Hello everyone! It’s JP Jones here and I am filling in for Lua this week. As promised, I will be doing another local bio of a Lowcountry Blues Club Jammer. This week it’s . . . the undeniable Jojo Wall!!
Jojo was born November 3, 1975 and is from Cross, Sc. He is a vocalist, harmonica, bass, and rhythm guitar player. The undeniable hand of fate brought Mr. Walls to Charleston and he has been hard at work on his many instruments for seventeen years to date. Jojo is a self taught musician that comes from a big ole musical family with deep blues pockets to boot! If Jojo could play any other instrument it would be the viola. His favorite blues sub genre is the Mississippi Delta blues and his other favorite music genres include but not limited to Celtic, Classical, Heavy Metal, and of course meditation music for the deep thought of life, like “Would I rather take part in a Star Wars Trek, or a Star Trek War??!!” Favorite blues musician would have to be Robert Johnson and all time favorite band is defiantly Pink Floyd. Jojo rather enjoys playing “Superstition” at the Wednesday night jams, and never gets to play “Born under a Bad Sign” in which case, he would love to! Any takers, “Born under a Bad Sign” for Jojo Walls? I am sure somebody will make this happen for sure.
Back to business, when Jojo was asked what his most satisfying musical experience in life has been he responded with the following tale: “I opened for Little Milton and Denise LaSalle at the Gaillard Auditorium. I made the mistake of using another bass player’s amp which of course malfunctioned in front of 5,000 people! I braced my leg against the input jack and by the grace of God, it worked! We proceeded to burn that f@#$#n place down! (Figuratively, as of late Jojo has kept his closet Pyromania hush, hush!)”
Jojo’s worst musical experience is when the G. D. input jack malfunctioned!!
The bands Jojo have played in are as follows: Easy Street Blues Band, Mamma and the Misfitz, Momma and the Redemption Band, Tommy Thunderfoot and the Accelerators, Drink Small, Jojo and the Voodoo Junkies.
JR Getches is Jojo’s favorite blues club jammer, no offense to any other players, he is just saying . . .
When I asked Jojo why he decided to play music, he gave the following response: “I’m not good at sports… But seriously! It was a divine flash of lightning when I was 16. I accidently hit a good note and my family thanked God I had musical talent. Then they put me to work!”
Growing up, Jojo listened to Freddie King, Albert Collins, and Santana. Now a days, he is listening to Tool, BB King, Metallica, Sleep, Big Bill Broonzy, Sun House, Tommy Emanuel, and Jerry Reed among many others.
Closing advice Jojo has for other players and people interested in learning to play music is this: “Stay in tune, Develop a sense of time, listen to advice, and be humble!” Well spoken!
Charleston is Jojo’s favorite city, and “Lasher” is his favorite book. Favorite local eatery is Teppanak Grill and his favorite movie is “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”
That wraps up this week’s interview with the lovable Jojo Wall. What a great guy and if you enjoyed getting to know him, tell him so at the weekly jam! Let us know how we are doing with the Blog! Send your feedback to lowcountrybluesclub@gmail.com. Thank you Jojo for your time and your involvement in the Lowcountry Blues club! See you at the Wednesday night jam at Home Team BBQ West Ashley at the highway 61 split.
Something very special has been happening at the Wednesday night jams. More people are coming to listen and take part in the festivities and for the last several jams; it has been standing room only so come early to grab a seat! Also, more and more musicians are coming out of the woodwork to take a stab at a three song set, sometimes with perfect strangers! Please keep in mind, that many people have never played together and what you experience at the jams is a collaborative sandbox of different musical mindsets and skill levels jumping into the moment and working very hard to play something entertaining and memorable. Musicians (except drummers) bring your own instruments. And bring money to pay your dues if you haven't yet joined for 2010 -- $10 for individuals, $25 for a family or band, $100 corporate, under 21 is free! This is the perfect musical laboratory to perfect your sound and impromptu performance ability!
Also, join us on face book if you haven't already done so: Low country Blues Club nonprofit). Many of our jam musicians are on face book too, so be sure to become a friend or fan of your favorites, and go see them when they play elsewhere during the week or on the weekend. We're on twitter, too.
Featured artists in July (because their birthdays are in July) are Willie Dixon, Junior Kimbrough, and Buddy Guy. When you come to the jam, let our jam-master know if you want to play a song by one of the featured artists...
If you've enjoyed the amazing dancing at the Home Team Wednesday jams, you might want to consider taking dance lessons from Aaron "Rat" Barse -- you can contact him at mcratsmith@gmail.com or at 607-651-3329. Thanks for the great dancing, Rat!!
Saturday July 17 - 2pm - 6pm there will be an Open Jam for A Dough Re Mi's Grand Opening.....A Dough Re Mi is located at The Shoppes At Brickyard #100 - 2700 Hwy. 17N - Mt. Pleasant, SC 29466. 843.881.6989. If you don’t know, A Do Re Mi hosted the Lowcountry Blues jam for years before they moved to their new location, so this jam is special as it will be a reunion of sorts. Come on out and support the people who have never failed to support the Lowcountry Blues Club and all the great jammers!! This should be a lot of fun as we will be playing outside and there will be events for the kids and everyone!
JJ CAILLIER & THE ZYDECO KNOCKOUTS roar back into the state today to do the opening honors, 5:30-8 pm at the tent stage on Main Street.
And blues into the weekend: CHARLIE SAYLES & THE BLUES DISCIPLES, MATTIE PHIFER BAND, DADDY MACK BLUES BAND, VERONIKA JACKSON, WARNER WILLIAMS & JAY SUMMEROUR, SHRIMP CITY SLIM, SC FOLK HERITAGE DUO, WANDA JOHNSON, many more.
Full info & schedule: www.greenwoodbluescruise.com
See you this weekend in Greenwood!
CAMDEN UPDATE!! CAMDEN UPDATE!! CAMDEN UPDATE!!
*********************************************
14th annual
CAROLINA DOWNHOME BLUES FESTIVAL
Thursday-Saturday, October 7-9
Camden, SC
Another great production...all small venues in downtown.
www.bluesbash.com/camden (to be updated with 2010 info)
It is our distinct pleasure to announce some of the headliners...
SUGAR BLUE - the world-travelled genius, "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones -
the original blues harp pyrotechnician
www.sugar-blue.com
LIL ED & THE BLUES IMPERIALS
Slide guitar wildman, nephew of legendary SC bluesman JB HUTTO
www.liledandthebluesimperials.com
BRYAN LEE & THE BLUES POWER BAND
Great and gritty Bourbon Street bluesman & his hot band
www.myspace.com/bryanleeandthebluespowerband
RJ SPANGLER BLUE 4, featuring BILL HEID
Ridiculously hip & groovy swinging keyboard-led blues quartet
www.eastlawnrecords.com
and an avalanche of acoustic blues, rockin' blues, from all across the genre...final line-up t.b.a. very soon.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW!
More updates soon. FYI the DRINK SMALL BLUES FESTIVAL in Bishopville, SC will be held January 28, 2011 (Drink's birthday) NOT November 19 as originally announced.
And also on the radar: 21st annual LOWCOUNTRY BLUES BASH,
February 4-13, 2011, 20+ venues, 50+ acts, Charleston, SC
www.bluesbash.com
We're starting to look forward to the second annual Low country Blues Club Challenge, a battle of the bands that ends with the winning band and solo/duo act receiving our club's invitation to represent us in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge, in February. Dan Wright represented our club last year, with Landon Moore on bass and Quentin Ravenel on drums -- and Sarah Cole represented us in the Youth Category, with Quentin on drums, Wyatt Garey on guitar, and Chris Cool on bass. Those of us who went to Memphis had a blast -- I recommend that you start saving your pennies now, and plan to go to Memphis for the weekend, whether you're in the winning band or not -- it's a party with great blues bands from all over the world! The challenge begins in August, at Home Team BBQ. More details on the competition are at the end of this email, including some date changes, for those who are interested.
To get info in this weekly email/blog: please submit all the details to Lowcountrybluesclub@gmail.com by Monday of each week. Please put "Attention blog-writers" as the subject line. The blog is posted on either Tues, Weds, or Thursday, most weeks, depending on the blog-writer's schedule. If you'd like to be a blog-writer too, or just submit an article, let us know -- just email us at Lowcountrybluesclub@gmail.com.
Info on the Low country Blues Club Challenge:
The Low country Blues Club’s local competitions for the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis have been set! It’s time for bands and solo/duo acts to make their plans to compete. One band and one solo/duo act will represent the Low country Blues Club in Memphis at the world’s largest gathering of blues musicians from February 2nd through February 5th, 2011.
The preliminary band competitions will be held on Sunday, August 15; Sunday, August 29, and Sunday Sept 12 at the award-winning Fiery Ron’s Hometeam BBQ, 1205 Ashley River Rd, Charleston SC 29406. Depending on the number of entries received, we may have to alter the preliminary dates.
Each competition will follow the rules of the Blues Foundation. Each set will be limited to 45 minutes, and each competitor will be allowed one 15-minute set change. Any South Carolina act may enter, however at least one member should be a Low country Blues Club member. Membership can be established at IBC entry, using the membership form. There is a non refundable $25 application fee due at the time your application is submitted for bands. There is a $15 application fee for solo/duo acts. You can obtain an application by emailing: lowcountryblueschallenge@gmail.com or call (843)214-0555. The application fee will be used to fund this event. A $5 cover will be charged at each event to aid in expenses. Any excess funds will be used to defray expenses of the winning solo/duo act and band to participate in the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Entry deadline is July 16, 2010. Please mail applications with the entry fee to:
Tim Shaw
LBCC
PO Box 40902
Charleston SC 29423
The Low country Blues Club’s Blues Challenge finals will be held on Sunday, September26 at Fiery Ron’s Home team BBQ, 1205 Ashley River Rd, Charleston SC 29407. Winners of the band contest and the solo/duo act will receive the Low country Blues Club’s nomination to the 2011 International Blues Challenge to be held in Memphis TN. Excess funds from the events will be placed with the Low country Blues Club funds for assistance for the winners in their trip to Memphis. Each winner may be required to perform at two fundraisers in 2010 and one fundraiser in 2011 at no charge. All fundraiser proceeds will help with expenses for Memphis. The LBC will help winners in fundraising, but cannot guarantee that all or any expenses for Memphis will be covered.
Judges will evaluate each act using the Blues Foundation scoring criteria (www.blues.org/ibc/scoring.php) and rules (www.blues.org/ibc/rules.php). Application is an initial statement of interest and not a binding agreement between applicant and LBC.
Make your plans to enter now! Applications and entry fees must be received no later than July 16, 2010.
Have a great weekend and we’ll see you at the Low country Blues Club Jam every Wednesday at Home Team BBQ West Ashley!!!
Take it light,
JP Jones Jr.
No comments:
Post a Comment