28 Jun 2005

Passionate - or Pissed? - About Polka

By Administrator
If you ever engage Carl Finch in a discussion about the health or politics of polka, watch out. And do not make any polka jokes. The singer/guitarist/accordionist/keyboardist for the Texas-based band Brave Combo is passionate about his polka, and he can work himself up into such a froth that you might mistake his tone for anger.
28 Jun 2005

President's Welcome to the 2005 IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival

By Randy Stalsberg
Hello and welcome to the 21st Annual I.H. Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. As is apparent from the name, the biggest change for this year will be the addition of "I.H." to our festival name. This addition of course stands for the I.
28 Jun 2005

"Blues All My Life"

By Administrator
Part of the Ike Turner philosophy is that he'll play with just about anybody. For example, he appears on a few tracks on an album that was released last month. "They knew me, but I didn't know them," Turner said.
28 Jun 2005

No More Car Wash Blues

By Jeff Ignatius
On their debut album, Roughhousin', Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials performed a song called "Car Wash Blues," in which Lil' Ed Williams referred to the "mean old Jew" who was his boss. There was one problem: Ed still worked at the car wash, and he was petrified about what might happen to him when his boss heard it.
28 Jun 2005

A Louisiana Spirit Meets the Spirit of the '60s

By Mike Schulz
"It's such a wonderful gathering of bands," says Marcia Ball of the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, and she should know. Not only has Ball made three previous appearances at the event, but she's emerged as one of the most acclaimed figures in music, a mainstay of the professional blues circuit for nearly 25 years.
28 Jun 2005

Deanna Bogart Not Wasting a Minute

By Johanna Welzenbach-Hilliard
Deanna Bogart's first appearance at the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest five years ago was so successful that a local Davenport club whose name she can't remember - but based on the general location and description, we think it might have been Boozie's Bar & Grill - invited her to play a gig.
28 Jun 2005

Artist Inflects Music with Activism and Love

By Mike Schulz
When asked what message he hopes to convey with his music, the acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, and social activist Willie King has a simple yet profound answer: "Love. To love everybody and have respect for everybody.
28 Jun 2005

Fiery, Versatile Guitarist Returns to the Blues Fest

By Johanna Welzenbach-Hilliard
Beverly "Guitar" Watkins learned to play and sing the blues in a small town in Georgia. "Commerce" was its name. It was here at the age of eight (more than 50 years ago) that she received her first guitar as a Christmas present.
28 Jun 2005

Sunday, July 3, Bandshell

By No Author
The Soul Searchers - 2 p.m. The Des Moines Register calls them "the band that's obviously meant to play the blues." Since the early '90s, the Soul Searchers have done just that for fans across Iowa.
28 Jun 2005

The Original Blue Man

By Jeff Ignatius
Douglas Ewart works with his hands, and that's not just because he's a musician. The Chicago-based Ewart not only composes and plays but builds his own instruments, creates artwork for performances, and designs and makes the costumes for himself and his band.

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