Newsletter, December 2018

As we wind down the year, I will take this opportunity to thank the River City Blues Society board members and volunteers for donating their time and energy to preserve the blues. After serving on the board for a number of years including one year as Vice-President and one year as President I am stepping down as President.

 

I am thankful for what we accomplished this year. We continued our partnership with the Camel hosting Blues and Brews every other Friday night giving local bands a venue to perform at and blues fans a place to hear good music twice a month.

 

In March Virginia Blues artist Gaye Adegbalola was one of eight women honored in celebration of Virginia’s Women in History for Women’s History Month. There was a special reception Thursday, March 22 at 5:30 at the Library, 800 East Broad St.  Further, there is a monthlong exhibit on the 2nd floor of the library. It was agreed that the board would also send flowers to her at her ceremony. Board member Colin Steele went to her ceremony to represent RCBS. Congratulations Gaye.

 

The subject of many meetings was starting a local Sunday afternoon jam session. This presented many challenges and we finally have our first blues jam scheduled for Sunday, February 24^th 2019 at Capital Ale House-Downtown.  Pumphouse Blues is hosting the jam. We will charge $5 at the door.  It will be 3-6 pm. We ask that all local bands that are not working during these hours to come out and help make this a success.

 

On June 10^th we hosted our 10^th annual Blues Challenge to see who would represent the RCBS in Memphis for the 2019 IBC. In Layman Terms won the band competition. Root2Music won the solo/duo competition. In Layman Terms also hosted our holiday party in December. We wish them the best in Memphis. John Porter one of the hosts for Virginia’s Time for the Blues on WCVE was our MC, Cy Tagert provided the back line and Kurt Crandall managed the stage. Thanks guys.

 

We held our annual event at Grayhaven Winery June 24. Thanks to The Bush League for hosting. After we got that big snake off the stage, we had a fine afternoon of blues. We also nominated The Bush League’s CD for best self-produced CD and sent copies to the Blues Foundation.

 

We had planned a blues festival at the Diamond called Parkfest but due to starting our planning later in the year we were unable to get enough corporate sponsorship to make it work. Hats off to Sandy Faulkner and Karen Haab for doing most of the heavy lifting on this effort.

 

We did raffle a ticket to the Blues Cruse that was won by John Sankey. This was a great opportunity to attend a fantastic event and we congratulate John.

 

We addressed our membership renewal and acted on a suggestion that all memberships should be due at the same time to make it easier to send notices. We sponsored another “Hot August Night” John Howe organized the music for this party. Three bands performed:  Blues Flash, Lil Ronnie’s Blue and Lonesome Duo, and Pump House.  It was held August 17 at the Capital Ale Downtown from 6 pm – 9 pm.  Members got in free.  Anita created a Facebook event and included information about this in the renewal email.

 

In November we sent out notices to anyone who wished to serve on the RCBS board. As of the early December meeting date, we had 33 responses.  Congratulations to Boyd Burton and Kenya Watkins, the new River City Blues Society Board members and returning members Anita Schlank Secretary and Greg Willard Treasurer!

 

Bob Follek put in another year as our volunteer webmaster and continues to do an excellent job. Thank you, Bob. Also, thanks to former President Ellen Foster and her husband Rick who served on the board for many years.

 

Anita held many house parties for blues artists traveling across the country. She has to be the biggest live blues fan I know. Thank you, Anita, for all you do to support the blues and the RCBS.

 

Speaking of Anita sales from a new book about to be published, “Blues Therapy” will benefit blues musicians who need mental health and/or addictions treatment. The book is written by our very own Anita Schlank and co-authored by blues musician Tab Benoit, with a foreword by Mike Zito, and includes interviews with numerous blues musicians who discuss their personal experience with mental health disorders (including Beth Hart, Ronnie Earl, Monster Mike Welch, Eric Gales, Billy Price, Rev. Billy Wirtz, Amanda Fish, and many more.) There is a fundraiser to cover the cost of printing/shipping the books, so that all sales money can go toward the musicians in need. Please consider donating at https://www.gofundme.com/blues-therapy. Congratulations Anita on this excellent book.

 

 Finally, thanks to Shelly, Anita, Greg, Colin, Pix, Sandy, George and Randy for serving on the board this year and making the River City Blues Society and excellent organization. Keep you eye on our Facebook page and rivercityblues.org for upcoming events.

 

Good blues to you and yours in 2019.

 

Best wishes,

 

Forrest McDonald

President RCBS

Newsletter, November 2017

I send warm greetings to our River City Blues Society members and friends of the blues. The blues is alive and well in the River City. We held the drawing for the ZZ Top tickets and sent one lucky winner to the show. We still have raffle tickets for the February 2018 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. The prize is a cabin for two. This is going to be one great trip. We will hold the drawing at the December 2017 RCBS Holiday Party. The raffle tickets are $20. You can purchase them at RCBS events, or via Paypal. Admission to the holiday party is $5.00 for members and $10.00 for non-members. That sounds like a good incentive to join if you are not already a member. The holiday party is Sunday December 10 from 3:00 – 7:00 pm at the Camel. We are accepting donations for the silent auction. If you have some items you would like to donate please bring them to the party. Parker & Gray and the Tom Euler Band will be co-hosting the jam. Please come support our winners as we try to put some money in their pockets to help off-set the travel and hotel expenses during the IBC.  More information can be found at http://blues.org/ home of the Blues Foundation.

Our blues society is fortunate to have some of the biggest blues fans in the country on the board. I am specifically talking about Anita Marie. She is a blues road warrior and supports live blues music all over the country. On November 2 Thursday evening Anita put on a last-minute house concert by Brody Buster and Amanda Fish who is Samantha Fish’s sister. Their gig in DC fell through and Anita stepped up with the house party so they would not have an empty night in their performance schedule. They were awesome.  Lil Ronnie Owens and myself joined the jam session and a great time was had by all. Lil Ronnie asked Anita to host a house concert for his friends, the John Cocuzzi Duo, on November 25 (Saturday after Thanksgiving). I hope you will save the date! (More info later.)

In closing I would like to remind you we are a non-profit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and perpetuation of the Blues as an original American art form. Thank you to all the volunteers who keep our society running.

Good blues to you!

Newsletter, October 2017

Our Mission: To preserve blues heritage, celebrate blues recording and performance, expand worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form.

I send warm greetings to our River City Blues Society members and friends of the blues. Our parent organization the Blues Foundation (www.blues.org) is gathering submissions for the next blues award nominations. Individual blues bands are invited to complete a form to submit a their recording for 2018 Blues Music Awards consideration. The Blues Foundation is also focusing on the nation’s biggest and most respected showcase for Blues Musicians ready to take their act to the national stage. Yes, I am talking about the 2018 International Blues Challenge. Representing Richmond in the acoustic solo/duo is Parker & Gray and the Tom Euler Band is competing in the band division. We wish them the best. They will be hosting our holiday party in December.

RCBS is running a blues cruise raffle! The prize is a cabin for two on the February 2018 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. We'll hold the drawing at the December 2017 RCBS Holiday Party. Raffle tickets are $20. You can purchase them at RCBS events, or via Paypal.

The RCBS is running a blues cruise raffle! The prize is a cabin for two on the February 2018 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. We'll hold the drawing at the December 2017 RCBS Holiday Party. The raffle tickets are $20. You can purchase them at RCBS events, or via Paypal.

Check out this incredible line-up Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal Trio, Kenny Wayne Shephers, Tab Benoit Tommy Castro Band, Magic Dick, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Commander Cody Band, Charlie Musslewhite, Walter Trout, and many others.  

 
Blues In The Schools is still very much a priority for our society. The Blues Foundation provides some direction to its affiliated Blues societies, and organizations like the House of Blues, the Seattle Experience Music Project and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have designed curriculum units and lesson plans that are ready to be plugged into any grade or discipline targeting grades K-12. In 2006, RCBS applied for, and received, a Blues Music Foundation Grant from the Experience Music Project. Our grant application stated: "The RCBS seeks to create a blues package that will include curriculum materials, recordings, documents and transcriptions, lyrics, and visual material to be used in the classroom by teachers in a variety of disciplines. Development, creation and distribution of these materials will be facilitated in collaboration with the curriculum coordinators in the Richmond region schools for humanities, social sciences and music and with selected teachers."  If you are a teacher or have contact with members of the school board that may be interested in having us give a presentation please have them contact us.

We have a goal to increase our membership so please spread the word to your friends and family members encouraging them to attend a Blues and Brews event at the Camel. Check the calendar for updates.

In closing I would like to remind you we are a non-profit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and perpetuation of the Blues as an original American art form. Thanks to all the hard working board members who volunteer their time to make this all possible.

Good blues to you!

Forrest McDonald
President RCBS

Newsletter, August 2017

Our Mission: To preserve blues heritage, celebrate blues recording and performance, expand worldwide awareness of the blues, and ensure the future of this uniquely American art form.

I send warm greetings to our River City Blues Society members and friends of the blues. Hot town summer in the city. I have a lot to update you on so I’ll jump right in. Every year The Blues Foundation gives an award for the best self produced CD. As an affiliate of the Blues Foundation, RCBS can nominate one band for best self-produced blues CD for the Blues Music Awards We had some great CD’s that were reviewed by the board. When all votes were tallied Anthony Rosado and the Conqueroos received the board’s vote.  We wish them luck and send thanks to all bands who submitted their CD’s. I have been asked so in case you were wondering The Forrest McDonald Band’s new CD Stand My Ground could not be submitted by the RCBS since as an officer in the society that would be considered a conflict of interest.

As I mentioned last month we are working hard to organize a monthly for now and bi-monthly to follow blues jam. We are targeting aWednesday/Thursday and Sunday jam session with a host band. Here is the update on our progress. Poe’s is interested, but prefers Wednesdays.  Steam Bell is already booked every Sunday through November, but the owners are opening a new place in Carytown called “Canon and Draw.” They are waiting on the license, which should be obtained in October. They might be interested in a blues jam on a Wednesday night there. IDK (I Don’t Know) is interested, but not on a Sunday. Buz and Ned’s are discussing a proposal that Lil Ronnie Owens be the host band for the last Thursday of the month starting September 28. Once we have the green light I encourage all blues players in the area to attend. We want to build this up so that National acts passing through town are tempted to stop in and play a few numbers. Stay tuned for more on this in the next newsletter.

Ellen found about 20 old Blues in the Schools CDs.  Anita gave two away to new members who had to wait a long time to receive their shirts.  It was agreed that she could give out the remainder to any new members joining at the Camel. So there is another incentive to check out our Blues and Brews at the Camel. Check our gig calendar to see who is playing. Let’s give a round of applause to Bob Follek for keeping our web site current with all of the latest venues, blogs, and maintenance. Thanks Bob great job!  We are also doing some analysis on what it would take to automate the renewal notices to make the process easier for everyone.

We are raffling off tickets for ZZ Top at the Altria Theater in Richmond October 21. Anita will sell these at the Camel and Forrest will ask Bob to add the raffle ticket purchase option to the website.

Congratulations to our friends who won Independent Blues Awards: Albert Castiglia won Best Traditional Blues Song for “Let’s Make Love in the Morning.” Mike Zito won Best Blues Rock Song for “Redbird.” And, Samantha Fish won Best Independent Female Blues Artist and also the Road Warrior Award. Well-deserved!

International Song Writing Competition

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is an annual song contest whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. ISC is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters on all levels and promote excellence in the art of songwriting. Amateur and professional songwriters and musicians are invited to participate with over 23 categories of music for you to enter, including Blues. ISC has the most prestigious panel of judges of all the songwriting and music contests in the world. This year's judges include Booker T. Jones, Walter Trout, John Mayall, Joe Louis Walker, and Bruce Iglauer. This competition is a great opportunity for songwriters, musicians, and performers to win cash and prizes, further their music careers, and gain recognition and exposure in the music industry. The winners will benefit from a multilateral promotional campaign designed to give international exposure and attention to their songwriting achievements. ISC is taking entries until September 20, 2017. A total of 71 winners will share in more than $150,000 in cash and prizes, including an overall Grand Prize consisting of $25,000 (US) cash, and much more in merchandise and services.

The RCBS is running a blues cruise raffle! The prize is a cabin for two on the February 2018 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. We'll hold the drawing at the December 2017 RCBS Holiday Party. The raffle tickets are $20. You can purchase them at RCBS events, or via Paypal.

As we gear up for back to school Blues In The Schools is still very much a priority for our society.  The Blues Foundation provides some direction to its affiliated Blues societies, and organizations like the House of Blues, the Seattle Experience Music Project and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have designed curriculum units and lesson plans that are ready to be plugged into any grade or discipline targeting grades K-12. In 2006, RCBS applied for, and received, a Blues Music Foundation Grant from the Experience Music Project. Our grant application stated: "The RCBS seeks to create a blues package that will include curriculum materials, recordings, documents and transcriptions, lyrics, and visual material to be used in the classroom by teachers in a variety of disciplines. Development, creation and distribution of these materials will be facilitated in collaboration with the curriculum coordinators in the Richmond region schools for humanities, social sciences and music and with selected teachers."  If you are a teacher or have contact with members of the school board that may be interested in having us give a presentation please have them contact us.

We have a goal to increase our membership so please spread the word to your friends and family members encouraging them to attend a Blues and Brews event at the Camel. Check the calendar for updates.

In closing I would like to remind you we are a non-profit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and perpetuation of the Blues as an original American art form. Thanks to all the hard working board members who volunteer their time to make this all possible.

Good blues to you!

Forrest McDonald
President RCBS

Newsletter, July 2017

I send warm greetings to our River City Blues Society members and friends of the blues. It has been a busy spring for the River City Blues Society. We had our annual Blues at the Vineyard held at the Grayhaven Winery in Gum Spring on May 21. The Forrest McDonald Band hosted a jam session that was well attended and a lot of fun. Participation from the bands was great. The Bush League played a set and Bobby Black Hat Walters came from the Tidewater area. All of the performers were excellent. We had a number of new vendors that helped brighten up the day. The wine was tasty, the sun was shining, and we raised money for the Blues Society. Hoorary! The event was a great success and we look forward to doing it again next year. Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped make the day a success and to all of you who came to support live blues.

On the 11th of June we held our 13th annual River City Blues Challenge. Parker & Gray took first place in the acoustic challenge and the Tom Euler Band edged out In Layman Terms in a close contest with the electric blues bands. We wish Parker & Gray and the Tom Euler Band the best in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN to be held January 16-20 2018 put on by the Blues Foundation. We presented Ellen Foster with a plaque, gift certificate, and cake to show our appreciation for serving as out president for many years. She and Rick have volunteered for many years and we thank them for their unselfish and tireless work.

We are planning a bi-monthly blues jam for the fall and hope to have great participation from our local blues bands and fans. We have tentative plans for a jam the first Sunday of the month at Buz and Ned's and another jam mid-month on Wednesday evenings. We are in discussions with Poe’s Pub, Steam Bell Beer Works, and others. This is still in the planning stage; stay tuned for more announcements.

I would like to encourage the blues bands in the region to send me any big news that may be happening for their band. For instance the Forrest McDonald Band released their 13th CD Stand My Ground, June 1 and it is being played on 120 radio stations reaching 1.5 million fans.

The RCBS is running a blues cruise raffle! The prize is a cabin for two on the February 2018 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. We'll hold the drawing at the December 2017 RCBS Holiday Party. The raffle tickets are $20. You can purchase them at RCBS events, or via Paypal.

Although this school year is coming to a close Blues In The Schools is still very much a priority for our society.  The Blues Foundation provides some direction to its affiliated Blues societies, and organizations like the House of Blues, the Seattle Experience Music Project and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have designed curriculum units and lesson plans that are ready to be plugged into any grade or discipline targeting grades K-12. In 2006, RCBS applied for, and received, a Blues Music Foundation Grant from the Experience Music Project. Our grant application stated: "The RCBS seeks to create a blues package that will include curriculum materials, recordings, documents and transcriptions, lyrics, and visual material to be used in the classroom by teachers in a variety of disciplines. Development, creation and distribution of these materials will be facilitated in collaboration with the curriculum coordinators in the Richmond region schools for humanities, social sciences and music and with selected teachers."  If you are a teacher or have contact with members of the school board that may be interested in having us give a presentation please have them contact us.

We have a goal to increase our membership so please spread the word to your friends and family members encouraging them to attend a Blues and Brews event at the Camel. Check the calendar for updates.

In closing I would like to remind you we are a non-profit, volunteer-based organization dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and perpetuation of the Blues as an original American art form.

Good blues to you!

Forrest McDonald
President RCBS