This week's featured artist was Dan Wright

Dan Wright graciously stepped up to the stage to lead our Jams earlier this year, bringing new energy and structure to the event, not to mention musical talent and charisma, Detroit-style. He's not just a Jam Master, though, Wright plays in three different bands right now. Two out of three will be playing at the Dough soon: this Friday, March 27th, The Energy Company, will play; it is made up of Wright and two other Tuesday stars--bassist Dave Jones and drummer Greg "the Motor" Levkus. On May 1, Tinfunk will play.

Wright describes the Energy Company as "a fun project that came out of Tuesdays at the Dough. I try to play as much as I can because there’s always something to learn." And Tinfunk? "Tin Funk is a funk jam band; I play guitar. Tim Hodson, the vocalist and lead guitarist, is a really good musician. The band, especially Tim and I, are on the same page musically. It’s really incredible when you realize that the other guys are hearing and feeling the same thing that you are. Learning how to be part of a jam, turn it into something that people can identify with, get into is a lot harder than it seems. It’s a great feeling to get into a jam, just let it go, and know that the guys will be right there when it comes back."

Did anyone influence you to start playing music? "I can’t say one artist got me really excited about playing music. It's always been my thing since l started playing at 6, and I haven’t really wanted to do anything else. My cousin played drums and, to me, that was the greatest thing ever. My parents bought me a blue sparkle drum set. I played drums in junior high and high school. My dad took me to tons of shows: Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Average White Band, B.B King, Robert Cray, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers, James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Scott Holt, everybody. When I was 16, he took me to play in bars. I played in several bands and I started doing blues gigs at 17. My first one was at the Elbow Room Lounge (Ypsilanti) with Shed Davis. He was certifiably crazy, telling me my horoscope within the first five minutes of our conversation. There was a brawl later that night, the cops showed up, a lady kept trying to buy me drinks. I switched to guitar about a year later, I started going to blues jams like the Tap Room (Ypsi), found some guys to play with. These gigs weren’t glamorous, but I learned a lot about life and met a lot of interesting people."

Did you have a favorite musician back home? "Laith al Saadi was an unofficial (and often reluctant) mentor to me when I was younger, a lot the way that I play guitar comes from him. Laith has the level of (continued on page 2) (continued from page 1) musicianship that I’ll never have. He’s also a fantastic singer/songwriter, and probably the best guitar player that I’ve ever seen. Earlier this decade, Laith played every Thursday night at Goodnight Gracie’s in Ann Arbor. Al Hill--another Ann Arbor phenom--was a world-class piano player and singer, he was the keyboard player. That band was just unreal! I remember thinking how lucky I was to see these guys for free every Thursday night. "

Do you write? "I do write songs, but you’ll never hear them. I’m hypercritical and impatient, it isn’t a good formula for writing songs. I’ve found that I’m a lot more comfortable just being a guitar player. Even from the beginning I’ve always played in bands that improvise most of the shows, so writing parts and stuff is kind of difficult for me. No real plans to record anything soon."

What inspired your move to Charleston? "I discovered Charleston on tour with Detroit's Gordon Bennett band, I was a sideman. The tour was designed to generate interest in the Southeast and prove to the management companies (and potential record companies) that we could live in a van and not kill each other (we almost did).We’d finished recording two songs with producer Chuck Alkazian at a Novi, Michigan studio. We’d played in Ohio, Atlanta, and two nights in Wilmington, NC. I met a girl there from Charleston I was immediately crazy about. We got back to Michigan and learned our manager (at Denver, CO Clear Channel) didn’t like the demo and wasn't going to promote it. The band fired him, and planned a tour from LA to New York. I faced a choice to join them, or finish college. I graduated from Eastern, packed my stuff and came here."

How is Detroit different from Charleston? "There are venues dedicated to music up there: Baker’s (on 8 mile) is an old school jazz club, Firefly (Ann Arbor) is a blues club, the Magic Stick (Detroit) is a rock club. In Charleston, the scene is really heavy on duos, trios and cover bands because it’s a tourist destination. Seems like in Detroit, people will go to a venue specifically to hear original music."

Who would you really like to play with? "Marc Broussard. I’d love a chance to play with him. That’s pretty much my dream band. Put in a good word for me."

Wright's other project, Soul Captive, will be recording a live CD at the IOP's Windjammer on April 16th. The band wants to fill the place up for a good audience vibe. The first 15 in the door will get a free copy of the CD when it is pressed.

kwehle March 2009

weekend plans

Greetings to all Lowcountry Blues Club people!

This weekend there are a couple of shows you should check out if you can. On Friday night, Feb 27, Skye Paige will be at Hometeam BBQ in West Ashley, and the cover is listed as only $5 -- I'm sure it will be well worth it, and lots of fun! And on Saturday you can see JoJo in Momma's Blues Palace Band at Budiroes on the Isle of Palms at 1517 Palm Blvd, and the cover is $10 -- and they always put on a wild show! And rumor has it that Tommy Thunderfoot will be there, celebrating his upcoming birthday too.

Then you can rest up for a couple of days, and be ready to come out and play at the Tuesday Night jam at A Dough Re Mi. Last week's jam with Dan Wright as host was really great, and this coming week is sure to be wonderful as well. If you're a musician, be sure to look at the new guidelines for playing in the jam -- we'll have copies at the Dough, as we try to bring a little bit of order to the jam. The most important guideline is that we want each musician to wait until your name is called before coming up to the stage. This should help with some of the volume level issues -- if we keep a reasonable number of people on the stage at one time, then we can keep a better handle on the volume as well. We should also keep in mind that we're there to have fun and play the blues, and we need to keep a spirit of cooperation and camaraderie foremost in mind.

So, here's to lots of great music in the coming weekend, and many great Tuesday nights to come!
And thanks for being a part of it!

more blues

Hi all --

Well, the Blues Bash began on Friday, so I hope you've seen some good music over the past few days. Coming up is the Tuesday Night Blues Jam at A Dough Re Mi/Blues Bash Special. For this Tuesday night jam, the Lowcountry Blues Club members get in free, as usual. But non-members will have to pay a small cover, just this week, of five dollars. The music is always worth way more than $5 -- I can assure you! So come on out to the jam, and you're sure to have a great time. And don't forget to study your Blues Bash schedule at bluesbash.com, make your picks, and see great music every day until the festival is over on Monday, Feb 16th.

Blues Bash starts on Friday!

Hi All --

I hope everyone has checked out bluesbash.com by now and has a copy of the entire Blues Bash schedule! The choices are mind-boggling -- so many great shows! Gary Erwin does an amazing job of organizing this every year. Many of our blues club members and friends will be at Sunday's All-Star Blues Jam at Home Team BBQ, so try not to miss that one. And A Dough Re Mi has shows almost every single night -- so those are great picks as well. As if the scheduled blues bash shows weren't enough, you should also know that Tommy Thunderfoot is playing at Budiroes on Isle of Palms on Friday and Saturday nights as a fundraiser for charity - I believe it's the March of Dimes -- so try to get over there too if you can.

We will be having the Tuesday night jam as usual at A Dough Re Mi, and expect to have some special guests in addition to our wonderful regulars. There might be a cover charge for this one special Tuesday night -- I don't know for sure. Some of the bash shows around town are free, some have cover charges -- but I know we all want to support live music -- and we're going to be having lots of fun over the next ten days! See you out there. . .

weekend plans

Hi All --

Here's info on some weekend music that involves some Lowcountry Blues Club members and friends, and unfortunately these are all on Saturday night. So it may be hard to see all three shows, but hopefully you can make it to one or two. Skye Paige and the Original Recipe start earliest, at 6 pm, at Gage Hall on Archdale Street downtown at the Unitarian Church with a fundraiser for a new organ there, so there's a cover charge. Tim Shaw and his buddies play at A Dough Re Mi, I'm not sure if there's a cover charge. And Cole Train opens for a band called Category 6 at the Windjammer, starting 10-ish, with a cover charge. There are surely more great music options if none of these suit you (these are just the ones that I've been told about) -- so check your local listings. And don't forget to mark your calendars for the Tuesday night jam!

greetings

Hi All -- Just a quick reminder that it's time again to head for A Dough Re Mi for the marvelous Tuesday night blues jam. And thanks to Dan Wright for hosting and playing and singing, thanks to Greg Levkus for his drumming, and Dave Jones for his bass playing -- our wonderful core group of musicians who start the show now each week. And thanks to all the other great musicians who have shown up and added to the fun. We hope to see many of you this Tuesday night if possible, or next Tuesday if you're otherwise occupied this time.

And very soon it will be Blues Bash time, with an amazing line-up of shows from Feb 6-16th, organized by the amazing Gary Erwin. Go to bluesbash.com for the full story, and don't forget to include some shows at A Dough Re Mi during the bash, and hang out with your blues club friends.

2009 Memphis Road Trip And Battle Of The Bands Update

Just to let everyone know, we've received great response from the idea of 2009 Memphis road trip. The two dates mentioned are in early February, to attend the International Blues Challenge, and in early May, to attend the Beale Street Music Festival.

Both dates look to be great dates for a Memphis Road trip based upon the talent that will be playing. The one catch with the February date is that it conflicts with the start of the Lowcountry Blues Bash held here in Charleston every year. However, if we field competitors to the IBC, then the part of the Blues Bash will have to be sacrificed to support our musician members.

Having been to Memphis and Beale Street earlier this year, I know it would be a great time for our members on either date. But there is one catch, after 11PM Beale Street closes to minors and is only available for adults. I don't know if that will be the case during the International Blues Challenge since they are having a Youth Showcase, and I don't know what the policy is if the minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian. Ironically, the Beale Street Music Festival doesn't actually appear to be on Beale Street, so the issue with minors may not be an issue at all.


Also, I want to draw attention to a few of our musician friends who competed in the Trident United Way Battle Of The Bands. Thanks go to TWS & Friends, and Skye Paige & The Original Recipe for competing and supporting a great cause.


That's all for now.

2009 Memphis Road Trip

Just wanted to see if anyone in the club is interested in a road trip to Memphis in 2009.

One possible set of dates is Feburary 4-7 when the International Blues Challenge is held in Memphis. The Lowcountry Blues Club hopes to field contestants for the International Blues Challenge at that time. Also, there is a Youth Showcase for younger musicians at that time that may be of interest to some of our young musicians.

If anyone is interested in going as a group to Memphis, please email the lowcountrybluesclub@gmail.com with your name, number of people interested in going, and the dates that you are interested in.