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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Best blues scenes?
Best blues scenes?
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toddlgreene
346 posts
Jan 05, 2010
10:23 AM
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What cities or towns have the best blues scene? This isn't restricted to the States, either.
I've traveled a fair amount, mostly abroad(outside U.S.)during my 20+ years in the military, and I've traveled quite a bit throughout the south and on the west coast. I live in New Orleans, and we do NOT have a huge blues scene, contrary to myth. Harmonica-wise, the city is home, even if part-time, to a few great players such as Johnny Sansone, Greg Izor(usually in Austin), Rockin' Jake(based in St. Louis now, I think), J. Monque'D, Smoky Greenwell, J.D. Hill, Andy J. Forest, Grandpa Elliot and a few others. There are no dedicated blues bars, although a smattering around town will host specials and there are a few jams, two in particular are consistently decent. If I hit the Powerball and wanted to hit some hot scenes and hopefully some good jams, where would you suggest I go?
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~Todd L. Greene
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 2:08 PM
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kudzurunner
911 posts
Jan 05, 2010
10:43 AM
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If we're talking blues harmonica scenes, then Seattle, Portland OR, Austin, Chicago, Boston, L.A./Long Beach.
I suspect that San Francisco & the East Bay are pretty good.
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 10:44 AM
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toddlgreene
347 posts
Jan 05, 2010
10:47 AM
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Yeah, I left it wide open, but where there's blues, there SHOULD be harmonica, in my opinion. Of those cities, I've only spent a measurable amount of time in Austin and Chicago, but I was in Chicago long before I was interested in the blues. As far as Austin, the only 'blues club' per se I visited was Antones. I know there are more. There's a dance hall south of A-town called Gruene(sic?)which I've heard of hosting some good gigs as well.
My mom lives north of SanFran in Marin County, and I'd like to make it a point to get into some blues shows next time I'm out there.
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~Todd L. Greene
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 10:49 AM
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Philosofy
315 posts
Jan 05, 2010
11:22 AM
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When I lived in RI, Providence had a pretty good blues scene (Roomful of Blues, Sugar Ray Norica, Young Neal, Dave Howard, James Montgomery)
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Elwood
278 posts
Jan 05, 2010
11:32 AM
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London's not bad - at least compared to the city I came from, Cape Town. It's sometimes a bit Status Quo for my liking but there definitely some inspiring players in this town.
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LeonStagg
79 posts
Jan 05, 2010
12:10 PM
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@ Todd
O.T. You mentioned that your son is a drum corps musician. My son is a snare drummer at school and also marches drum corps.
We should catch up, off forum.
Sorry for the topic interuption.
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toddlgreene
353 posts
Jan 05, 2010
12:23 PM
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@ LeonStagg-yes, OT but I'm real proud of him, so it's fine! He played pit for Memphis Sound last year(the corp's last year of existence), and now he's 1st marimba for the newly-formed Forte out of Dallas. Also in the Louisiana State Honor Band and the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, whom will be playing behind world-famous violinist Midori Goto this Sunday here in NOLa-Go kid go! Drop me a line at the address in my signature.
How about Memphis beyond Beale St., or Clarksdale?
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~Todd L. Greene
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 12:30 PM
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barbequebob
294 posts
Jan 05, 2010
12:26 PM
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20 years ago, Providence's scene was actually better than Boston's was. I still have tons of friends from down that way. Many of the scenes aren't as strong as they used to be. Up here in Boston, there were tons of harp players.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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waltertore
57 posts
Jan 05, 2010
12:54 PM
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I have lived in Austin (11 years) SF bay area (15), NYC area (20), Brussels (2.5) and now the columbus Ohio area (3). Each area had/has a decent blues scene, but each has decreased, much like the entire live, local music scene has. I toured for 20 years and regularly went through Mississippi and never saw a blues scene. Now the delta is up and happening. It seems the stuff that makes a scene legendary, is always moving around the country and in its wake there remains a lot of good players. No one place has stayed as vibrant as it was in its heyday. The way I look at it now is - if I am in a playing mood, there is a great scene :-) Walter
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 12:56 PM
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barbequebob
299 posts
Jan 05, 2010
1:05 PM
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Walter, I have to agree with you that the whole live music scene is really dead compared to what it once was. In the early 70's, the ratio of bands to clubs was more like 10 bands for every club, regardless of the genre, and now it's closer to 500-800 for every club and the number of live venues has really shrunk so much, it's scary.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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toddlgreene
354 posts
Jan 05, 2010
1:14 PM
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@ bbq, yeah, live music in general just isn't the draw like it was, even twenty to twenty-five years ago. But, thankfully, there's holdouts who either buck the trends, or start new ones, and the blues get to take a ride. New Orleans does have an original scene, but it pales in comparison to the party rock/cover bands that dominate and draw HUGE crowds, dressing like SpongeBob or superheroes or PeeWee Herman and becoming a glorified jukebox of '80s tunes. It's sad, really.
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~Todd L. Greene
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 1:14 PM
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waltertore
58 posts
Jan 05, 2010
1:49 PM
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Barbeque Bob: Yes, the live music scene has been in decline since the disco dj thing started. When I lived in Austin, there were over 50 places I could potentially gig at. That was in the mid 80's. When I left in 96, there were maybe 5. In the NYC area there were about 20 places I gigged at. Today there is maybe 5. In the SF bay area back in the late 70's there was about 50 places to play. Today, about 5. One was called The Sleeping Lady Cafe in Fairfax. Bob Wier of the Dead owned it and I did the Mark Naftlin Blue Monday shows that were broadcast by Tom Massolini on KPFA. Try getting a monday night gig now that draws a hundred or so people..... I moved to Brussels to get more gigs. That was in about 83. By then, the bay area scene was dying quicker than the old blues guys that made it a scene. Europe proved to be a gold mine. I made more than in a gig than I did in 5 stateside. The audiences listened, accomodations good, and life was easy. I would probably never have left but we didn't have work permits. Luther Tucker was in our group of Americans in Brussels, and he was deported for no permit. I hear Europe is still pretty good, but not near as nice as back then for an american playing there. As you well know, the pay has gone way down as well. Today, when I get $200 for my 1 man band - 2/45 minute sets, it is real good. More and more places want you to play for free, or such little money that it isn't even worth picking up at the end of the night. I partially have gone to a 1 man band because of the difficulty in booking a trio. For whatever reasons, the live music scene is dying and the cost of travel increasing off the chart. When I was starting out in the 70's, $100-300 a night, and 20 gigs a month, was enough for my trio to barely live on. This included travel up to 500 miles from home. A decent car (we pulled a trailer) was under a grand. Now, it would never add up. Gas was well under a dollar, and a decent hotel under $50/night. Now gas pushes $3 and the same hotel will run you $200/night. I really don't know how anybody who plays to less than 100 people a night, with a $10 cover, makes a living playing today. Getting older makes your view on life change. I would need good health/auto insurance today. Back then, I never even thought about having it- thats youth for you. Walter
PS: I have decided to not play for less than $100 a set from now on. 2-45 minute sets are my norm. It is the principal of the thing.
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Jan 05, 2010 2:06 PM
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Elwood
279 posts
Jan 05, 2010
2:43 PM
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Harmonicanick, I've only been to Bristol for the National Harmonica League. Judging from the local turnout at the 2009 convention, I believe you're probably right.
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Rick Davis
48 posts
Jan 05, 2010
6:47 PM
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I'd concur with Adam's choices for best blues scenes, except I'd add the South Bay area around San Jose, Redwood City, etc. Lots of great players there.
Denver has a surprisingly vibrant blues scene. More good clubs and good players than I expected.
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Greg Heumann
213 posts
Jan 05, 2010
9:49 PM
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The whole San Francisco Bay Area is pretty good. There are jams somewhere almost every night. There is a very large number of very good harp players including Charlie Musselwhite, Gary Smith, Andy Just, Jon Nemeth, Rick Estrin, Mark Hummel, Andy Santana, Spencer Jarrett, Little John Chrisley... - I won't go on because I'm already sure I'm leaving out as many worthy players as I'm including.
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
BlueState - my band
Bluestate on iTunes
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Jfllr1
92 posts
Jan 06, 2010
5:55 AM
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Nick + elwood
Yeah bristol was good.
Can't write your pice due to exams im afraid but will some time after the next 2 weeks ie lat ejan.
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"Blow as thou pleaseth"
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rbeetsme
107 posts
Jan 06, 2010
6:31 AM
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Walter, I think I see a pattern here. Walter comes in, the music dies! Sorry, couldn't resist.
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waltertore
59 posts
Jan 06, 2010
7:03 AM
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rbeetsme you may have something there! Of all the places I lived, Austin was the one that was getting hot when I hit town. SRV and the T Birds were getting big. The whole town was ripe for a musical explosion. It was exciting to be a part of that. I was able to play 30+ gigs a month right in Austin. Rents were cheap. A 2 bdrm house in town cost about $300 a month. There were tons of empty buildings from the recession and a lot of owners were basically giving them away for next to no rent for aspiring club owners. It seemed everyone you met in town had some connection to music or was a student at UT. Add to that, that austin was about the only place in Tx where you could be a long haired hippy, and a liberal, and be in the majority, and you got the mix for a music scene of the specatular caliber. The other places I lived were on the decline when I got there. Today, the whole live music thing is in decline.
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Jan 06, 2010 7:06 AM
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bluedogg
40 posts
Jan 07, 2010
10:48 AM
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you'd actually be pleasantly suprised of the blues scene in Pittsburgh. Just walk down Carson street in the Southside and check out all the blues clubs. If you're in the area check out Jill West and the Blues attack. Wow! Lots'a blues cruises on the 3 rivers as well
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Grillslinger
69 posts
Jan 08, 2010
9:09 AM
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Dallas is doing pretty well, with the likes of Hashbrown and Cheryl Arena.
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LittleJoeSamson
187 posts
Jan 08, 2010
9:25 AM
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For a real surprise, go to Aurora, Illinois sometime ( Yeah...Wayne's World ). There's sure to be Blues somewhere almost every night of the week. It's like Chicago West, with less parking problems and lower cover charges.
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