Blues Musicians - Want Your Gigs Listed On This Calendar?

Dallas/Ft Worth/N Texas Blues Musicians - Want to see your weekly gigs listed on this calendar and have them read live on the air on KNON's BIG TEXAS BLUES program?

Email (no texts, messages to this blog or Facebook posts accepted) your gigs for the upcoming week NO LATER THAN Sunday Evening to: bluelisablues@aol.com

Please include the following:
Your name * Band Name (if Applicable) * If it is full band gig, solo or duo * Name of Venue * City Venue is located in * Time your show starts and ends

Remember - this is a BLUES calendar posted on a BLUES blog and read on a BLUES radio show, so please only include BLUES gigs. Also, only include shows within the Dallas/Ft Worth/N Texas area.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

DENNY FREEMAN ARTICLE

Check out this article about Denny Freeman that will be in the new Bob Dylan Encyclopedia!

http://spacemonkeylab.com/dylandaily/blog/archives/00000196.php

Thanks to Chuck Nevitt of Dallas Blues Society Records for making me aware of this. (And for putting out my favorite Denny Freeman CD, "A Tone For My Sins").

Friday, September 15, 2006

FINALLY, A LOU ANN BARTON WEB SITE!!

Over the years, I have checked periodically, but today www.LouAnnBarton.com actually came up when I searched for it!

Lou Ann is the reason I got into the blues. See her whenever and everytime you get the chance to. This woman is the real deal.

The first show I ever saw of hers, one show, one night, changed my whole life. Without her influence on me, I wouldn't be a Blue Lisa, and there would be no BIG TEXAS BLUES radio program.

If I was ever stranded on a deserted island, and allowed to bring only one CD, it would be Lou Ann's "Read My Lips" on the Antones label. If you don't own it, I strongly suggest you run (don't walk) to the nearest record store and buy a copy. Now. RIGHT NOW.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

ANN RICHARDS PASSES

It was with great sadness I learned today of the passing last night of Ann Richards, former governor of the great state of Texas.

I was always a Ann Richards fan for a number of reasons. One, of course, was that she was a strong woman leader, encouraging other women and minorities to get involved with politics on a local, state and national level. Quoting her obituary in the New York Times today:

A champion of civil rights for minorities, gays and women, Ms. Richards first ran for governor calling for a “New Texas” that would offer more opportunity and power to those groups.

As governor, among other achievements, she fulfilled her campaign promise to bring more blacks, Hispanics and women into public office. She appointed the first black regent to the University of Texas and installed the first blacks and women on the state's legendary police force, the Texas Rangers. She also pushed for harsher penalties for polluters and gained control of the state’s insurance board in a drive to reduce the industry’s influence over state government.

Ms. Richards oversaw an expansion of the state’s prison system, increasing the space for prisoners by a third, and cracked down on the number of prisoners being paroled. She also instituted a major substance abuse program for prisoners. And she championed the creation of the Texas lottery as a source of public school financing. She bought the first scratch-off ticket herself on May 29, 1992.

She also was a tireless supporter of the arts in Texas, promoting Texas culture and the arts every where she went. Have to love that. I've always thought a world without the arts is a gray and bleak place indeed. That is one of the reasons I've gotten up early every Thursday morning for nearly seven years now to go down to KNON as an unpaid volunteer and bring you BIG TEXAS BLUES. Everyone needs to believe in something. I believe in the Blues. And I believed in Ann Richards.

I worked on Ann's campaign for re-election because I believed so strongly in what she stood for, the things that she had accomplished as Governor, and all the things she still wanted to get done.

One of the things I did was man the phones in the evenings, calling people who had voted for Ann in 1990. I considered myself fairly politically savvy, but was not prepared for what happened. Which was this. I would call people, thank them for voting for Governor Richards in the first election, and say "We hope we can count on your support in this election." Time after time I heard this a version of this "I like Ann. I think she's been a good governor. I think she's been good for Texas. But I'm a Republican, and I'm going to vote Bush."

The first time I heard it, I was literally speechless. They voted for her, liked her and thought she was doing a good job, AND YET WERE GOING TO VOTE FOR SOMEONE ELSE. I heard it so often, I quickly became numb to it, but by the end I was just disgusted. That kind of blind following scares the hell out of me. I hope it scares the hell out of all of you too. I just don't understand the logic of voting for someone, them getting into office and doing the things you wanted them to do, and then voting for someone else. I don't get it because there is no logic to it. Whatever.

No politician is perfect, and none are without fault, but to me Ann Richards embodied the Great State of Texas and was a superb representative of ALL it's people. With her quick wit, tall white Texas hairdo, and strong opinions, she was as much a Texas icon as Big Tex and the Lone Star Flag itself. Ann Richards was as Texan as they come. God bless her for it

ADVANCE WARNING OF SURE TO BE AWESOME UPCOMING SHOW!

Mark your calendar folks for Sunday, October 1 from 6 pm to 10 pm.

The line up is Pat Boyack on guitar, Red Young on organ and Brian "H-Bomb" Ferguson on drums, plus special guests. Rumor is at least some of those special guests will be selected Dallas Blues Diva's.

The place: KC's in South Dallas. There is no more real a juke joint in Dallas than KC's! The patron's of KC's know how to party and have a good time, and they really know good music. KC's is located at 3317 Malcome X Blvd, 214-421-3051.

This awesome line-up + this fabulous place = one night of music to remember.

I'm telling you folks, this will be one of those shows people will talk about for years. Don't just hear about it later, be there and be part of it!

ALREADY, A NEW WEDNESDAY NIGHT HASH BROWN JAM!

This man moves at the speed of light! Shortly after I received the e-mail from Hash about the end of the Hole jam, I got this message from him:

Subject: HASH BROWN MOVES WEDNESDAY NIGHT JAM!Hey everybody, I just wanted to let everyone know that althoughtonite is the last night of the wednesday night jam atthe Hole in the Wall, Next week is the first week ofthe NEW HASH BROWN WEDNESDAY NIGHT JAM! WHERE : MARDI GRAS CAFE 2720 N. STEMMONS FREEWAY(ONTHE ACCESS ROAD NORTH OF THE MOTOR STREET EXIT, RIGHTHAND SIDE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE MIDDLE WHITE TOWER-LOOK FOR THE AWNING!) PH-214.404.8425 WHEN: WEDNESDAY NIGHTS, 9-1, STARTING SEPTEMBER 20TH! PLUS: CLEAN REST ROOMS, GREAT FOOD, FUN AND CLEANENVIROMENT TO JAM IN! HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE OUT THERE! THANKS, HB

They don't call him the "Jam-meister of the Known Universe" for nothing!

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

END OF HASH BROWN'S HOLE IN THE WALL JAM

I just received this e-mail from Hash Brown:

Sad news indeed!
I just got off the phone with Tom Ford, the owner over at the Hole in the wall. He informed me that this wednesday would be the last Hash Brown Hole in the Wall jam. Because of rising costs and declining revenues, he is unable to pay us the monies we make on wednesdays(the same pay without a raise for over 10 of the 12 years we have been there). He is contemplating closing during the week on nights, but i assume he will get someone to work for a percentage, which we will not do. I invite everyone to come out and help give the jam a good viking/new orleans funeral. I also wish Tom and the crew at the Hole the best in future endeavors. It has been an unforgetable 12 1/2 years!
yours,
Hash Brown

And so there we have it folks. This year has seen the demise of both Hash's Bone Jam and The Hole In The Wall Jam, the longest running jams in Dallas.

Not a good sign of the times.

I say it every week on my show when I give the live music calendar, but I'm going to say it again here. Get out and support live music, because if you don't, it will go away.