This isn’t strictly speaking an Asian Blues event but I traveled from Taiwan to participate in the music and share the stage with lots of truly wonderful Blues players including Japanese Blues Guitar Guru, Shun Kikuta. So, in that way, Asia Blues went to the States.
On April 25th, the event, the Night of the Blues was held at the Capital City Bar & Grill in Springfield, Illinois, USA. The event was the kick off of the Rutledge Youth Foundation's Annual Harley Raffle to raise funds for their assistance to battered and abused youths.
It was also the premiere performance of Tombstone Bullet, Central Illinois’ newest kick-ass Blues band formed and lead by my brother, Big Michael E, who also was the organizer of this memorable event. http://www.tombstonebullet.net/bullet.html
The evening's performances featured the brilliant Japanese recording artist, Shun Kikuta, guitarist for Koko Taylor's Blues Machine playing with Tombstone Bullet. http://www.shunkikuta.com/ I got the chance to join the band and blow some harp on ‘Messing with the Kid’, the Junior Wells tune. (A little side note: Junior had taught Shun the song when they played together in Chicago and Shun, in turn, taught the tune to my band, BoPoMoFo. It feels very good to be passed the torch in that way.)
Italian guitarist, Luca Giordano, director of the Blues festival, Abruzzo nel Blues in central Italy, tore it up with his old friend and Blues Guitar Summit chum, Big Michael E, leader of Tombstone Bullet. Luca splits his time between his hometown and Chicago, where he learns the Blues from the masters and sits in with his idols. Luca and Shun shared the ride from Chi-town to play the Night of the Blues. I’d be surprised if Shun wasn’t invited to play in Abruzzo. http://www.abruzzonelblues.com/HomePage.html http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=151582675
Also featured was American Idol contestant, Elizabeth Eckart, in her first ever performance as a Blues singer. She took to the Blues like a duck to water and has decided that Tombstone Bullet will be her back-up band as she expands her Blues repertoire. Another convert to the Gospel of the Blues. Halleluiah!
Lending a sense of some Central Illinois musical history were the presence of and performances by former members of the Tonguesnatcher Revue and Hurricane Ruth, playing as ‘Brother Ray & the Blades’. (Brother Ray is the name Big Michael and I used to record our sides at Sun Studio in Memphis in 2006. http://blues-n-blades.us/ )
John Sluzalis, Ruth LaMaster, Dick Garretson, Bill Janssen, DC Rapier, Rich Denhart, Christy Bley, Pat Greenan and Jim ‘Tooter’ Troxell all took the stage together for the first time in 30 some years. (Oy-vey!) Many of the players came from as far away as Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado and Chicago to join in the music and the fun. I got the prize for being the one who came from farthest away.
All in all, it was an incredible night of Blues but don't take my word for it. You can read a little blurb about it at IllinoisBlues.com! http://www.illinoisblues.com
