Blues crews

Ah it is fun to grab the JB and tail it down to the Canberra Blues Society jam session on a Sunday arvo and have a nice simple blues blow with that loud and clear backline.  The host band this day was Wally & Eric Crew and they are long termers in the CBS and authentic in their renditions and voices so a great pleasure.  The first item I encountered the CBS was yonks back at a venue near the Manuka Oval, was it the first location of the Eastlakes Club?  Then Tuggers, Austrian Club, Spanish Club, perhaps more, and now the Harmonie German Club with a decent hall and wonderful gear.  I'm revisiting recently.  My blow band just came together literally minutes before we went on stage.  Vox, 2 x guit, bass, drums.  Just three tunes, loud, D blues, A blues, an original with instructions: E, don't play the third. Well I played maj and min thirds in chromatic runs and b7 of course and it was a blast.  Again, noisy.  Aaron on vox, I missed the other names but drums was an ex-Army Band Euphonium player.  Big smiles.  Then a string of bands with familiar faces, some of whom I'd played with.  Once again no pic of my jam band.  Just one excellent German beer (dunkel) on tap and I had to leave before the end, but I came away with a smile on my face.  It's not complex music but it does have its style and authenticity and can merge into rock and it is fun.

Wally & Eric Crew were the host band at the Canberra Blues Society jam session at Harmonie German Club.  W&EC comprise John Van Buuren (guitar, vocal), Steve Hartnett (harmonica, vocal), Brian O’Rourke (bass) and Jonathan Jones (drums).

Roots

My visits to the Blues Society jam session are rare these days but they are fun. Plenty of grey hair and historical rockers; memories of Hendrix and BB and Dr John; good gear and decent PA and adored guitars. Stevie Ray is a hero. It's somewhat like the Moon landing, I guess, like Apollo 11, this very day 50 years back. It's aged, but aged well because there's some truth in it. One band played Beatles While my guitar gently weeps then Billy Thorpe Most people I know think that I'm crazy then Hendrix Red House. I must admit I loved that (and sang along with Thorpie), but it's not quite the real thing. The real thing was 12 bars, in C or B (!) and shuffles and sleezy, funky swampy blues. They were the tunes my collection played and it was genuinely fun. Of course, the one band I played in doesn't have a pic, but that's how it is. The others do. There were several other bands, not least the host band, The Drivers (once the Backbeat Drivers), with Mike and Steve and Dean and Doc playing a storm. Some great vocals and thrilling guitar. There are some nice musos through the jams, too. People who've been through a string of bands and still playing this after 30/40 years. I got to play with a mate, Leo Joseph, this time on guitar, and Dan, Dan, Josh and Chris. Known only as names on a board. They do it well and with integrity. And it's a nice, relaxed venue, Harmonie German club, and there are a few dancers (mostly girls, of various ages). Get along. $5 entry and a club bar in the room. And a string of mates, getting down and dirty. Not the intellectualism of jazz or the beauty of classical but down to earth and real and goes well with a beer. The Canberra Jazz Society meets the last Sunday of each month (not Jan?) for a jam session at the Harmonie German Club.

The Canberra Blues Society holds a jam session last Sunday of each month (not January) at the Harmonie German Club. The Drivers were Steve Hartnett (vocals, guitar, harp), Michael Hardy (guitar), Dean Edgecombe (bass) and Doc Rennie (drums).

Returning to Roots

I follow jazz and even fine music these days, but I still have a soft spot for blues-rock so a visit to the Pro Blues & Roots jam today was lots of fun. The Cherrypickers were hosting and what a great little band they are. No surprise there: they are made up of some of the cream of the local blues-rock scene and the songs were wide ranging and entertaining, the feels were solid and capable, Monica’s voice was in full flight - loud and powerful and often growling - and John’s guitar solos were busy and chordally full and often screaming. Just as this music should be. They had the dancers up, the feet tapping and a few heads nodding, and they were having as good a time as we were. John’s bass sounded great, too: hard and unyielding with playing that’s tight, rock-powerful and distilled. They didn’t strictly play the blues, although JVB sang on the classic, You don’t love me. The rest of the repertoire included Michael Jackson’s I want you back (this was commented on!), as well as Aerosmith(!)’s Walk this way, JoJo Zep’s The shape I’m in and Martha and the Muffin’s Echo beach. Not really the blues: more entertaining than impassioned.

The room was the same. This is not a young crowd – I don’t feel out of place – but all are welcome. The blues does have some young followers but I’m sure many of these people lived through the years of rock guitar. Cream’s Sunshine of your life was played and my guess is that the performer heard it when it released. But it’s a friendly, easy-going scene, beery but certainly more restrained than I expect these guys (mostly guys) remember from their youth. There were several other make-up bands, people having a jam, maybe friends who’ve played together here or elsewhere before. One was more a country blues style, playing JJ Cale and the like. One was led by the richly bearded ex-Canadian singer-guitarist Danny Mack aka the Cement City Cowboy. Chris Harland led another band with his hot blues guitar. I got to play a few tunes with JVB and Jon from the Cherrypickers and a few others.

It was an entertaining and sociable outing that I plan to revisit. The blues scene around Canberra revolves around the Canberra Blues Society with frequent events and Bucky’s monthly Pro Blues & Roots Jam sessions. There’s plenty of opportunity to hear the blues and it’s great fun. The Cherrypickers are Monica Moore (vocals) and the Jon/Johnnies: John Van Buuren (also known as JVB; guitar), John Coates (bass) and Jon Jones (drums). The Pro Blues & Roots Jam is held monthly at Holy Grail, Kingston and the MC is the garrulous and entertaining bassist Dave (Bucky) Buckmaster. Other players included Chris Harland, Peter Barta, Steve Hartnett, Mitch Preston and Danny Mack.

Danny Mack