Show Me Blues 2010

Okay, going to an event over my birthday weekend is probably the best idea I've ever had. My wonderful husband allowed me to leave him and baby behind and take my girlfriend, Amolly, leaving me free of responsibility all weekend.
We arrived in St. Louis on Thursday night and started thinking about what we wanted to do during the day on Friday. Not realizing that Graceland was a drivable distance, we almost planned to rent a car and drive to Graceland during the day Friday. Then we realized that it wasn't THAT close. Next year, if we don't make it to Bluesalicious, we'll fly into Memphis first just for the Elvis touring.
So what we did instead was tour the arch and downtown on Friday before the evening dance.
The entire weekend of dancing ROCKED. Being in a completely separate scene from my own, I met a ton of new people, had some amazing new dances, and admired the different culture of the central US, including the square-brick architecture.
The City Museum is, by itself, worth the trip out to St. Louis. A giant adult (and kid-friendly) playground where grown people can climb through tunnels and go down huge slides. Incredible!

Saturday night there was a DJ battle from midnight-3AM. It was crazy fun! I love DJ battles, even though they suck what little energy I have left out of me! The first round I ROCKED it, and moved on to the second round. During the second round, I was a bit drained, and could have done better. I learned something about DJ battles: Yes, it's important to transition from whatever the other DJ is playing, but it's more important to play something that's going to blow everyone's skirts up. And so I know for next time to not let the other DJ throw me off so much!
Here is what I played for the DJ battle: some of my personal favorites
A Woman Knows by Janiva Magness
I Don't Know by Ruth Brown
Just Won't Burn by Susan Tedeschi
I Got the Blues by Brother Yusef
My Daddy Rocks Me by Blue Harlem (thanks, Karissa :)
Baby what you Want me to do by Etta James
Got My Mojo Workin' by Asylum Street Spankers
Brown Eyed Blues by Ben Harper (a poor choice, but it worked)
Will the Circle Be Unbroken by Mavis Staples (a great song poorly placed)

I learned a lot, I won my place in next year's Show Me Blues, and I made some great memories.

Fortunately for me, I got even more time to play my blues for the crowd. The DJ schedule had a few holes in the DJ schedule that I got to fill in for! My 2 sets:
Love Me Like a Man by Bonnie Raitt
You're Sweet by Jimmy Rogers
Wrong Kind of Love by The Insomniacs
Little Red Rooster by Big Mama Thornton
Honest I Do by Jimmy Reed
Walkin' After Midnight by Madeleine Peyroux
You're Imagination by Sonny Boy Williamson
I Lost Everything by Charles Brown
Red Hot Kisses by Fiona Boyes
Down by Chris Thomas King
Can You Hear Me Now by Robin Rogers
Crying and Trying by Erica Brown Band
Rock Me Baby by B.B. King and Eric Clapton
StatesBoro Blues by Taj Mahal
Rollin' Stone by Muddy Waters
Two Trains Running by Zora Young
Going' Down Country by Doug MacLeod
I'll Take You There by The Staple Singers
Cool Disposition by Sonny Boy Williamson
Death Cam a Knockin' (Travelin' Shoes) by Ruthie Foster
I Just Want To Make Love To You by Muddy Waters
Since I Fell For You by Seth Walker
Evil Ways by Otis Spann
Killing Yourself On Purpose by Scrapomatic
Roll With Me by Deborah Coleman
I'm a King Bee by Corky Siegel
If You Wear That Velvet Dress by Bono (requested song :)
Relax by Elvis Presley
Basin Street Blues by Dr. John
Homesick Blues by Charles Brown
Possum Hand by Watermelon Slim
Blues For Mama by Nina Simone

Ironically enough, the song that caught my attention the most was played by Tyler Robbins, the DJ I battled against during my second round. The song is called "Knockin'" By Luminescent Orchestrii.

To the DJs at the event, you're music is inspiring. To one of the best hosts I've ever had, THANK YOU, Jenni, you were great! To old friends I hadn't seen in a while, I'm SO happy you were there! To all my new friends, I'll be seeing you next year. You all made the weekend what it was, phenomenally awesome.
To all my friends who missed it, I hope you don't make that same mistake twice ;)

DJ Competition

I get to participate in a DJ competition in St. Louis!!! WOOT! I'm so nervous! :)

Mile High Blues 2010: Denver

Maybe it was all of the people, and a scene I didn't know. Maybe it was the competitions. Maybe it was the specific workshops I took. Maybe it was being able to DJ next to national head-liner DJs. Or a combination of all of the above. Whatever the reason, I found this weekend to be particularly inspiring, not just for my dancing, but also for my DJing.

I only took 2 classes, but they made a big difference:

Damon and Heidi brilliantly brought dancing back to the basics, at an advanced level. I took the class as a lead, and, big surprise, it improved my follow.

Mike Legett and Reuel Reis gave everyone a 5 minute spotlight where they danced and got criticized. As many private lessons as I've taken, I have to say that Mike's feedback on my dancing was the most inspiring 5 minutes of my blues-dancing career.



Dispite the confusion of the workshops due to lack of organizational communication, the weekend was put together well. Great bands, great teachers, great DJs, and great venues. I especially loved the late-night band with Sean Morse, joined with the evening's hot harmonica player. The coolest thing to me was that there was the harmonica class during the Sunday workshops! There needs to be one of these at every event!

Once again, DJ Lil' Red, Whitton Frank caught my attention. My favorite song from the weekend was when she played "Tank!" by Yoko Kanno, from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack.



My set lists for the weekend:


Friday evening band breaks:
Ernestine Anderson - Please Send Me Someone To Love
Susan Tedeschi - Friar's Point
B.B. King - Blind Love
James Cotton Blues Band - The Blues Keep Falling
Jimmy Read - When Girls Do It
Eddie Vinson - Ashes On My Pillow
Kirk Fletcher - Blues for Boo Boo
Charles Brown - I Lost Everything
Nathan James & Ben Hernandez - Don't Forget It
Susan Tedeschi - Wait For Me
Janiva Magness - Ain't Lost Nothin'
Dizzy Gillespie - summertime
Taj Mahal - Going up to the Country
Fiona Boyes - Canned Heat
James Cotton Blues Band - Off the Wall
Howlin' Wolf - Spoonful
Brother Yusef - Love & the Blues
Ray Charles - Every Saturday Night

Friday late night at the art studio:
Nina Simone - Buck
Nick Curran - Oh Baby
Scrapomatic - Louisana Anna
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - Stranger Here
Etta James - If I Can't Have You
Susan Tedeschi - Magnificent Sanctuary Band
Ellen Whyte - Falling
Muddy Waters - I Just Want to Make Love To You
Nora Michaels - Black Coffee
The 8th Day - She's Not Just Another Woman
Nickel Creek - I Should've Known Better
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - It's Alright
Jimmy "T-99" Nelson - Hurt Three Ways
Gordon Webster - Mo'Better Blues
Mavis Staples - Will the Circle Be Unbroken

DJ Tip #1: Know Your Shit

As a blues DJ, you WILL get asked "what makes a song a blues song?" You will have people tell you if you are or aren't playing blues. You will have people request "could you please play more blues." As a blues DJ, you sure as hell better know what blues is. If you're unsure, or need a refresher, here are a few suggestions on how to learn more about blues:

• Understand blues history. Go back to the roots of the music. Spend time reading books from the library about blues history, or biographies of some of the first blues musicians. You can find out who some of the first blues musicians are by looking up blues history. Seriously, just google "blues history." It's more entertaining than you might think. Videos like this are the fun part.
  
• Listen to as many different blues artists as possible. Again, you will get this information by reading about blues. Once you have a good list of artists from your reading, go to a used CD store, or the library, and get blues music to listen to. This is also a good time to make it out to as many blues venues as possible (including live blues, if it's available), and listen to as many different DJs as you can.
  
• Know what is not blues, but is commonly played at blues dances: jazz, trip-hop, gospel, soul, R&B, sometimes electronica, hip-hop, and classic rock. Know the differences when you hear them. You may not be able to describe the difference of genres in words, but you should know them when you them.
  

I'll talk about these things in more detail later, but I wanted to give you advice on how you can get started, without my biased report on what I think is the coolest thing to read about (like the cross roads, traveling blues wagons, and slave songs). Good luck, and have fun!

Burn Blue for Haiti

Burn Blue has one my heart for more than one reason. Last night's fund raiser for Haiti just made me overflow with love for the organization and all those who run it. There was an amazing turn out with $3200 raised for Waid, Hans, and their families.
My contribution to the raffle was a one-hour set list, which I burned to a CD for someone to win with their raffle ticket. I'm listing it here for those who were hoping to win it. I'm including an album name with the songs so that you know where you can find these songs.

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy - The Anthology album
Howlin' Wolf - Built for Comfort - His Best: Chess 50th Anniversary Collection album
John Lee Hooker - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - The Best of John Lee Hooker: 1965 to 1974 album
Sonny Boy williamson - Bring it on Home - His Best
Charles Brown - I Lost Everything - Driftin' blues: Best of Charles Brown album
Elmore James - Dust My Broom - The Sky is Crying album
B.B. King - Rock Me Baby - Original Greatest Hits album
Buddy Guy - In the Wee Hours w/Junior Wells - Can't Quite the Blues album
Ernestine Anderson - Please Send Me Someone to Love (Live) - The Concord Jazz Heritage Series - Ernestine album
Keb' Mo' - Am I Wrong? - Blues Gold compilation album
Nathan James & Ben Hernandez - Black Rattler - The Carl Sonny Leyland Trio Metts Nathan James and Ben Hernandez album
Katie Webster - Pussycat Moan - Two-Fisted Mama album
Ruth Brown - I Can't Seel It (I'll keep Sitting on it) - Essential Women in Blues album
Taj Mahal - Blue Light Boogie - Blues With a Feeling album
Jimi Hendrix - Red House - Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix album
Ray Charles - Night Time is the Right Time - The Very Best of Ray Charles album
James Taylor - Steamroller (Live) - James Taylor Greatest Hits album

2 good websites for finding these albums:
www.emusic.com
www.cdbaby.com

San Diego Fusion Exchange 2010

What a versatile, and well-organized event! These guys thought of everything! They arranged a hotel with cheap rates that's within walking distance of the event, with a shuttle for late night venue. They organized a Disneyland day. There wass breakfast and lunch provided. There was a shuttle to a part of the city that's densely populated with fantastic restaurants. And there was all kinds of different dance styles all fused into one: Tango, Blues, West Coast, African dance, Trip-hop, Hip-hop; with classes that can be applied to almost all of those dances: momentum, flying falling, being smooth, rethinking dance, lead/follow, musicality. It was all there! Because so much was available, many of the classes were directed at the more beginner/intermediate dancers. My highlight was the exercise class which came in the form of AFRICAN DANCE!

Here is my set list from the slow blues room of Saturday night:
B. B. King - Did You Ever Love a Woman
Jeff Beck - Drown in My Own Tears
Ray Charles - Every Saturday Night
Shawn Pittman - Reap What You Sow
Otis Spann - Dust My Broom
Johnny Charles - Memphis Blues
Percy Mayfield - Lost Love
Lonnie Mack - Stop
John Lee Hooker - Early One Morning
Robin Rogers - Can you Hear Me Now
B. B. King and Eric Clapton - Rock Me Baby
Chris Thomas King - Wicked
Nina Simone - In The Dark
Teddy Humphries - What Makes You So Tough?
The Black Keys - Lies
Junior Wells - Come on in the House
Muddy Waters - (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
Todd Rhodes - Blues for the Red Boy
Watermelon Slim - Bad Sinner
Koko Taylor - I Cried Like a Baby
Janiva Magness - Do I Move You
Shuggie Otis - Gospel Groove
James Cotton Blues Band - Jelly, Jelly
Etta James - Hawg For Ya
Buddy Guy - This Is The End (w Otis Rush & Willie Dixon)

Set list from Sunday evening:
Etta James - Don't Let My Baby Ride
Keb' Mo' - I can't be Satisfied
Muddy Waters - I Just Want to Make Love to You
Corky Siegel - I'm a King Bee
Chris Thomas King - Red Mud
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride and Joy
Brother Yusef - I got the Blues
Fruteland Jackson - Blues 2.0
The Fabulous Thunderbirds - C-Boy's Blues
ZZ Top - Just got Back From Baby's
The Robins - Smokey Joe's Cafe
Maria Muldaur - New Orleans Hop Scop Blues
Luther Alison - Little Red Rooster
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel

My favorite new song that I heard from the weekend was played by LA's Whitton Frank. It was already one of my favorite songs due to its historical story, but I had never heard this version before and I fell in love with it! The song is called "Motherless Child," sung by Bar Scott. Thanks Whitton, that was beautiful.

For those interested in what we did with Evelyn, I wrote a completely separate blog about it since I learned so much about what traveling will be like with her.

Traveling with a baby

Psychologists might agree that genetic instinct for parenting proceeds the need for comfort. Otherwise, we, as a species, would probably choose not to procreate. From the beginning of pregnancy, I have not felt the entire effect of that statement. I have not felt like I've sacrificed anything I didn't want to sacrifice. Until now.
We brought her with us because I am still nursing her, and I can't leave her for longs periods of time, like entire weekends. However, in choosing to do this, we sacrificed more than I was willing to admit. We could not stay at the party house, and no one wanted to split a hotel room with us. Luckily, the hotel was within walking distance to the venue, and the event provided a shuttle for the downtown late night venue. We chose not to rent a car, thinking we could probably get rides or walk. We walked every time. Getting a ride for 3 was impossible because we couldn't be split up. In retrospect, the rental car might have been worth the price. Lesson learned.
The biggest sacrifice, sleep. Big surprise, right? It's more, though, when we all stay up till 5 dancing, and Evelyn wakes up at 7, ready to take on the world. I can handle that for 1 day, but not for 3. I would have liked to dance more than I did, but my constant sleep deprivation had me stumbling all over myself like a drunk by the end of the night.

The upside, we were at most of the workshops. We traded off. I would just watch with Eva on my lap while Michael participated, and then we would switch for the next class. We got to dance with her, and enjoy seeing her reactions to the music and dancing. We got to feel really close to each other, like we are really equally sharing this responsibility. We spent less time partying with others and more time talking, walking, and loving on our nuclear family unit; and we didn't get sick of each other by the end of the weekend!

All in all, I learned quite a lot this weekend. Mostly, I learned what to expect for next time. I'm crazy about my girl, but if it can be helped, I will travel without her in the future.If we do bring her, we must plan to spend the money on a hotel and rental car, and miss out on most of the late night dances.