| MIDWEST BLUES BEAT |  |
MIDWEST BLUES BEAT
by Eric Steiner
HOT NEW LOCAL BLUES JAM...
This month, I want to honor a true unsung hero and an elder statesman of the region blues scene. I’ve had the good fortune to learn about many rising stars as your Midwest BEAT blues correspondent, but I hope you’ll join me in recognizing one of Harvey, Illinois’ own, Bongo Dick Shultz. Haven’t heard of Bongo Dick? Well, pour your favorite adult beverage, put on some blues, and kick back with me. Think of it as part of your continuing blues education, a pre-requisite course for your degree in the blues from the college of hard knocks. Unfortunately, my pen and paper ramblings pale in comparison to the fiery blues harp and guitar from Mr. Shultz, but let’s get started. Shultz has been playing the blues throughout the Midwest for over 38 of his 69 years. He began in the 1970s with the likes of Hammond B-3 geniuses Tommy Gibbons and Wayne Mason, along with Matt Ruskin also in keyboards, and Lenny Capp on bass. Ex-Cubs and Blackhawks organist Frank Pellico sat in with Bongo Dick, while Guitar Red was a main inspiration for Bongo Dick in the 1990’s. I shouted in the pages and screens of Midwest Blues Beat about Guitar Red’s Alive in the City CD, and that disc still holds a much welcomed spot in my blues collection. Bongo Dick has shared the stage with many blues stars, including guitarist Tony Rogers and his seven-year-old drum protégé at the Chicago Blues Fest in 2002 and 2003. I’ve heard that the young man has gone on to pick up and play the guitar, and he’ll be quite a player as he develops his chops. I’m thinking a potential Derek Trucks here, but a player who’ll hone his skills among some of the blues’ most accomplished performers. Last year, Bongo Dick played the Mississippi Valley Blues Fest in Davenport, Iowa, as part of the festival’s house band for the entire event. A couple of months ago, Bongo Dick sent me a soundboard mix of a local blues jam held last April at Tommy’s Place, a local night club in Blues Island, Illinois. That’s right, I said blues island, just for the way this suburb has kept the blues flames lit at 122nd and Western Avenue. Earlier in the year, the blues jam was held on Tuesdays, but call the club just to make sure: (708) 389-7890. I’m going to sprint to this month’s deadline dash by being lazy and letting my blues man Bongo Dick take the pen and paper from here. He sent these good words to me in a short letter that accompanied part of the April 6th show at Tommy’s. “Dear Eric, It’s time you hear about a weekly jam that has, in over a year, turned out to be a pro’s jam. Started by guitarist Ray ‘The Flame,” it is been a draw for blues artists all over Chicagoland. Every week, we have a guest host to play with the house band that changes weekly from three to nine new members. We can be compared to a big family that has one main thing in common – we love to live and play the blues! Some of the guest hosts have been Joanna Connor, Ken Saydak, Chico Banks, Jimmy Johnson, Lindsey Alexander, Billy Branch, Maurice John Vaughn, Jimmy Burns, Killer Ray Allison, etc….. Guitar Red is a visitor once a month, and the word is spreading and we are blues artists from other states and around the world stopping by to visit and show off their talents. We recently had a singer from Paris, France to entertain the crowd. The stage equipment for sound and lighting is superb with a pro sound man handling the board. Drink specials and good food complete the package. Where else can you go see and hear some this country’s best blues performers weekly without a cover charge? There is also a rock jam on Wednesday nights and bands booked on Fridays and Saturdays.” After listening to “Ray the Flame” and the house band tear it up courtesy of Bongo Dick, as Muddy Waters once sang... “I’m Ready.’ Before I forget, Mr. Shultz will celebrate his 70th birthday this upcoming November. As soon as I hear of any parties or sets in his honor, I’ll shout about them, too. Before I close, I wanted readers to know that there is blues aplenty here in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico. I’m filing this story from the Westin Regina Resort, and there’s at least two clubs in downtown Cabo San Lucas that has advertised the blues. One of them is Cabo Wabo, Sammy Hagar’s nightspot that features pictures of him hamming it up with movie stars that stop by in this seaside oasis. I’ve heard stories of the craziness that takes over Cabo Wabo, no doubt fueled by Sammy’s own premium reposado and anejo 100% blue agave tequilas. The Wabo Wings are spicy and out of this world, and the quesadillas are truly a wonderful Mexican invention. NEXT MONTH: I’m going to shout about Scott Bradbury’s new CD, Callin’ All Blues (Teardrop Records), a new CD from Mokena-based 3rd Degree, Burn the Man, and few new discs from local artists on the Black and Tan record label out of the Netherlands. As they say down here in Los Cabos, manana.
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