South West Blues Club

Hi South West Blues Club members,

Our April Jam Session was a big success this month with many members and musicians getting a chance to get up and strut their stuff. The “board” was filled and people in the last few slots did not get a chance to play (me amongst them). However, this can be corrected as we have noted the names of the members who missed out and they will get priority consideration at the May session (21st May I think). As always, the members who help to get out the gear and set it up, and then pack it away are in the pole position to get on the board. At the jam session we have to finish at 6pm and it is not always easy to judge how many people we can fit in before the session closes.

As I have mentioned before, I always watch the jam session on the club website, as it is recorded and posted each month by treasurer Ron Kinson. I have watched the last session (the April session) and while most people were able to change over quickly and keep things going some musicians were a bit leisurely in getting ready and then getting on with their spot. When you get up there you should be tuned and ready to go!

One thing I would say about the club is that it is a passionate place, meaning many members have their view of what the blues is and how it should be played, and this can lead to “intense” discussions.
Some guidance should be available from Dave Hole and Glen Whisson in their Rollin’ and Tumblin’ gig at BREC (16th and 17th June) in which they are presenting a guided tour of the blues from the 1920’s to the 1960’s, and beyond. We have just learnt that club members can get a slight discount on tickets for these gigs by entering a code, which you can get by emailing the club.

The April jam was the first time we have used the new Fender Tonemaster amps and we feel it generally went well. The advantage of these amps is that we can put them through the PA, which helps the PA operators to control the overall volume of the sound. The volume of musicians playing at the sessions can be a concern to the venue and if the volume of your spot is too high you will be asked to end your session.

I have always been interested in listening to Ben’s band, “Deadwater Pelican”, as I think these guys bring a unique take and feel on the blues that they play. Therefore I’ll be at the Froth next month (14th May) to see their session as they are the SWBC band playing at Blues Central, supporting Empire Blues.

Keep the faith
Dave Corcoran
South West Blues Club President

These are the halcyon days for Jammin’ at the Parade. The warm autumn sea breeze out on the deck with the sound of music rolling out over the bay. Let’s make the most of the golden weather. Bring your musical instruments, friends and family either to play or just to sit and enjoy the afternoon in the sun. We are adding a Kerry B Ryan Cd and tee to the meat and coffee raffles this month so there’s now even more good stuff to WIN. Come on down and join in the fun, Sunday afternoon from 2pm through until 6pm, at the Parade Hotel.

The Kerry B Ryan Blues Experience is one of Perth’s most popular and frequently appearing bands. Kerry has been playing guitar since he was 13 years old and his love of blues has been the driving force behind an astounding 30 years of blue’s performances at festivals and music venues. We are excited to have Kerry make it to Bunbury for Blues Central. Added to this is the South West Blues Club Band, a new compilation of some of the club’s most seasoned performers. Two of the club’s most accomplished guitarists and vocalists Ron Kinson and Gary Green team up as Ronnie and the Resonators for what is guaranteed to be an absolute treat. It is stacking up to be a cracker afternoon of blues on Bunbury’s big blue’s stage. Sunday 9th of April, 2pm kick-off. See ya there.

There were so many new (and young) faces at the last jam. The March Jam Session is now only a week away and most of us just can’t wait. This is a great time of the year to be playing outdoors at The Parade on the edge of the bay. Grab family and friends and make the most of this fantastic weather. We kick off at 2pm so get down early, give us a hand getting set up and get your name up on the white board. This is your chance to get on stage and strut your stuff. See you there Sunday. Have a great week.

The Stampede of awesome blues bands into Bunbury continues at Froth Bunbrewery. This month we have Perth’s teenage sensations, Louis Rebeiro and the Blues Machine. We got a taste of just how good these boys are at the January Jam, now Blues Central brings then to town for a two hour session followed by one of South West Blues Club’s best known bands, Stumptown. We had a big turnout in February and these two bands should play to a packed house. Put this in your diary because in years to come you want to be able to say “I saw the Blues Machine in Bunbury in 2023”.

Hi members of the Southwest Blues Club.

The February Jam Day was another highly successful and highly enjoyable day with a good variety of “combinations” getting up to play during the afternoon. Our loyal “fanbase” at The Parade were shouting for more at the end of the session so that must be good.
It was a hot day and that made the fantastic Old Coast Brewery beers (and a pizza special) essential for me. And there is a great photo of The Parade (with our pergola set up in the garden) on our Facebook page, good job Dave and his Drone.
At the jam day we tried a new (for us) system of putting the guitar amps “through” the PA and I think this worked well. It enabled PA experts Ron, Dave and Gary to have greater control of the overall sound produced.

One of the objectives of the South West Blues Club is to promote blues music in the community and the recent opportunity to link up with Froth Bunbrewery has enabled the club to do this with “Blues Central”, which occurs at Froth on the second Sunday of each month. Established WA blues bands will be invited to play at Froth and a blues club band, or artist, will also feature each month. This gives South West Blues Club bands and players the chance to work towards the standard needed for a “gig”. The South West Blues Club Facebook page will have details of the bands appearing at Blues Central each month.

I mentioned in my last “View From The Chair” that my birthday was imminent so I decided to buy myself a new guitar amp. I bought a Fender Tonemaster amp, the appealing feature to me at my new age being it is not very heavy. It is actually the latest in quite a long list of amps that would be “the last one I will ever buy”. I find it an interesting amp in that it has four guitar input sockets (two for each channel on the amp). This reminded me of the first band I played in with three mates in Luton, in the UK, in the early sixties. We had three guitarists and a drummer, but no money. Eventually one guy bought a second hand Selmer amp which had four inputs on it so we decided we could play three guitars (including the bass) and a mike through the amp. It actually worked and we were able to do our first gigs at some local youth clubs with this set up.

It is interesting to see how many harp, harmonica or mouth organ players we have regularly playing at the jam sessions at the moment.( Do the players agree on a name for the instrument?) I think the playing is generally of a high standard and it is something to look forward to each month, adding an extra dimension to the music. Each player seems to have their own style and the way they fit in with the other jammers is interesting to see.

The next jam day at the Parade is on Sunday, 19th March, which will hopefully be a little cooler than our last jam day. Our loyal band of members who set up the gear will be there working from 11am to set up for 2pm and then to break down the gear and pack it away from between 5.30pm and 6pm. Feel free to join them and it will help you to get your spot on the board.

Cheers, Dave Corcoran.

WOW how good was Blues Central on Sunday? The dust will hardly have settled and we will be back at the Parade for Jam Day this coming Sunday. We hear there are a few ‘out-of-towners’ making the trip for what promises to be a cracker workout for all our member musos. Slip on your dancing shoes, slap on some sunscreen and come slurp a few cold ones for the afternoon. See ya there.

There’s been a change of plan Stan. Howling Onshore can’t make it this month to Blues Central but Tommy ‘Boss’ Bosson and The Score will be on stage instead. Tommy is a seriously accomplished harp player with three very able bodies in tow. Glen Carpenter guitarist and vocals meshes wonderfully with Tommy’s style. We had Tommy down for later in the year so it is exciting to have him stand in and performing in February. They are followed by Ponyfish, so we are all in for an absolute treat . We have some more exciting news about Blues Central we will be announcing early next week, so stay tuned. This is shaping up to be a big Sunday.

The first jam of 2023 inches forever closer. Your New Year’s resolution should be “play more music and be happier”. The best way to burn off those festive season excesses and expunge your body and soul is to front up at a jam. Better than a diet, better than any self improvement programme is a darn good jam day blow out. An afternoon in the shade and a cooling sea breeze with friends at the edge of the bay soaking up the atmosphere at the Parade. Enough said, we will see you there.

A slight change of plans for Sunday folks. We are excited to announce that blue’s legend Martin Lee Cropper will be the main act onstage for the first part of the afternoon. What Martin doesn’t know about blues is hardly worth knowing. He is passionate about Delta blues and an exponent of the National guitar. We are all in for a magnificent treat. Martin will be followed by even more blues classics from eNJoy. For those Stumptown fans, fear not, Stumptown will be playing Blues Central later in the year. Come and join us on Sunday for some of the best blues you are ever going to hear.