Guitarist Eric Gales performed on June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
By ERIC SCHELKOPF
After being closed last summer for major renovations, RiverEdge Park in Aurora reopened to the public on June 20 for the Blues on the Fox festival.
Given the top-notch talent of the artists on the bill, it was not surprising the stage was brimming with energy.
Here are a few highlights from the festival:
Musician Eric Gales performs June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
The Blues on the Fox festival on June 20 kicked off RiverEdge Park's season.
Musician Eric Gales performs June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
Musician Eric Gales performs his song "Baby, Baby" June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
Trombone Shorty performed June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
Trombone Shorty performs June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
Trombone Shorty performs his song "I'm Standing Here" – with guest musician Eric Gales on lead guitar – June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
Trombone Shorty performs his song "Here Come the Girls" June 20 at RiverEdge Park in Aurora as part of Blues on the Fox.
With her adventurous sound and thought-provoking lyrics, Chicago musician Denise La Grassa sets herself apart from other musicians.
I had the chance to talk to La Grassa about her latest album, "A Crossroads Communion," released on June 5. Those who want to hear her perform songs from the new album will have plenty of opportunities to do so in the next few weeks.
That includes an appearance at 6:30 p.m. June 20 at Chant restaurant in Hyde Park.
Q – Great to talk to you. Of course, you and your band will be performing at Chant restaurant in Hyde Park on June 20.
We
love Chant. The audience is always super supportive, and the staff is
so welcoming. We’ve been performing there now for 3 and a half years.
Q – That’s going to be an exciting weekend, with the opening of the Obama Presidential Center that same weekend.
It
will be! The Obama Center is three blocks away. We’ve driven by it a few
times and are awestruck every time as a most beautiful building.
Q – And President Obama called Hyde Park home for many years.
Yes,
Chant is just a few blocks away from the home he lived in. I don’t know
where Mavis Staples lives in Hyde Park.
I have a dream that one day
when they’re in town they’ll stop in for a set and enjoy some wonderful
food at Chant.
Q – You have a lot
going on this month. Your latest album, "A Crossroads Communion,” was
released on June 5. What goals did you have for the album, and do you
think you accomplished them?
My
first goal was to produce a great album because I knew these were
important songs and for the most part, these songs kind of fit
together.
But I should first mention that this album likely would not
have been made this quickly without the support of the Illinois Arts Council Agency Creative Accelerator Fund. It has allowed me so invest
funds into promoting this album in a way I have not been able to
before.
That goes to my second
goal: Finding a publicist that could help get this album reviewed by
name publications and writers.
Mark Pucci Media has done that, with
hopefully more to come. I have also worked with Twin Vision out of NYC
on my last two albums to get airplay on non-comm/NPR affiliates/college
radio.
We’re doing that again with "A Crossroads Communion." As a matter of
fact, that campaign has just started.
Q
– The album was made in collaboration with producer Jim Gifford,
co-owner of Chicago’s Narwhal Music Studios. What do you think he
brought to the table?
As
producer, Jim brought another set of ears to these songs. Jim is an
accomplished drummer who brought deep knowledge of blues/soul/gospel/rock arranging elements to the sessions.
We worked
very well together as Jim is always open to what the artist is hearing,
and then the collaboration is accomplished with engineer Maxwell
Mendeloff offering his ideas.
Jim understands how to knit all ideas
together in a positive uplifting way.
Q
– When you were in 8th grade, you set the world record for muscle
grinds on a trapeze and earned a place in the Guinness Book of World
Records. How did you feel after setting that record?
Honestly,
it was life changing at the time. Before the record, I was feeling like
an artsy, geeky bright curly haired middle school kid who had some
athletic talents.
I had trouble fitting in and making friends. I wrote
songs back then, but had no clue about how to put together a band.
I
tried breaking the world record and practiced hard, not thinking about what
the consequences would be. I just knew I wanted to challenge myself.
There was press there from all over the world, television and news
stations. It was a big deal.
It was after that, that I started to feel
like I fit in.
Q – You have
described your music as “blues infused soulful, rocking music.” It seems
like you are influenced by many genres of music, including jazz, which
you studied in school.
Like
many kids at the time when I was young, I listened over and over to
Top 40 music on the radio. When I got a job in high school, I would go
directly to the record store in Baraboo with my paycheck and buy as many
records as I could and listen to them over and over in my room.
I
discovered classical music during band practice, as a matter of fact.
I would hop
from chair to chair trying out different instruments. My favorite was
percussion, the drums.
When I moved to Chicago in my early 20s, I formed
a blues/R&B band, then a more eclectic band called, well … Eclectic
Red.
Then jazz got a hold of me. My mother and father had much to do
with introducing me to jazz. My mom is from Scotland.
When she was growing
up, she listened to all styles of music, including jazz. She loved Sarah Vaughn,
Billie Holiday, pop music, Areatha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and jazz big bands.
My dad also loved jazz and often talked about seeing Frank Sinatra
at the Chicago Theater.
Q – On your album "The Flame,” you talk about the important contributions that immigrants have made to this country.
Yes. "Wide Eyes" from the album most directly addresses that. From the end of the song:
Looking At My Life / Wide Eyes Wide High
Frightened Wall Flower Now Renewed
Centuries of Souls Inside
Calling Me to Stand and Tell the Truth
I Hear Their Rhymes / Proclaiming
Chords of Courage Worth Attaining
Open Up My Wide Eyes
And Ask Why
In the Passage of a Song
How Can WE All……Get Along.
Q – I understand your mother came from Glasgow, Scotland to the United States at the age of 20 with only $50 and a suitcase.
She
did. And she (and my father) eventually brought the rest of my mother’s
family from Scotland to the Chicago area.
They helped so many people.
I’m blessed to have been raised by caring, kind parents.
Q – I imagine that you have some thoughts about the current immigration policies in place.
Jesus in Matthew 25:40 said, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”
Zechariah 7:9-10says: “Thus
says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy
to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the
poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.”
There are more, but the Bible is clear on this.
Q – I understand that Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy has been an influence and inspiration for you. How has he influenced you?
Buddy
Guy has influenced me on many levels. Musically, his distinctive,
theatrical performances are full of emotion, intensity and
authenticity.
Just as inspiring is his journey as an artist. He
persevered through barriers that would have stopped many others,
continuing to develop his craft and establish himself despite the
limitations and discrimination of the era he came up in.
His story
reminds me that great artistry is often tied to resilience. And Buddy
Guy’s Legends here in Chicago is one of the best places to see how he
continues to support new generations of talent.
Q – He is still performing at 89 and will soon turn 90. Do you see your career lasting as long as his has?
Remember
when Mick Jagger said he would retire at 33? (laughs). Mostly right now
I’m just focused on playing out this album.
I know there’s plenty more
music in me, let’s see how the next year plays out! Hail Mary pass, here
we go!
Chicago band The Claudettes certainly has its fair share of news these days.
Drummer Michael Caskey, who formed the band with pianist, singer and songwriter Johnny Iguana, recently left The Claudettes. The band will release its seventh album, "Garage Glamour," on Chicago independent label Pravda Records in June.
The Claudettes will celebrate the release of the album with a show at 8 p.m. May 2 at the Old Town School of Folk Music's Myron R. Szold Music & Dance Hall, 4545 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago.
I had the chance to talk to Iguana about the band and the new album.
Q – The last time we spoke was in November 2022, when Berit Ulseth was the lead singer.Your current singer, Rachel Williams, joined The Claudettes in December 2022.
And of course the band has a lot going on these days. The band’s seventh album, “Garage Glamour,” will be released in June. You also just announced that the drummer and co-founder of The Claudettes, Michael Caskey, has left the band.
I have seen the band perform a couple of times and it seems like you and Michael had a great connection with each other on stage.
What are you going to miss about him not being in the band?
We had such a chemistry and rapport. Every group of humans that makes up a band has its own flavor.
The new drummer, Liz Ele, has been in Chicago for years playing with mostly cover bands, but with some other bands as well.
And she's a really good rock 'n' roll drummer. She's incredibly excited to be doing this and playing with me and this band.
The practice sessions have been going really great.
Q – We were talking about Rachel earlier. She is quite the force on stage.
What do you think she has brought to the band?
One of the first shows that we did with her was an outdoor show in Rockford. And this woman afterwards said, 'When Rachel came out on stage, it was majestic.'
She seems to conserve all her energy for the stage. I think she's really going to turn heads with this album because she sings really heartfelt soulful stuff.
Q – It seems like she is really fitting in with the band. I've watched some of the fun videos that you've done, like when you're out shopping for a piano.
Q – The first track off the new album, "(You Are My) Whole World,” features Chicago blues legend John Primer in a duet with Rachel. I know you have performed with him before.
What made you think he would be a good fit for the song and did the results exceed your expectations?
I heard him in my head because as much as he is known as a blues musician, he also put out an album called "The Soul of a Blues Man," where he is singing songs like "Rainy Night in Georgia" and some '60s and '70s soul songs. And he's so good at it.
I think he's one of the greatest soul singers alive. I asked him and he agreed to do it.
He just suddenly discovered this song while the tapes were rolling. And it was such a thing of beauty.
We were all just really moved by it. It really is a passionate love song.
Award-winning Canadian blues rock guitarist Colin James had to cut his last U.S. tour short after a car crashed into his scooter in September 2024 following his performance at the Niagara Falls Blues Festival.
Fortunately, he has recovered from his injuries and has returned to the United States for a tour that also features fellow Canadian musicians Matt AndersenandTerra Lightfoot.
They will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at the City Winery Chicago, 200 W. Randolph St., Chicago.
Q – Great talking to you. Your last U.S. tour was unfortunately cut short after a car crashed into your scooter in September 2024 following your performace at the Niagara Falls Blues Festival.
You spent five days in a New York hospital and had a compound fracture to his foot/ankle and a broken left wrist that required a cast.
It was brutal. I had no memory of getting hit.
I had complete amnesia for a few days. I got a phone call from my daughter saying I got hurt.
And I went, what? What do you mean I got hurt?
Q – But hopefully you are doing well these days.
My left hand was a little numb for a couple of months. I had to play mandolin for a while instead of just because it had shorter frets to navigate.
It's all good now.
Q – Your 21st full-length album, “Chasing The Sun,” was released just before your accident. The second song on the album is “I’m Still Alive.”
The timing of that seems eerie.
I know. I was out for four months and the very first show we did was at the Lyric Theatre in Florida.
I was still limping a little bit. But that didn't last too long.
By the time it came to do my Canadian tour, I was right back in shape. It's a distant memory now, but breaking stuff is a bummer, man.
Q – Yeah, it is kind of weird that you wrote the song before the accident and now you can sing, "I'm Still Alive."
It added a little more importance to the song.
Q – Your memoir, "Playing the Changes," will be released in September. Was this just the right time to be working on your memoir?
It was as good of time as any. I've never done anything like this before.
I really enjoyed the process. And I had a really great co-writer to help me who has worked in the publishing industry.
He let me speak in my own voice. It was a really great experience.
My parents were music lovers, but they didn't play. I started going to folk festivals when I was probably 8 or 9 years old.
I got to see so many great musicians, like Elizabeth Cotten and John Hammond and James Cotton. By the time I was 16, I quit school and started playing on street corners.
And I left home when I 16. Through the book, I wanted to show people that no matter where you're from, if you're dedicated to something, you can make it happen.
Q – Hopefully people will be inspired after reading your memoir.
I hope so. I'm going to go on the road with my good friend Colin Linden, who produced my last record.
Colin lives in Nashville, but he's a Canadian guitar player who plays with T Bone Burnett these days. He's an old friend and we're going to do a little tour in the fall when the book comes out.
Q – You opened for John Lee Hooker when you were about 16 years old. What did that experience teach you?
When you're that age, you are so brave. I don't know if I'd be that brave now, to jump on a stage like that.
After that, I moved around from place to place. I then opened for Stevie Ray Vaughan.
He came around the next year and got me to open up a couple more shows. That started a friendship.
It was pretty mind blowing to be in your hometown – the same place where I had quit school a number of years ago – to open for him. Stevie was hotter than a pistol at the time.
Q – Do you hope that the fact your are coming back strong after this accident will inspire other people?
I hope so. It just shows that you just have to keep moving, you've got to keep going.
Things can seem pretty bad at times, but you always come out on the other side.
Q – Despite all the awards – including 8 Juno awards and 31 Maple Blues awards – you have received over the years along with multi-platinum record sales, I understand you still view your career as a work in progress.
Absolutely. I've always considered this job, this wonderful job I have, as something I never want to quit.
I never want to be a retro act. I think there is so much to be discovered and so much to learn.
