rock the blues news
By Gary Draper
Greetings and welcome to the December edition of RockTheBlues News. November was an interesting month for us. We partnered with “88 Keys” in Pioneer Square for a monthly RockTheBlues concert series to be held one Sunday every month. I’m really excited about working with this venue. If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to check the place out, you really should. It is a great room for live music. There isn’t a bad seat in the house. You can see the stage from everywhere.
Our December show at “88 Keys” is on Sunday, December 4. It is an all-ages event and features Bluesman “Tony Coleman”. Tony is a very talented drummer, singer, songwriter. He plays and tours with B.B. King. You gotta be one of the best drummers out there if you’re gonna ride with the King. Also sitting in for a few songs is “Roger Fisher”, founding guitarist/songwriter for the legendary rock band HEART. Heart has recently been nominated for induction into the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”. I believe HEART should have been inducted a long time ago. Let’s hope it happens soon. “Soulstice” and “Landslide” (a Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac tribute) are also on the billing. For more info about this event, visit: “RockTheBlues.com”.
On Friday, November 11, I motored up north to “Hayley’s Bar & Grill” in Everett. I’m a big fan of funk music and “Endangered Species”, a Parliament/Funkedellic tribute band was performing. They dished up some of the funkiest jams I’ve heard in quite some time. They also threw down a couple of hard rockin’ tunes as well. I had a blast!
On Saturday, November 19, I went to “Sk8te Town” in Port Orchard for a benefit party and fundraiser featuring SOULSTICE and special guests, the SOUTH KITSAP HIGH SCHOOL MARCHING BAND. The marching band, directed by Gary Grams, has been chosen as one of only eight marching bands throughout the United States to perform in Hawaii’s “70th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Attack Commemoration” parade on December 7, 2011. Some of the proceeds from The Port Orchard Party, (an annual fundraiser hosted by “Fathoms ‘O Fun), were to help finance the marching band’s trip to Hawaii. The remainder of proceeds will go toward the “Fathoms ‘O Fun” parade float and help defray the organization’s operating expenses.
SOULSTICE is most known for their incredible tribute to STEVIE NICKS and FLEETWOOD MAC, so it was a special treat to see them perform “Tusk” and “Don’t Stop” with the Kitsap High School Band. As an added bonus to the evening, LEE OSKAR, founding member of the legendary band War, and current member of “Lowrider Band”, joined SOULSICE in a few songs with his harmonica skills, and performed WAR’s hit “Low Rider”.
It was a fun night for a good cause and I’m very happy I was there to enjoy it. There are some videos of the event to view at “www.RockTheBlues.com”.
Well, we at RockTheBlues.com plan on giving some much deserved recognition to some of the very talented northwest Rock and Blues artists. We will select one Rock CD and one Blues CD to be featured each month right here in “RockTheBlues News” starting in January 2011. CD’s must be from independent artists and not signed to a major recording company at the time of submission. Please note that this is not a competition, our only intention is to highlight what we feel are some of the great northwest rock and blues talent. Our selections will be based on quality of music, lyrics, production, and marketability.
If you would like your CD to be considered, please mail a hard copy of your COMPACT DISC (sorry, no emailed audio files will be accepted) to:
RockTheBlues.com, P.O. Box 47083, Seattle, WA 98146.
