"We Are Here" at San Chez Bistro for Art Prize 2010

The 2010 Art Prize entry of Grand Rapids artist Pamela Troyer is now on display at San Chez Bistro located at 38 Fulton W. The Aboriginal-inspired "We Are Here" acrylic on canvas painting is featured prominently above the bar in the restaurant. Please vote UP for "We Are Here" # 41931. Her art work is available for purchase at Art Prize. Here is an article from the Grand Rapids Press in which Troyer is quoted about the art sale at Devos Place coinciding with this years event.

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at Billy's Lounge Sept 21

Big Sandy occupies a unique space as originator and survivor. The suave doo-wop crooner and debonair rockabilly front-man considers himself lucky to have lived through the swing music revival of fifteen years ago. He knows first-hand the excitement and frenzy of the hipster scene that reigned mighty from the mid-‘90s until the end of the decade. A pre-internet grassroots movement turned cultural happening if there ever was one. According to legend, it was Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys right alongside another instigator of the LA scene--the horn-fueled Royal Crown Revue.
“They were one of the bands that came up with us in the late 80s who started to make noise around town. I know there were quite a few other bands who, more or less, copied their style. Either that or they were heavily influenced by the Revue and wanted to get something going like that for themselves,” said Sandy.
“The Royal Crown Revue kind of created the scene here on the West Coast, in my opinion, as far as the swing thing goes. They started to attract a lot of dancers here in Southern California and up in San Francisco,” says Big Sandy (aka Robert Williams).
At first it was a tiny natural organic embryo of a small snowball.
“How it happened was kind of cool, an underground faction that built on itself. Other people took notice and it began to spread places,” says Sandy sometimes called Big Spanky in certain circles.
“We had our own thing going when swing started to boom. We got booked on shows with RCR, many times advertised as Swing Night. Suddenly the crowds doubled and tripled. Even though we didn’t quite fit into the mold of the time we were able to adapt a little bit to make it work.”
As the phenomenon began to take hold, Sandy found himself on the same bill with RCR at an LA club called the King King.
“The original place was one of the first clubs to actually pay us decent money. We started to bring people in and there were lines around the block. It felt like something was happening there.”
“At the same time up in San Francisco there was a group of guys who started to throw these warehouse parties. That began to attract all kinds of people. Regular kids started showing up in their 40s and 50s clothes. I think it was a big turning point,” notes Sandy.
“We’ve seen different little things come and go. Sometimes we’re able to fit in with them. We’ve tried to carve out something of our own so we’re not completely affected by trends along the way.”
According to Big Sandy today’s LA rockabilly scene remains vital. One of the more recent developments includes the participation of Latino youth.
“On the West coast there are tons of kids still coming into the scene and discovering it for the first time. A lot of them are good musicians who are starting to form bands now,” says Sandy.
“There is a record label out here called Wild Records who is starting to round them up. It reminds you that it’s living and breathing; still an ongoing thing.”
The version of the Fly-Rite Boys appearing at Billy’s on Sept 21 will be minus a seemingly integral part of the western swing sound: a pedal steel guitar.
“We’re back to just a four piece now. We’ve been playing without a steel guitar for about four years,” says Sandy.
Only the best can readily adjust.
“We had two-weeks off from a trip a while ago. Our pedal steel player was Canadian and he went home to Vancouver BC. While there he lost his passport. We had shows coming up and he couldn’t make it back in the states,” explains Sandy.
“We did some shows without him, kind of fumbled our way through that. Then he took his time getting his new passport and we had more and more shows without him.”
“Then it started to fall into place. I kind of liked the way it was feeling,” said Big of the stripped down tougher sound.
“It’s just another phase of the band. We’re kind of back to how we started--a little leaner" sayeth Sandy.
“I like it for now. We’ll see what happens next,” said Sandy with that famous grin.

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys wsg The Rhythm Dogs (GR) and featuring rockabilly DJ Del Villarreal (Ann Arbor) between sets. Doors:8:30 Show:9:00 (Big Sandy on first) $12 (at door) 21+

Deke Dickerson at Billy's Aug 17

Mottled are the rockabilly music fans at Deke Dickerson’s shows. In the house you’re bound to see tattooed swing dancers swirling alongside mascara-lined punk rockers standing next to assorted guitar nerds. No matter the lot, these are the demographics that seek out future guitar museum curator and rockabilly artist Dickerson.
“I’m sort of unique in the rockabilly scene that way. I tend to draw from all types of audience members. We get some of the psycho-billies, sure,” says Deke Dickerson.
“But we also see people from all walks of life: the college kids, the old people, and whatever else. We have a very diverse audience.”
“I’m always glad when I win them over and they become regular customers,” he adds.
Among his many talents Deke now writes feature articles for Vintage Guitar and the Fretboard Journal, plus a bi-monthly column for Guitar Player magazine. That’s not too out of step. Dickerson started college with an eye on a career in journalism.
“It’s kind of interesting, all these years later, that writing is what I wound up doing. I’ve been writing a lot lately and writing about things that I would have wanted to write about anyway if I had been a journalism major,” said Dickerson during nine-hour drive from Kansas City to Minneapolis.
“I’m not going to complain,” said Deke of the seemingly win-win situation he faces.
Roots music fans will have a win-win on their hands when Deke Dickerson and his four-piece Ecco-Fonics hit Grand Rapids on Aug 17. Deke’s current edition of the Ecco-Fonics band includes drummer Pete Curry of Los Straightjackets and Australian bassist Jon Flynn. Piano player Amy Hawkins of St Louis hooks up with the group just in time for their appearance at Billy’s Lounge.
“Amy is a great piano player. I saw her play when we were in St. Louis earlier this year and she sat in with my band. She plays with a jump blues band called Miss Jubilee and the Humdingers. I liked the way she played so I asked her to come on tour,” said Dickerson.
Here’s a bonus for those fans of surf music. Deke says with the inclusion of Curry they’re doing more from the surf catalog, songs they wouldn’t normally do. This bodes well for those folks already coming out to hear the belly-flop beach sting of GR’s The Concussions.
But Deke wouldn’t come all the way to town without a special surprise.
“Did you hear the news story about the guy who discovered he had diabetes after the dog ate his toe?” Deke asked me.
“I’m writing a song just for the evening in honor of Big Jerry called I Miss My Big Toe.”

Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics wsg The Concussions at Billy's Lounge Tues Aug 17 9:00pm 21+ $12

TMGR Exclusive: It's Official. Organissimo no more.

TMGR is reporting that the end has really arrived for jazz jam-band Organissimo. Keyboardist Jim Alfredson continues to tour with Janiva Magness, which was widely publicized. Lesser known is the revelation that guitarist Joe Gloss was recruited by the The Order of Christ/Sofia religious sect and has moved out of state. Drummer Randy Marsh has reformed his group from the mid-90s, Blue Train, now called Big Organ. You may remember the Blue Train trio of Marsh, guitarist/vocalist Ricky Hicks, and Hammond B-3 whiz Chris Moberly from their regular weekday night gig at the former Rhythm Kitchen Cafe in downtown Grand Rapids. Big Organ sounded tight, focused, and bluesy at a recent hit on the patio of the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Nick Curran & the Lowlifes "Reform School Girl"

Mavericky Nick Curran--that’s what they call him these days. Mavericky seems appropriate given his all-orginals song choice and vaporous recording method on Reform School Girl (Electro Groove Records). In a Wild Ones cap bad-ass sort of way Reform School Girl sounds crusty and a little dusty but that’s part of its roughhewn charm; if you call pinks socks roughhewn. At first you might think you put on a Little Richard album without cleaning the needle first given the Penniman inspired vocal whoops and vintage palm-sliding piano of Derek Bossanova. To be sure, Curran is rambunctious but not reckless, psycho but not scary. Reform School Girl helps Curran find his place in today’s roots music scene without going to cheese. Cheesey is different from flamboyant as you know. Flamboyant has everything to do with being on stage, breaking a leg and living it up. By doing that Curran makes us feel like we’re in ye days of old and the era of flamboyant types like Orvis Goodnight, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Guitar Slim—who had the stage antics down green hair plus. Curran takes us on a wild trip on his motorcycle with slicing rockabilly guitar in the side car and early rock on the transistor radio. He gives it the gas hard all the way through the tight corners and careens about you’d swear he just turned off the headlight in the dark. Not that he's reckless or disrespectful but he runs over expectation flattening convention along the way via a double- dose of punk attitude. Now we’re slithering along the underbelly of the seamy blues world of the Lowlifes where inhabits tough lovers, everybody’s lover (Lusty Li'l Lucy), Pinky Tuscadero-types, and old-school record parties. Curran has spent meaningful time with rockabilly’s Ronnie Dawson, the Fabulous Thunderbirds (Painted On), and his own punk band (Deguello). On Reform School Girl all these hit money at once and the result is cashtastic.

Nick Curran & the Lowlifes wsg the Rowley Wheeler Band appear at Billy's Lounge on July 22, 9pm. $10

Nick Curran's Myspace Page

Terrance Simien at the Jiggle Jam Festival, (Crown Center) Kansas City MO 5/30

Terrance Simien's enthusiasm for performing is evident all the time. But when he's in front of children during one of his specialty Creole for Kidz matinee shows, it's apparent he makes an extra special effort for the little ones. Zydeco music in Simein's experienced hands, it seems, allows anyone regardless of age to feel like a kid again. You can't help but be drawn in. This was the feeling when Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Express played the Jiggle Jam Festival in Kansas City on Memorial Day weekend. Encouraging kids to learn about another culture while having big fun is a win-win situation for all. With tales of his linage back to Africa and a word about his family's Creole roots in southwestern Louisiana Simien looked into the past while he continues to move the zydeco tradition forward. He accomplishes this by bringing an exuberant message of peace, love and zydeco to the young masses. Simien's hour-long set found him singing like Sam Cooke, playing his accordion like Clifton Chenier, and offering a brief musical history of New Orleans while extolling everyone to dance. With his gifts as an entertainer apparent, he is able to leave everybody smiling, dancing, and reaching for beads. A big part of this cross-cultural presentation is education; the telling of stories, origins, and histories. Simien willingingly shares with his young audience the story of Amede Ardoin, the first Creole/Cajun musician to record zydeco accordion, and about about how his people trace their roots back to Senegal Africa. It seems Simien was diversity long before it became a political term: his ancestors were French, Caribbean, African, and Native American. One of the highlights was long-time frottoir player Ralph Fontenot doing double duty by helping children--equipped with miniature rubboards around their little necks--on and off the stage after they'd had a chance to play along with the band. During the last portion of the show Simien performed a medley of hits from Crescent City artists like Dr. John, the Wild Tchoupitoulas (Mardi Gras Indians), and Fats Domino. Simien himself earned his keep on a muggy Sunday afternoon by relentlessly throwing multi-colored beads to all comers no matter size or age.

JJ Grey & MOFRO June 17 at Frederik Meijer Gardens

We caught up with soul singer/songwriter JJ Grey as he busied himself finalizing production for his new album due later this summer. He was in the middle of getting copies made of the original recordings and sending the disc to be pressed. Otherwise preparing to depart for Grand Rapids and a show with Buddy Guy at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens Amphitheater on June 17. This trip comes days after a short Canadian tour with George Thorogood. One of the first things to come up is the oil spill.

“We don’t have any shows coming up along the Gulf coast so that’s not an issue now,” Grey said of the worsening slick in the Gulf of Mexico.

“But it will affect me somehow that’s for sure. I don’t know how but it will,” Grey said.

One way Grey's livelihood might be affected is if no one wants to hit the Gulf Coast on vacation this year because they can’t go to the beaches. If bars and clubs are struggling keep the doors open they won’t need the extra entertainment expense. It seems the ongoing news of the spill’s magnitude hits Grey hard.

“I live by all kinds of lakes and streams. We’ve got fresh and salt water down here. I can get to the ocean and surf in about 35 minutes. I live in paradise,” Grey said ever the outdoorsman.

His song "Lochloosa" helps illustrate his place among nature in his home state:

Homesick but it's alright; Lochloosa is on my mind. She's on my mind.

I swear it's ten thousand degrees in the shade. Lord have mercy knows - how much I love it. Every mosquito, every rattlesnake; every cane break – everything. Every alligator, every black water swamp; every freshwater spring - everything

All we need is one more damn developer tearing her heart out. All we need is one more Mickey Mouse. Another golf course, another country club, another gated community. Lord I need her, Lord I need her, and she's slipping away…

JJ Grey the musician lives in Northern Florida about half-an-hour west of Jacksonville and another 25 minutes from the udder–like chunk of densely-wooded Georgia forest protruding into the panhandle. Also living near him with the mosquitos and rattlesnakes is a well-known grasshopper. Hear tell it’s a cool grasshopper; you know, as insects go. Kind of spunky, resilient, and familiar. But evidently there's been some talk among the townspeople. Leave it to Grey to worry that people might say he is comparing himself to the grasshopper somehow, of all things.

“This is not the case," he said of the gossip.

"I could only hope to be as cool as that grasshopper. The old timers down here call it the Georgia Warhorse. It’s got a folklore all its own.”

Founding players and writers wrote about things they saw everyday like trains. Other local sights and sounds inspired Southern writers were church bells ringing, steamboat horns bellowing, and shrill whistling. True to this storied writing form, Grey writes songs about elements of life in his neck of the woods.

“Things like the Georgia Warhorse are just part of my environment down here. I write about what I see,” Grey said.

But unlike the four-piece band that just toured with Thorogood, Grey plans on bringing a big Southern-style soul revue band to the Meijer Gardens complete with horn players and guitarist Daryl Hance. This way you'll get to experience the spirit of Stax records and songwriters like Tony Joe White. It’s not often he can get everyone together with so many schedules to deal with but it’s an opportunity he tries to enjoy every time.

“I encourage my players to go do their own things when they feel it necessary. We’re all adult men and try to deal with it as such. I appreciate these guys but I don’t want them to feel like they owe me anything,” Grey said.

His new CD on Chicago-based Alligator records, Georgia Warhorse, is due at stores and online August 24. A brand new song collaboration with Toots Hibbert (Toots & the Maytals), who contributed vocals, has Grey particularly excited.

"I had Toots up for the Blackwater Sol Revue. He will always be one of my heroes. I was excited to hear he'd participate in this project, so I sent him demos of me singing all the parts of the song. He sent it back and it sounded great in a way only Toots can," Grey beamed.

If you’re wondering if Georgia Warhorse will sound similar to its successful predecessor Orange Blossoms (Alligator), Grey offers this.

“I recorded it in the same studio as Blossoms with the same gear and some of the same musicians. All of my releases have featured different sets of players and this is no exception.”

Buddy Guy wsg JJ Grey & MOFRO at Meijer Gardens Thursday June 17 at 7 pm

(As of Tuesday 6pm only about 60 tickets remained)

Click here to hear more on JJ's MySpace page