1

are the 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7:00 PM at

the SMUD Building, 6301 S Street,

Sacramento, CA.

All SBS members in good standing are invited

to attend.

Volume 30; Issue 5 Oct-Nov 2009

Patty Furey

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Moffett’s Musings & Crisis Fund Update

2

SBS Events 3

Not just one... 4

Out and About & Guitar Extravaganza

5

SBS—Side by Side 7

Jam with Steve Foster 8

Award, Musicians and Businesses

9/11

Please start thinking about who you would like to nominate for this years award. The 2009 SBS Hall of Fame In-ductee Ceremony will be during the annual SBS Membership Party in December 6th at the Capitol City Ballroom. The guidelines and selection process for the SBS Hall of Fame are currently posted on the SBS website. You can view them at www.sacblues.com. Because of time constraints for 2009, please print out the nomination form and hand to a SBS Board Member. With the first inductee ceremony in 2008, the SBS Board voted to jump start the Hall of Fame with three in-ductees. Starting this year, there are two Hall of Fame categories:

Performer (Musician or Band) and Non Musician

(Supporter of the Blues). Please refer to the website Hall of Fame Guidelines for

Local competition October 18, 2009

more award informa-tion and instructions for nominating. Tell us who you would like to be inducted as the next SBS Hall of Fame and fill out the form! A selection

panel will narrow down the applica-tions to three (3) for each category and the SBS Board will select the winners. . The 2008 SBS Hall of Fame induc-tees were Johnny Heartsman, Gene Chambers, and Arbess Wil-liams (photos below). For 2009, there will only be one inductee to the SBS Hall of Fame for each category. The Torch Club has graciously vol-unteered to display the SBS Hall of Fame perpetual plaque. The plaque will be a v a i l -able for viewing beh ind

the bar starting at the Side-by-Side benefit on September 19th. ##

2009 Performer

2009 Non-Musician

? ?

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Blues in the Schools News by Cynthia Jaynes, Chair

Moffett’s Musings By Dennis Moffett

We hope you all attended our Diva Concert at the Capital City Hotel ballroom last month. The vocalists put on a GREAT SHOW! This is also one of the very few “all-ages”

venues in the area. We are looking for-ward to doing this show again next year. I am very ex-cited about our member-ship this sum-

mer. We have added many new members as well as most old mem-bers are “re-upping” their member-ship when Linda (our membership chairman) sends out our reminder about the dues. As your President, and custodian of your money, I think we are doing well as a Blues Society. I love that we are getting new members from the surrounding areas, like Roseville, Folsom, New-castle and even El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park. Thank you guys from those areas. We are planning to expand some of locations for you

What a great summer for the blues. We all know the economy has caused some casualties to the Blues industry this year. I hope they recover by next year so our great blues mu-sicians have venues to perform. The Sacramento Blues Society had a membership tent (photo at right) at the Reno/Tahoe Blues Festival this year and a few new mem-bers joined our Soci-ety. We continued to support Murray and the Power House Pub this summer. They had some great musicians and if you missed any of the Sunday afternoon shows, you missed some great music. Not only that, you would have been able to attend these shows for FREE because you are a member of the Sacramento Blues Society. We also must say “Hey” to Brenda at Po Boys for the great job she is doing, bring-ing blues headlines into her es-tablishment.

to see our Blues musicians to more surrounding areas as the next year comes. Stay tuned. We are working with the Reno Blues Society on a large upcom-ing event next summer, which will set a new standard for what two societies can do in concert to fur-ther Blues and make it as enjoy-able as we can. We will keep you posted as these events come to be. We are also hoping some of you will step up and offer to serve on a committee (listed on the back page) or even on our Board. It is enjoyable, we work in the best environment—blues events, have fun doing it, and get great experi-ence we can use in our careers. If you think you would be inter-ested in serving either on a com-mittee or the Board, you can reach us at info@sacblues.com. The nomination form will be posted on the website soon, also. Thank you for participating in Sacramento Blues Society events and please check out our upcom-ing events. ##

and demonstration of the his-tory and significance of West Coast Blues and Johnny Heartsman’s role in develop-ing this blues style. SBS had an information table & of-fered several handouts, fliers and newsletters to atten-

dees. We also had harmonica as-sembly kits available as a hands-on activity for families. The kids and parents loved making harmonicas out of tongue depressor sticks, pa-per and rubber bands. We used up all 250 of the kits and there were children everywhere trying them out. This was an excellent family-

oriented event and we are hon-ored to have been invited to par-ticipate. BITS is working with the Events Committee to explore the possi-bility of a summertime family campout event in the near fu-ture. We are still looking into a variety of venues, and no deci-sions have been made. If you know of a spot that can accom-modate camping, music beyond 10:00 pm, is fairly close to Sacra-mento and would be safe for families to attend, please contact the BITS or Events Commit-tees. Thanks!!

We met with Mindy Giles of Swell Productions to share strategies and sug-gestions regarding various concert venues, promo-tion ideas, and networking opportunities. Mindy has some really innovative ideas to consider when planning future SBS or BITS events. BITS participated in Community Day at the California Museum of History, Women and the Arts on September 19, 2009. GG Amos and Taki Komori delighted the audience with both lecture

Dennis at Reno Jazz Festival

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Upcoming Sacramento Blues Society All-Ages Events

4

Oct-Nov 2009 Volume 30; Issue 5

Not just one, but Two! - Valeriejeanne Anderson

Sacramento blues music lovers are a very lucky group. We can find blues any day of the week in various clubs around the area. If you don’t believe it, just look at our web-site’s daily listings of per-formances and jams. But we also have another perk many blues lovers don’t. While many areas have venues that showcase blues once a week, we have that plus! We have two Blues clubs we can count on to hear local and national talent. They are oppo-sites, yet they both have great at-mosphere for the blues. First is a cocktail bar called The Torch Club, also known as “da Torch”. Marina Texiera carries on a tradition started by her family

years ago, bringing us blues every night. Located downtown in an ur-ban setting, street parking can be scarce unless you are a determined hunter. The bar is bustling, and you’d better hope Willie Brown has “saved

you a seat”. The club is dark and the stage is tiny and not well-lit, but it doesn’t matter. The am-biance of the usual c rowd dancing and their heartfelt approval of the musicians on stage keeps the music com-ing. The Torch has the honor of b e i n g t h e “Number One Dive Bar in Sac-ramento”, as se-lected by the S a c r a m e n t o News and Re-view readers in past years. The Torch also is the home of the

plaque commemorating the Sacramento Blues Society’s Blues Hall of Fame mem-bers. The second is a young up-start called Po’ Boyz Bar and Grill , where Brenda Taylor and daughter Lynzi serve you soul food while you listen to the music. These women and their able crew handle it all, and the food is hearty and tasty. Located in a suburban/rural shopping center on the edge of Folsom for the past two years, parking is plenti-

ful. The stage is an extension of the dance floor with a small spot-light. The crowd’s ambiance and appreciation for the music, however are a match for the Torch. Brenda has been bringing top

names in blues into the club nearly every weekend, and the crowd is literally out the door and packed into the patio. Po’ Boyz has the honor of being 2009’s Best Juke Joint. (See article, page 9) So there you are: two clubs, very different, but alike in their enthusi-asm to bring blues to our area. As I said, Sacramento blues music lov-ers are a very lucky group! ##

Marina and Rhonda came from behind the bar to give Willie Brown a reserved table pass.

Susan greets you at the door as Brenda sails from bar to kitchen.

5

Health issues have kept me tucked away at home lately, but I did get out and make a few dis-coveries. While it is fun to see your favorite artists here in town, it is always exciting to see and hear someone you haven’ t known about. First, at a private party, the a few of our great Sacra-m e n t o a r t i s t s (because a band can only hold a few - it would take an arena to hold them all, I think) were jamming on the back-yard stage. Kyle the Wonderkid was blow-ing his harp as I en-tered. That is a show-stopper in itself. This young man is talented and innovative and seems to be able to play with anyone any time. Watching Kyle on stage is much like watching Trombone

P a g e 5 V o l u m e 3 0 ; I s s u e 5

S h o r t y . They grew from 2 ft, to 6 ft, tall, while pol-ishing their stage skills. As the party pro-gressed, a

young woman took the stage by storm, belting out a song, then croon-

ing the next one. I had just met Tess! I know I’ll hear more from her. SPAH, the Society for Pres-ervation and Advancement of Harmonics held their convention in Sacramento,

and one of the harp players, Jason Ricci,

held a harmonica jam at the Torch. I was very impressed with all the harmonica play-ers, and I did learn a thing or two about the harp, such as: Harps come in various sizes, including ones that can build muscles. Women play harps. And not just play, they also compose and teach. I was impressed. Speaking of impressed, Ja-son had a trio b e h i n d him that p l a y e d

for all the in-strumentalists and vocalist without even stopping to take a breath. All

Out and About Town— Valeriejeanne

On Sunday, July 19th, seven guitar players competed for cash prizes at the Capitol City Hotel's Blue Room to a packed room. Judging was done by popular vote as de-termined by audience applause. When the dust cleared, the winners were: Shane Tiller, Jr. and Friends Fist Place Matty T. & Friends Second Place Jeff Watson & Friends Third Place Special thanks to all of our guest guitarists including Steve Foster, Jimmy Papastathis, Dennis Leska, Leo Boots & Mike Farrell, Thanks also to Randy Meusling for donating the Blue Room, and to Dana Moret for her spe-cial guest appearance with Jimmy. ##

Guitar Extravaganza - John Noxon

Kyle, Paris & Tess

Jason Ricci

Mark Hummel

Continued page 6

A very large harmonica

Women play the harmonica

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foothills. Lara Price is another tiny person with a mighty voice. She also delivers a

song with a sassy atti-tude. And the woman that belts the blues in a rocking style is our own Dana Moret. This popular show has be-come a tradition in Sacra-mento, and I hope it contin-

ues. And it will if it continues to be s u p -ported.

Zac Harmon came to Po’ Boyz l a s t m o n t h , a l s o . SBS first brought Zac to Sacramento before anyone knew who he was. He has returned fairly often as his career has grown. Zac has a way of singing as if very worried, which is part

of his appeal. He has many fans in the Sacramento area, including

one you may know. W i l l i e B r o w n had a b i r thday bash at t h e T o r c h , complete

with musicians jamming. It

was good to see Marta Gee , and she brought along another musi-cian that was new to me, Glenn Cable (sp?). He started with gui-tar, then went to a lap steel. Where did he come from? Don’t know why I hadn’t seen him before. It just goes to show, we need to sup-

port our local venues to dis-cover the great talent in Sacramento. Lydia Pense and Cold Blood came to the Powerhouse Pub one Sunday, and everyone was there. Lydia is the only remaining original member of the group. However

she finds musicians that can keep her music go-ing just fine. The Power-house is also small, but it has a larger stage than most blues venues. It also, like most venues, really needs better stage lighting to showcase the great musicians that play

there. Lydia is vivacious as ever, and kept the crowd up and shakin’. J o e L o u i s Walker visited Po’ Boyz and his

m a n y l o c a l f a n s w e r e a l l t h e r e . One of our local heros, organ player Kevin Bur-ton was in his band, and Kevin did us proud. That

they needed was a song title and a key, and they were off. A backup trio extraordinaire! Mark Hummel got to the stage at my “witching hour”, but I understand the jam went on without me. It was a show not to be missed. On Sunday, August 16th, SBS held the annual show of women blues singers. Each year, Dana

Moret puts the show t o g e t h e r , and we are lucky to have her dedication to show-c a s i n g w o m e n , both known a n d

unknown. The show started with a duet of guest vocalist Tess Honn (there’s that name again) and gui-tarist Paris Clayton with their blues bal-lads. Then the women each grabbed a mike and entertained us for the next four hours both as a group and individually.

Linda Braca-monte is a tiny person with a giant voice and sings a country blues style. She and her band play in the area a lot. Leah Tysee brings a sophis-ticated air to the blues, and

is well known in venues in the

Tess Honn

Linda Bracamonte

Leah Tysee

Lara Price

Dana Moret

Bassist Jesse, Lizzie & Zac

Glenn Cable

Lydia Pense

Out and About Town—Continued By Valeriejeanne

Continued page 8 Kevin Burton

Joe Louis Walker

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SBS All-Ages Events 2 pm Sunday, October 18th we'll conduct our popular local area search for the best blues band to represent the Sacra-mento Blues Society at the 2010 Memphis International Blues Challenge. 2 pm Sunday, November 8th we'll be presenting our annual Harp Showdown show featuring Darrell Mansfield, Andy Santana, and other super harp players for your blues entertainment. 2 pm Sunday December 6th we will end the year with our annual member party and 2009 Hall of Fame Induction. . So mark your calendars, and join us in celebrat-ing the blues.

Support your Blues Society. Be there!

SBS Hosts Side by Side—John Noxon and Patti Furey

The Side by Side benefit at the Torch Club on September 19th was a great success, thanks to the many talented musicians who performed. We can't say enough about the generosity of the bands and individual performers who played throughout the day, and all that dedicated their time and

m u s i c a l ab i l i t i es to bring in the crowd. Equinox B l u e s R e v i e w

performed the first set. Lena Mosley was presented with flow-ers and a card to celebrate her birthday., and managed a few tunes before being rushed off to her (29?) birthday party. Dr. Derek, OBD and Leo Boots put on a great show, followed by Johnny "Guitar" Knox and Dave Croall in their special "smooth" blues set. Deacon then brought up a new band con-figuration to the scene -- the "Ragtag Band " who played their asses off, followed by the Spot-ted Dog Rockin' Blues Revue provided a great finale with their driving rhythm that really gets your feet moving with a whole-lotta blues standards that wowed the house. Equinox Blues Re-

rides to the jam session. All are welcome! All proceeds from the raffle and event were do-nated to Side-By-Side. For more information about Side-By-Side, you can go to their internet site at

www.sidebysidewiththehomeless.org. When the dust settled and the calm of the night set in, $1,470 was donated to the Side-By-Side Homeless Program. Thanks to all !

Save the Date

view provided the backline equipment throughout the day. Lori Martin ac-cepted the guitar raffle prize for Roni Cook. SBS is proud to host this benefit for Side-by-Side with the Homeless , an affiliate program of Loaves and Fishes . The Side-By-Side with the Homeless pro-gram is run by Reverend Linda with help from her husband, local blues-harp great, Fred "The Dea-con" Baker . Side-By-Side pro-vides individual spiritual guidance and faith sharing for the home-less in need at Loaves and Fishes Fr iendsh ip Park. One program that the Side-B y - S i d e sponsors is a weekly jam session for h o m e l e s s m u s i c i a n s and others in the commu-nity who need a place to play and express their creative spir-its. The North Sacramento United Meth-odist Church, 650 El Camino Blvd., Sacramento partners with Side-By-Side providing a space to play. Donated instruments from guitars to drums are pro-vided. Loaves & Fishes home-less organization also provides

Pat “Rat-aTat” Balcomb

The Deacon and Reverend Linda

Lori Martin accepts guitar

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Wednesday Night Jam with Steve Foster at Louie’s By: Deborah Gregory

man can play an organ. I also couldn’t help but notice Joe Louis’ guitar player. I didn’t know who he was, but he played some impressive solos. Then I met Linwood Taylor . I knew that name! Linwood’s name has been popping up on the musician list of many CDs being released this year. I paid a little more attention. When Joe Louis took a break and had

a plate of Brenda’s soul food, Fillmore Slim filled the break. Then Joe Louis came back to finish the show. It was a delightful afternoon. So in the past two months I caught up with old friends and found three new (to me) musicians to watch. Hope you had a chance to go out and sup-port a local venue also. ##

perfect place to do that is at Louie’s with Steve on Wednesday nights. It just feels like home when you walk in under the neon sign and are greeted by a bunch of music lovers.

Last night I took my note-pad and pen so I could write about who was there to play. They were cele-brating Birthdays for Ron Cook and Jeff Felcher giv-ing those guys an extra long set for the pleasure of us all. I think they looked younger when they were playing…….but it could be my imagination. Happy Birthday Boys!!! As usual, when it’s good, it takes me away, but this was real good so I was

E v e r y Wednesday n ight a t Louie’s off of Mather Field Road, the SBS spon-sors the Steve Foster Blues Jam that be-gins about 8. The house band in-cludes Joe Lev, bass, Jimmy Bag-shaw, drums, and of course Steve Foster, vocals and guitar. By the way, have you heard the new style Mr. Foster is displaying these days? He is playing everything from Old School to Blues, includ-ing some Country and the Beatles. His diverse creative ability allows us all the pleasure of expanding our musical orientation “Steve Foster Style”! Warm Summer Sacramento nights make me want to go listen to more music and stay out a little longer…..how about you? So, a

lost in it most of the night. The house was rock’n as more fine musicians joined the pack, includ-ing Andy Keene (good to see you out and about Andy), Joe Hurley, and many more. Forgive me if

you were not men-tioned here, but there were so many great musicians in the house that I couldn’t keep track o f e v e r y -one…….partly be-cause I got up and sang for Steve, by request. Not that I need to be invited, but I was honored and well received.

Thanks everybody and come on out for the Louie’s jam with Steve and the gang! ##

Out and About Town—Continued

Linwood Taylor

9

Lisa Phenix 916-719-6106 www.Lisaphenix.com Marshal Wilkerson & Smoked Sugar 916-443-3392 marshalwilkerson@ hotmail.com Marta Gee martagee@comcast.net Mill Creek Blues Band millcreekblues@snowcrest.net www.myspace.com/millcreekbluesband Mitch Kay & Groove Deluxe 916-217-1263 Mr. December Band mrdecembermusic @yahoo.com Myspace.com/mrdecembertheband

O Street Jumps Dan 916 -944-7292 Cari 916-725-4889 Rick Donaldson Blues Band Jay Beaumont 530-902-8600 rickdonaldsonbluesband.com Rock of Ages jellis2003@yahoo.com Roy Rogers www.roy.rogers.com Sacramento Blues Revue Rick Von Geldern Rick-vg@eyesonu.com Spotted Dog Rockin’ Blues Revue Greg Gantrell 916-332-5417 greg@spotteddogmusic.com Steve Foster Band 916-276-9170 Stevefosterband@comcast.net

Allie Marcel Blues Riot 916-451-1075 Allie@Allie’s Alley.net Andy Keane & Kinda Blue ajkeane3@aol.com Black Cat Bone www.blackcatboneblues.net cmoriel@ucdavis.edu 530-753-5265 Bluz Catz 916-769-7934 bluzcatz@yahoo.com Bobby “Blue” Ray Brad Wilson Band bw3guitar@aol.com Dave Channell Band 916-705-8628 Delta Wires Prime Management 510-601-9277 info@deltawires.com

Equinox Blues Review Stan Alves 916-969-3995 Gordon Groft Band 916-374-0874 evilgenius333@hotmail.com www.gordengroft.com Johnny “Guitar” Knox Dave Croall & the Soothers 916-455-6349 rightdave@hotmail.com Juke Joint Jokers Cynthia Huddleston 209-626-0752 jukejointjokers@gmail.com Kyle Rowland 916-236-9204 Kyle.rowland@yahoo.com Linda Bracamonte Linda@lindabracamonte.com

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H i r e a n S B S m e m b e r b a n d

Po’ Boyz is 2009 “Best Juke Joint”

Our own lo-cal Po'Boyz got nomi-nated and chosen for "The Best "Juke Joint Award" (Best Blues and Soul Club) from 8 clubs n o m i n a t e d across the U.S., from Mississippi to Arkansas, Michigan to Tennessee and Arizona. Po’ Boyz has only been in business for two years, and the owners (Brenda and Linzi) are delighted to now display their award. The 2009 Jus' Blues Music

K e n n y N e a l . The Po’ Boyz award was pre-sented by Mr. Charles Mitchell, Executive Director of Jus'Blues Music Foundation and Lonnie Brooks, father of Ronnie Baker Brooks. Owners Brenda and Lynzi were there to accept their award. Brenda also accepted an award for Zac Harmon, winner of the "Traditional Blues Song (male) since he was unable to attend in Memphis. She then presented this award to Zac at his recent appearance at Po’ Boyz. Congratulations to Brenda, Lynzi and your fabulous crew!

Awards cere-mony was held at the historic Daiser Theater on Beale Street, Memphis, Ten-nessee. Jus’ Blues pre-sents awards annually 26 categories to the best of the best in Blues

music as determined by the public voting in the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation’s on-line poll. The theme of the night was "2009 Jus'Blues Night of the Living Leg-ends". Many blues artists were present, including Denise Lasalle, Clarence Carter, Trudy Lynn, and

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Northern California Blues Fest ival

c/ o:

Matson Breakey

Matsonian@yahoo.com

w w w .NorthernCalforniaBluesFest .com

Steve Gatz & Double Shuffle 209-217-7532 Steve Hall 1-888-468-8663 bluestevemu-sic@sbcglobal.net www.stevehallblues.com

Stevenson Proffitt & the Vintage Overtones 916-475-2566 StevensonProffit@yahoo.com The Aces 707-490-8126 www.acesfan.com The Cold Truth Isis 408-835-4168 Myspace.com/coldtruthband

The Hucklebucks Doug James 916-454-0577 www.thehucklebucks.com The Used Blues Band Sean McGroarty 916-204-9800 Sean@myifp.com

Tim Noxon’s Rockin’ Blues Band Tim—916-201-4648 George-916-343-3172 Two Tone Steiny & the Cadillacs 916-765-5564 twotonesteiny@yahoo.com

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Please Patronize these Businesses that Support your Blues Society

313 Laurence Ave.

Kansas City, Mo 64111

1-888-BLUESIN’

www.bluescruise.com

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Blues I n The Schools

Cynthia Jaynes

BI TS Benefit Liz Walker

Blue Notes Editor

Valeriejeanne Anderson

PRESI DENT

Dennis Moffet t

VI CE PRESI DENT Kim DuVall

SECRETARY Sally Katen

TREASURER Dave Alcock

PARLI AMENTARI AN

Valeriejeanne Anderson

MEMBERS AT LARGE Stan Alves

Cathy Dubets Pat ty Furey

Cynthia Jaynes Mira Livingston Linda McShane

John Noxon

P. O. Box 60580

Sacramento, CA 95860-0580

VISIT OUR WEBSITE!

WWW.SACBLUES.COM

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U. S. POSTAGE PAID SACRAMENTO, CA PERMIT NO. 2149

Blue Notes! is

.

Send information for the newsletter to

editor@sacblues.com

or to

Editor—Blue Notes!

4116 Lotus Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95822

is a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit organiza-tion formed to preserve and pro-mote blues music as an art form.

The Sacramento Blues Society is

one of the oldest blues societies in California, founded 1979.

The SBS has kept the blues tradition alive in the Sacramento area by pro-moting the local blues music scene

and bringing internationally re-nowned artists to the region.

SBS is an affiliate member of

The Blues Foundation. We provide educational

opportunities for young people with the foundation’s

“Blues In The Schools” Program.

The Sacramento Blues Society produces a newsletter, “Blue Notes” on a Bi-Monthly schedule (six times

a year) to our membership.

Cont inued

Blues Challenge Event Kim Duvall

Concessions/ Merchandise Cathy Dubets & Kim DuVall

Events

John Noxon & Stan Alves

Fundra ising and Grants Debbie Galik

Gene Cham bers Musician’s

Cr isis Fund Com m it tee Pat ty Furey

Hall of Fam e Com m it tee

Pat ty Furey

Mem bership Linda McShane

Northern California

Blues Fest iva l Willie Brown

Par liam entar ian

Cathy Dubets

Public Relat ions Willie Brown

W ebm aster Dave Baldwin