From the Steel Town to the Cotton Fields (II)
Walking down the alley between the Emerging Artist Stage and the second stage we ran into Dusty Scott. We walked down Cherry Street toward the second stage and talked until we ran into Herbert Sumlin and Willie “Big Eyes” Smith. We talked for a while with the Legends of the Blues and took some pictures. We continued to walk and stopped to listen to the street buskers. There’s no getting around it. Every one of them was good. Some amazing stuff was played right there on the street. It seemed that the crowd continued to get thicker by the minute. There was always a crowd at the second stage and the Main Stage. There’s just nothing like it. We were able to catch performances by Rick Estrin & the Nightcats, Janiva Magness, Bob Margolin, Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets (Who used to play this festival for FREE when it first got started), Hubert Sumlin & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Band, and the unbelievable Bobby Rush. Meeting and talking to many of the artists and Bubba Sullivan (“Blues Corner”) was out of sight. It was just an incredible day for a bunch of guys from Pittsburgh, PA!
On Sunday morning Junior, Jack, Lonny and Jon had to climb back into the van to start their long trek home. It was sad to see them go. I could tell that they wished that they didn’t have to. It was breakfast at The Delta Blues Museum for Mike and me. Once inside we sat to talk with “Puddin.” Before long he had his dice and cards out doing tricks with both. You almost forgot that you’re there to eat. Puddin is a regular in Clarksdale and is full of stories and tricks proving that the hand is quicker than the eye.
We walked up the street to Cat Head where Robert “Wolfman” Belfour (http://www.deltaboogie.com/deltamusicians/belfour/index.htm) was playing to a crowd in front of the store. Red was busy cooking BBQ while it was next to impossible to keep track of Rodger. He was extremely busy. After strolling thru Cat Head (http://www.cathead.biz/) checking out all the interesting folk art and CD’s, we decided to visit the Hambone Art Gallery (http://www.hamboneart.com/gallery.html) to talk to owner Stan Street. Stan’s posters are incredible and used by many blues fests around the world. The Hambone Art Gallery is very cool.
We couldn’t miss taking a drive to Po’ Monkey’s lounge which is 30 miles down Highway 61 from Clarksdale in Merigold. I had to visit this juke joint and see it with my own eyes. Mike was down there over the summer and gave them our CD. They enjoyed it so much that they put it on the Juke Box. Pulling onto a dirt road off of 66 south and driving about a half mile down the road on the left side stands Po’ Monkey’s lounge. It’s a shack surrounded by a huge cotton field. The first thing that struck me was that it looks like a stiff wind would scatter all this wood into the cotton field. The next thing that I noticed was all the signs that display the rules of the club. Most of them contained the same messages: like No dope, no guns, no loud music...I wished it were open because the place definitely has character. While we were there, at least 2 carloads of people pulled up to view and take pictures of the joint. One of the visitors was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was in Po’ Monkey’s numerous times and he absolutely loves it. He said he bartends at “Teddy’s Juke Joint” in Baton Rouge and blue artists like Kenny Neal or Larry Gardner (one of my personal favorites) just walks in on any given night. He also shared the story of how “Po’ Monkey’s” got its name but you’ll have to run into him, Mike or me to get it. Sorry.
Back at Hopson’s, Pinetop Perkins Homecoming Jam was going on. We enjoyed Bob Margolin’s set. We spent time listening to Cedric Burnside & Lightnin Malcolm trade sets with Eric Deaton in the Chapel playing Mississippi Hill Country blues. The Commissary is cool but we really enjoyed the Chapel. The seats are rows of old church pews and there’s plenty of room to dance. The stage is high enough to see the band from any vantage point: front, back and soon from above. The decor (Christmas lights, cotton, signs and ambiance) are the perfect setting to listen, dance, and enjoy the blues. The gift shop is close by and you can still hear the music from there. Once outside we started noticing more familiar faces like Willie (Big Eyes) Smith and his son (Beady Eyes), Bill “the Forkman” Clopein, (http://www.forkman.net/), Dusty Blues (http://www.dustyblues.com/index.html) and of course, Mr. Pinetop Perkins. I was anxious to talk to Pinetop because I met him before in Philadelphia in the early 90’s. I reminded him that at that time he was wearing his Captain’s hat. He laughed and reminded me that today is Sunday. Pinetop looked sharp as a tack in a green suit, white shirt with piano keys on his tie. He mentioned that he never performs on Sunday but then confessed that one time he jammed A TUNE but that was it! He stated that he was glad that everybody seemed so happy and it’s that way wherever he goes. I concluded our conversation by thanking him for his time and for being such a classy guy and role model for all of us whether he’s behind the piano or not.
It was short stay with a lifetime of memories and a vow to get back there again someday. We were sadden by the fact that our long-time bassist, “Big Tim” Ambrass, couldn’t make the trip with the band and lucky that our good friend bassist, Jack Rhyner, (King’s Ransom) was able to go in Tim’s place. We owe many Thanks to Jack for going with us especially on such short notice. Playing the ABHF was incredible for all of us. It was an unforeseen opportunity. Lots of our heroes have played there. We are lucky to say that some of them were there this time. As you looked around, Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith, Hubert Sumlin, Bobby Rush . . . you have to ask yourself, “how much more can they give?” Getting to meet Bubba, the festival coordinator, was a treat. What a cool, down to earth guy. We need more Bubbas!!! It was cool to see Dusty Blues and talk to him as he continuously bounced between three stages. He even made it a point to snap quite a few shots of us. We appreciated it immensely.
Hopson Plantation was really interesting and almost allowed us to step back in time to see where so much of our music and country’s history took place. If you are down that way, say hello to our buddy, Bill Talbot. He is one of “The Shackmiesters” who runs the Shack Up Inn and if you are smart you will stay there. What an awesome place full of history.
At the end of our stay we had time to reflect. It is not too far of a stretch to understand where the music comes from after seeing the land, the remote area and the vast cotton fields. One can only imagine all the suffering and pain of working this land by hand in the heat, having overseers on horseback watching you and the feeling of helplessness of the life there. The people there are doing a great job preserving the history of the South and the history of the Blues and live with a zest, and always enjoy a song.
Landmarks include such as Blues Alley, the Delta Blues Museum, Morgan Freeman’s juke joint club Ground Zero, Red’s, The Cross Roads, Civil War battlefields, Cat Head, Po’ Monkey’s lounge, …and that’s just what we saw. People told us that you just have to experience it for yourself and they are right. We’re happy to have the opportunity to go to the Delta and see as much as possible in so little time but it was truly an honor for this little band from Pittsburgh, Pa to play the blues at the “Biscuit”, The Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival, 2008. We’ll never forget it.
On Sunday morning Junior, Jack, Lonny and Jon had to climb back into the van to start their long trek home. It was sad to see them go. I could tell that they wished that they didn’t have to. It was breakfast at The Delta Blues Museum for Mike and me. Once inside we sat to talk with “Puddin.” Before long he had his dice and cards out doing tricks with both. You almost forgot that you’re there to eat. Puddin is a regular in Clarksdale and is full of stories and tricks proving that the hand is quicker than the eye.
We walked up the street to Cat Head where Robert “Wolfman” Belfour (http://www.deltaboogie.com/deltamusicians/belfour/index.htm) was playing to a crowd in front of the store. Red was busy cooking BBQ while it was next to impossible to keep track of Rodger. He was extremely busy. After strolling thru Cat Head (http://www.cathead.biz/) checking out all the interesting folk art and CD’s, we decided to visit the Hambone Art Gallery (http://www.hamboneart.com/gallery.html) to talk to owner Stan Street. Stan’s posters are incredible and used by many blues fests around the world. The Hambone Art Gallery is very cool.
We couldn’t miss taking a drive to Po’ Monkey’s lounge which is 30 miles down Highway 61 from Clarksdale in Merigold. I had to visit this juke joint and see it with my own eyes. Mike was down there over the summer and gave them our CD. They enjoyed it so much that they put it on the Juke Box. Pulling onto a dirt road off of 66 south and driving about a half mile down the road on the left side stands Po’ Monkey’s lounge. It’s a shack surrounded by a huge cotton field. The first thing that struck me was that it looks like a stiff wind would scatter all this wood into the cotton field. The next thing that I noticed was all the signs that display the rules of the club. Most of them contained the same messages: like No dope, no guns, no loud music...I wished it were open because the place definitely has character. While we were there, at least 2 carloads of people pulled up to view and take pictures of the joint. One of the visitors was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was in Po’ Monkey’s numerous times and he absolutely loves it. He said he bartends at “Teddy’s Juke Joint” in Baton Rouge and blue artists like Kenny Neal or Larry Gardner (one of my personal favorites) just walks in on any given night. He also shared the story of how “Po’ Monkey’s” got its name but you’ll have to run into him, Mike or me to get it. Sorry.
Back at Hopson’s, Pinetop Perkins Homecoming Jam was going on. We enjoyed Bob Margolin’s set. We spent time listening to Cedric Burnside & Lightnin Malcolm trade sets with Eric Deaton in the Chapel playing Mississippi Hill Country blues. The Commissary is cool but we really enjoyed the Chapel. The seats are rows of old church pews and there’s plenty of room to dance. The stage is high enough to see the band from any vantage point: front, back and soon from above. The decor (Christmas lights, cotton, signs and ambiance) are the perfect setting to listen, dance, and enjoy the blues. The gift shop is close by and you can still hear the music from there. Once outside we started noticing more familiar faces like Willie (Big Eyes) Smith and his son (Beady Eyes), Bill “the Forkman” Clopein, (http://www.forkman.net/), Dusty Blues (http://www.dustyblues.com/index.html) and of course, Mr. Pinetop Perkins. I was anxious to talk to Pinetop because I met him before in Philadelphia in the early 90’s. I reminded him that at that time he was wearing his Captain’s hat. He laughed and reminded me that today is Sunday. Pinetop looked sharp as a tack in a green suit, white shirt with piano keys on his tie. He mentioned that he never performs on Sunday but then confessed that one time he jammed A TUNE but that was it! He stated that he was glad that everybody seemed so happy and it’s that way wherever he goes. I concluded our conversation by thanking him for his time and for being such a classy guy and role model for all of us whether he’s behind the piano or not.It was short stay with a lifetime of memories and a vow to get back there again someday. We were sadden by the fact that our long-time bassist, “Big Tim” Ambrass, couldn’t make the trip with the band and lucky that our good friend bassist, Jack Rhyner, (King’s Ransom) was able to go in Tim’s place. We owe many Thanks to Jack for going with us especially on such short notice. Playing the ABHF was incredible for all of us. It was an unforeseen opportunity. Lots of our heroes have played there. We are lucky to say that some of them were there this time. As you looked around, Pinetop Perkins, Willie Smith, Hubert Sumlin, Bobby Rush . . . you have to ask yourself, “how much more can they give?” Getting to meet Bubba, the festival coordinator, was a treat. What a cool, down to earth guy. We need more Bubbas!!! It was cool to see Dusty Blues and talk to him as he continuously bounced between three stages. He even made it a point to snap quite a few shots of us. We appreciated it immensely.
Hopson Plantation was really interesting and almost allowed us to step back in time to see where so much of our music and country’s history took place. If you are down that way, say hello to our buddy, Bill Talbot. He is one of “The Shackmiesters” who runs the Shack Up Inn and if you are smart you will stay there. What an awesome place full of history.
At the end of our stay we had time to reflect. It is not too far of a stretch to understand where the music comes from after seeing the land, the remote area and the vast cotton fields. One can only imagine all the suffering and pain of working this land by hand in the heat, having overseers on horseback watching you and the feeling of helplessness of the life there. The people there are doing a great job preserving the history of the South and the history of the Blues and live with a zest, and always enjoy a song.Landmarks include such as Blues Alley, the Delta Blues Museum, Morgan Freeman’s juke joint club Ground Zero, Red’s, The Cross Roads, Civil War battlefields, Cat Head, Po’ Monkey’s lounge, …and that’s just what we saw. People told us that you just have to experience it for yourself and they are right. We’re happy to have the opportunity to go to the Delta and see as much as possible in so little time but it was truly an honor for this little band from Pittsburgh, Pa to play the blues at the “Biscuit”, The Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival, 2008. We’ll never forget it.
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