states to become a 51st state. I grew up in Boston and lived in L.A for almost ten years, and the Pacific Northwest is just a unique place, maybe it’s a weather thing. There’s a really strong blues scene in the PNW, lot of great musicians, clubs and big events like Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival that people really support. I think the Cascade Blues Society has one of the biggest memberships in the country. But I think we’re all happy to be part of the Left Coast Blues family.    

B411:
Yes, I have friends that have re-located to Portland area, and are so loving it. Where/when did you first start singing ? Tell us a little bit about your background.    

 KL: Well I sang really early on in the church choir – but it was funny how I got chosen to sing. I went to Catholic School, and there were 5 open spots for the choir. Two nuns walked up and down the aisles listening to everyone sing. If they liked you, they would tap you on the shoulder, and you were in. The first four got picked right away, then it was down to the last position and they kept stopping by me to listen, then they’d move on again…about 5 times. It was just torture. Finally, I heard a big sigh, a nun tapped me hard & said “Well it’s not that you are very good but you are loud and we could use some volume.” Hey, I had 8 younger brothers & sisters, if I could yell loud enough to call them to dinner, I didn’t have to go chase them down to do it. If you’ve seen a Prince Spaghetti commercial from the 60s, you’ll know what I mean.
That was basically it until I moved to London in 1987 and I would sing at parties while my boyfriend played guitar. One night a club owner heard me singing and asked if I could perform at one of his clubs the following week. My boyfriend said “Sure she can!” Then he told me that we had a gig the next week and that all we’d have to do is get another guitar player and learn 30 songs in 6 days. So we formed a trio with acoustic guitars and 3 part harmonies. We played a crazy mix of music – traditional folk tunes, classic blues, some Bobbie Gentry & The Beatles. That was my first real public performance. 6 months and 1 recording later, I broke up with my boyfriend, headed back to LA, and didn’t perform again professionally until September 29, 2007.    

B411:
What made you come back ?

KL: I had just gone through probably the worst time of my life…kicked out the sociopath I was married to and was raising two kids with no child support. My daughter had severe asthma; my son was diagnosed with Still’s Disease and started having seizures. A family of raccoons moved in under my bathroom which was sweet until their fleas took up residence too. Then a storm knocked over the fence in my yard and the house became infested with mice which my kids & I thought were too cute to poison (hey, in Boston we had rats, so at first mice didn’t look so bad). Every day my son & I would catch & release about 8 mice. That lasted until the day I opened a jar of peanut butter & found a dead mouse inside. The nurse practitioner at my son’s rheumatologists said it was her professional opinion I needed to get out. She belonged to a choir, and invited me to join. I started out crying to half the songs, but I got a lot of strength from that group of women. I was offered the solo slot at the year-end concert. The night of the concert my knees were knocking, my palms were sweating; I was practically hyper-ventilating from fear. But I did it. And it was a great night. After that, I started doing singer showcases once a month. But what really got me back into music was that I started going to a blues jam once a week. The Blues became my home and my salvation. I fell in love with the music and decided to follow my heart.    

B411:
The rest is history ! And we are glad you did. How is your son doing these days?    

KL: He’s doing fine, in Middle School getting played by all the girls in spite of all the training his sister and I gave him. Ha!    

B411:
Let’s fast forward to now . . .Still The Rain is a wonderful release, and has been very successful too. These don’t always go hand in hand, to what do you attribute the success?    

KL: There are so many things that go into something like this. It’s always a team effort. I’ve been blessed to work with some amazing people: Dennis Walker & Alan Mirikitani, Jim Pugh, Richard Cousins, Lee Spath, Michael Vannice, and of course Lori Haynes, who has worked so hard to make this successful. “Still the Rain” has had great reviews in BluesWax, Blues Revue, Blues Matters and from Frank John Hadley at DownBeat. And of course, this record has had the support of a lot of DJs and fans – it’s done well in both national blues charts, and is now in its 20thconsecutive week on the national Roots Music Report Top 50 Blues chart. It has been a #1 Pick to Click on XM Radio Bluesville, a Top 10 Pick at Blues City Radio and featured on several podcasts. I owe a huge debt of thanks to Bill Wax, Tony Colter, Pat St. John at B.B. King’s Bluesville for playing this record & to all the Bluesville fans who have requested it – I’ve heard from XM fans all over the country. But I’m especially grateful to Bill Wax, who not only played my first record, Lucky Girl but told everybody he ran into on Beale Street at the 2010 IBC that they should come out & hear my band at the New Daisy. One of the things I am most proud of is having had two #1 Pick to Clicks on XM.    

One of the nicest things that happened recently was when we did our Vibrato gig in LA and Janiva Magness came to our show – I thought it was so cool that she took the time from one of her rare nights off to come out & see and support us. One of my heroes, Bill Withers was there also, along with Babyface, comedian Chris Tucker and a lot of other famous people I might know if I got out more. Best of all, Dennis Walker and Al Mirikitani were both there. Dennis was sitting front row center. It was the first time he’d seen me perform live. He has taught me so much – he’s an amazing producer and songwriter. He and Al did such a great job on “Still The Rain” – every time I hear it, I’m just blown away.    

B411:
That is something to be very proud of indeed, Karen. Could you give us the one thing that stands out from working with Dennis?    

  

KL:Maybe the one most important thing was to keep it simple, strip it down, just because you CAN do something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. That’s the way he writes, produces and approaches things. I am working on that with my own song writing now.  

B411:
Speaking of your first release “Lucky Girl’, it seemed, in comparison, almost innocent while Still the Rain is more self assured, much more like you.   

 

KL: Lori Haynes and I produced the first record ourselves, as total newbies, but we were very unhappy with the way it was mixed and mastered. We went to Dennis to ‘fix’ it. Dennis and Al completely remixed everything, Al redid some of the musical arrangements, and he played guitar, bass & sax on different tracks. But for Still the Rain, Dennis had a particular vision for the way he wanted to present me as a vocalist. He & Al wrote songs specifically for me and we went back & forth for almost a year picking just the right tunes, although from the first time I ever heard them, I wanted to do Still the Rain and Never Felt No Blues. Dennis and Al wrote all the songs on “Still the Rain” except for Knock-Knock, (which I wrote). Dennis is probably best known for his work with Robert Cray, but he’s also worked with Betty LaVette, B.B. King, and so many other blues greats. So for me, knowing his abilities and all his talents and knowing that he believed in me was huge. Plus working with Jim Pugh, Richard Cousins and everyone else – wow, how can you not feel the music with players like that?    

B411:
They are a fabulous group of players, I just saw Robert and the band recently – amazing. Tony Braunagel came over and said hi (actually gave me his sticks) that was so sweet of him.    

KL: Tony is a sweetheart! We like it when our blues artists come down and spend time with us. As a performer, that is one of the things I like the most. I love meeting people after a show – I feel that I owe them that. They have given me their attention and respect, it’s important to me to come out and say ‘Hey, thank you for being here.’ That’s one of the coolest things for me – to hear what they have to say, and what they got out of my show. It tells me I’ve connected with the people.    

B411:
That might be the one of the thing that blew me away about the Blues Family/Community is the availability of artists to their fans. It seems y’all are fans as well as we are, as you stated earlier, Janiva comes to see your show, I have seen artists show up just to watch peers perform. You guys are always willing to talk, hug, take pictures with all of us fans. It’s incredible and I believe, unique to the Blues..    

KL: I totally love it! I am a fan, too, so it does go both ways. I live by a very simple philosophy: honor yourself, honor your gift, honor the music, honor the people you play with and honor the audience. Be present. Those things are really important to me. That is what success is to me. I feel that as a performer I want to know that I am reaching people. After the show I want to literally reach them and I want to know that they had a good time. When I go to a show I love it when performers come out and talk. Janiva comes out, Curtis Salgado, so many do, and that’s a huge thing. I like hearing from people, I love to know that when I sing – when I interpret a story – that it connects with the listener.    

B411:
Well that’s what the Blues is – it is oral history – it all started as story telling and got put to music. Or as Victoria Spivey said, “The Blues is life and life is the Blues. It covers from the first cry of a newborn to the last gasp of a dying man. It’s the very existence”.


KL: The Blues came from people who had lives so hard we cannot even comprehend it. What amazes me is that they sang to transcend that life, to go to a place of joy – they took the pain and made it into music – made it into joy. Michael Vannice shared some field recordings/chants that are unbelievable, just voices and clapping, but it will blow your socks off, you can feel the power. You feel the heritage there, and especially for me as a woman, when I think of Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Ma Rainey – how these women were responsible for making the blues so popular and accessible. Bessie Smith helped save Columbia Records twice from bankruptcy.
The blues is so honest, so real, no apologies, no griping…it’s life. The Blues is our musical heritage, the Blues birthed everything. I’m very proud to be a blues artist.  

B411:
So Karen, with the past behind us, and a strong position now, what do you see for the near future? What do you want to do?

KL: We signed a distribution deal with Burnside Records this past August. We’re starting to tour outside the west coast. We’ll be playing at Canal Bank Shuffle in Ontario, Canada October 23, January 22nd we’ll be in Arizona and January 29thwe’re doing a show in Redding, CA with Earl Thomas. And this February we’ll be performing in Florida. We’re working on national & international booking. The response to my band and the music has been so gratifying, I’m looking forward to bringing it people outside the Pacific Northwest who have become fans. Festivals, workshops, cruises, get me out there with the fans so we can connect more. I would love to get all over the country and world, so come on folks call us up!  

B411:
Well, I am sure that will happen very soon,and i see a BMA nomination for you. You heard it here first.   

Until next time,
Love, Peace & Chicken Grease
chefjimi    

Photos courtesy of: Tony Gieske (International Review of Music), Julie Nelson, Leslie K. Joseph
©Blues411, 2010

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September 20, 2010

Baaaad To The Bone, Still !

 

George Thorogood has a theory. “In any field, especially the arts, there are always two things—‘genius’ and ‘very clever.’ There’s no in-between. You’re either a genius or very clever. I’m going to throw out two names at you. John Lennon–genius, right? And Mick Jagger? Very clever. See what I’m saying? I’ll give you another example. Einstein–genius. And George Thorogood–very clever.”

When pushed on this George will make small exceptions,  “OK, I’m a genius at being very clever,’’ he says with a hearty laugh. Thorogood loves quips almost as much as he loves the blues, so here’s another: “Let’s put it this way. Dylan has a Rolls-Royce dealership. I have a used Chevy dealership. But I’m in the business. You got it? That’s all I wanted from this thing. A gig, man. And I got a gig.’

George prefers to think of himself as a role-player, much like a utility infielder on a championship team, but that role has been pleasing a couple of generations of rock fans by this point. He retains his innocence and also his self-deprecating humor, and it is quite obvious here in this interview I did with him recently.

————————-

B411:
George how are you ?

GT:
Baaaad ! Chef, hey man, gimme me something to eat !

B411:
OK, my current rage is beer-butt chicken, rub your bird with some spice mix, stick the whole chicken on a can of beer (after drinking half) put it on the grill for an hour or so and whoops there it is !

GT:
Whoa, all right, so what can I do for you today?

B411:
First of all, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. George, probably the most impressive fact about you, to me, is that you played semi-pro baseball. You were a second baseman, turned double plays, made the all-star team, and MVP. That’s pretty cool for a rockin’ blues performer !

GT:
No, not where I lived it wasn’t. We had maybe two good teams in the league and we were not one of them. There was a really good semi-pro league in Wilmington, Delaware, where I grew up. The Roberto Clemente (said with just the right touch of Latino accent) League was created primarily for the Puerto Rican community. It was a minority community so it was hard to get enough talent to fill the rosters for two teams, let alone for six teams. So they started bringing in inferior athletic types, which was me, to fill the rosters.
See if they couldn’t fill-out the teams they had to forfeit the season. So we created a team called the Delaware Destroyers, we were not very good, we were a step above pick-up softball. I did have a pretty solid season, but to make the all-star season it was more political than anything else. ‘Let’s keep George Thorogood in the league, he has all the bucks.’ Ya follow where I’m gong ?

B411:
Yeh, I hear ya, but you said you had a pretty solid season… 

GT:
Well, when I moved to California I switched to a very high level of softball, in the entertainment league. THAT was a very competitive league, great level of play. I was a very good player on a very good team then, heck, I was a better softball player than baseball player. I played for the California Chiefs for two or three years, that was my legacy. I started to get older, and people got injured, and I said I can’t afford to get hurt, hey I’m a guitarist.

B411:
Yes can’t break the hands.

 GT:
Yeh the baseball thing was more like, ya see we played baseball every summer, chef, and one year we decided to make it official and put together a legitimate team. But you can’t put a competitive team out there in one year. There were more walks and errors and than hits back then, and the press always made more of it than it was worth. Now my drummer Jeff Simon, was an incredible center-fielder, but he gets no pub for it, it’s always me. I get all the press. He had a very interesting way to treat a baseball, he had some stroke, could put some distance between him and the ball.

B411:
Dang man, you even sound like a professional ballplayer – blaming the media for everything. Cool, but ya know what I see as great, is that you DID play ball, hell we all did as kids. I relate to the ball player in you cos that’s what I did, and at a decent level also, so it’s another level of connection.

GT:
See another thing is that I had a bootleg album out that I didn’t want to promote. So I wanted to stay off the road, and let it die out, and then pick up the pieces from there. I was very disillusioned with the music industry situation at that point. I had to turn my back on it (the industry) for a couple of years.

B411:
That’s sad, but man it has worked out for you in spades. You have been making some of the finest Rockin Blues for over thirty years now.

 GT:
Well lemme say that I can pay the rent a hell of a lot easier playing guitar then playing second base. It don’t pay anything !
(we laugh at the thought of either of us playing baseball for a non-living)

B411:
Speaking of bootleg releases, you just released Live in Boston 1982. That’s one fine live recording.

GT:
Yeh, you think it’s pretty good?

B411:
Yeh it seems to have captured the Thorogood experience on the disk, all the energy of a live show. I like the stage chatter and all the hamminess that goes with your show. I dig it…

GT:
Hold the presses – the reviews are in ! Thanks

 B411:
My pleasure.  So do you still practice guitar?

GT:
Practice ? I don’t have time to practice. Everybody just plays. The only musician I ever knew that practiced was Sonny Terry. We just don’t have the time.

B411:
So you don’t practice, been playing for thirty plus years, just had a big birthday – Happy Birthday – how do you stay on top of your game. Do you have a rule or a code that you and the Destroyers follow?

 GT:
It’s the same code we have always followed since we started. It’s the 3 D’s, Desire, Demand and Delivery. If the desire is not here, no use in doing it. The price of living goes up all the time so the demand has to be there. Ya know what I’m saying. Then above all is the delivery, I don’t want people walking around saying ‘you shoulda seen this guy play twenty years ago’, I saw Willie Nelson play last night and he was unbelievable, fantastic, hit the ball out of the park. If you don’t have that you should stop.

B411:
Yeh there seems to be a rash of bands playing that appear to be mailing it in, that’s not good for anyone.

GT:
Ya know, Joe DiMaggio said that. Reporters asked him, why are you retiring? In DiMaggios’ last season he hit .302, knocked in like 98 runs, hit 23 homers. They said it was a good year, he replied it’s not a DiMaggio year. Ted Williams did the same thing. Williams hit like .320 in his last year, hit 29 homers, his last year he was like 100 years old then. But it wasn’t a Ted Williams/DiMaggio year. That says it all. It’s not that I am not delivering good, but it’s not to my standards.

B411:
Yes, like so many players have done. Hanging on too long and they dilute their legacy.

GT:
It was James Coburn who said, well if he’s the best then who does he compete with?

B411/GT:
He competes with himself (in unison).

GT:
At one point Lionel Ritchie said to me that he said he still gets ‘insecurity butterflies’, and people say that’s bad, and he said no it’s not bad, it’s good. It keeps you on your game and pushing. I love when people come up tome and say ‘man, you were good last night’, and I go ‘yeh that was LAST night’, I got to do it over again and be at least that good tonight.

B411:
Speaking of Lionel Ritchie, I remember back in the day when you were a fixture on MTV. It almost seemed like George Thorogood and the Destroyer Television. Any regrets associated with the relationship – overexposure issues ?

GT:
Yes, pioneers, innovators, ground-breakers, path finders. Right. MTV – Music Television. Regrets? (he says incredulously) There’s no overexposure – you cannot dictate when you make a record or a video how many times they are going to play it. That’s out of your hands. How many times have you seen the movie Jaws on television? Yet somebody is watching it for the first time.

B411:
Yes there’s the demand you were talking about and even the delivery aspect, cause it’s as good as it ever was. It also harkens back to DiMaggio when asked why he runs out ground balls that are sure outs, he answered that there might be some little kid seeing him for the first time and he wants the kid to know that Joe gives his best every time out.

GT:
Only you know when you are giving your best. I don’t understand why you would get involved with something if you’re not going to give it your best. Why do it in the first place? The most ludicrous question I ever heard anyone ask another person was to Steve Carlton. A reporter asked him why have he never threw a no-hitter, how come ? This was like his last interview, and he answered “I never wanted to throw one”
(laughter from us both, and disbelief)
Is that the most ignorant question you ever heard ? Why didn’t you hit four homers in a game ?

B411:
Yeh, cause I didn’t want to upstage anyone – it’s all about the team.

GT:
Exactly, how crazy is that ? You know people say to me George you stuck to the Blues, very integrity minded, never sold out and do this and that….I say to them wait a minute do you think that if I could have written Bridge Over Troubled Water I would have done it! Sure I wanna spend my whole life in semi-obscurity.

B411:
Well you’ve done just a little better than relative obscurity now, but I get your point, well put. If I could have done that I would have. It’s like if performers had a choice would they be street musicians or better known – what would they choose. If you gotta play Mustang Sally then you do it as a street musician. See what people don’t remember about the Robert Johnsons’, Blind Willie McTells’ is that they were street musicians. If I walked by them and put a dollar in their hat and asked for ‘Gonna Send You Back To Georgia’ if they knew it they would play it cause it’s the money they are playing for – their livelihood – not some utopian perception of what the blues is.

GT:
See I was a street musician, yeh there’s the money, and I play it. Sure I’d be playing slide guitar and folks would ask me to play Delta Dawn or Rocky Mountain High, and if I knew it damn straight I’d play it, cause you give me $5 I’m playing your song.

B411:
Very true. So do you play in open or standard tuning?

GT:
I play in Open D and Open G. That’s been my ticket to success. When you play in Open D or G, the guitar is tuned down not up. So you get a fatter, thicker sound. I have a low voice, and it has worked out good for me cause it sounds like I am singing really strong, in that low key like Johnny Cash. Bonnie Raitt plays in A, John Hammond plays in A but he’s always breaking strings cos the tension is so tight. Mine is down low, like Bo Diddley, has a big thick, full sound so I could play with a trio and get away with it. It’s a little harder to keep it in tune, break less strings.

B411:
OK, I’m just starting to learn from everyone I talk to about open tuning, I usually play in Open E.

GT:
See in Open E the tension is too tight for me – you don’t get the sustain or the notes to ring as much.
Jimi Hendrix played in Eb, he tuned down a half step. That’s why he got all those sounds, those notes. He also had to tune for an hour between songs. He also did it for his voice, he didn’t have the voice of a John Lennon or Roger Daltrey, so he tuned down a half step. Jeff Beck also plays in Eb, but he switches guitars almost every song so he doesn’t spend all that time tuning. Jimi had one guitar, he always did a lot of tuning when he was up there.

B411:
Yes he did, I saw him several times and he did it after every song just about….

GT:
Well then you know what I am talking about. But he was so cool, even Jimi Hendrix tuning was great. It was like, (in a spot on impression of Hendrix speak) ‘ex-schuse me, Ah, just ghotta tune up for this numb-bah‘. And we’d be like YEAAAH ! ! !

B411:
Damn that’s perfect, I hear him saying it just like that – you have an ear for accents and speech patterns, I love it. He would lower the pitch of his voice when he spoke, kinda trail off and get lower…

GT:
Hah, there was nothing hyper about that man, ‘if people will just chill‘…..

B411:
You’ve done so many covers of older Blues songs, but to me they are more than just covers I like to think of them as ‘original covers’. They are not the usual ones, you do them then they almost become standards for many people.

GT:
Well thank you, you are the first one to say that. I am a Rock & roll archeologist. The Indiana Jones of Rock. I always go after obscure pieces, there’s no sense in covering a song that a thousand other bands cover. What’s the point? Why do I do it ? Because I want to expose the tune and share it with the world. If Tom Waits has covered ‘(One) Bourbon, Scotch, and Beer‘, I wouldn’t of had this problem. I had a list of like thirty songs, it really was a project of mine, to expose this great music so that other people would know about it. Now as our records and careers go on, it got harder to do that, so we started to cover more in the public demand. But we dug up ‘Howlin’ For My Baby‘ by Howlin’ Wolf, but did it ZZ Top style. ‘I’ll Change My Style‘ by Jimmy Reed, heck at that point even Elvin Bishop or John Hammond hadn’t heard of that song.

B411:
Well you have always done that, picking up nuggets that others have not seen or known about …

GT:
Well cause I had to chef, I can’t write songs like Neil Young or Joni Mitchell – I can’t compete with that so I’ll do the next best thing, I’ll bunt !
(we laugh at the reference, back to the game)
I’m still in the line up, still on the team. If you can’t be Henry Aaron you can be Ritchie Ashburn. There’s gotta be a Mookie Wilson out there.

B411:
See that’s why you wore #1 on your jersey ! Bobby Richardson, Mookie . . .

GT:
See there you go, #1 is a middle infielder number, has to be. Gotta wear #1 if you play second base. Look at Mark Lemke, couldn’t hit his way outta a wet paper bag, but he got a World Series ring. How bad is that? My man is David Eckstein, Craig Counsell these are the guys I admire, both these guys have two World Series rings, how many does Barry Bonds have ? How many does Bobby Richardson have. A lot.

B411:
Yeh, Bobby was right there all those years. He went on to become a minister afterwards.

GT:
Well whatever church he is at I wanna go there too.

B411:
Church of the .245 hitter !

GT:
Yeah, a .260 lifetime average. The all-mediocre team. Only player to win the World Series MVP trophy from a losing team. Can you believe that. 1960 In 1962 he was runner up for league MVP to Mickey Mantle – Bobby Richardson will be able to go to his grave saying he was runner up to league MVP and the guy who beat him was Mickey Mantle. How good is that !

That’s my story, right guy in the right place,I made a living playing music, sorta like the Bobby Richardson of Rock & Roll. HAH !

B411:
I tried like the devil to find your stats from when you played. Couldn’t turn them up. It’s now my obsession.

GT:
Thanks chef, I gotta go, remember Rock & Roll never sleeps it just passes out !

Post Interview Note:

About a week later I had the opportunity to see George Thorogood and the Destroyers in concert. Just amazing, the stage show was first rate, the energy out of this world. George plays the ham very well, but don’t let his sly smile and ‘oh it’s just ol’ George here’ style fool you. The man is the consummate professional. His band is tight, and very capable of playing for anyone in the business.
He engages the audience with chatter, smiles, seeking approval that he knows will be heaped upon him from young and old alike.

I brought my buddy’s two sons to the George show, 17 year old Nick, and 12 (soon to be 13) year old Dylan, so they could see how the old school does it. Their reaction was ‘wow, that old guy can kick some butt, we totally under estimated him”.  Bah-bah-bah bad !
Thank you George, for the time shared all these years on record, cassette, CD’s MP3′s and live. You might just make the Hall of Fame – I’ll vote for ya !

Until next time,

Love, Peace & Chicken Grease
chefjimi

photos:  Leslie K. Joseph, chefjimi
©Blues411, 2010

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September 11, 2010

Robin Rogers – In Our Collective Thoughts and Prayers

© Joseph A. Rosen

As a writer, or a documenter of events, one never knows where the next inspiration will come from. Such is the case with what we have here on this page. I had decided to start my own Blues Blog, came up with a neat name (Blues411.com) and was going to move ahead slowly and get all my eggs in one basket and then launch it upon the unsuspecting world. Well that lasted just long enough for me to post that I was intending to do so. Serendipity, fate, karma, mojo whatever you call it stepped in – it was in the form of the reigning Queen of the Blues, Janiva Magness, who sent me a message saying that she was thrilled that I was doing this blog and I should write about Robin Rogers. What could I say ? How could I not do such a thing ?
This project became a living thing, with it’s own plan and agenda. Through Janiva and Scott Cable they set me up with some contacts, and like a virus of  love and caring, it quickly spread thru the Blues Community. What you read here has touched me deeply.  I did not want to tred where I was not welcomed or be viewed as an interloper of any sort. Everyone was more than willing to assist in this project, and with the
blessings of Tony & Robin Rogers, and through the efforts of everyone mentioned here and more, I give you this piece of love from the Blues Community to celebrate Robin and let her know we all love her and
carry her in our hearts.
 
 
Debbie Davies, Artist, Collaborator:
Robin Rogers is probably the most natural, soulful, real blues singer I have ever known. She is such a force of nature with her big voice, big, fun loving personality, and true soulfulness. She loves every minute of being on stage and really “Brings it” every night. I felt an immediate musical and sisterly connect with her from the moment we met. I feel truly blessed to have gotten to work with her on tour as much as I did this year. I think her voice and stage presence is what people think of most when you talk of Robin Rogers, but Robin is truly a very cool harp player. She’s got chops and taste…and is so deeply bluesy with
everything she does musically. As player, she added a lot to our shows, and I hope folks are aware of this.  Also, when an artist has as big of a presence as Robin does, it is easy to over look the song writing. I know her goal for a long time has been to develop her craft as a writer, and she so has reached that goal! She and her husband Tony have crafted some of the best stuff out there in the blues world. In the music biz we call this kind of artist a “triple threat”! Sings, plays, and writes.
Mostly, of course, I love Robin personally for her fun loving and funny personality. She brightens up every room she walks into, and has given so many so much comfort with her healing tunes. One can’t help but feel her sweetness and kindness when she is in their presence.
 

Scott Cable, Musician:
I first heard of Robin through my friend Carey Bell and she had a stint with her band as the house band every Monday or Tuesday at the Double Door in Charlotte…Carey mentioned that a woman in Charlotte wanted harp lessons….He said she sang good and was “a hot mamma”,  he really liked her. Next time I stayed with Carey he didnt feel up to going out so I went to the Double Door to check her out. I thought she had a great voice and was very nice….I stayed in touch and we became friends…She always asked about Carey and was concerned when both he and Nappy (Brown) were sick…Over the years Robin has really grown into an incredible performer pretty much owning any stage she gets on. When I produced Kenny Neal’s “Let Life Flow” record I called her to come in and sing background on two tunes….as she was warming up and working n the songs Kenny stood there watching and he said”man she’s ready to cut loose…she can sing!” Robin is a special talent. 

Bill Wax, Proprietor of Low-Fi’s Bar and Pool Hall in the heart of Bluesville:
I first became aware of Robin and Tony’s music around 2005 shortly after they had released a self produced disc titled ‘Crazy, Cryin’ Blues’.  I was knocked out by the quality of the music and the singing.  I added it as “Pick To Click” to our play list and got great response from our audience.  I also had one of those ‘ah ha’ moments with Robin’s talent realizing that there are probably artists like herself in towns all over America.  Really good musicians who have been laboring out there playing music and at best making something of a regional name for themselves.  The response from the national audience and Robin’s talent and personality pushed them to much higher visibility and of course her fine first Blind Pig disc helped a lot too.  It is heartbreaking to know how ill she is now, but I think at least she knows how much we, meaning the blues audience, love her music and recognize her and Tony’s talent.  Thanks Robin and Tony for all the great hours of high quality music.”

Janiva Magness, Artist:
I first heard Robin in 2004 at the International Blues Competition in Memphis, TN. I was down there serving as a Judge for the Blues Foundation and that evening was strolling Beale and was drawn into The Blues Hall where Robin and her Hot Band were competing. I was immediately taken by how confident and graceful she was. Here was a woman, in all her glory, and she was testifyin’ with everything she had. I felt a huge relief… ah… here was a truth teller!
Her voice was simply magnificent and she used it really, really well. Focused and passionate. Her song selection, band dynamics and overall performance was simply grand. I was captivated along with the rest of the crowd!
There was a huge line of folks wanting to buy her CD and I just waited in line and bought one, introduced myself to her, took that disc and went on down Beale Street to soak in some more talent, but one thing was very clear to me. I had just witnessed a rare and true talent. I was pretty sure it was gonna be hard to beat what I had just seen and heard. (This is one of the many reasons I continue to attend the I.B.C. every year.) I told everyone I knew about Robin Rogers. It was several months later when Robin and I began to correspond and became friends. She later sent me Crazy Cryin’ Blues – her next CD and I LOVED it! That disc won the Best Self Produced Disc in 2005 I.B.C. Excellent! I just ordered her newest recording Back In The Fire from Blind Pig. I am waiting anxious by the mailbox!
To me, one of the most pronounced things about Robin is she remains so very humble, which I believe is the mark of a true talent – a certain sense of true humility about what you are doing and the road you travel as a touring Musician. Robin has great talent and humility in spades. She writes and sings songs that are true to the heart and has that whole sense of the human struggle, and victory. That makes her all the more rare and that much more of a precious gem. Robin can take any song, from any genre, and make it her own. The mark of a true Artist.

I only hope she is able to hear the outpouring of love from her friends and fans as she makes this journey. It is a privilege to have worked with Robin and an honor to know her as a human being. God speed my friend. Love – Janiva

“Put a candle in the window. Cause I feel I’ve got to move. Well I’m going, going – I’ll be coming home soon. As long as I can see the light. Long as I can see the light.”John Fogerty

Edward Chmelewski, President, Blind Pig Records:
We’ve all been devastated by the news about Robin, especially since she’s such a kind, caring, warm, and outgoing person.    Her artistry and genuine enthusiasm for the blues are above reproach.   I just saw her several weeks ago in San Francisco at the end of the tour she was doing with Debbie Davies.  She was in great spirits,  happy to be playing with Debbie, and really excited about the release of her new record ‘Back In The Fire’ .  Her upbeat, positive attitude, and love for what she was doing were inspiring.  It’s been very gratifying to see the blues community rally and come out in support of this wonderful artist during this very sad and difficult time.
 
 
Joseph A. Rosen, Photographer:
I do not know Robin Rogers personally. I only saw her perform once at the Blues Music Awards in 2009 and she floored me. It was like, “Wow, this gal has got it going on!!!” I didn’t know where she came from, but I knew she had definitely arrived. Plus, she sang a Big Maybelle song with real authority. That is a very good thing in my book. She HAS intensity, talent, presence and soul. I hope that my photo conveys some of that. 
 

 

Jake Haldenwang, Artist:
The night I met Robin & Tony Rogers was on Fathers Day, June 15, 2008 at Midtown Sundries, Lake Norman NC at Rick Ballews Smokin’ Bluz Cruise with Tommy Castro & Robin Rogers. As we were leaving Midtown Sundries, Tony Rogers just handed me his Dobro.  So a busted out my slide and just started playin’ then Robin just belted out a tune and we ended up doing this impromtu spontaneous little jam thing outside Midtown in the middle of the night…lol…Great big Robin hug afterwards. Wow…I will never forget how warm and welcomed Robin & Tony Rogers made me feel…truly two of the nicest most gracious people I have ever met. Thank you so much Robin & Tony for giving this nobody little kid with a guitar such a great memory. It was a real classic moment with two class act people which I will always remember.

Rick Booth, Intrepid Artists International, Inc.: 
Robin seems like a great person to me. I mainly know her from seeing her out in clubs and had thrown a few gigs her way over the years. She has always been so nice and appreciative. She really was moving up the ranks in the blues world. Many other women such as Debbie Davies and Janiva Magness had seen Robin and wanted to help her climb the blues ladder. I had just booked Robin with Janiva Magness over in Norway at the Notodden Blues Festival. I like talking with her about the business when I see her out. She always has a great smile and seems to love the music. I wish she and Tony all the best! They are both in my thoughts at this time. 
 
Jim Brock, Producer, drummer:
Robin is one of my favorite subjects to talk about. Not only is she the hardest working artist that I’ve ever known, but a truly loving individual. Seems like no matter how hectic things get, she always finds time for you. She leaves the “Robin touch” everywhere she goes.
I remember the first time I ever heard her sing. She had never made a solo record before, so I took her in the studio and we made ” Time For Myself “. We have made 4 records total.  Robin’s rule of thumb has always been; You must show respect to gain respect. She has always lived this way, on stage and throughout her personal life. She is truly a person to aspire to.
.

 

Due to the self-imposed time restraints of this story I could only touch base with so many people in such short time. If any of you reading this have stories, asides, anecdotes, nuggets please feel free to post them up here  for all of us to share.  Fair warning I do not have the permission blocked but will be monitoring the site, so be kind, sweet and respectful of the spirtit contained within.

Love, Peace & Chicken Grease 
chefjimi

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Not too long ago Robin was to undergo TIPS surgery to keep blood from further entering her belly and breaking down into unsafe elements. The surgery would also have kept the swelling from threatening the integrity of the banding operation previously done to relieve esophageal verices(enlarged veins). Robin has had Hepatitis Type C and this condition has attacked her liver and has caused multiple complications. A CT scan prior to the procedure revealed a cancerous tumor on her liver. The tumor is untreatable given the condition of her liver. She is also not a candidate for a transplant as the drugs required to help the body accept a transplant would be ineffective and dangerous.

Robin is at home now and hospice has been called in. Tony and their family respectfully ask that despite the best of intentions, you do not stop by or call. They need their private time to be their own. At this point basic living expenses are the most pressing need. Robin will not be able to return to the stage and Tony will be out of work for the foreseeable future.
Expenses for medicine are extremely high. Their medical fund does not cover any of these expenditures.

There are several Benefit Events happening in Auburn Hills Michigan (Callahan’s), Asheville North Carolina (Tressa’s Downtown Jazz & Blues) and Charlotte North Carolina (Amos’s Southend)  for Robin and Family. They are accepting charitable donations to be auctioned off to raise cash for them because at this point the basic living expenses are the most pressing need. For the 411 on these and updates you can check the link on the left hand side of the page (picture of Robin).  Also Robin Rogers Benefit Central on FaceBook, and Robin Rogers.com.

One last thing we might consider is to pre-order Robins’ newest CD release on Blind Pig Records, ‘In The Fire’  and help it debut at #1 in the Blues category. Go here to do it,  http://www.blindpigrecords.com/index.cfm?section=album&catalognum=BPCD5138.  I know you can do this, and thank you from me.

Donations can be made directly to Robin at:
Robin Rogers
c/o Piedmont Talent
PO Box 680006
Charlotte NC 28216
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Main photo: Joseph A. Rosen.
Other photos: Scott Cable, Leslie K. Joseph, Terence L. Slagle, Jake Haldenwang, Rick Booth, Jim Brock, Blind Pig Records.
©Blues411, 2010

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