B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins, and Koko Taylor are all legendary musicians - talented, hard-working geniuses, and invaluable ambassadors of the blues. But the mission statement of the Mississippi Valley Blues Society includes the line "keeping the blues alive," and that's a chore best left to folks who didn't qualify for AARP more than two decades ago.
For over 20 years, the MVBS has been bringing the legends to town for its annual blues festival. But it realizes that if we want to keep the music alive, there had better be another generation ready to step up when the current great ones leave the stage. That's why, for the past 12 years, the MVBS has participated in the Iowa Blues Challenge (IBC).
The IBC, organized by the Central Iowa Blues Society in Des Moines, encourages this next generation to stay the course. Entrants get a chance to hone their chops, get some exposure, go to the state finals in Des Moines, and perhaps even play with the cream of the crop at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
I've been into the blues long enough to see that its popularity tends to run in cycles, and recently I've considered a local live blues show to be successful if it can get as many people on the dance floor as there are on the stage. So when I entered RIBCO on Friday, April 29, for the local preliminary round of the IBC, I was pleasantly surprised to see the house packed with enthusiastic blues fans. (A quick note to club owners and venue managers: Yes, you'll only draw half the crowd with a blues band that you will with a Phish tribute band, but they'll drink twice as much. You're selling alcohol, not Ecstasy. Go with your power.)
The order of appearance was determined by drawing lots, and the first band up was The Mercury Brothers. On harp and vocals was Ric Burris, whose stage presence was polished and confident, as a frontman's should be. On guitar was Wade Braggs, whose guitar licks might be described as what Chicago blues would sound like if Chicago were located between Dallas and Ft. Worth. (And if you're familiar with some of the guitar slingers Texas has produced, you'll know that's a compliment.) Daniel Rangel on drums and Mark Avey on bass provided the skin-tight beat and bottom that nailed it all down.
Next up was the Ron La Puma Band, featuring Ron on the left-handed Strat, Steve "Bitz" Hintz on bass, and Rick Johnson on drums. The basic three-piece format requires that there be no slacking. Each musician must be dead-on for the whole set, and these guys were rock-solid.
The final band was Smokehouse, a group that was originally formed by the late, great Jack Seales to enter the 2004 Blues Challenge. With Grandpa Jack's untimely demise, the band now consists of Wren Edstrand and Josh Kain on guitar, Justin Kump on drums, and Chuck Hanson, a longtime veteran of the local music scene, on bass. Smokehouse played to its strengths, which included twin guitars and four-part vocals.
One thing that never changes at the IBC is that, a few minutes into the second band's set, I'm always patting myself on the back for not volunteering to be a judge. I mean, it's a blues show, not the Olympics. But the sad fact remains: The MVBS can book three local up-and-coming bands, advertise the hell out of it, and be pretty much guaranteed to lose its ass at the door. Promote the same playbill as a "competition," and we pack the place. Go figure.
To ensure that the Blues Challenge is more than just some kind of popularity contest, the MVBS exercises care in picking the judges. Those that accept this thankless job are instructed to score each band numerically, focusing on things such as blues content, originality, and presentation. At the end of the night, the scores are tallied and the winner is announced. I think they do a pretty good job, as evidenced by the fact that four out of the last five bands they've chosen to send to Des Moines have won the some-expense-paid trip to the Memphis for the International Blues Challenge. But the other guaranteed result is that somebody's happy, somebody's mildly torqued off, and somebody just showed up to have a good time, gain some exposure, and support the blues.
This year's winning spot went to The Mercury Brothers. They'll go up against the other Iowa preliminary winners at the IBC finals in the Hotel Fort Des Moines on May 20. They're also guaranteed a slot on the bandshell at this year's Mississippi Valley Blues Fest.
If you'd like to see these bands again, or see what you've been missing, two of them will be appearing in Moline on Friday, May 6. The Mercury Brothers will be recording a live CD at Hollar's, and Smokehouse will be playing at Bent River. The Ron La Puma Band's next gig is booked for June 24 and 25 at the Rusty Nail in Davenport.
J. "Muggles" Freebourne is the alias/nom de plume of Steve Pedigo. He assures the RCR that the pseudonym has nothing to do with outstanding warrants or credit collection agencies.
For over 20 years, the MVBS has been bringing the legends to town for its annual blues festival. But it realizes that if we want to keep the music alive, there had better be another generation ready to step up when the current great ones leave the stage. That's why, for the past 12 years, the MVBS has participated in the Iowa Blues Challenge (IBC).
The IBC, organized by the Central Iowa Blues Society in Des Moines, encourages this next generation to stay the course. Entrants get a chance to hone their chops, get some exposure, go to the state finals in Des Moines, and perhaps even play with the cream of the crop at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
I've been into the blues long enough to see that its popularity tends to run in cycles, and recently I've considered a local live blues show to be successful if it can get as many people on the dance floor as there are on the stage. So when I entered RIBCO on Friday, April 29, for the local preliminary round of the IBC, I was pleasantly surprised to see the house packed with enthusiastic blues fans. (A quick note to club owners and venue managers: Yes, you'll only draw half the crowd with a blues band that you will with a Phish tribute band, but they'll drink twice as much. You're selling alcohol, not Ecstasy. Go with your power.)
The order of appearance was determined by drawing lots, and the first band up was The Mercury Brothers. On harp and vocals was Ric Burris, whose stage presence was polished and confident, as a frontman's should be. On guitar was Wade Braggs, whose guitar licks might be described as what Chicago blues would sound like if Chicago were located between Dallas and Ft. Worth. (And if you're familiar with some of the guitar slingers Texas has produced, you'll know that's a compliment.) Daniel Rangel on drums and Mark Avey on bass provided the skin-tight beat and bottom that nailed it all down.
Next up was the Ron La Puma Band, featuring Ron on the left-handed Strat, Steve "Bitz" Hintz on bass, and Rick Johnson on drums. The basic three-piece format requires that there be no slacking. Each musician must be dead-on for the whole set, and these guys were rock-solid.
The final band was Smokehouse, a group that was originally formed by the late, great Jack Seales to enter the 2004 Blues Challenge. With Grandpa Jack's untimely demise, the band now consists of Wren Edstrand and Josh Kain on guitar, Justin Kump on drums, and Chuck Hanson, a longtime veteran of the local music scene, on bass. Smokehouse played to its strengths, which included twin guitars and four-part vocals.
One thing that never changes at the IBC is that, a few minutes into the second band's set, I'm always patting myself on the back for not volunteering to be a judge. I mean, it's a blues show, not the Olympics. But the sad fact remains: The MVBS can book three local up-and-coming bands, advertise the hell out of it, and be pretty much guaranteed to lose its ass at the door. Promote the same playbill as a "competition," and we pack the place. Go figure.
To ensure that the Blues Challenge is more than just some kind of popularity contest, the MVBS exercises care in picking the judges. Those that accept this thankless job are instructed to score each band numerically, focusing on things such as blues content, originality, and presentation. At the end of the night, the scores are tallied and the winner is announced. I think they do a pretty good job, as evidenced by the fact that four out of the last five bands they've chosen to send to Des Moines have won the some-expense-paid trip to the Memphis for the International Blues Challenge. But the other guaranteed result is that somebody's happy, somebody's mildly torqued off, and somebody just showed up to have a good time, gain some exposure, and support the blues.
This year's winning spot went to The Mercury Brothers. They'll go up against the other Iowa preliminary winners at the IBC finals in the Hotel Fort Des Moines on May 20. They're also guaranteed a slot on the bandshell at this year's Mississippi Valley Blues Fest.
If you'd like to see these bands again, or see what you've been missing, two of them will be appearing in Moline on Friday, May 6. The Mercury Brothers will be recording a live CD at Hollar's, and Smokehouse will be playing at Bent River. The Ron La Puma Band's next gig is booked for June 24 and 25 at the Rusty Nail in Davenport.
J. "Muggles" Freebourne is the alias/nom de plume of Steve Pedigo. He assures the RCR that the pseudonym has nothing to do with outstanding warrants or credit collection agencies.
