Blues News January 2017
Host Band Interview
Gary Craft
“Real Deal Blues Band”
By Doug Schunick
Gary, a Cleveland native, plays harmonica and sings for the Real Deal Blues Band. Gary
was an original board member of the CBS and also served as President in the formative
years of the Society. Once he was approached by board member Marlene Farone, he took
the initiative to do whatever it took to get the word out, including passing out flyers. He says
the first meeting was at the Loose Moose and over 40 people showed up! He says he did
not want to be the president...but hey!...things happen! Gary noted that Bob Frank was also
instrumental ( no pun intended) in getting the Society organized and on the move.
Self taught, Gary grew up listening to the legendary 16 60 75 The Numbers Band and Robert Jr Lockwood, once he found out who he was. Mr. Stress was also a big influence as they
became good friends and often hung out together. He also mentioned the jams at Cebars as
one of the best jams in the area.
Gary says he always felt the Society is really
for the people who are in it, and strived to truly
be a "Blues Community"..... and like after having a baby, you have to let it go. Initially he
worked to create grants to develop education
programs, such as Blues in the Schools, workshop programs in schools, membership
drives, and fund raisers. Gary did not want the
jams to become a way of exploiting the musicians to play for free, and says some of those
early blues jams were "epic"! Gary mentioned
the efforts of Terri Peeler, and John Adams in
developing the Blues Cruise, as examples of
the great works of many in working to increase
Society memberships. Gary also mentioned
that Mike Miller, owner of Wilberts, was an
early supporter of the CBS. I personally,
thought the old Wilberts was the best place in
town for blues...there were too many great
shows that I attended to mention
here....but ..they are etched in my mind!
Gary Craft
Gary lists Paul Butterfield, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson,and more recently, Rod Piaz as
influences and favorites. Gary and bass player Clyde Deubell formed the Real Deal 14 years ago.
Clyde is the owner of Timeless Guitars, and in the mid 60's was an original member of the Burnt
River Band. If you are a guitar player, and have never been to Timeless Guitars....Get There! Fabulous vintage stuff and a very friendly place! The band's drummer, Tony Berg passed at the end
of January. His passing was a great loss for the band, but also for his bandmates and families...as
all are close friends with all of thef amily members as well. He is sorely missed.
Currently, Frankie Starr has joined the band on Guitar and vocals, along with Frank Mussara on
the drums. Gary says he has known Frankie for years, and along with Bill Capuano, from the
Strange Brew Band and the old Blue Taxi band, are his good friends and favorites.
Music has been, and still is, a big part of his life. Gary lives in Macedonia, and works for the Solon
Schools System. When possible, he loves to play golf, and says he is a chef of sorts, cooking up
what he calls " southern food," including barbeque.
Gary says you can check out the band on Real Deal Blues bands on YouTube, and Real Deal
Band facebook. You can reach Gary at [email protected].
The Real Deal Blues band will be at the Old Prague Inn in Vermillion on January 17th. Gary
says ..Great Food...I say...Great Music!...
Thanks, Gary, for helping move CBS forward and continuing to pump out some great Blues!
Real Deal Blues Band
Get Out to the Jams
The monthly Blues Society Jams are a great opportunity for Blues players and Blues listeners to
get together to create and share some wonderful music. You not only get to hear the great host
bands, but many other fine musicians in the area. The jams are a great place for younger and older players to get together and express themselves, learn from others, explore new ideas, make
friends, and support the great establishments that support the Cleveland Blues Society. All players are welcome....you do not have to be a Society member. Many great bands and friendships
have formed from these informal gatherings! So, as they used to say in Detroit... "Kick Out The
Jams".... get out to the jams...it's a great way to connect!
Upcoming Monday Jams
January 9 —Parkview
“Cats on Holiday”
February 13 — Packy Malley’s
“Lady Bluz & Her Cru”
SPOTLIGHT
Michael Henighen, an accomplished harmonica player, is also known by his stage
name, “Honeycomb.” After graduating from East Tech High, he joined the United
States Navy, and participated in its Advanced Electronics Program. Following his
discharge, he continued to pursue this field through additional education and employment. After a career that included working for Magnavox, where he was credited with a number of original
designs, he has recently retired from the VA Medical System as a lead information technology specialist. Mike
says he has always had a deep love and respect for all
forms of music, especially the Blues. He looks forward to
helping CBS create an educational program that brings an
appreciation and history of the Blues to others, to preserve the past and ensure its future. He says he hopes to
be an active member of the Cleveland Blues Society and
a musician or a sophisticated noise maker of unparalleled
qualities.
Blues You Should Know
The McCoy Brothers &
The Harlem Hamfats
by Bob Frank
I mention blues playing brothers and who comes to
mind? The Vaughns, of course, Stevie & Jimmie, but
who else? The Blues Brothers? They weren’t real brothers, not even in the movie. So let’s go back a little further.
This column is about two brothers and a band. The
band we’ll get to later. Let’s start with the brothers,
Charlie & Joe McCoy. “Kansas City” Joe was the older
brother, born in 1905 in Raymond, Mississippi. Why he
was called “Kansas City Joe” is something of a mystery.
His younger brother Charlie, often called “Papa Charlie,” was born in Jackson in 1909.
Joe and Charlie McCoy
Joe played guitar and sang, and for some reason, his solo records were always recorded under a variety of
pseudonyms. By the mid 1920s Joe was living in Memphis and was part of the thriving music scene based
around Beale Street. In 1929 he began a recording and performing partnership with his wife Lizzie Douglas,
better known as Memphis Minnie. Their first record, Bumble Bee, was a huge hit for the era, and Memphis
Minnie and Kansas City Joe were two of the blues’ biggest stars for a while. After their divorce in 1935 Minnie continued recording and making hit records right up to the early 1950s.
Meanwhile, younger brother Charlie McCoy, was making a name for himself as the preeminent stringedinstrument accompanist of the era. Whereas Joe played only guitar, Charlie was not only a fine guitarist and
banjo player, he was quite possibly the best mandolin player in all of blues. Charlie recorded some on his
own but was most in demand in the recording studio as an accompanist. The most well-known of these recordings these days is probably Maggie Campbell Blues by Tommy Johnson, a record that has appeared on
dozens of cd blues compilations.
After Joe’s divorce from Minnie, he and Charlie made a few records together and these sold well, but in
1936 the two entered into a truly wonderful new project. By this time both brothers were living in Chicago
where they were said to be popular with local gangsters who loved the way the brothers could shift easily
from blues and hokum to the sentimental Italian favorites popular with the hoods of the day.
In Chicago at that time, the most powerful and influential individual in the blues scene was J. Mayo Williams,
one of the first African-American record producers. Williams had an interesting idea: take two authentic hard
-core Mississippi blues musicians (Joe & Charley), and put them in a band with New Orleans and Chicago
trained jazz musicians.
This was the Harlem Hamfats, and they consisted of the McCoys, Herb Morand on trumpet, Odel Rand on
clarinet, and Horace Malcom on piano. They used a revolving group of bass players and drummers but the
two McCoys (Joe on guitar, Charlie on mandolin), Morand, Rand, and Malcom were the basic band. Their
first recording Oh Red, was big enough hit that they were quickly signed to a fifty title contract by Decca
Records. Sometimes put-together bands really do work out.
For me, discovering the music of the Harlem Hamfats was like seeing the Marx Brothers for the first time.
They were an exhilarating combination of musical anarchy, salaciousness, irreverence, and hilarity, performed with finesse, expertise, and joy. The Hamfats combined blues, jazz, swing, and, in a way, may have
been the first true “fusion” band. Whatever else they were, they were just plain fun.
Joe usually did the singing, played rhythm guitar, and Charlie played a swinging rhythm mandolin that blended perfectly with the more sophisticated piano and rhythm section.
The titles of their songs alone are enough to make you want to check
them out. Let’s Get Drunk & Truck, My Garbage Man, She’s a Mellow
Mother For You, Black Gal You Better Use Your Head, and perhaps my
favorite song title of all time: Root Hog or Die! One of their songs, Hallalujah Joe Ain’t Preaching No More is a reference to one of Kansas City
Joe’s former personas “Hallalujah Joe,” which he had used when he
recorded religious records and sermons.
Their most lasting musical legacy is probably the song, Weed Smoker’s
Dream, which was soon covered by Lil Green as Why Don’t You Do
Right. White singer Peggy Lee copped Greens version, recorded the
song with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and had a national hit. The
song under its bowdlerized title remains a standard of the jazz repertoire.
The Hamfats were also popular with both black and white audiences and, particularly, Western Swing
bands. Bob Wills covered a number of their tunes.
And, as you as you might have suspected, despite their name, none of the band’s members were from
Harlem.
Unfortunately, the heyday of the Harlem Hamfats didn’t last long. By 1939 musical tastes were changing,
Decca dropped them and trumpeter Herb Morand moved back to New Orleans.
That was pretty much it for the McCoy Brothers’ musical careers as well. They played around Chicago for
a while but Charlie was drafted into the Army at the beginning of WWII. Joe was exempt from the draft due
to a heart condition.
Charlie and Joe McCoy both died, within a few months of each other, in 1950.
The music of the Harlem Hamfats was pretty much forgotten after WWII when a new generation of artists
like Louis Jordan began forging what was to become r&b. For some reason, perhaps because they never
neatly fit into either the “blues” or “jazz” category, their music, as wonderful and joyous as it is, has never
gotten anything close to the attention it deserves.
Fortunately, a number of Harlem Hamfats re-release compilations have come out in recent years including
a wonderful box set on JSP Records. They’re also well represented on YouTube, Spotify and some of the
other streaming services.
CBS CABIN FEVER
Members Indoor Picnic
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
SUNDAY, February 26, 2017
Time: 2pm to 6pm
Parma Elks – 2250 Snow Road, Parma
(Behind McDonald’s in Midtown Shopping Center)
BAND: Colin Dussault (This is not a jam session)
Band will play from 3pm to 6pm
Free to Members/$10 for non-members
CD Review:
Wetlands/Tab Benoit
by Jim Bell
One of my favorite blues artists is Louisiana Cajun-man Tab
Benoit. Whether it is his high-energy cajun/zydeco music, his
heartfelt common-man lyrics, or his interaction with the crowd
at his performances, Tab knows how to sing, entertain and
leave you wanting more.
Born in November 1967, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tab began playing guitar in his
teens. He soon began hanging around Tabby’s Blues Box. There, he was mentored by owner
Tabby Thomas and other bluesmen of the day including Raful Neal and Henry Gray. Tab
formed his first band, a trio, in 1987. By 1991 Tab was touring across the United States. Tab’s
first album (Nice and Warm) came out in 1993, and was quickly followed by new works at almost yearly intervals. Wetlands was released in 2002. To date, Tab Benoit has eighteen albums to his credit. Today, Tab is touring with longtime band mates Carl Dufrene on bass, and
Darryl White on drums. Tab keeps his sound clean and simple. No pedals, no effects. Tab
plays a Fender Telecaster that looks like it has seen every mile of his touring career. Banged
up and bruised, the finish well-worn, it is the perfect guitar for a man from the swamps and bayous.
Wetlands starts off with a Tab Benoit original song entitled ‘Fast and Free’ and is followed by another original, ‘Stackolina’. From there Tab covers the Lil’ Bob and the Lollipops
tune ‘I Got Loaded’. The fifth cut is another Benoit original called ‘When a Cajun Man Gets The
Blues’. In this slow ballad he pours out his soul and cries for his lost love.
My cheri has left me for good
After I gave my love for so long
She’s out there with somebody new
And I just sit here alone
But it is so hard to drive
With these tears in my eyes
And it takes a long time
To get back to Baton Rouge
And all I want is to hear
Somebody play my song
When a Cajun man gets the blues
Tab collaborated with singer/songwriter Anders Osborne on many of the songs on this
album. Osborne also assisted in producing the album. Additionally, Tab reached back and covered songs by Otis Redding (These Arms of Mine), Professor Longhair (Her Mind Is Gone), and
Boozoo Chavis (Dog Hill).
All in all, a great work and worthy of any blues fans time for a good listen.
Jammer Spotlight
Bob DeVries
by Doug Schunick
This month, I am going to let Bob tell you in his own words his background and association
with the Blues Society. Bob DeVries is a Harmonica player who introduced me to the CBS. I
have had the pleasure to play with him at many jams and with The DeBreeze Band this past
summer at the Cuyahoga County Fair.
" Started playing blues harmonica about 10 years ago while working in Lansing, Michigan,
where I was Director of Research and Development at a biotech company, after retiring early
from Dow Chemical. They had a Blues Jam Sunday nights at the Green Door. One night a
musician slid me a harmonica and told me to learn something in the car when I drove down
each weekend. One night he was gone and they needed a harp player ...so I got up."
"Moved to Westlake, Ohio in 2008 for another job where I was a Charter member of the CBS.
My grandmother was born in Cleveland, so I had been here as a child and have lots of distant
relatives here. I later joined the CBS board and wrote a grant to the Cuyahoga Arts Council for
matching funds (up to $5000 match/yr) for some of our activities, and continue to help others
get these each year. I wrote grants in my previous job in Lansing. I officially became Treasurer, and helped strengthen the financial position by pushing renewals of memberships, selling
merchandise, raffles at events, and served on the Blues Cruise Committee. My goal was to put
them in a position to support a BLUES FESTIVAL in CLEVELAND someday. I pushed the local Blues Cruise idea since joining because my wife, Lisa, and I, often go on the Legendary
Rhythm and Blues Cruise in the Caribbean. I first met the Pokatellos on the cruise, as he recognized that I was wearing a Savannah's t-shirt! "
"I worked at OMG and PolyOne and still do some short time consulting, but am mostly retired. I enjoy the local jams, and get to
make it to many of them. I also love to find jams when I travel, and
have a list I keep of all the places I've played all over the country.
There are pros and beginners at every jam, and in every town....so
you never know what is going to happen...but, they all love music!
Best place to jam? Chicago, Kansas City, and the Legendary Blues
Cruise!"
Bob DeVries
" I heard Muddy Waters playing on Maxwell Street in Chicago as a
child....my dad took us down to look around. My older cousin told
me a few years ago (at a blues festival in Kalamazoo) that I wouldn't leave, so he had to stay with me while everyone else shopped. I
barely remember that, but that's probably my first exposure....
Bought a few Little Walter records sometime in the 60's from the
basement racks of Elderly Instruments in East Lansing Michigan."
Thanks so much, Bob! Be sure to say "hey" when you see him at the jams! Bob can be
reached on Robert A. DeVries facebook and at [email protected].
CBS Board of Directors
President—John Adams
Board Members at Large :
Vice President - Michael Henighan (Honeycomb)
Susanne Mayer
Treasurer - Elaine DeStephano
Robert Dickow
Secretary - Becky Francen
Mike Kormos
Diane Mocniak
From left: Becky Francen, Mike Kormos Elaine DeStephano, John Adams,
Robert Dickow, Diane Mocniak, Michael Henighan, Susanne Mayer
2017
Cheers to a new year
and another chance to get it right.
Happy New Year!
Volunteers Needed
Please consider volunteering with CBS. It’s a great way
to meet people and support your blues community.
Please contact Elaine if interested at (216) 212-0007 or
email at [email protected].
Newsletter Contributors:
Elaine DeStephano, Doug Schunick, Jim Bell, Bob Frank and Caroline Martlew
Do you have an idea for an article?—email Doug at [email protected]