It was Sunday, November 20th, 2011. I had been looking forward to going to a blues jam at JM Randalls in Williamsburg, VA featuring The Bush League and Seth Stainback, and had convinced my wife of the same. We awoke to a beautiful Sunday morning and lazily hung around the house missing our scheduled departure time by about an hour and headed to Prime Outlets for some shopping ahead of the 2 o'clock start time for the show. Had a good time there and, in fact, purchased a completely new Cool 18 outfit at the Haggar Clothing Store and wore it out. It was about 65-70 degrees and the jeans were getting on my nerves. I cannot stand to sweat in jeans, drives me nuts! Ended up leaving there a little bit before 3pm, so we didn't make up the hour that we were late in getting away from home.
When Seth was done, the emcee for the afternoon, JohnJay Cecil of The Bush League, was putting together a list of musicians that were in attendance and what instrument(s) they played. NBN President, Jeff Karr came up to us and offered some raffle tickets and gave us an overall perspective on what was going on. We bought a few raffle tickets for cd's and stuff and understood that The Bush League, who I originally intended to see, had already completed a set. But after talking to Jeff, I was pretty much assured that they would return during the Blues Jam portion of the show.
This was a first for me. I have seen my share of shows, but this was like no other that I have ever experienced. They started calling folks to the stage, some bringing drum sticks, guitars, saxophones, harmonicas, keyboards. From the very first note, My wife and I were in awe of the talent, emotion and passion of the players on the stage. I often speak of people that simply breath and music comes out, these were those folks. I know, many times they were playing blues classics but, for this talented group, it was much more than that. They were able to take these songs to a different place and make them their own. They seem to have a common thread that binds them together as musicians and allows them to come together, as many sports coaches wish their teams could do, and be creative. The list of players was a who's who of blues in the "757":
Seth Stainback (Rooster Foot)
We arrived at JM Randalls Classic American Grill and were greeted at the door by Mike Hilton from the Natchel Blues Network. It was our first trip to JM Randalls and just walking in the front door and past Mike, I felt that I had entered a place that would be very different and possibly really special. We made our way to the elevated bar area and found a couple of stools directly across from the stage and settled in for a bit. On the stage when we arrived was Seth Stainback. He was playing blues acoustic guitar and singing some original pieces that were very introspective and spoke of a life in the blues tradition, rather down and sometimes dirty. He sang a song dedicated to his grandfather, "Earth and Worm", about the hopes and dreams older folks have of a youngster, only to realize later that the youngster simply wants to be like the one that he loves and loves him. The other was a song about a Texas murder, gritty, gutsy. What stands out in Seth's performance are his vocals. They are as real as it gets, smooth when necessary but otherwise filled with passion and deep emotion, it was refreshing to watch a young man pour his heart out, not only during his short set but also later in the evening.When Seth was done, the emcee for the afternoon, JohnJay Cecil of The Bush League, was putting together a list of musicians that were in attendance and what instrument(s) they played. NBN President, Jeff Karr came up to us and offered some raffle tickets and gave us an overall perspective on what was going on. We bought a few raffle tickets for cd's and stuff and understood that The Bush League, who I originally intended to see, had already completed a set. But after talking to Jeff, I was pretty much assured that they would return during the Blues Jam portion of the show.
The Blues Jam
Herbie Desseyn, Anthony Rosano (The River Boyz), Jackie Scott (Jackie Scott and the Housewreckers), Seth Stainback (Rooster Foot), JohnJay Cecil (The Bush League), Royce Folks (The Bush League), Shane Parch (The Bush League), Gwen Frederick (The Bush League), Scott Faulkner (Pigfoot Riot), Geo Jacopec (Pigfoot Riot), just to name a few...
We bought three raffle tickets for cd's and won. I, instead chose a DVD that had a bunch of blues players on the cover figuring it was a compilation of video clips. We held off on the raffle for the Johnson Bottle Slide Trilion Resonator Guitar until the last minute and ended up taking it home! It wasn't until we were getting ready to enjoy some dinner that we realized that the DVD was an instructional one on how to play Gospel Blues Slide Guitar. That was really strange as this day had come full circle.
Many thanks go out to the River City Blues Society, the Natchel Blues Network and JM Randalls for hosting this event. It was a great experience and will be treasured forever...
We bought three raffle tickets for cd's and won. I, instead chose a DVD that had a bunch of blues players on the cover figuring it was a compilation of video clips. We held off on the raffle for the Johnson Bottle Slide Trilion Resonator Guitar until the last minute and ended up taking it home! It wasn't until we were getting ready to enjoy some dinner that we realized that the DVD was an instructional one on how to play Gospel Blues Slide Guitar. That was really strange as this day had come full circle.
Many thanks go out to the River City Blues Society, the Natchel Blues Network and JM Randalls for hosting this event. It was a great experience and will be treasured forever...
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