In This Issue... April Blues Bash: Son Jack, Jr. KBA Photographer Suzanne Swanson Dawn Tyler Watson (IBC First Place Band) (Photo by Daniel Sheehan) (Photo by Paul Brown) (Photo by Paul Brown) Letter from the President 2 Remembering James Cotton 6 Membership Opportunities 14 Letter from the Editor 3 April Blues Bash Preview 11 B Sharp Coffee House 15 Officers and Directors 4 Memphis Memo 12 Extended CD Review 16 On the Cover 4 New Venue: Cask & Trotter 14 Hawkeye Herman in Spokane! 17 Letter from Washington Blues Society President Tony Frederickson Kevin Sutton & the Blue Monday Band opening American Indian Chief and several bidders really Hi Blues Fans, the show and getting the crowd in a fevered pitch went to work on this item and provided as much that never let up the whole evening. We had many excitement as the music we had already heard. The This past month the Washington Blues Society, special guests throughout the show and the Blue silent auction closed and almost every item had Lee Oskar Harmonicas, and Anacortes Brewery Monday Band invited Jimmy Fadden to sit in multiple bids and displayed the generosity of those (H2O & Rockfish) sponsored the first of what we with them which raised the bar even higher. After in attendance. Our last special guest of the evening hope will be an annual fundraising event for the a brief break for a set change and live auction, was Mark Dufresne who led the Lee Oskar band Washington Blues Society’s Musician Relief Fund Bobby Holland & the Breadline took the stage with a few songs in memory of James Cotton, who at the Historic Everett Theater. and kept the energy building and had fun sharing recently passed away, along with a few of his own stories about Jim. Towards the end of their set they originals that put the house into still another level As we have grown as an organization, the invited Dave Mathis up and pushed the excitement of frenzy. awareness of our programs has also grown and up even higher. With the second set change and the need in our music community for help and live auction action it quickly became apparent that You wouldn’t think it could get any better, but then support from the Musician’s Relief Fund has this was going to be a very successful evening. Lee Oskar came back up and invited all the harp increased because of this. We need the support of players in the audience up on stage and closed music fans so we can keep up with the increase The live auction featured a guitar signed by Walter out the evening with a rousing rendition of “Low in requests for help and keep our “Blues” music Trout and included a ton of autographed swag. It Rider” that closed out the show! No one wanted community healthy and vibrant! If this first show started slowly then took off and generated a hefty to leave! is any indication of the love and generosity of sum and set the stage for the rest of the live auction Pacific Northwest music fans we are going to be items. Lee Oskar and Friends took the stage next I was totally overwhelmed with the love and very successful in this important facet of our Blues and played many classics from early in Lee’s support or community showed this night and Society. career and some of his new arrangements also! The what we are capable of doing when given the audience just could not sit still and many popped opportunity! Thank you all so much! This first show was in support of Jim McLaughlin up to dance. After their rousing set we had the and we called it “For the Love of Jimmy”! It was an third set change and live auction which included a Tony Frederickson, President incredible day with well over four hundred music second autographed guitar that had been auctioned Washington Blues Society fans and friends of Jim in attendance. The amount off at an earlier fundraiser for Jim and was donated Member, Board of Directors, The Blues Foundation of love and funds generated to help Jim with his to this event to be auctioned again. We had three recent and upcoming medical expenses showed different bidders that really drove up the bids and the generosity of “Blues” fans in our little corner a handsome sum was generated. The last item that of the world. The entertainment was fantastic with was auctioned off was a craved lawn statue of an 2 Stanislove at the IBC in Memphis April Blues Bash: Teri Wilson Joseph Barton at Cask & Trotter! (Photo by Paul Brown) (Photo by Phil Tauran) (Photo by Stephen Jones) Blues CD Reviews 18 Membership Form 24 Flat 5 Blues Cartoon 27 Blues Festival Preview 19 Updated Blues Jam Listings 25 More IBC Coverage 28 Blues Calendar 20 Updated Open Mic Listings 25 IBC Instructions 30 Blues Venue Guide 22 Blues Talent Guide 26 IBC Application Form 31 Eric Steiner’s Letter from the Editor Dear Bluesletter Readers, Each of my fellow volunteer Board members of resolution 300 dpi images formatted as CMYK the Washington Blues Society has been working photos; for black and white, please submit photos I’m pleased to introduce several articles that make hard to promote blues music at events across the in grayscale at the 300 dpi resolution. up one of the most informative Bluesletters I’ve Evergreen State. edited in a long time. Regrettably, I cannot use over 90% of the images I This issue includes an expanded calendar of receive every month because they are not formatted First of all, during the production of this month’s new listings from Spokane-area venues and I’ve for print publication. While the image may look issue, we lost a true giant of the blues. I am pleased included a full-page announcement from Hawkeye great online, please double-check that the image that Phil Chesnut’s photos of his long-time friend, Herman on his Blues in the Schools work in the is formatted correctly and at the right resolution. James Cotton, are on this month’s cover. Inland Empire this month. This issue also features information on a new live blues music venue in my Until next month, go see some live blues! I’ve reprinted Alligator Records’ obituary and ran new hometown, Lynnwood plus a review of one of a full-page photo of “Mr. Superharp” next to it. the newer music venues in Tacoma from first-time Eric Steiner, Editor For me, that image from Phil Chesnut captures Mr. Bluesletter contributor Phil Bradford. His unique Washington Blues Society Bluesletter Cotton. I am also pleased that Kim Field’s fond take on the B Sharp Coffee House is a must-read! Member, Board of Directors, The Blues Foundation remembrance of Mr. Cotton is in this issue as well.. (2010-2013) This issue also includes an updated blues jam Jane Henderson returns to these pages with an and open mic listing thanks to Rick J. Bowen’s extended CD review of the Rhythmatics’ latest CD detective work. In future months, I will update our and Gary Grape sent in a preview of the 2017 Gray blues talent guide - one of the most popular pages Sky Blues Music Festival in Tacoma. in this magazine - as I regularly receive updates for it. I hope to recruit a volunteer to help keep One of the many standout articles in this issue the talent guide more up-to-date: If any reader has is a “Memphis Memo” from 2017 International an interest in maintaining our print talent guide, Blues Challenge participant Polly O’Keary. I please email me today at [email protected]. am also pleased to include some excellent blues photography from frequent contributor Paul Finally, I’ll close my Letter from the Editor with Brown. I’m convinced he cloned himself in a reminder of the formats that our printer requires Memphis: everywhere I went during my short visit for all images in this print publication. at this year’s International Blues Challenge, I saw Paul capturing the action on Beale Street and he Please help me help all contributors build a better seemed like he was in three places at once. Bluesletter by submitting color images only in high 3 Washington Blues Society May 2017 Bluesletter Deadlines Proud Recipient of a 2009 Keeping the Blues Alive Award Ad Reservations: April 5th - [email protected] Officers Calendar: April 10th - [email protected] President Tony Frederickson [email protected] Editorial: April 5th - [email protected] Vice President Rick Bowen [email protected] Camera-Ready Ads: April 12th - [email protected] Secretary Carolyn Palmer-Burch [email protected] Treasurer (Acting) Chad Creamer [email protected] Editor Eric Steiner [email protected] Please Note All camera ready art and photos need to be in CMYK format (for color) Directors or grayscale (for black and white) at 300 dpi or higher and sent only as Music Director Amy Sassenberg [email protected] attachments (and not embedded in emails). Text: Plain .txt or Microsoft Membership Michelle Burge [email protected] Word (only as an attachment) Education Open [email protected] Volunteers Rhea Rolfe [email protected] B/W COLOR HT X WIDTH Merchandise Tony Frederickson [email protected] Full Page: $300 $375 (11” x 8.5”) Advertising Open [email protected] Half Page: $175 $220 (5.5” x 8.5”) IT Sherie Roberts-Greimes [email protected] Back Half Page: $260 $325 (5.5” x 8.5”) Quarter Page: $100 $125 (5.5” x 4.25”) Thank You to the Washington Blues Society 2017 Street Team Fifth Page: $75 $95 (3.5” x 4.25”) Downtown Seattle Tim & Michelle Burge [email protected] Business Card: $30 $38 (2” x 3.5”) West Seattle Jeff Weibe (206) 932-0546 North Sound Malcolm Kennedy [email protected] Northern Washington Lloyd Peterson [email protected] Bluesletter Advertising Discounts Penninsula Dan Wilson [email protected] 20% off - 12 month pre-payment Pt Townsend & PtAngeles Alvin Owen [email protected] 15% off - 6 month pre-payment Central Washington Stephen J.