Message Board Archive: Thread Number 80

Paul Geremiah told me about this site when he was in Denver a couple of
months ago, and I finally signed up. Here is my report on the Roots of
the Blues Festival:

This was the second annual, sponsored by Swallow Hill Music Assoc.
(where I study) and the Colorado Blues Society, Blues Access mag. and
Coors (I mention this b/c we had free beer all weekend). There were
concerts Fri. and Sat. night in a small venue, holds about 500-1000. I
sat at the stage both nights. The line-up was: Fri: Paul Rishell & Anne
Raines; John Weston w/ Mark Simpson; and John Mooney. Sat: Mary Flower
(my teacher), Vicki Taylor and Mollie O'Brien; Big Joe Duskin; and David
Honeyboy Edwards. The concerts were awesome! But that is only part of
the story - here's where it gets fun. The concert Fri didn't end until
after mid-night, and as I was leaving Mary Flower said I should really
go to the workshop on Sat. that Paul Rishell was giving. I had recently
attended a workshop by Paul Geremiah at Swallow Hill, and it was great,
so Sat. morn I grabbed the Blues King (my Gibson guitar - which I
haven't named yet, so I just call it by its given name) and head down to
Swallow Hill. The *concert* room is about the size of a first grade
classroom. It was me and 5 other guys and Paul Rishell! We sat in the
corner and worked on delta blues & slide technique and jammed for 2
hours! Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Scrapper Blackwell, Blind Boy
Fuller, Bill Broonzey, Tampa Red, etc. Paul Rishell is such a precise
player, and was an excellant teacher.

But wait, it just keeps getting better. After two hours, Honeyboy
Edwards comes shuffling in (he's 83), takes a seat, and he spent 2 hours
telling us stories from his life in the delta touring with Son House,
Robert Johnson (he was playing with him the night he got poisened),
Muddy Waters (they were rivals), Big Walter, Little Walter, and on and
on. Basically, he recounted stories and answered questions from his
book, The World Don't Owe Me Nothin - which incidentally has been
completely sold out here in Denver for a few weeks!

Someone asked him what he thought of the story that Robert Johnson sold
his soul to the devil at the Crossroads so that he could play the way he
did. Honeyboy said that everyone knew that story, and that he used to go
out to the Crossroads in the middle of the night and just sit there and
play for hours, by himself, both b/c of the legend and to see if
anything would happen - never did.

So that was Sat! Wait, it gets better. Sat. night we sat at the stage
again. Since Honeyboy was the headliner, he played last. Came out, sat
down, pulled out a pint of whiskey, pulls out his big 'ol electric
Gibson, plugged in the guitar and wailed for a good long time. Then on
Sun. there was going to be a reception at Swallow Hill for the artists.
I was out running around with the kids, so I thought I would drop by to
thank Paul for the workshop, say hi, and get a couple of CD's
autographed. Walked in, and John Weston, Mark Simpson and Honeyboy were
sitting there jamming. There were only a few people there so we pulled
up chairs about as far away from them as I am from my computer monitor.
Then Mary Flower walked in with her National Steel square-neck, sat down
with 'em, pulled out the slide, and man, what a jam session. Big Joe
Duskin pulled up a piano, Anne Raines got out her harp, Paul Rishell
pulled out his National. It was an amazing jam session, lastedfor a
about three hours! There were never more than 15 - 30 people there the
whole time. Total surprise! I expected donuts, coffee and autographs.
And the kids were mesmerized. They were the only children around, and
they sat right in front (when they weren't dancing), shook hands, got
autographs, sang *Fishin blues*, it was a great experience.

As for the concert, John Mooney was an electrifying performer, and his
CD *Dancin With the Devil* has been playing in my house and car non-stop
since the weekend. For those who don't know, Mooney plays Delta/New
Orleans blues on electric, mostly slide, learned from Son House and
played with Prof. Longhair for years. Incredible!! *Dancin* is a solo
disk, and his guitar work is unique - here's the review: "In New Orleans
he incorporated the second-line mambo funk into his straight-ahead Delta
blues style that features an aggressive guitar approach with hand
flourishes, accentuated by passionate, growly vocals - a riveting
performer who stands out as one of the most distinctive blues artists
working today." Yes, he's white, and in his forties, and plays electric
(I guess Andy would consider him blues II or III) but it is very good
stuff, IMHO.

So to wrap up: I think Denver supports acoustic / folk / country blues
as well as any place in the nation I am aware of. In the last few months
I've seen Guy Davis, Paul Geremiah, Pat Donohue, the Roots festival, and
I was invited to attend a workshop given last night by Andy Cohen, but I
just couldn't get away (my wife seems to think I have an other life
besides being a burgeoning *bluesman*). B/t Swallow Hill, The Colorado
Blues Society, Blues Access magazine (published in Boulder) and the many
clubs and coffee houses with open mike blues nights, it's a pretty
vibrant scene.

Brad Hamilton

Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 14:09:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: tbone01@earthlink.net (T. Roy Matthews)
Subject: Question: Denver Roots Fest
Message Number: 80.1

Sounds like one helluva time! I've always wanted to see Paul & Annie but
they never seem to get out here to the West Coast.

You mention that Denver does its part for roots music -

Here's a question: What other cities out there are big on supporting
traditional (acoustic) music?

Teeroy

Date: Wed, 29 Apr 1998 10:41:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: Owner-HyperNews@ComCAT.COM (tom)
Subject: roots music source
Message Number: 80.1.1

I don't have a bunch of festivls off the top of my head, but any good
bookstore (Borders) will have copies of Dirty Linen and Blues Access,
among others, which are good sources of festivals all over the world.
Check out their web sites for that ol' instant gratification.

Maybe Ari can provide an insider's opinion of the Delaware Valley, and
the Philly Folk Festival in particular.

Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 17:21:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: dboas@wasm.umd.edu (darren)
Subject: Re: Philly Folk: was roots music source
Message Number: 80.1.1.1

The Philly folk festival is first class, but remember what it is: a FOLK
festival. So it is not devoted to Blues & one can be (some years) hard
pressed to find more than a couple of blues artists at the event. It is
worth it despite the lack of an abundance of blues artists.

Darren

Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 17:15:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: dboas@wam.umd.edu (darren)
Subject: re: Columbus, OH: was Denver Roots Fest
Message Number: 80.1.2

The Columbus Blues Association in Columbus, OH has hosted the
Traditional Acoustic Blues Festival for the past five years usually held
the last weekend in April. This year was the first year it was a two day
event. It is a small event (I'd say attendance on Friday was no more
than 100 people) & it is held indoors, but the performers are top notch.
Last year (just the ones I can remember: Roy Book Binder, Alvin
Youngblood Hart & Paul Geremia) This year: Ernie Hawkins, Kraig Kenning
& Steve Avery, John Weston & Mark Simpson, & Robert Jr. Lockwood (yeah
he played electric 12 string) on Friday night. Jim Biersdorf & Jim
Kolbe, Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan, Mudcat & Kane, Joe Duskin & Ann Rabson
on Saturday.

Darren

Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 14:24:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: dispr@atmeans.net (Scott Aasen)
Subject: Feedback: Finally a connection to Paul Geremia
Message Number: 80.2

I just recently purchase my 3rd Geremia CD. I think this guy is a
fantastic acoustic blues fingerpicker. I am a fingerpicker myself and
have taken one-on-one lessons from Pat Donohue. I just happened to
stumble on to this site and if anybody has any information as to how to
contact Mr Geremia, please let me know. Would also be interested in any
forms of acoustic blues festivals or clubs in the upper midwest.