March 2010

RAMBLINGS
Hello everyone. March has finally arrived and not a moment too soon this year. What a winter eh? Northern Europe and the UK have been hit hard but, even down here in the South of France it has been a long, cold and damp few months.
But, what keeps me going is knowing that we have a full summer of great blues events ahead of us. Eric Bibb will be on tour in the south, Nico Wayne Toussaint is also on a grand tour playing in Bayonne, Bordeaux, Toulouse and even Quillan this summer. The Cahors Blues Festival is jammed packed with good stuff from Joe Louis Walker, Connie Lush, Malted Milk, Popa Chubby and more. I don't have a line up for the Cognac Blues Passions but it will be good - always is. And I'm waiting to hear where Shri Blues will be playing this summer. In addition to all that, there will be loads going on in the bars and town squares. All we need now is the sun!

Although I love going to the various South of France Blues Festivals there is nothing like finding that great little band playing good solid blues in a crowded French bar or in the corner of a village square. One example of this springs to mind when I saw Beth Kohnen (harmonica) and Stan Adler (guitar) blues jamming at a Sunday market in Esperaza (11). Beth plays with a wonderful Chicago blues style and Stan, being a Chicago boy, jammed along with her. Brilliant stuff that just happened without any planning or rehearsing. I just hope they do it all over again.

Another great little haunt is a small bar in Alaigne (11), Les Gallois, where, on the first Thursday of each month they hold an open mic session. John Lansley (guitar) will be getting together with friends to belt out some blues favourites and all are welcome to just listen or to join in.

In the press Roger Daltrey is planning to sing blues with Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton, who will be touring with the brilliant Steve Winwood, says that Daltrey will be opening his US tour. All well and good, and I'm sure they will be fabulous shows but it does seem to be all about big events and big money. Perhaps I'm just jealous!

WHATS GOING ON?

March
04 Open Mic Session at Les Gallois, Alaigne (11)

12 PURA FE’ at La Valette du Var (83)

17 NICO WAYNE TOUSSAINT at Luna Negra, Bayonne (64)

18 NICO WAYNE TOUSSAINT at Luna Negra, Bayonne (64)

19 NICO WAYNE TOUSSAINT at Spring Blues Festival, Peymeinade (06)

26 NICO WAYNE TOUSSAINT at Comptor du Jazz, Bordeaux (33)

27 NICO WAYNE TOUSSAINT at Salle Nougara, Toulouse (31)

27 GAS at Lax’n Blues, Lax (12)

28 ERIC BIBB at Théâtre, Pau (64)

30 ERIC BIBB at Théâtre du Rocher, La Garde

April
01 ERIC BIBB at Salle Grappelli, Nice (06)

BLUES NOTE

Born in Mississippi in 1913 this guy grew up with Delta music and the great names in Delta music. He worked with Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk, BB King, and Earl Hooker, and is no stranger to the famous Sun Records recording studio in Memphis, MS.

He began playing blues around 1927 and is widely regarded as one of the best blues pianists. After 83 years of performing, and at the age of 97, he is still touring (albeit not outside of the States) and I’ve found 17 venues he is playing between 5 March and 14 August this year. Just amazing!

His name is Mr Pinetop Perkins (Joe Willie Perkins). A real blues legend in his own lifetime.

In the 1940’s he was one of the King Biscuit Time gang and 20 years later he replaced Otis Spann to play piano in the Muddy Waters band.

After touring with the Legendry Blues Band, a band he helped form (recording two pieces of vinyl for Rounder), he decided to retire – but not for long. In his eighties he came back as a solo artist and went on to produce fifteen recordings which include the release of After Hours on Blind Pig Records in 1988 and the album Legends featuring guitarist Hubert Sumlin in 1998.

In 2005 he was a Grammy nominee for Ladies Man on MC Records and at the same awards was presented with a Lifetime Acheivement award. Having won the Blues Music Award for best blues piano every year until 2003 this prestigious award now bears his name – the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the year.

This friendly and gentle man is a gift to us all – enjoy.

THE COLLECTION

If you Google “Mean Red Spiders” you will probably be taken to a rather Flower Power style Canadian rock band. Go there if you want but I wouldn’t recommend it!

No, thankfully, I want to take you to the Mean Red Spiders of the 90’s, a blues band formed by Toni Vines.

About 6 years back a good friend recommended to me the Spiders second album Dark Hours and on the second playing I was totally smitten with this great CD. Turn the volume up and prepare to be blasted into a pre-smoking ban shadowy bar with it’s smells of whisky and beer, and bodies.

Opening with Love In A Bottle you will start to notice an alchohol induced theme to the following 16 tracks. For me, Love In A Bottle is too short. I just want it to go on and on. Opening with a ‘good old boy’ singing along to a steel guitar you are slowly enebriated by his southern drawl and then “Twink” Connelly creeps in to take over the song with a gutsy beautiful ending. Always in the top 10 of my most played tracks.

Live And Let Live, Just Can’t Stop and Happy On My Own have some great foot tapping blues harp playing by Mark Sharpe, and the mood is lifted with some fun Sax (Chris Pyne) in Arms Open Wide. “Twink” and Chris join in again to an upbeat Feel so Bad – a great driving track. Back to that slid guitar for the final track Call Me Long Distance a simple fun number that fades out in perfect readiness to return to Love In A Bottle on the repeat.

Toni Vines has bitter sweet memories of his time with this band. For me I’m indebted to Mean Red Spiders and Billy and Andy Gray (Gray Brothers Records) for music that will lift anyone out of their Dark Hours.

More on Toni Vines in future posts of South Of France Blues.

ARTIST OF THE MONTH

Copyright of Eye Imagery

It was whilst I was trawling through the line up at the various blues festivals in France this summer that I came across Connie Lush. She is touring several French towns in May (details to follow) and will be at the Cahors and Bordeaux (Cognac) Blues Festival in July.

Use this link to go to her website and click on the “Live in Switzerland” video clip. Close your eyes and tell me if you can’t hear the sister of Tina Turner and Gladys Knight. Open your eyes and you will see, and hear, Connie singing with a sensitivity that will make your spine tingle.

I made contact with Connie and she opened her reply with “The sun is shining here in Liverpool but it is with an icy, icy smile” and it is that sunny side attitude that shines through in her correspondence and in her performances.

I asked her about her background, her music, her inspirations, and her love of France and this is what she said:

“Soul has been an overwhelming influence for me as besides everything else I grew up with the Mowtown greats, William Bell, Judy Clay, Otis Reading, I could go on for hours! My main influence though was Ray Charles. I do tend to luv more the male singers, don’t know why! But I suppose I grew up with my parents influence and thank the Lord they just loved all the chart stuff of their time so I got to hear everything.


My family aren’t musical but there is a history of Old Music Hall going back somewhere in time. My younger sister, (I have five!) had an amazing country voice but she only sang for a couple of years and then gave up. Mum and Dad would sing together around the pubs and at parties as everyone loved hearing them sing.


Talking about singing in French, I used to sing a few lines in French in the song “Autumn Leaves” mainly when I was over in France. I luv the French language and it was made for singing! I only did school French so I do that terrible mixture of English and French when I have a go. I think the French loved it cos I would always have a go on stage and pick up some French slang and get it completely wrong so I think maybe they like me because I laugh at myself and they could sense that I love France too. Especially Vin rouge! People do know instinctively if you are genuine in what you feel and the French especially are good at sussing that out……….. I’m really obvious I’m afraid about my French Artist, I luv completely Edith Piaf .…………………..


I don’t really aspire to anyone, I just try to be me but I listen to everything because I luv music so much I find it hard to stick to one thing….I am crazy about classical and Opera too, house music……..jazz, soul, pop. I can’t get enough of it! Blues tho is my baby and I can’t seem to get away from it. Ella, Billie, Aretha just blow me up. And John Le Hooker is the King ! I ‘m rambling on. Ray Charles just makes me cry and don’t get me started on Bobby Bland “The Voice”. I recently went to see Mick Hucknall, who was touring doing only Bobby Bland songs as he too is a great fan and I nearly died listening to him sing all that stuff. (by the way not a fan of his)

I grew up in a very deprived but happy area in Liverpool and I was lucky to get in the church choir quite young…5 or 6 yrs so there I stayed until I was about 14 but also sang in the school choirs till 16 but had no idea of singing cos I thought I wasn’t any good, never mind make a living from it. Met my husband (the bass player with the band) Terry in the Cavern in Liverpool, got married etc., but he was always in a band so, quite late in life, I decided to join him. Started with funky stuff, then pop and punk and dared to start a Blues Band. It was hard work and still is as Blues is more specialised………but it soon took over. The story of me starting to sing was funny! The guys from Terry’s band would rehearse in our house and one day Terry asked me to stand in for a few songs as he was auditioning for a new band. I did and at the end of the rehearsal the guys said they liked the singer and Terry replied “She’s not the singer she’s my wife!” Needless to say I joined that day - just to prove a point. Terry eventually got used to the idea…….he had no choice cos I was hooked……I suppose its unusual for man and wife playing together in a Blues Band but we have such a life together……………….”

What more can I say??? Connie Lush and Blues Shouter will be playing in France this summer. Be there …. I will.

Well thats it. Loads more to come in April as the festival season starts to warm up. PLEASE do not forget to send me any newsy items, gigs, etc. Cheers. A bientôt!