This week is all about the past: things I did when I wasn't blogging and things that I did after I started up The Brown Knowser again, but haven't shared yet. Last September, my youngest daughter was invited to perform a couple of numbers with Ottawa blues artist, JW Jones, at a show at Queen St. Fare. My daughter has performed with JW before, at his youth series, #613FutureBlues, and last year he was so impressed by her progress that he invited her to be a special guest drummer at his September show. I saw JW last Friday, performing a Valentine's Day show, and we chatted about this year's #613FutureBlues show, and he's aiming to hold it in April. If you know of any young musician, aged 13 to 18 years old (my kid is only 16), stay tuned for information about how to audition. Anyway, back to last September's show. It's been a few years since I've run a Music Monday post, and I thought I would share my daughter's performance. Two songs, and 12 minutes that is more than worth your time. You can hear why JW rightly earned the Maple Blues Electric Act of the Year Award. Both numbers, "Funny Bone" and "I Don't Believe a Word You Say," are great, but they really come together in the second number.
Thanks to my good friend, Marc, for capturing this video while I worked on stills. Happy Monday!
It's hard to believe that these kids, for the most part, have never met. It's even harder to believe that they've never rehearsed together. But on a rainy Sunday afternoon, 12 kids, aged 12 to 18, came together with Billboard Top 10 Blues Artist, IBC Winner and JUNO Nominee, Canadian singer/guitarist JW Jones and his band (bass, Jacob Clarke; drums, Will Laurin) for some outstanding music. This is the third year that DD15 has participated in #613FUTUREBLUES (yes, she was only 13 the first time she played with JW). It's amazing to see her confidence grow, especially under the pressure of performing a new song in front of a live audience. Last Tuesday evening, DD15 received two YouTube links to songs that she needed to listen to and practice for Sunday's show: "Boom Boom," by John Lee Hooker and "Snatch It Back and Hold It," by Junior Wells. In 2017, DD15 played the Junior Wells song at her first #613FUTUREBLUES event, so she was somewhat relieved: she liked the song and because she was familiar with it, practice wasn't going to be as stressful.
JW Jones and his band
DD15 takes her turn at the drums
You see, this weekend, her school band had a competition and she was busy rehearsing for it. She only had time on Saturday evening and Sunday morning to prepare for JW. There were a couple of other familiar faces at the show. Another drummer who is younger than my daughter and a guitar player who oozes with talent. This year, the event was held at Lone Star Texas Grill, across from the St. Laurent Shopping Centre (where the old IP Loony's used to be). The venue has a large opening for plenty of tables and a dance floor, but I have to say that the stage is a tad disappointing because a supporting beam stands front and centre. It was hard to see all players on the stage at one glance. JW let me set my 360-degree camera on the stage, but because of the beam, it was impossible to find an angle where I could capture everyone clearly. My focus was to record DD15, so every time JW went up to his microphone, I didn't have a clear view of him. Sorry, JW. But with the benefit of the 360-degree camera, I could just run it and then walk around with my D-SLR to capture the show from other angles. I recorded the first two songs of the set with just JW and his band, and then DD15's numbers. I have them below.
Thanks again to JW and his band for taking their time to host such talented young musicians and singers, to the Ottawa Blues Society for sponsoring the event, and to the Lone Star for supplying the venue. I can't wait to see this show again, next year, and to see how the returning kids improve.
It's amazing when a world-renown, Juno-nominated artist takes the time and energy to give back to his community. Especially so when he does it for youngsters who hope to follow in his footsteps.
#613FUTUREBLUES 2017
For the third year in a row, JW Jones is holding his #613FUTUREBLUES music jam for young musicians. And he's putting out the call for young talent. Jones is looking for Blues musicians between the ages of 12 and 18, who have knowledge of this music genre and are able to perform in front of an audience. He has opened up a virtual audition, where those who are interested must send a video or download link, such as wetransfer.com, in a private message to his Facebook page.
The performance will be held on Sunday, April 14, at 2:00 pm, at Lone Star Texas Grill—1211 Lemieux
Street, near St.Laurent Blvd. and the Queensway (across from the St.Laurent Shopping Centre).
If you know a young musician who would be interested, please spread the word. Share this post with music teachers, musicians
(or their parents).
The future of Blues is in our youth: let's give them a helping hand.
You like Blues music, right? No? Hmm... I don't know if we can be friends. My first introduction to Blues came, inadvertently, when I was maybe nine years old, through a Rock band. I've told this story before: when I was eight, in 1973, my father took me to Sam the Record Man. He was looking for Cat Stevens' latest album, and he let me roam the store to look for a record of my own. He thought I would head to the children's music section but instead, I stayed with him at the front of the store, at the stack of new releases. I was mesmerized by an orange cover that appeared to have naked girls climbing over strange rocks. There was no writing on the cover, so I couldn't immediately determine who the band was or the name of the album (it was written on the spine, but at the time I didn't think to look there). I chose that album—my father asked me if I was sure, and I was—and the purchase was made. The album was Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy.
A year or so later, I had the band's previous four albums and played them incessantly, much to my mother's chagrin. At that age, I didn't know the difference between Rock and Blues, but I did know that I loved "Since I Been Loving You, " "I Can’t Quit You Baby," and "You Shook Me" as much as I loved "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)," "The Immigrant Song," and "The Song Remains the Same." So, when I finally became formally introduced to Blues, I was already a fan. Over the years, I've seen some Blues giants: Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy (and his late brother, Phil), Koko Taylor, and the late, great B.B. King. Of course, we have some outstanding Blues artists in Ottawa, too: Terry Gillespie (I know, he's more Ottawa Valley than Ottawa, but close enough), The Jivewires, and Monkey Junk, to name a few, but one local Blues artist that my family and I have become hooked on, of late, is Juno-nominated, electrifying JW Jones.
I've written about this Blues-man and his band—which includes drummer, Will Laurin, and 2017 Maple Blues Bassist of the Year, Laura Greenberg—before. They are the organizers of the Ottawa Youth-in-Blues series (#FutureBlues), in which they invite Ottawa's budding talent to experience the thrill of performing, live, with JW and his band. It's an awesome show. This week, JW Jones is performing for two evenings, in Aylmer, QC, and recording the band's upcoming live album. If you love Blues and want to support this local group, and if you want to say that you're on a live album, come on out. Here are the details:
JW-Jones Live Album Recording Cabaret La Basoche—Centre Culturel Vieux-Aylmer, 120 Rue Principal, Gatineau April 4 and 5, 2018—doors open at 6:45; show starts at 7:45 Tickets (General Admission): $33.90 [$30 + 13% HST]
The venue is limited to approximately 40 seats at 10 tables, which are intended for people that are pregnant, have disabilities, or may have difficulty standing for the duration of the show (such as me). All other tickets are for standing room only. To purchase your tickets, go to JW Jones' Web site, where you will get more information about how to do so.
DD14, who has played with JW and Laura a couple of times, will be with me to support the band and sway to the Blues on their first night. My father, who bought me my first Led Zeppelin album and inadvertently got me hooked on Blues as a kid, will be joining us.
It is beyond words, how wonderful it is when a successful musician and his band take time and effort to help out young and upcoming musicians in their pursuits to reach the same pinnacle of success. That is just the sort of people that JW Jones and his band are. For a couple of years, the Juno-nominated Blues artist (his bassist, Laura Greenberg, won the 2017 Maple Blues Bassist of the Year award) has gathered musicians, aged 13 to 18, to show their stuff and perform along side him in his event, #613FutureBlues. Yesterday was the second year that my young drummer, DD14, auditioned and was invited to play. Irene's Pub was full of proud parents and supporters. We heard a young vocalist, three outstanding guitarists, and a total of seven drummers. JW told me that it's usually a challenge to find more than a couple of drummers (I think that last year, there was only one other drummer than my kid), and this time he was flush with them. All of the kids come with different levels of experience, and the pressure can be intense. I doubt that at their age, I would have been willing to play my trumpet in front of a crowd, alongside such a powerhouse as JW Jones. You have to hand it to them for gathering the courage, controlling their nerves, and prevailing.
It was also great to see how well DD14 has progressed. Last year, when she performed for #613FutureBlues, JW had provided her with links to three YouTube videos. She had only a couple of days to listen to the music and copy the beats. She was nervous, had never met JW Jones before and had no rehearsal time. She didn't know what to expect, but she pulled it off wonderfully. This year, JW sent her one song, and she was a little more relieved. Memorizing one song was easier than memorizing three. After JW and his band warmed up the crowd, they called DD14 as their first young guest. She played the song, "I Get Evil," brilliantly. As she was about to get up and leave the stage, JW told the audience that she would play another number with the band. He walked up to her and told her to play a shuffle. That was it. I can't imagine how nervous she was. The band invited another young musician to the stage. His name is Lee, and my daughter played a number with him last year. He's amazingly talented: I can only imagine how good he'll be in a few more years. Here's the last couple of minutes of that number. Remember: DD14 had no idea of what the song was, had never played it before.
Thanks to JW Jones and his great band for this opportunity.
She started playing the violin at 5. Moving to the ukulele a year or so later seemed a natural shift because the fingering is the same, and so she self-taught. Two years ago, she picked up drum sticks for the first time and proved that she had natural rhythm. She studied with a multi-gold-album drummer from South Africa and a local jazz drummer who is well-known and respected in town and abroad. For the past two weekends, her school concert band and jazz band have been competing with other schools in the region, both bands on both weekends claiming gold awards—she was singled out with a special award as well. Yes, I'm a proud dad, putting his youngest daughter in the spotlight. This past Sunday, she was in the spotlight again, and if you'll indulge this beaming father, I'd like to share. Her drum instructor, Jeff Asselin, told my daughter about a blues event that was featuring young musicians and hosted by Juno-nominated blues artist, JW Jones, and would she be interested. The event was called #613FutureBlues.
DD13 wasn't sure about the event but we received the contact information anyway. On Sunday, February 26, I phoned JW and asked him about the event, and whether DD13 would be able to participate. When I reached him, he was on the road, travelling in the US, performing. He gave me the low-down on the event, took my e-mail address, and said he'd send me details. In the meantime, he asked for a demo video, as an audition for the event: just four or five minutes of DD, of her showing what she could do. That afternoon, I recorded DD13 as she did four samples of her drum style. We shipped it to the address he sent me, and waited. The next day, he replied, said he was impressed, and he was definitely adding her to the lineup. He explained that in the next few days, he would send her the numbers to learn for the show. That information came on Thursday night. It came in the form of links to YouTube videos of live performances of the songs she had to learn. No sheet music. No further instructions. For the next couple of days, DD13 watched and practiced the drum beats, on top of her rehearsals for her school jazz band competition, which was happening on that Saturday (did I mention her band took gold?). After her Saturday competition, DD13 forgot her drum sticks at a friends house, and on Sunday she found herself with no sticks and unable to reach her friend. We had to wait for a music store to open, at noon, to buy her replacement sticks. From 12:30 to 2:30, she practiced those numbers. She arrived at the venue at 3:00, not knowing what to expect, having never met JW Jones or any of the other musicians. No rehearsal. No sheet music. It was all by memory. And talent.
JW started the event with a show by his band. I wasn't familiar with his music before I saw the YouTube videos that he sent, but I have to say that after hearing him perform, I'm hooked. I bought his latest CD and absolutely love it. I'm not going to tell you how it went. If you're interested, I've put together a recording of DD13's three numbers, where she performed with JW and his bass player, Laura Greenberg. On their third number, another young player joined on guitar, and he was nothing short of incredible. Here's the video: it's about 10 minutes long, so watch it when you have a moment or two.
When DD13 returned home from school, the very next day, she went up to her room without much of a word. Moments, later, I heard her blowing notes out of my old trumpet, from when I was in a few of my high-school bands. She's only just started playing it, and from what I've heard, there's no stopping this girl.
