February 6, 2012

Hey, sorry to leave you hanging! Where was I? Shucks -- I was just starting to catch a feel for this whole blogging thing when I was rather unexpectedly knocked off-stride by what is politely known as "food poisoning"...

Now, I've already chronicled the many manifestations of Southern cuisine which I and my fellow-travellers encountered at various Memphis eateries, so I'm sure that many folks reading this will be wondering -- what down-home, deep-fried monstrosity could have caused this condition?

Well, it's somewhat ironic, perhaps, but the offending dish was an innocuous-seeming bowl of oatmeal from a certain well-known family restaurant chain! To add to the irony, I went there with some newfound friends who are in a blues band in Champagne, France -- a place where they surely know a thing or two about fine food! Mind you, they had the good sense not to order anything to eat. I'm not exactly sure why they wanted to go that restaurant; I don't think they'd ever heard of that particular chain. They seemed to be under the impression that it was a bar!

And although there was no champagne on offer at the family restaurant, our French friends were in a celebratory mood -- they had made it into the semi-finals at the International Blues Challenge; also, they had two hours of recording time booked for that very evening at midnight, at legendary Sun Studios!

Anyhow, the oatmeal was my attempt to order something sensible; up until that point, my diet had been considerably more colourful -- and much, much more deep-fried...
In previous days, a Memphis friend had taken me to Dyer's for their specialty -- a deep-fried hamburger! After examining the menu for a while, I told my friend that I couldn't spot the deep-fried hamburger. She told me to order any burger -- they're all deep-fried! (In fact, the menu boasts that the burgers are deep-fried in grease that hasn't been changed since the restaurant opened in 1912! The grease has merely been topped up for the past century, and "strained daily".)

The slogan of the Blues City Cafe, home of "the best ribs in the world". No arguments here...

Also sampled on the trip was deep-fried Cornish game hen, which is on the menu at the Kooky Canuck, along with staples like poutine and a seven-and-a-half-pound burger known as the Kookamunga (which you can have for free, as long as you finish it within an hour -- the current champion's time is 7 minutes, 15 seconds).

Carrol Deen & Cam Hayden at the Canadian showcase at the Kooky Canuck

The Kooky Canuck, a Canadian-themed bar and restaurant, is widely known as the one place in town where Memphians can count on being able to catch televised hockey games -- as a matter of fact, several members of our band managed to take in Flames and Oilers broadcasts there! More importantly, though, it became THE rallying-point for Canadian blues folks during the IBC, as it played host to the "Great Canadian Polar Bear Blues Showcase" at midday on Thursday.

Each of the fourteen Canadian acts who were competing in the IBC played a wee little set at the event -- fourteen sets in less than three hours! The lively gathering saw a couple of hundred Canadians musicians & blues enthusiasts crowding together shoulder-to-shoulder as, freed momentarily from the competition itself, the acts took turns trouping up to the stage to play their two songs apiece, just for the sheer joy of it.

A giant flag signed by all of the Canadian acts at the IBC

The musicians were from all across the Great White North - from New Brunswick to British Columbia - and in many cases, they were meeting & hearing one another for the first time! It was a tremendously jolly scene. Of course, the fact that very, very strong Quebecois beer was on special that day may have added to the convivial atmosphere...

In any case, the event was an exuberant microcosm of what was an incredible cultural exchange, with the IBC taking over literally every establishment on Beale Street! Every few steps would bring you to yet another bar that had yet another eleven different acts competing each day... plus jams and showcases! And every branch of the blues family tree was represented, from the music's oldest roots to its most distant, newfangled branch.

The sequined Breezy Brian Gregg became a oft-recognized figure on
Beale Street during the IBC

It was quite an overwhelming experience -- and while it was impossible see all of the bands at all of the venues, a person could certainly catch a pretty decent cross-section at the late-night jams! Our band's bass player, Chris Brzezicki, wound up moonlighting as the house bass player at the main late-night jam at the New Daisy Theatre. Chris has worked extensively with past IBC winner Sean Carney, who was one of the hosts at that stage -- so Sean recruited Chris to join him each night, jamming with luminaries like Anson Funderburgh, Janiva Magness, and members of Roomful of Blues!

On top of catching all that live music, my cohorts and I wanted to check out a bunch of Memphis' tourist-type attractions... but between the competition & the showcases, time was growing tight! So we headed first to the Civil Rights Museum, an amazing spot that's built right into the Lorraine Hotel -- the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.The museum, which features exhibits that date back to the 1600s, was so absorbing that we spent many hours there, and barely felt that we had scratched the surface!

The wreath marks where Martin Luther King, Jr. stood when he was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel, now the Civil Rights Museum

With pretty well all of our time already spoken for, we had to take a rain check on many of Memphis' most legendary sites: the Stax Records Museum, the Gibson Guitar factory, the Rock and Soul Museum, and (gulp) even Graceland! I guess I'll have to find away to make a second pilgrimage to Memphis, eh?...

Oh, and the winners! Although everyone said that the competition at the IBC grows amazingly stiffer each year, there can only be one winner in each category, of course! And neither Jimmy & the Sleepers nor Breezy Brian Gregg (the two Alberta acts) were the lucky so-and-so's who took home the hardware. The victors in the band category were from the Seattle area, a group called the WIRED! Band; the solo/duo winner was CKUA favourite Ray Bonneville! A Juno Award winner who spent much of his career based in Montreal, Ray is a ramblin' man who now calls Austin, Texas home -- although he was at the IBC representing the Ozark Blues Society of Northwest Arkansas! Awesome. And speaking of CKUA faves from Montreal, the duo of Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers were also in the finals for the solo/duo category, representing the Montreal Blues Society -- and they certainly were fan favourites in Memphis! Winners of each category receive some money, some blues-related prizes... and a bunch of gigs at some of the world's greatest blues festivals! And bragging rights, naturally.

It must be said, though, that even if there's only winner per category, the whole experience is phenomenally rewarding! I guess you'd have to wonder -- why would 120 bands and 80 solo/duo acts flock to Memphis from around the world for the privilege of playing for free, knowing that only 1% of them are going to emerge victorious at the end of it all? Well, having experienced it, I think I know!...

Win, lose or draw, this is an inspirational, jaw-dropping event that somehow (despite its competitive trappings) fosters an incredible feeling of fellowship among musicians and music lovers, from around the globe and from all walks of life. And of course, it's a riotous, round-the-clock celebration of blues music! That's pretty tough to beat.

Whew! Well, I know what you're thinking -- he wrote all this, and he didn't even go to Graceland?! Well, I'll try harder next time. I promise! And I won't eat any oatmeal.

Chris Brzezicki's bass, dismantled once again & ready for the trip home

February 2, 2012

Wednesday was an incredible day, as the 28th annual International Blues Challenge kicked into high gear -- all of the more than 700 musicians from upwards of 200 acts all competed in the IBC, at 19 different venues up & down Beale Street.

Dave Van Slyke of Dixonville, Alberta -- hanging out on Beale Street!

Jimmy Guiboche & Chris Brzezicki of Jimmy & the Sleepers walking down
a foggy Beale Street

Breezy Brian Gregg played at a barbecue joint simply called "Pig on Beale" and Jimmy & the Sleepers were one of 11 bands that were slotted in to play at Beale Street's Hard Rock Cafe. Both acts survived to compete another day on Thursday, and both acts will also participate on Thursday afternoon in the "Great Canadian Polar Bear Blues Showcase" on Thursday afternoon, a non-competitive event which takes place at a club called the Kooky Canuck -- a dedicated, year-round, "Canadian-themed" bar!

Michigan band the Hoopties perform at the Hard Rock Cafe

One of the most remarkable parts of the IBC is outside of the competition itself -- the legendary late-night jams are a wonder to behold. Musicians from all over the world line up to play some music with one another -- the big jam at the New Daisy Theatre culminated in a finale that featured no fewer than 14 musicians onstage!

Kirby Sewell takes part in the late-night jam at Alfred's

And again, there's been plenty of hanging out with our fellow Albertans! We saw Calgary's Kirby Sewell sing some B.B. King at the late-night jam at Alfred's, and international blues celebrities Cam Hayden and Carol Deane are here as well, as they are every year, acting as judges for the IBC!

Rosalynn Ruptash & Lonnie Hanson of the Edmonton Blues Society

And of course, the food! Gumbo, catfish, ribs, old-fashioned coconut pie... I think we've sampled nearly every staple in the world of Southern cuisine... looking forward to crossing the last couple of items off the list, though!

February 1, 2012

The streets of the historic music district in downtown Memphis are teeming with people wandering around with guitar cases in hand - folks from Australia, Italy, South Africa, the Phillippines, Norway... and even Canada! They're all blues musicians (or simply blues fans) who are here to take part in the International Blues Challenge.

Breezy Brian Gregg performs at the International
Showcase at the New Daisy Theatre

Breezy Bryan Gregg, the Edmonton Blues Society's envoy in the solo/duo category, played at the IBC's International Showcase on Tuesday evening at the celebrated New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street. He played alongside artists from around the world, who spanned a range of styles from the heaviest rockin' blues to acoustic, tuba-propelled old-timey blues.

The New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street

Amid all of the meeting-up with blues musicians from around the world, we've also had the opportunity to hang out with plenty of Albertans! Dave Van Slyke - who's been part of Peace River's Underground Music Society for years - is here as a blues tourist, and Calgary singer Kirby Sewell is here, taking it all in. Also, a couple of the key people behind the Edmonton Blues Society, Rosalynn Ruptash and Lonnie Hanson, are here flying the flag - letting people know that it's the first time that any community in Canada's prairie provinces has been represented in the IBC. They're having a good ol' time!

The Sun Records building

We also had the opportunity to head to the legendary Sun Studio building, to bask in the rich history of that venerable spot. It's where Howlin' Wolf recorded "Moanin' at Midnight", Elvis Presley made "That's All Right", Johnny Cash cut "I Walk the Line", Junior Parker did "Mystery Train", Jerry Lee Lewis laid down "Great Balls of Fire", and on and on. What an incredible thrill! The place is tiny, but full of the ghosts of those magical performers and all-time classic recordings - and, given that it pretty well sat vacant from the 1950s until the '80s, when it was turned into a museum, the place is uncannily unchanged from back in the day. In fact, it's still a functioning studio. For about $150 an hour, you, too, can make your own recording at Sun Records.


Oh, and we ate lots of Memphis-style cuisine again -- spicy fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, fried pickles and (surprisingly un-fried) jalapeño peppers and baked beans. So we're all fuelled up & ready to play in the big contest on Wednesday!

January 31, 2012

With all of the exhilaration that it's possible to feel when beginning a journey at 4 AM, we set off for the Edmonton International Airport, bound for Memphis! Well, via a lengthy layover in Chicago, anyhow.

Fourteen hours later, we straggled out into the mild, humid Memphis evening, elated to have arrived with all of our personnel and equipment more or less intact -- except for the upright bass, which Chris Brzezicki, our bass player, dismantles & packs in two large pieces.

We soon found ourselves at our hotel right on Beale Street, in the heart of the historic Memphis music district. Chris quickly re-assembled his bass to set his mind at ease and we headed on out to indulge our appetite for some Southern cuisine, not having eaten all day.

Bass player Chris Brzezicki testing out his newly-reassembled
bass in the hotel room

After digging into some barbecue ribs, tamales & catfish, we sallied forth to catch some music at the many live music venues up & down Beale Stret -- including B.B. King's club! B.B. was originally know as the Beale Street Blues Boy, after all...

The bright lights of Beale Street

Tuesday, we'll be officially registering for our spot in the International Blues Challenge, and we'll be finding out which of the Memphis nightspots we'll be playing. Oh! And we'll be making a pilgrimage to see Sun Studios & Stax Records! Hooray!