Saturday, November 10, 2012

First-ever Blues show at Bill's Pickin' Parlor tonight

Luke Winslow-King, Walter Liniger at Bill's Pickin' Parlor

Bill's Pickin' Parlor at 710 Meeting Street in West Columbia, S.C., has long been a haven for true Bluegrass picker and fans.

A year or so after the community suffered the passing of Mr. Bill, his son Willie Wells is keeping the Bluegrass tradition alive, albeit with a tweak or two.

One venture the venerable venue is testing includes a Blues showcase on Saturdays.

The first such event is this evening at 7 p.m. (Nov. 10, 2012) and features New Orleans' Luke Winslow-King, a guitarist who favors traditional pre-WWII music and Walter Liniger.


Luke Winslow-King (from his Web bio): "Luke Winslow-King (born March 12th 1983) is a guitarist, singer, composer, and lyricist known for his slide guitar work, and interest in pre-war blues and traditional jazz. Winslow-King’s work consists of an eclectic mix, taking in delta-folk music, classical composition, ragtime, and rock and roll; juxtaposing original songs with those from a bygone era.

Whether solo, or with a band, Winslow-King is known for an original sound that is both rustic and elegant. He delivers energetic and dynamic performances, with his burgundy voice and versatile guitar playing.

Winslow-King, originally from Cadillac, Michigan, moved to New Orleans by chance in 2001. During a decade in New Orleans, he has collaborated with a revered list of local musicians, including: John Boutte, “Washboard” Chaz Leary, George Porter Jr., and Paul Sanchez.
Performing years of weekly gigs on Frenchmen Street, Winslow-King has honed his sound and earned respect as leader among the young traditionalists. His music appeals to countless vacationers making musical pilgrimages to New Orleans, selling thousands of records from the stage. Winslow-King has performed live on CNN and the Discovery Channel in recent years and was named ‘Writer of the Week’ by American Songwriter Magazine in January 2011.

Winslow-King’s album, Old, New Baby (Fox On A Hill Record) received acclaim locally and nationally, and helped him gather followers in all generations. Recorded in 2009 at Preservation Hall, Old/New Baby was distributed by eMusic and named within American Songwriter’s Top Ten Albums of 2009."

Walter Liniger:
Opening the show will be Walter Liniger,* who plays a powerful harmonica that makes one envision the train coming down the tracks. Liniger, who hails from Switzerland, but has made Columbia his home for a portion of each year was mentored by Son House and spent time honing his Blues craft from North Carolina's picking legend, Etta Baker. He teaches Blues for the Honors College at the University of South Carolina.

From his Web bio:
"From 1984 until 1992 Liniger worked as a Research Associate at the University of Mississippi's Blues Archive, directing the archive's oral history project, "The Original Down Home Blues Show."

In 1984, a Folk Art grant by the Mississippi Arts Commission
allowed Liniger to start his apprenticeship with James Son Thomas (1926-1993), one of the Delta's great bluesmen. During the following seven years the duo appeared at most major Blues festivals throughout America and participated extensively in the statewide Arts in Education program. This valuable experience, mentioned in the Gerard Herzhaft's Encyclopedia of the Blues, was sobering and necessary: it allowed Liniger to re-evaluate his rather intellectual notion of the Blues. In addition, Liniger continued his studies under Sonny Boy Nelson (Eugene Powell), Jack Owens, Johnny Woods and Wilburt Lee Reliford, exponents of traditional Mississippi Blues.

In 1993 Liniger became a Distinguished Lecturer with the Institute for Southern Studies, University of South Carolina. In addition to teaching his successful course ECHOES IN BLUES at the South Carolina Honors College, he continues to perform on a regular basis. In recent years he often joins guitarist and National Folk Heritage Award winner Etta Baker (b.1913) on stage.

In 2001 Wale Liniger became the first recipient of a stipend at the International Jazz Archive in Eisenach, Germany. This residency was sponsored by the U.S. Consulate General in Leipzig, Germany. It not only led to a number of performances and workshops at a variety of educational institutions throughout Thuringia and Saxony, but also to an extensive article about the Guenter Boas Collection, the core collection of the archive.

Maybe it is because of his own multi-cultural background that Liniger seeks to highlight the healing endeavors of artistic voices, maybe it is because he believes in the creativity of the human mind when the heart is in trouble. In his performances Wale Liniger not only examines some of the cultural roots and tonal lures of the Blues through musical interpretations on harmonica, guitar and voice, but he also explores the underlying issues of translation and exile."


*Liniger, a long-time friend of Blues Moon Radio, was one of the first musicians Clair DeLune interviewed on her radio show when it began in 1990. He plays rarely in the area, so it is a special treat to have him on the bill.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: music fans of all sorts will enjoy this fine show in this great music hall.

Music video links:
Liniger: As promised... the Blues train is a-coming... Walter Liniger takes you there with an instrument that can fit in the palm of his hand... but there is an entire train in there, you'll swear!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7dGxKeRh98

Winslow-King: Old-time music, performed beautifully - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z31pH8pycI0

Photo credits: Winslow-King (from Web bio); Liniger (Linda Van Hart, 2011, from Web bio).

See you there! clair delune

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Blues Moon Radio playlist for Nov. 6, 2012

Election day... and we do have a few songs for Blues Moon Radio airplay that tie into politics. Just a few. And oddly, they are all about lying. How can that BE, you ask? It's politics, I answer.

Hope you did your civic duty today and voted. I did. Stood in line for three hours. Glad to live in a country where having a voice and a vote is possible. Best three hours I could have spent. Thank you, beautiful USA!


NOW, for the Blues Moon Radio stuff... playlist time!

But first, let me take a moment to thank the fine folks at Word of Mouth productions for such great work on the 18th Columbia Blues Festival... fantastic lineups (www.wordofmouthproductions.org) and still free. How DO they do it, you ask? With great panache, I answer. And a lot of hard work. LOVE you all.

And what great performers! Yeeps. I was awed.
I don't usually get awed; but I was so awed, I was slack-jawed. :)

So, the songs tonight are in thanks... and they feature guitars (we had powerhouses up on stage):

Roy Carrier - I Want to Thank You
Howard and the White Boys - I Thank You
Grady Champion - Thank You for Giving Me the Blues
Drink Small - Thank You Pretty Baby

Eddie the Chief Clearwater - I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down
Earl Hooker - Blue Guitar
Dave Myers - Dave's Boogie Guitar
Bex Marshall - Black Guitar
Cotton Blue - Guitar Slinger
Big Bill Broonzy - Guitar Shuffle
Frankie's Blues Mission - When a Guitar Plays the Blues
Peter Lang - Guitar Rag
Roy Buchanan - When a Guitar Plays the Blues (juxtapose style with earlier cover)
Sylvester Weaver - Guitar Rag
B'nois King and Smokin' Joe Kubek - My Guitar

Etta James - Running Out of Lies
The King Bees - Run Your Reputation Down
Victor Wainwright - Big Dog's Runnin' This Town

Possibly more if there is time...

See you on the other side of election day!
No matter who wins office, we all win - just think: no more ads or robo-calls!
Clair DeLune and RockyDawg-Blues Defender


Blues Moon Radio playlist for Oct. 30, 2012

this info will be posted asap... we had a fabulous sub sitting in for me while I was unavailable and I thank Calvin for being so sweet.

All money songs for our fundraiser!

Hope you all were good to WUSC! Many thanks for your support as a listener and a donor!
clair delune