Archive for guitar blues

« Older Entries

Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Eugene Huggins, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 22, 2011 by joetatesblog

Blue Monday was fortunate this August 8, to have a visiting Band from the East Bay. Juke Joint plays classic R&B, with guitar, bass, drums and a little horn section of trumpet and sax. The house band, led by Joe Tate with Jeff Costello, Willie riser and Donny Kountz, warmed the place up before introducing Juke Joint.

Juke Joint: L-R Cayce Carnahan, Barbara Speed, David Bailey, Ted Stewart, Roger Bergen and John Bergen

Starting off with Otis Redding’s Can’t Turn You Loose, all the little horn parts are laid down over driving bass and drums under the expert control of Ted Stewart. Dave Baileys vocals sound very authentic in his own belt em’ out style.

Ted Stewart

Although these folks all now live in the East Bay, Ted Stewart has a long history here in Sausalito. After playing many years with the Redlegs, drummer Stewart formed Contraband which was later renamed Sugar Daddy.

Even further back in time, Ted Stewart and Joe Tate played with Salvation, a San Francisco 60s rock band that played numerous dates at both the Fillmore Auditorium and the Avalon Ballroom opening for Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the Doors among others..

Stewart has enjoyed a career in jazz since moving to the East Bay. He is still perfectly at home with R&B. Just listening, you’d think he never played anything else.

David Bailey

Next up is knock On Wood, the Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper hit that has been covered by everyone from Otis Redding to David Bowie.

David Bailey really nails this one. Bailey does most of the vocals and plays the harmonica here and there where needed.

Juke Joint burns through Can’t Get Next To You, I feel Good and High Flyin’ Baby before kindly relinquishing the stage to other musicains. Learn more about Juke Joint at http://jukejointband.com/

Next up was Coyote And Crew with, among others, Gary Schevenstuhl who also brought his own band, who played a little later.

Ron Rosano, Harry Gold, Willie Riser and Bonnie Hofkin

There was also a visit by Oakland bluesman, Harry Gold, who sings in a high tenor, pitch perfect voice while wailing the blues on guitar. It is really a pleasure to hear him.

Ken Markowitz

Longtime Sausalito Cruising Club member, Ken Markowitz, was up next with Chris Pruess, both on guitar. Markowitz is sort of like a Dean Martin with a guitar, singing in a faux inebriated voice while looking super cool. They were joined by Willie Riser and Ted Stewart. Very amusing.

In the final jam, Eugene Huggins accompanied Kathy Holly on harmonica while she sang Crazy, Willie Nelson’s signature song that was such as smash for Patsy Cline.

Jeff Costello, Eugene Huggins, Jake Baker. Kathy Holly and Willie Riser

Holly has a great interpretation of it. With her jazz tinged voice, she presents subtle textures with a roboto timing. Jeff Costello confidently laid down the chord progression while Huggins’ soulful harmonica created shivers. Holly also produces Cabaret Night, a monthly show featuring many singers and always a great variety of music. Check out Holly’s site at http://kathyholly.com/

The Blue Monday schedule is supposed to be every other Monday. However, certain chaotic functions have altered that to almost every Monday this year. To see upcoming Blue Monday Jams, go to Joe Tate’s Local Music Vibe profile at http://localmusicvibe.com/band/joe-tate

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

Leave a comment »

Michael Skinner’s Final Touch Band at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , on June 29, 2011 by joetatesblog

The Final Touch Band comes to the Sausalito Cruising Club as part of the legacy from the Blue Monday jam sessions that were led by Billy Dunn and Michael Skinner here some years back. Although The Final Touch Band predated the jam sessions, it was some time before FTB would be playing their spectacular brand of rhythm and blues at the  Sausalito Cruising Club. Joining FTB tonight are guitarist Steve Gannon and bassist Larry James, both members of the old SCC jam band. Although The first Sessions featured Pat Wilder on guitar, Gannon became the regular for several years.

The Final Touch Band; L-R Steve Gannon, Michael Skinner, Larry James and Richard Younger

The Final Touch Band is the brainchild of Michael Skinner, a talented drummer/singer who grew up in Richmond, CA where  as a youngster he played and sang with the Spiritual Corinthians. He learned music from his late brother Melvin and his uncle both of whom were members of the Spiritual Corinthians. He graduated from Harry Ells High School in 1984. “Charisma” was his first band.

Michael Skinner at work

Soon he would be playing with Beverly Stovall at the Serenader Club in Oakland, CA where he met up with Billy Dunn and later Curtis Lawson.  This was his core group leading up to the formation of the FTB, which at first was with Leonard Hawkins, Dale Whitmore and Larry James on guitar. Tonight, Richard Younger is subbing for Hawkins on keyboards. He’s a funny guy all laughing and joking. The way he moves around the keyboard, he looks like Ray Charles.

Michael Skinner’s rendition of Mustang Sally is something to behold. With his powerful gospel trained voice, he lends incredible power to this Wilson Pickett classic. The ending, which Michael arranged, is like no other and is an apt demonstration of this band’s power. All their songs have great endings.

Larry James wails with Steve Gannon L and Richard Younger R

Bassist Larry  James, who doubles on guitar, can really belt out some oldies but goodies too. His version of Shake rattle and Roll segues into shout, the Isley Brother smash from yesteryear.

Steve Gannon sings the blues

Steve Gannon delivers up some good blues with Howlin’ Wolf’s, Baby, How Long. This man can play some guitar too, and in a most pleasing way. His playing can be searing and laid back at the same time. Sort of like sweet and sour, it’s delicious.

Gannon, who grew up in London, came to Oakland in 1985 after the end of a ten year marriage. When he was invited to Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, he played with Beverly Stovall and Sonny Rhodes who took him on tour of Canada with his band.

Steve wound up playing in the house band at Eli’s three nights a week. There was an after-hours club called Deluxe Inn where he finally met Michael Skinner sometime in the 80s. Later he hooked up with Billy Dunn in Curtis Lawson’s band where he shared guitar duties with the late Drake Levin.

Joe Tate medleys with Michael Skinner

There was one other little surprise for the night; Joe Tate showed up and sang a couple of old favorites like Blueberry Hill and High Heeled Sneakers, which is done in a medley of songs traded back and forth between Tate and Skinner. It went sort of like this; Tate sang a verse of High Heeled Sneakers then Skinner sang a verse of Big Boss Man. Bits of several songs were strung together with alternating singers in a sort of faux competition. Amusing.

The Final Touch Band will return to the Sausalito Cruising Club on Friday July 1 at 8:00 PM

To contact the Final Touch Band go to

http://www.gigleader.com/band/michael-skinner-and-final-touch

To learn more about the Sausalito Cruising Club go to

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

Leave a comment »

Sausalito Cruising Club, No Name bar, Taste of Rome and Seahorse

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2011 by joetatesblog

The Blue Monday Jam Session at the Sausalito Cruising Club on April 25 had over 22 participants, all of whom came to the stage and played. The house band, consisting of Joe Tate, Donny Kountz and Willie Riser, played the first set of lively blues, mostly covers of oldies but goodies.

There was a surprise visit by two members of the Average Dyke Band and they performed several exciting dance tunes. This refers to Staphanie Teel and Carrie Gesendasy who appear here every other Monday and thus alternating with the Blue Monday Jam Session.

Phil Berkowitz, Donny Kountz, Stephanie Teel and Carrie Gesendasy jam out!

There were also many other excellent players taking the stage this night including John “Coyote” Egan with several of his students, who are all proficient guitarists. The Cruising Club also welcomed harmonica wiz, Phil Berkowitz who joined with Teel and Gesendasy as well as Gary Berger and Anthony Lincoln who wails on the sax and vocalizes some good old Motown songs.

On Saturday April 30, Jerome Phillips and Lonnie Walter joined joe Tate at the No Name Bar. Joe Tate sang a couple things that brought the house down including Roosevelt Blues, which seems to clarify some things about American History.

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jerome Phillips at the No Name Bar

Jerome Phillips is an incredibly skilled musician who segues seamlessly between Gershwin, Leadbelly or The Beatles. This makes it easy for Tate to move around between the many genres he likes to dabble in.

By the way, you can see Joe Tate sing Roosevelt Blues at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6F7nYzcqJ8

In other news, Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar ended it’s music program on April 31st. Eugene Huggins and Chris Goddard played the final show there. Their many years of playing at Saylor’s Landing every Sunday night had become an institution of the Sausalito social scene.. This came to and end when Sean Saylor moved his operation to it’s present location at the former Guernica Restaurant.

Chris Goddard and Eugene Huggins with David Kemp and Sean Saylor sitting in

The wonderful times had at both these locations will be long remembered by many.

There is a happening scene at the Taste of Rome Restaurant at 1000 Bridgeway featuring music from 7-10 on friday and saturday nights. On May 6th, Joe Tate,  Wendy DeWitt, Lonnie Walter and Kirk Harwood were holding forth as “The Taters.”  The gig was supposed to be played with Joe and Cole Tate who call themselves The Taters but, Cole was away on important business.

Wendy really stirred the audience with her virtuoso piano. While Joe is belting out some old favorite, Wendy has his back and drives it home with lots of torque, so to speak.

Kirk Harwood, Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Wendy DeWitt at Taste of Rome

Lonnie Walter plays bongos while Kirk Harwood has a pair of congos and other handheld percussion instruments. With the piano and guitar it all creates a very nice sound for a small place where a full band may get to be a little too much.

The high point of the evening may have been when a troupe of Girl Scouts sat in one section all singing the responses to Minnie The Moocher. This of course is the Hi de hi de hi de ho song made famous by Cab Calloway which energizes audiences everywhere.

Joe Tate and Miles Ceralde at the No Name Bar

The next day, May 7, Miles Ceralde  played with Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar in what is, perhaps, a prelude of things to come. Miles is just twenty and getting him to play here involved doing some research on the law and convincing the owners that this is legal. Under the rules, none of the other musicians are allowed to drink. That was easy for Joe, whose booze career ended long ago, though Lonnie Walter was a little chagrinned

Ceralde really showed what he was made of, burning up the fretboard with youthful riffs that were decidedly of the jazz and blues flavor. It’s refreshing to see a youngster with so much going on. Miles Ceralde will be back at the No Name Bar with Joe Tate on June 25.

The next week Sandy “Ukulele” Bailey joined Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar for a show that was quite different than the usual. Bailey sings and plays ukulele and bass, switching instruments between songs as needed. Joe Tate is an ukulele nut too and tonight he shares some of the bass duties when Bailey plays ukulele.

Joe Tate and Sandy Bailey at the No Name Bar

They performed many Hawaiian  songs interspersed with Americana of the blues and jazz persuasion. With Ukulele Bailey’s sweet smooth voice and Tate’s characteristic growl, the harmony achieved between them is remarkable, especially on the Hawaiian songs, some of which they deliver in the Hawaiian language.

Bailey tore the place up with his rendition of On Bridgeway, a paraody of On Broadway, the smash hit by George Benson. The song even refers to the No Name Bar itself. When Ukulele Bailey returns June 18, you’ll want to come just to hear this song.

A little later this same night, The Tickets played at the Sausalito Seahorse Restaurant which is located on Harbor Drive near Gate 5 Road. The Tickets sound great in this room which has pretty nice acoustics. Debra Clawson, who fronts the group, has an unusual voice which lends itself well to the blues and pop music that make up The Tickets repertoire.

The Tickets at Sausalito Seahorse Restaurant

This restaurant has good food and a nice atmosphere except for the lighting which is overdone. There’s all these weird computer driven LED spots along with colored lights on the stage which make the performers look like zombies. A lot of fun can be had here in spite of these small distractions.

To learn more about The Tickets go to

http://www.myspace.com/theticketsband

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

See the Ukulele Baby Songbook at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

The No Name Bar flyer Joe Tate and Ukulele Bailey

Here’s another video of Joe Tate  playing the ukulele and singing Don’t Think Twice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik8zVBZLJtk


Leave a comment »

Uncle Buffet at the No Name Bar 42311

Posted in Bay Area Music, Eugene Huggins, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , on April 27, 2011 by joetatesblog

Joe Tate has hooked up with a couple of singers who do the Jimmy Buffett songbook. Chris Wilson, who often plays the No Name Bar with Eugene Huggins, plays bass and sings with Don Trujillo who handles the chords on guitar.

This meet-up was arranged by Lonnie Walter who plays here every Saturday with Joe Tate. Excluding Tate, they have a regular Jimmy Buffet show that they perform around the Bay Area working with other artists.

Uncle Buffett: Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate, Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson

Anyway, they have a good sound which generates a lot of sing along action from the bar.

Joe Tate opens with Scotch And Soda followed by Blueberry Hill. The next bite is Jimmy Buffett’s Changes In Latitude and Margaritaville, perhaps his best known and loved songs.

Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson

Extra tips soon guaranteed hearing Margaritaville again in the second set. Don Trujillo and Chris Wilson delivered some nice harmony on  Cheesburgers In Paradise and Son Of a Son. Tate came back with Minnie The moocher and Little Egypt just to give things a little balance.

Some of the JB songs have hand clapping breaks in which everyone keeps time while Don does some kind of Caribbean rap that was profound and unintelligible at the same time.

Chris Wilson sings up a storm on Wait In Vain and we hear Trujillo leave the JB format on Mercury Blues, the K.C. Douglas/Robert Geddins hit from 1949, a year when Mercurys were all the rage.

Four hands clapping: Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate

Tate finishes out the set with Satisfaction in an attempt to, sort of like, not fit in.

The second set featured more of JB’s big hits including Music for Money, Pencil Thin Mustache and  Volcano. Trujillo also sang Brown Eyed Girl with vocal assists from Tate and Wilson. Tate also came back with good old Down Home Girl and Poison Ivy, both Leiber/Stoller songs from the fifties.

It was a very pleasant evening with a friendly mixture of tourists and locals.

Joe Tate plays the No Name Bar every Saturday. For more information go to

http://localmusicvibe.com/band/joe-tate

To see Joe Tate’s Ukulele Baby Songbook go to

http://ukulelebaby.org/

The misspelled poster

Leave a comment »

The Ukulele Friends Ohana at Area 51 41511

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, ukulele music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , on April 20, 2011 by joetatesblog

The UFOs meet every Friday at a secret location usually referred to as Area 51. It is, of course, a private party and privacy must be respected. However, Night Beat has obtained permission to tell about the kanikapila, which is a music party involving ukulele playing and singing with emphasis on Hawaiian music. It’s also a pot luck dinner which is taken after about a dozen songs have been played.

There’s usually about 20 singer players participating and it makes a wondrous sound with all the voices. There are also several skilled hula dancers who jump right in whenever the right songs are played.

Squadron 1: Kimo B., Rick Creelman, SQL Del Medina, Susan Rogan and Sandy Bailey

Squadron Leader (SQL) Del Medina refers to each player as a pilot and the group frequently undertakes away missions for various other parties and club appearances.

Tonight the first set features many of the traditional Hawaiian songs plus a few of what is called hapa haole songs. These are songs which may be of or about Hawaii, but don’t spring directly from Hawaiian tradition.

Bu, Val and Amy harmonize

Anyway, SQL Medina calls out the songs which the pilots find in their flight manuals which have the chords and words for about 200 songs.

First off is Amelia Earhart’s Last Flight which recounts the last hours the fearless lady on her tragic flight. Then some Elvis tunes like Blue Hawaii and Can’t Help Falling In Love. Just to make sure, Blue Hawaiian Moonlight finishes the King’s set.

Several hulas are then played including Hanalei Moon and Koke’e written by Bob Nelson and Dennis Kamakahi respectively. There are also a bunch of Hawaiian songs with moving rhythms. In A Canoe and Manuela Boy come to mind. Theres also My Little Grass Shack, which never fails to generate excietment.

Pilots Chris Burns, Maggie Catfish and Tom Barr

After dinner volunteer pilots take the stage in groups of one to four and give their renditions of special songs they have prepared for the night. These usually follow a theme.

The theme tonight was songs about mothers and this created some humorous offerings as well as poignant ballads and even a couple hymns. For instance Little Egypt was humorous and Farther Along was poignant.

There were many more songs culminating in Ahi Wela/Lover Of Mine/Aloha ‘Oe, a beautiful mashup of Hawaiian treasures. Alohas were exchanged and everyone left. They would all meet again the next day at the Sleeping Lady Cafe where they play every Saturday at 2PM.

From the UFO archives: hula fun

to learn more about the UFOs, go to

http://www.rubbaslippa.com/

or to see them on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSxGpcPMYMA

the Ukulele Baby Songbook is at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

For booking contact Del Medina at

del@themedinas.com

Leave a comment »

Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club 41111

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2011 by joetatesblog

The House Band: Donny Kountz, Joe Tate and Willie Riser

After some interminable chit chat and milling around, the house band starts at 7 and, after about 45 minutes, Joe Tate opens up the stage for others to sit in. On this occasion, there were many fine players in attendance including the wonderful Lisa Kindred who really rocked the house with her rendition of Let The Good Times Roll.

The band starts the evening with Blue Monday as usual. Then, after Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino is absent the rest of the set. Then there’s some Creedence Clearwater, Chuck Berry, the Coasters and finally Tate sings something called Roosevelt Blues which tells the rather poignant story of Franklin Roosevelts life. We will be hearing more of this song, written by McKinley Peebles, after the Presidents death.

Let The Good Times Roll: R Lisa Kindred

First up to sing is, of course, Miss Lisa Kindred who, as mentioned, starts the house rockin on that first number. Then she gives out her feminized version of the much recorded Lee Dorsey classic which she calls Get out Of My Life Sweet Thang. This is over the top but nothing prepares us for what she sings later. The most sublime voicing for House Of The Rising Sun was showered down upon us in an unmitigated feast of harmony.

Next up is John “Coyote” Egan with his guitar students, Marco Ugolini and Robert Hobart. Coyote, as he is known, plays a bright and vibrant form of original blues. One of his songs that stands out is Rolling Into Texas. He carries the vocal and segues into some scorching guitar. His students imitate and sometimes upstage him at this game. It’s all in fun, even though Coyote sometimes feigns annoyance.

Marco Ugolini, Andy Mendell, Coyote and Willie Riser

There was also a harmonica section, with Diver Dave and Scott Sherman, that hangs out at the edge of the dance floor. They take turns on solos whenever they get the high sign from whoever is leading. They worked intermittently with all of the performers, helping out here and there with solos and train rhythms where needed.

Scott Sherman, Robert Hobart, Marco Ugolini and Andy Mendell

There was more good stuff to come with Anthony Lincoln providing vocals with his partner Gary Berger on piano. It’s just an old upright with a microphone jammed in the back but it sounds good as long as the guitar players don’t get carried away with their volume knobs.

Anthony Lincoln

Anyway, this duo is joined by Joe Tate on guitar, Ron Rosano on Drums and willie Riser on Bass. With Tate assisting on vocals, Lincoln burns through some good R&B numbers, like Mustang Sally, Shotgun with Lincoln on sax, Hit The Road Jack and Spooky just to mention a few.

In the middle of the set, Suzie Q takes the stage and gives out her rendition of Love Potion #9. She is the sweetheart of the waterfront and everybody loves her.

The last set is played by the one and only Craig Caffall who has his own popular band and plays flawless guitar blues. Willie Riser takes a break here while Tate takes over bass.

Caffall leads off with some basic funk then moves on to Rot Orbison’s Born On The Bayou. He delivers it up in Creedence Clearwater style then follows with The Thrill Is Gone, the Rick Darnell/Roy Hawkins tune that has been recorded by so many.

Donny Kountz, Craig Caffall, Willie Riser and John "Oz" Gordon.

Willie Riser returned to the stage and Caffall belted out a few more tunes including Before You Accuse Me, a song many don’t realize was written by Bo Diddley. In any event, this version sounded as good as Clapton.

The house band finishes the night with Tate’s rendition of Minnie The Moocher. The Hidee Hidee Ho’s are returned from the audience in one last spasm of musical exuberance.

But wait! Gabe Navarre suddenly shows up and we squeeze one more song out of him. What it was, nobody knows.

The Craig Caffall Band plays the Seahorse Restaurant this Friday night. Here’s the listing

http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/craig-caffall

Joe Tate plays the No Name Bar in Sausalito every Saturday evening at 6. To learn more go to

http://xrl.in/4y57 or    http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

Joe Tate’s Ukulele Baby Songbook is here

http://ukulelebaby.org/

2 Comments »

The Gaters at Saylor’s and No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2011 by joetatesblog

Maggie catfish and Joe Tate, best known as members of the Redlegs in their roles in the Movie, Last Free Ride, have been doing some gigs together as The Gaters. The name derives from having come from the Gates, an area along the Sausalito waterfront where Liberty Ships were built in WWII. The Gates had become a haven for artists and musicians, along with many other bohemian types who constructed makeshift houseboats on these Sausalito mudflats.

The Redlegs fit right in with all this and spent many years raising hell at all the local parties. They played a form of rock n’ roll that thumbed its nose at the world but was at the same time a joyous celebration of the local community. It all seemed hip enough during the late sixties before the area was rebuilt into an upscale houseboat marina.

These days Maggie and Joe are content playing conventional rock, old standards, hawaiian and just a few of the old Redlegs numbers that are still craved by a few diehard fans.  They delivered all this at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar last Friday.

The Gaters: Joe Tate and Maggie Catfish at Saylor's

Not surprisingly, there were a few people there from the old days. There was also a large contingent of folks who came to hear the Hawaiian music. They weren’t disappointed. Maggie Catfish lived in the Islands for many years and has absorbed the culture and music of Hawaii. Likewise, Joe Tate sailed to the Islands in 1977 but didn’t study the music until much later. He now plays with the Ukulele Friends Ohana which specializes in the Hawaiian.

The first set was mostly Hawaiian but gradually gave over to standards and old Coasters songs. Later, some of the old Redlegs songs came out like Nasty Little Boy and Old Matt. There were a some good sit in performances too. Tom Barr played harmonica on many of the blues numbers and Skip Dossett sang some Elvis songs. Joe Tate’s rendition of  Whiter Shade Of Pale is noteworthy because it uses a harmonica to play the Hammond organ solo made famous by Procol Harem.

The Gaters at the No Name bar

The next night they are at the No Name Bar where they usually appear with percussionist Lonnie Walter,  who couldn’t make it tonight. Tom Barr came though and he assisted on blues. There were more Redlegs fans tonight than Hawaiian aficionados so, rock n’ roll prevailed. There was also an extra helping of RedLegs songs including Sailor’s Love Song, Love won’t Change and the ubiquitous Nasty Little Boy.

There was also plenty of New Orleans sounds like Rockin Pneumonia and some Fats Domino tunes. Joe also sang a new song called Roosevelt Blues which tells a story of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. This song tells it like it is, a must hear for all Americans.

Joe Tate had some DVD movies of the Last Free Ride he was selling. These are always available here on Saturday during his performance. He also sells the Ukulele Baby Songbook which has a bunch of songs arranged for ukulele. This is also available online at

http://ukulelebaby.org/

To learn more about the Redlegs go to

http://www.theredlegs.com/

To learn more about Joe Tate

http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

Leave a comment »

Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club 032811

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2011 by joetatesblog

Another fun night of jamming at the Sausalito Cruising Club was had with at least 25 musicians who came to sit in. Every one got a chance to play though. How this was done follows.

After a 40 minute set by the house band, Donny Kountz, Wille Riser and Joe Tate, the first jammers were brought up in organized groups. Starting with John “Coyote” Egan, who brought some of his students and other cohorts, the music was well arranged in spite of the “jam session” thing.

L-R Robert Hobart,Travis Yee, Andy, Don Nguyen and Coyote

Coyote is backed by Travis Yee on guitar, Robert Hobart on guitar, Don Nguyen on bass and Andy on drums.

Coyote has a bunch of original bluesy songs that all these guys know, so it’s good for them to all come up together. Coyote lays down a nice Albert King kind of blues but his student Travis is a smokin’ hot youngster and Coyote uses him to good advantage.

Next up was another rehearsed group playing under the leadership of Gary Berger. Anthony Lincoln was an exciting singer and he doubled on saxophone.

L-R Bonnie Hofkin, Ron Lando, Mike Adams, Don Nguyen, Anthony Lincoln, Ken Markowitz and Gary Berger

In addition, this lineup had Ron Lando on guitar, Mike Adams on drums, Don Nguyen on bass and of course Gary Berger on piano. Bonnie Hofkin and Ken Markowitz assisted on harmonica and guitar as was needed.

This group had a lot of torque and this made people dance. They did a few familiar rock and blues numbers while changing the lineup here and there. There was some pressure to get more of the waiting players up but this played out peacefully with only minor hurt feelings.

"Little Mike" Adams

“Little” Mike Adams drifted from group to group all night which only makes sense because there was a shortage of drummers. There were plenty of guitars though which made it easy on Joe Tate who only had to manage all the others who wanted to play.

Another interesting group on this night was the “Freewheelers.” Fronted by Ilene Vossen, who rocks out on cello, she is backed by Buzz Vossen on bass and Bonnie Hofkin on harmonica.

With house drummer Donny Kountz and guitarist Gabe Navarre, they have a solid beat and got it on right away with stuff like Route 66. Ilene delivers some really nice solos on what is usually thought of as a classical instrument.

 

The Free Wheelers with Gabe Navarre, Bonnie Hofkin, Donny Kountz, Ilene Vossen and Buzz Vossen

What matter though, the sound was new and different and we need some of this stuff just for comic relief from all the serious themes that are carried by the blues.

Anthony Lincoln and Linda Seabright

Throughout much the evening there was some wailing sax coming from the corner of the stage where Anthony Lincoln was hanging with his ax.

There were also some harmonicas working the edge of the room including Scott Sherman and Tom Barr in addition to Hofkin who worked the stage. They had their own amplifiers set up so they would chime in whenever asked. Tate had all three harmonicas blowing at once sometimes. This might have been in poor taste but it was fun.

There was also a performance by “Daylight Again,” a tight harmony trio consisting of Sana Hoffer, David Kemp and Gloria Lopez.

They really lit up the Cruising Club with Ooh Baby Baby, from Crosby Stills and Nash. This was paired up with Have Mercy, a song made famous by Loretta Lynn. They were backed by house band members Donny Kountz on drums and Willie Riser on Bass.

Daylight Again L-R Gloria Lopez, David Kemp and Sana Hoffer

Sana Hoffer also sang solo on Better Off With The Blues, the Delbert McClinton swamp blues hit.

All the jammers made it a great evening and thanks is given here to others who played and sang including Suzie Olsen vocals,Ron Rosano drums, Charlie on guitar and Paul Bohan guitar.

The next Blue Monday Jam session will be on April 11 starting at 7 PM. Bring you instrument and enjoy the buffet dinner for just $5.

For more information about the Sausalito Cruising Club

http://www.sausalitocruisingclub.org/

For more information about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

To see the Joe Tate’s “Ukulele Baby Songbook” go to

http://ukulelebaby.org/

Here’s the Redlegs playing FBS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS1ZOiyK06o

Leave a comment »

Chris Goddard, Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 21, 2011 by joetatesblog

L-R Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Chris Goddard

Chris Goddard was substituting for Johnny Nitro, who was to have played the No Name Bar this 19th of March, 2011. Unfortunately, Johnny died just four weeks ago, shortly after booking to play here. Everyone was excited that he was coming.

Myron Mu, who owns the Saloon, where Nitro has played for many years, was here that night and he told us the news. Lonnie said “We’re gonna have to cancel Johnny’s date.” It was with sadness that we marked his passing but we tried to rock out for him just as we thought he would have wished.

Joe Tate and weird guitar

Joe Tate and Chris Goddards crutches

Chris Goddard showed up on crutches himself, but still determined to entertain. It’s raining hard again tonight and the regulars are here along with a couple of Nitro’s friends

Joe Tate started off with Little Richards Slipping And Sliding then segued into a few New Orleans style tunes that were beautifully backed by Chris Goddard’s well versed guitar.

It’s a groovy sound, based not on having full band, but more like a coffee house thing with the bongos and guitars. It’s good listening mixed with some get up and dance numbers.

Chris Goddard also sang a few songs. Even though he’s not dancing around, he has still got it going on.

Tom Barr and lonnie Walter

Tom Barr and Lonnie Walter

Tom Barr showed up with his harmonicas and hammered out some nice solos on many of the blues renditions.

Tom regularly plays with the UFOs in San Rafael at a secret location known as Area 51. Joe joins in the fun there too, playing stuff you never get to hear at the No Name Bar.

Tom and Lonnie did some nice backup vocals on some of Joe’s songs and at times sounded like an old fashioned gospel quartet.

At intermission Lonnie talked about Johnny Nitro and in between the sentences you could here the rain coming down hard. Lonnie let us all know how much it hurt him. They knew each other well and both had been living above the Saloon on Grant Ave.

Jane Koestel, who was also a friend of Johnny, was there, but declined to speak.

Joe Tate will be back next Saturday with Wendy DeWitt and Lonnie Walter. Wendy, who was playing with us when Myron told us about Nitro, is a terrific pianist who has the boogie woogie in her soul. Her and Joe have done this gig a few times and it always smokes. It starts at 6. Check it out. http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/wendy-dewitt-joe-tate-and-lonnie-walter

Johhny Nitro's final booking

To Learn more about Johnny Nitro go to

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/21/BAN81HR1FE.DTL

or  http://www.facebook.com/johnnynitrotribute

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

or

http://xrl.in/4y57

For this weeks show go to

http://www.localmusicvibe.com/event/wendy-dewitt-joe-tate-and-lonnie-walter

Leave a comment »

March 14 Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2011 by joetatesblog

Well whaddya know? Monday night was frittered away playin the blues and more. The house band, with Joe Tate, Willie Rizer and Donny Kountz did the opening set with “Blue Monday” and some other simple stuff to get the evening started.

Debra Clawson,Tom Barr, Joe Tate, Jeff Suits and Oz

We had a couple of surprise visits. First was Mike Adams who, as a young teenager, played drums occasionally with the Redlegs. Everyone was amazed at how good could he play when just a boy. Tonight, he took over the drums after Andy Mendell, who was the first jamer of the evening. Andy came up before the end of the set so Donny got some quick downtime. Suzie Olsen also assisted on vocals during the set.

As soon as Tate took a break, John “Coyote” Egan took up the guitar like a menacing weapon. The Flying V is just a little scary. At his request, Tate hung on to his old bat guitar and assisted with Coyote’s set.

Jamers: Mike adams, David Kemp, Coyote and Jim Presta

There were generous portions of wailing harmonica with Tom Barr, Scott Sherman and Diver Dave taking turns. Paul Seaward got in on the action too.

There was also some good horn action too. Ray DeFazio had his baritone sax and his friend, Bruce, played a really melodic trumpet. These guys came in real handy during “I Got A Woman.”

The second surprise was that four members of the Tickets showed up. Lead singer Debra Clawson dragged her crew down to the club after Monday Night rehearsal. Apparently they hadn’t had enough howling at the moon yet.

They had some new songs they had been working and we got to hear some of the stuff. Some of it was high energy rock with a kind of swing beat. Their drummer, Peter Herbert, has a certain touch that sets these rhythms off.

Some Tickets: Will Leidenthal,Peter Herbert, Debra Clawson and Oz.

Debra Clawson and guitarist Will Leidenthal do some really nice duets and of course she can belt of the blues like nobodies business. They were joined by their regular bassist, Jeff Suits and  drop in guitarist, John “Oz” Gordon.

Jerome Phillips

Near the end we were treated to some excellent funk led by pianist, Jerome Phillips. It is always a pleasure to hear Jerome play. He has been playing at Seahorse on Monday nights and showing up here near the end. He also plays with Joe Tate at the No Name Bar and will be there with him on the 2nd and 30th of april. Joe Tate plays the No Name every Saturday with various other artists. You can check out his show there in the early evening, starting at 6 PM.

To Learn more about the happenings go to

http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

Video is at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS1ZOiyK06o

Leave a comment »

« Older Entries