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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 8, 2011 by joetatesblog

Your regular host, Joe Tate, took the night off due the laryngitis. Jesse Kincaid ably took over for the evening with happening results.

There were over 15 musicians who signed up to play and everyone got a turn on stage. There were guitarists, pianists, drummers, bassists, vocalists and a couple of good harmonicas. Larry Seeger was also there with his “bones” which, surprisingly, can be heard above all the electric guitars and stuff. He holds two bones in each hand and, with a deft wrist motion, a staccato rhythm is produced.

The house band, consisting of Jesse Kincaid, Donny Kountz and Willie Riser, was joined by Gary Berger and Jim Presta on piano, Gabe Navarre, Ken Markowitz, Craig Caffal, Paul Bowan and Swanee on guitar, Ron Rosano and Ian Lee on drums, Linda Seabright, Gloria Lopez, Sana Hoffer, David Kemp, Suzie Olsen, Donna Dacuti and Sheila McEnary on vocals, Diver Dave and Scott Sherman on harmonicas all sometimes accompanied by David Kemp on bass.

Craig Caffal, Ron Rosano, Linda Seabright, Willie Riser and Gabe Navarre

Jesse performed a very nice set including some R&B standards like “Midnight Hour” as well as some good blues from Jimmy Reed to Chuck Berry. Gabe Navarre was first to join the jam and gave us some renditions of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimmy Hendrix.

Kempers and Sana rock out

Gary Berger and Jim Presta took turns on the piano while Scott Sherman and Diver Dave did harmonic harmonicas. That’s two harmonicas at once for a powerful blues motif. Suzie Olsen gave us a number of old rockers and also assisted on vocals for Jesse and Gabe.

Ron Rosano took over drums for a while and there were some great vocals from Donna Dacuti. We also heard from Sheila McEnary  and Linda Seabright. Linda dedicated her performance to her friend Herman, a drummer for Dr. John who had just died.

There were also excellent performances by guitarists Paul Bowan and Craig Caffal. These guys are great singers too so they were give a little extra time to unload.

Dueling harps, Scott Sherman, Ian Lee, Paul Bowan, Gabe Navarre, Diver Dave, Suzie Olsen and Gary Berger

The highlight of the evening was the singing trio “Daylight Again” with David Kemp, Sana Hoffer and Gloria Lopez. They sang three songs in perfect harmony starting with Eric Clapton’s “Lay Down Sally”  featuring Kemp on lead Vocal. This was followed by the fifties rocker “Don’t Say Nothin’ Bad About My Baby” and finally a soulful “Long Time Coming” in which Miss Lopez stretched out her voice.

Center, Daylight Again, L, Jesse Kincaid, R, Gabe Navarre

The last performer of the evening was Swanee who gave us some swamp blues overlaid with grunge guitar with some extra nice backing from Jesse, Ken, Gabe and Ian.

The Sausalito Cruising Club is such a great venue for this stuff and the best deal in Marin for Musicians. If you play at the Blue Monday Jam you can have buffet dinner for a mere 5 bucks. It has a great deck area overlooking the bay where the smokers can usually be found. SCC also has a full bar with a wisecracking Quito mixing the drinks.

Swanee closes the show

The next Blue Monday is scheduled for March 14. Please call Joe Tate at 415 385 1606 if you would like to play or attend. If you play guitar or bass all you need is your instrument. You can bring your amp if you like though.

The Department Of Inhalation Therapy

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Jesse Kincaid, Joe Tate and Lonnie Walter at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2011 by joetatesblog

It had been a nice Saturday in Sausalito and by 6:00 PM it was starting to mist. Joe Tate, Lonnie Walter and special guest Jesse Kincaid started on time as usual but Joe wasn’t singing. His voice had gone out Friday for no apparent reason.

The doctor had given him some Codeine cough medicine but this didn’t do any good. He was able to make the evenings introductions in a broken Jimmy Durante voice but, singing was out of the question.

Jesse knew all this before arriving and he dutifully took over the vocals for most of the evening. Fortunately, he brought his books and Joe was able to follow all of Jesse’s songs with only minor failures.

Lonnie Walter helped out plenty with numerous bongo solos. His ability t0 do this is astounding, with dozens of intricate patterns flowing effortlessly from his hands.

Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jesse Kincaid

The usual crowd was there along with a few tourists. The bar wasn’t as full as usual and this could have been because of the weather. It could also because Joe Tate wasn’t screaming at the folks outside on the sidewalk to come in. This has been known to work in the past.

Miss Suzie Olsen was there to lend her voice. Having her there gives the whole affair some Sausalito waterfront cred. She belted out “Love Potion Number Nine” and “Louie Louie.”

Suzie Olsen lends her voice.

Paul Seaward also helped out on a number of songs with some harmonicas he just happened to have with him.

Jesse Kincaid does a lot of Beatles, Elvis and regular old Jimmy Reed. Joe skipped around between guitar and ukulele though he didn’t do any of the Hawaiian stuff, probably something to do with the voice issue. His guitar is unusual and has a distinctive sound. It’s one of those new fangled carbon fiber things with a small hollow body and a real old fashioned delta blues tone.

Paul Seaward joins on harmonica

They played on continuous set for the whole evening. The gig only lasts from 6-8:30 so it only makes sense. Though the blues was in the minority, the songs that Jesse sang were all old favorites along with one new original song that he had just written called “Runaway train.”

Near the end of the evening, Chad Brown showed up sang a couple country songs. He was there with his dad and Frank Simpson who is married to Maggie Catfish, a regular performer with Joe Tate at the No Name bar and also Chad’s mother in-law.

Twas a very nice closing after Chad finished. With everyone milling around and chatting, the next performers arrived, namely Wendy DeWitt and her band. Wendy forgot to bring a mic stand so she borrowed one from Jesse. At least he didn’t have as much stuff to bring home.

Chad and Dad

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Saturday Evening At The No Name Bar

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

This Saturday we welcomed Jerome Phillips to the No Name bar for the first time. Jerome is a first class pianist who can play bass with his left hand while doing all the other stuff like melody and vocals. With Joe Tate on guitar, the sounds of New Orleans rang out like the French Quarter for the first set. Lot’s of blues and rock followed and Jerome sang some nice country stuff.

It was one of the coldest nights this year and the Irish Coffees were moving. Joe’s usual friends were there along with some new people who showed up to see Jerome. Also in attendance were numerous unsuspecting passers-by who stopped in for the warmth and grog.

Unfortunately, Lonnie Walter of the bongos, didn’t show. He has been pretty down since Johnny Nitro died and we can only hope that he can get over the hump soon. We missed his wonderful rhythms though. But we made do with what we had. Fortunately, our audience didn’t care and we sailed through it all with jovial ease.

The missing Lonnie Walter, Joe Tate and Jerome Phillips

Learn more about Joe Tate at  http://xrl.in/4y57

Check out Joe Tate’s “Ukulele Baby Songbook” at  http://www.theredlegs.com/JoeTate.html

For booking call Joe Tate at 415 385 1606 or write to joebtate@gmail.com

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Curtis Lawson at the Sausalito Seahorse

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2011 by joetatesblog

Curtis Lawson celebrates 55 years of singing the blues in the Bay Area on this occasion. It’s also his 77th birthday and the man is still going strong.

He has a tight quartet backing him tonight. With Nick Otis, son of Johnny Otis, on drums, Matt Silver on guitar, Kevin white on bass and the great Bobby Webb on saxophone, the evening starts out with some solid instrumentals including “Sissy Strut” and “Night Train.”

Matt Silver, Nick Otis, Kevin White and Bobby Webb

Curtis, dressed in his snazzy red suit, takes the stage and pumps out “Turnin Point,” a song made famous by Tyrone Davis back in the 70’s. This is followed by the hearfelt “My Woman,”  Curtis’ own poignant song about his wife, Linda.  After covering a few Jimmy Reed numbers, he moves on to James Brown, Wilson Picket and Otis Redding.

It was raining so hard that the noise on the roof could be heard over the music. Curtis thanked everyone for coming out in such rotten weather, of course.

He invites Jay Johnston of KPOO Radio to the stage who recounts the history of Curtis Lawson and reminds us to tune in to 89.5 FM to hear his regular broadcast, Blue House Party every Monday. Bobby Webb also has a blues show on KPOO every Tuesday at 9:00. Before taking the stage Jay showed us some of his really cool moves on the dance floor. Just sitting there at his table, you have no idea how agile he is.

Curtis Lawson turns 77

Curtis Lawson turns 77

Anyway, when Curtis comes back, he starts inviting his friends to the stage starting with Joe Tate who belts out a couple of rockers, “High Heeled Sneakers” and “Down Home Girl.” Gail Muldrow followed with some high powered vocals and superb guitar shredding. After some various artists sat in on drums and bass, Curtis came back and sang James Brown’s “Please please please” with Tate and Muldrow backing the vocals. Before they could step down it was “The Night Time Is The Right Time,” the Ray Charles classic.

Curtis Lawson has to be one of our greatest local artists. He can be heard at the Saloon in San Francisco, the Sausalito Art Festival, the Marin City Festival and occasionally at the No Name Bar in Sausalito.

Her’s a nice You Tube clip of Curtis at the Art and Soul Festival in Oakland

A recent show at the Seahorse

All in all, it was a great show. If you get a chance to see Curtis, don’t miss out.

Obedie William,Linda Lawson, Curtis Lawson, Joe Tate and Jay Johnston

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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 February 23, 2011 by joetatesblog

Another great night of fun was had at the Sausalito Cruising Club Blue Monday jam session on Presidents day. The house band consisted of Joe Tate on guitar, Willie Riser on bass and Donny Kountz on drums. Don Bradley also assisted using a hand drum mad  from some weird plastic container. There was also some wonderful harmonica from waterfront local Diver Dave who assisted throughout the evening.

Jim Presta, Joe Tate Willie Riser and Donny Kountz

Also assisting was Jim Presta on the upright piano which was dragged over to the stage and had a microphone jammed between the sound board and the frame. This actually works pretty well and the piano can be heard along with the electric instruments. Jim lays down a mellow kind of New Orleans groove that works well with the mixed bag that Joe Tate plays.

The house band Don Bradley, Donny Kountz, Joe Tate, Willie Riser

Joe Tate played a nice set of songs culminating in “Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt,” which recounted the life and death of our greatest president. This old song was written by Mckinley Peebles to mourn the death of FDR. The song also outlines the importance of Abraham Lincoln in freeing the slaves. Tate says we’ll be hearing more of this rockin number.

The jam session started with Ken Markowitz singing some standard blues with Cole Tate adding some scorching solos. Cole then did a couple of original songs that were captivating in their simplicity. Next, Jim Swanee sang something like “Peace and love” with Cole, Donny and Willie doing the backing.

Drummer, Ron Roscano took over the drums and Suzie Olsen sang “Love Potion Number Nine.” At this point, Scott Sherman joined in on harmonica. Diver Dave let him use his mic and amp. Joe Tate handed Diver Dave another mic and we were treated to dual harmonica solos. This sounds like a harmonica that never runs out of breath as it weaves in and out from one melody to another.

Ray DiFazio, Cole Tate, Donny Kountz

Ray DiFazio brought his baritone sax which added a whole extra dimension to the sounds. Ray has a group “Scary Larry And The Monsters” and they are playing at the Seahorse Restaurant on Friday March 4 at 8:30.

Donna Dacuti treated us to some fine blues vocals and threatened to sing “Georgia” but no none knew the changes in her key. She will bring the chart next time. Lastly we had John “Oz” Gordon on guitar then Joe Tate closed out the evening with everyone singing “The Last Time” an old spiritual that was remade by the Rolling Stones.

The Blue Monday flyer

Blue Monday at the Sausalito Cruising Club is held every other Monday. The next one will be on March 7. If you want to attend or play, please RSVP to Joe Tate at 415 385 1606 or joebtate@gmail.com

To learn more about Joe Tate go to

http://xrl.in/4y57

or

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

Here’s a new video called Sausalito Girl

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBFRSqqAi8w

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The Gaters at the No Name Bar

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 13, 2011 by joetatesblog

NIGHT BEAT on Rhythm Street

The Gaters consist of some left over Redlegs including Joe Tate,  Maggie Catfish and Jeff Costello. They are joined by Lonnie Walter on Bongos. The name has nothing to do with alligators but rather with the fact they are all from the Gates, an area of the  Sausalito  waterfront where Liberty ships were built in WWII. There still exists three distinct areas that still have their WWII names; Gate 3, Gate 5 and Gate 6. There is also another section referred to as Gate 6 1/2 but, this is not historic nomenclature, just a convenient name for what would be an extension of Gate 6.

Anyway, Joe Tate plays the No Name Bar every Saturday with various artists. The Gaters are a special feature for Joe because of their long history together with the Redlegs.

On this night, they played some of the old Redlegs numbers along with some standard rock and blues. Maggie did a wonderful rendition of “What A Difference A Day Makes” as well as some very appealing songs like “Smokey Places.”

Jeff Costello maintained excellent work on the guitar, providing brilliant solos as needed. Jeff also helped out with some vocals and, as always, Lonnie Walter held it all together with the bongos.

Joe covered all his usual basses, singing in a strong baritone voice. While narrating the early history of the No Name bar, he does a little Name dropping about the various celebrities who have hung out there over the years.

There was a nice crowd of friends who attended along with many unsuspecting passersby who just popped in when they heard the music.

The flyer features a picture of Maggie and Joe taken at the drydocks of Richardson Bay many years ago.

For more information about Maggie and Joe go to

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

or

http://xrl.in/4y57

There is also a nice clip of the Redlegs playing at

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


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New Rising Sons and Fiver Brown

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2011 by joetatesblog

NIGHT BEAT on Rhythm Street                 Joe Tate

Friday

Taste of Rome at 1000 Bridgeway is a great place to hang and enjoy what is probably the best coffee house in Marin. With a collegiate atmosphere, it seems to be populated with a cross section of local writers and  artists.

When the weather is nice, like it is this evening, the front glass is folded back so the interior and sidewalk area become one. You can enjoy a glass of wine, beer or sample the offerings from the menu. These include pizza, sandwiches, salads, quiche and pasta.

This evening the New Rising Sons are playing from 7: PM till 10: Pm. This group’s genesis dates from 1964 when Ry Cooder , Taj Mahal and Jesse Kinkaid formed the Rising  Sons in southern California.  The group also included Gary Marker and Ed Cassidy. They were a popular band in the Los Angeles area and often played clubs along the Hollywood strip. They recorded an album with Columbia records but, because they didn’t have a hit single, it was never released. The LP was widely bootlegged and after some 35 years was finally released.

In 2007 Jesse Kinkaid  and his new group became the house band at Mill Vally’s Sweetwater. With Jonathan Lovitt on guitar, Jake Baker on drums and Kurt Huget on bass, they were employed as the anchor band of the club. They decided to call themselves the New Rising Sons.

Tonight the set started with Jonathan Lovitt singing the jimmy Reed standard “Hush Hush.” Jonathan makes good use of his ample guitar skills while simultaneously providing an authentic sounding Jimmy Reed rack harp.

Continuing on with light rock and blues, the groove spread out onto the sidewalk where passersby stopped to enjoy the sounds and gyrate a little. Jake Baker sang a nice rendition of Elvis’ “Little Sister.”  Kurt Huget, who was playing guitar tonight, gave of a nice version of the folk rock clkassic, “The Might Quinn.” Duane Van Diemat, formerly of the Tasmanian Devils, played bass instead of Kurt because Jesse Kinkaid was absent. So Kurt took over Jesse’s guitar spot.

Veronica Page came to the stage and sang “I Fell In Love.” At this point, the soft rock program was over. Fine with me. Veronica has a smooth bell tone voice that morphs into a squall as she belts out this number.

Jake and Kurt team up for some tight harmony on the Everly Brothers’ “Dream. This is really nice. Kurt also sings a tribute he wrote for the late Francis Clay, the legendary drummer of the Muddy Waters band, titled “ Ain’t  Gonna Muddy the Water Any More.”

The New Rising Sons return to Taste OF Rome in Sausalito on July 26.

Just a short walk down Bridgeway brings us to Piccolo, at 660 Bridge way. This is right at the intersection of Princess Street and fronting Yee Tock Chee Park, which is built like a sort of pier connecting between the sidewalk and the Bay.  You can sit outside here at the restaurant or in the park. It’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. However, there is strict rule here not to bring your alcoholic drinks beyond the perimeter of the restaurant.

They have good coffee as well as wine, beer and an assortment of other goodies. Take your pick: appetizers, Pizza, salad, panini, pasta, croissants and more. Owner Mauro, who used to operate Caffé Divino, keeps busy scurrying from table to table, making sure everyone is happy.

Fiver Brown’s band is playing outside facing the Bay. Fiver received the name from his mother because of her fascination with the seer rabbit in Watership Down.

The group features Fiver singing his many original songs with a sprinkling of covers scattered throughout the set. He is backed by Dave Zuckerman on guitar, Mary Pitchford on fiddle, Gregg  Galbraith on Keyboards, Scott Lipsitz on bass and Rocky Vogler on Drums. They develop a nice ensemble sound which drifts across the water  and envelopes this downtown hub with a nice Sausalito groove.

The songs carry popular themes with vocals interspersed with nice solos from guitar, keyboard and fiddle. All in all, it’s a very nice sound. These folks seem like real professionals and they can be heard at various functions around town. Look for them at Bay Model functions and occasionally at the Presidio Yacht Club.

Many patrons are dancing on the concrete slabs in the park. It is a nice night and many people are walking in and out from the street. The crowd is made up mostly of locals, though some folks have expensive cameras hanging from them. The atmosphere is very congenial though and, I would recommend hearing music here whenever it is warm.

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Boogie Woogie Piano

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , on February 10, 2011 by joetatesblog

NIGHT BEAT on Rhythm Street       Joe Tate

Saturday

Tonight we got to hear some old fashioned New Orleans piano from Macy Blackman at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar at 2009 Bridgeway. Macy presents a combination of styles ranging from Professor Longhair to Ray Charles. In between you can hear Fats Domino, Doctor John, Huey Piano Smith and a little Jerry Lee Lewis. His excellent piano playing is complimented by his soulful vocals. He is accompanied by Bing Nathan on bass.

Starting off with “Let the Four Winds blow,” you can feel Fats Domino in the air. The vocal is spot on with all the little Fats Domino piano figures sprinkled in. The patrons react to “Tipitina” as if they know what to expect. Macy has his fans here and this song gets them going. This must be Professor Longhair’s defining song, though many more are to come.

Next is Rays Charles’ “Hallelujah I love Her So” followed by “Rock House” and eventually “One mint Julep.” “Rockin Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu” segues to some swamp blues with “Goin Back To New Orleans. Listening to these guys is like a little trip down south, if you know what I mean.

Macy grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and got his chops in New York City. He came to the Bay area in 2000 and now lives in Kensington. He has played with Dr. John, the Clovers and has his own group, the Mighty Fines, that features Jack Dorsey on Drums, Nancy Wright on Tenor sax and Snakebite on baritone sax. They can be heard at Ana’s Jazz Island in Berkeley on June 28.

Macy can be heard also at Servino’s in Tiburon. He will be there July 3. Also coming up is the “Blues Piano Orgy” on May 30, at the Belrose Theatre in San Rafael. This event will have Macy Blackman, Sid Morris and Wendy DeWitt. If you feel like venturing to North Beach, you can hear Macy every Monday and Tuesday in June.

Macy has a couple CDs that are good listening. His newest, “24 Hours A Day,” demonstrates his ample musical skills and is infused with the New Orleans style. He also has an older CD, “Something For Everybody,” a mixed bag of R&D , be bop and blues.

For more information about Macy Blackman go to http://www.macyblackman.com/

For reservations at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar call 332- 1512 The music schedule can be found at http://www.saylorsrestaurantandbar.com/entertainment.htm

Wednesday

Following the trail of boogie woogie piano to the No Name Bar at 757 Bridgeway, Wendy De Witt is holding forth tonight with a surprise guest. Wendy is one of the anointed Queens of Boogie Woogie, which was recently celebrated at the Sweetwater Station in Larkspur.

Wendy is endowed with incredible musical independence. Each of her hands is under separate control, the result of right-left brain coordination that is the basis for this ability. When her left hand gets to movin, the boogie starts groovin. The right hand spins the melody all in syncopation to that powerful bass line coming from the left. It is marvelous to watch her hands dancing, sort of in circles, around the keyboard.

“Texas Stomp” sets the tone with it’s quick rhythm and driving bass to get the feet tapping. Wendy’s four-inch heels start to move and her wide brimmed hat is bouncing around. Pretty soon this statuesque woman started singing in a total groove. With the piano filling out the spectrum, all you could have added is drums. Her “Walking Down The Road” was hand clapping good and she got a little vocal help from one table.

Eugene Huggins showed up and brought some real blues power to the proceedings with a pocket full of harmonicas. Wendy introduced him and they took off with “Mother Earth,” the Memphis Slim classic. Wendy has a unique way of playing this song with a slowly descending bass line that, mixed in with the moaning harmonica, sounded spooky and dark  It sounded like it had been crossed with St. James Infirmary. Real nice.

Huggins then sang a few songs including some Jimmy Reed and his holiday favorite, “Life Is a Nightmare.”  This is one special song. The pathological precept here may be a laughable absurdity. Describing all the bummers of life, the song has an uplifting beat that gives a happy feeling. He sings it with a smile so you know ther must be some irony in there.

Wendy closed out the set with a few cuts from her “You’re Not There”  CD. She played “Don’t Want No Man,”  “Unknown Boogie”, and “All You Cab Do Is Cry.” She has another CD titled “Soul Shake.”

For more information about Wendy De Witt got to http://www.wendydewitt.com/

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Chambers Blues Duet

Posted in Bay Area Music, Night Beat, Sausalito After Dark, Sausalito night life, ukulele music with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2011 by joetatesblog

NIGHT BEAT on Rhythm Street              Joe Tate

Friday

Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar, at 2009 Bridgeway, hosts what should be called the Chamber Blues Duo. Consisting of Chris Goddard on Guitar and Eugene Huggins on harmonica and vocals, they deliver delta blues with a chamber ambience. Each instrument, perfectly attuned, blends melodically with the other.

This is not usually the case with most guitar-harmonica duos.

Huggins, who cut his eyeteeth on Little Walter, spins out flawless blues with a tone set for fine dining.  Chris Goddard works his hands like Mississippi John Hurt and delivers primitive yet sophisticated blues guitar that pulsates with syncopation. His right thumb traces a bass line that is always accompanied by some melody and chords struck by the fingers. And that’s just the right hand.

In addition to the fine delta blues, these guys also mix in some standards and rock n’ roll favorites. The first set was heavily weighted to standards while the major feasting was going on.

Goddard starts out solo with “Stardust” and “Cast Your Fate To The Wind.” On each of these songs, Goddard’s mastery of the guitar is displayed.  Where others would simply play chords and melody, Goddard also inserts some counterpoint in the lower register.

Huggins now takes the stage and sings “Reeling And Rocking”, the Chuck Berry hit. During the bridge, they break into the instrumental, “Tequila.”  Neat.

Next up is “Memphis,” with some three part syncopation, two parts guitar, and one part harmonica. This song wants to explode, but the Chamber Bluesmen are keeping it under control.

Goddard lays down a long and flowery intro to “The Wind Cries Mary.” This beautiful Hendrix song reaches a new dimension with the addition of harmonica.

The serious blues starts with a few layers of crying slide guitar. “Mean Old Frisco,” the Arthur Crudup classic relives for a few minutes of harmonica-guitar give and take.

Muddy Waters is remembered next with “Can’t be Satisfied,” which is delivered with authentic style and has all the little slide guitar embellishments. The instrumental sections have guitar-harp harmonies, which push things a little closer to the edge.

The sated audience responds as Huggins sings his rendition of ”Little Red Rooster” of Howlin’ Wolf fame. Actually written by Willie Dixon, this song was a big hit for Wolf in 1961. Goddard lays some amazing slide into this one.

After a smokin’ “Shake Your Money Maker,” the proprietor, Sean Saylor, joins the group on guitar.  Saylor plays a sustained note style, which contrasts with Goddard who lays off these effects. Nevertheless, the blending of the sound is pleasing.

When Huggins takes up a guitar, it’s all guitars for a few minutes. Saylor gives us some solos that are more reminiscent of BB King than the old-fashioned delta blues that is the trademark of Goddard and Huggins. Saylor’s guitar proves itself on “As The Years go Passing By” and “Fools Paradise.”

There were some dueling guitars on “Crazy About A Mercury”, but it was very friendly and entertaining.

The duo has a CD entitled “Troubled Times” and another titled “Life Is A Nightmare” which features Huggins.

Goddard has played with Maria Muldaur and Commander Cody. He also wrote “Rockin Over China,” which was recorded by Commander Cody and Bill Kirchen. He also made a blues compilation CD on the Taxim label with Lisa Kindred.  Goddard also has CD of Christmas songs, which are played beautifully in contrapuntal style.

Huggins also has recorded a CD with Eugene And The Blue Jeans, a group he fronted for many years. He has also recorded with Harvey Mandel, Ron Hacker, Lisa Kindred and Marc Benno. In addition he has preformed with Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy and Tom Waits.

Both Goddard and Huggins are local guys. Goddard grew up in Tiburon and Huggins has lived his whole life here in Sausalito. They will be back at Saylor’s on Friday, June 20, from 7:30 till 10:30 PM. On Saturday June 28, they will be at the Marin Brewing Company at Larkspur Landing.

For booking information call 887 9488.

For reservations at Saylor’s Restaurant and Bar call 332 1512 or go to http://www.saylorsrestaurantandbar.com/news.htm

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