BAY AREA ARTS AND MUSIC

DECEMBER 2000, VOL I, NO. 6

CATHY LEMONS AND JOHNNY ACE BLUES BAND

Rockin' blues diva Cathy Lemons says, "When I sing the blues I sing about MY life. I feel better for it every time." Her debut album "Dark Road" mixes standards from Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Sonny Boy Williamson and Junior Wells with new material that is as inspiring as it is heart felt. She grooves to her own beat while paying homage to the classic blues form.

Cathy has traveled the dark road to hell and back and found her salvation through music. "I know what it means to be poor, to be out on the street, hungry and without a friend or a dime-and blues for me is a fight back from all that. I can't just let it get me down. I am going to raise my fist and make some noise about what it means to be human in a world gone cold."

But "noise" is not the word to describe her awesome vocals. Smoother than Janis, with plenty of range and polish, her torchy pipes attack a song with the ferocity of a female warrior. It's a sound you don't have to be a dyed-in-the-wool blues aficionado to love. She could sing anything she wanted, and you'd want to hear more. Her distinctive somewhat nontraditional take on the blues genre puts her in a class by herself.

She grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she performed with Anson Funderburgh and Stevie Ray Vaughan before hitting San Francisco in the late eighties. Her style grew more individualistic as she performed with Paris Slim, Tim Kahatsu (later a member of the Robert Cray band) and Mark Hummell. She was the opening act for the John Lee Hooker Band's 1988 tour, and met her musical partner Johnny Ace that same year at The Saloon in North Beach – where "Dark Road" was recorded.

The richness of Cathy Lemons' vocal performance is enhanced and showcased by the outstanding musicians in her band. Drummer Kevin Coggins drives a clean and dirty blues engine. David Maxwell plays piano like he invented it, and Johnny Ace-known as one of the all-time best bass players-lives up to his reputation. Ace has toured with John Lee Hooker, Otis Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, Eddie "Clean head" Vinson and Boz Scaggs.

Cathy says, "He's a fabulous player. He's got great stage presence, drive and musical energy. A wonderful rapport with people on stage. He listens to what I'm doing and follows me beautifully. That's very OLD school. They always listened to the vocalist. The bass is the heartbeat of the sound-the pulse-without the bass it's hollow. In blues, especially."

For guitar lovers "Dark Road" is a collector's item. Branded an "up and coming guitar wiz" by Rolling Stone, the band's resident lead Steve Freund is a revelation from start to finish. Pithy and articulate. His caramel coated tones rock on "Rollin' & Tumblin," and his solo on the title track "Dark Road" is a killer.

Rusty Zinn was presented the W.C. handy award for The Best New Artist of 1995. He plays wild and nasty lead guitar on "Little by Little" and "Hard Headed Man." The Saloon's Myron Mu produced, engineered and mixed the album over the span of a year. He was, incidentally, the first person to record Tommy Castro-who now opens up for B.B. King. Castro's guitar makes an offer you can't refuse on "Let Me Be Good."

Fans of Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi will get chills. Cathy's rendition of the blues classic "Dirty man" is impeccable, and her female tilt on the funky "Good Morning Little Schoolboy" is sexy as hell. She delivers a song with plenty of drama-but she's real. Without resorting to over-the-top vocal gymnastics, she reveals through an intimate, lustrous tone-and breath taking range-the needs, regrets and longings that come with being human.

The five tracks she penned with Ace are among the best offerings on the disc-simultaneously introspective and assured. A lot of women can identify with the frayed emotions of" Hard Headed Man" and a lot of men would prefer they'd identify with the tasty grooves of "Let me be Good." "Sayin' It Plain" and "Dark Road" are achingly gorgeous. "Takin' a Train" kicks ass, and so does Tommy Castro's poignant guitar solo.

Five years ago, the musical collaboration of Lemons and Ace evolved into a romantic relationship. For Johnny Ace, it was love at first sight, but they kept their partnership professional for a long time. Besides her beauty, he says, "What got me about her was she had her own vocal style, musically. Also-like myself, she has been through a lot of stuff. You can hear sadness in her voice. All the great artists have a lot of sadness in them. There aren't a lot of pretty faces that create great stuff. There are some pop icons, like Elvis or Marilyn Monroe, who was beautiful, but deep inside, they were hurting pretty much."

The minute he met Cathy, he says, "I could see in her eyes. I looked inside her soul. She's a great human being, a sweet person. And I love working with her." She says, "He's honest. I trust his judgment. He's a good sounding board. He knows a lot about music, especially blues. A good partner, who respects the individual for their artistic talent. It's always about the music first. And he's been on my side. He stuck up for me."

To quote John Lee Hooker "If it's in you, it's gotta come out!" Johnny Ace says, "I always had music inside of me. When I lived in New York, older guys showed me stuff. I learned from watching the greats, and put in a lot of time back then practicing in my room. The music was a lifesaver. Music gave me something to live for. Self-expression. You get confidence as a human being when people say they like what you did."

As to his own technique he says, "I just put down the groove and let the other people play." He learned a lot about "Musicianship, showmanship and life" from Victoria Spivey. "She loved human beings. She was a great, strong woman. She appeared in the first all-black movie. She worked with Louis Armstrong, and had her own booking agency in the 1930's. She recorded Bob Dylan first." Two other major influences were the late Bobby Anderson, and Billy Boy Arnold's brother, Jerome Arnold, who played with Paul Butterfield.

Johnny Ace lays down the grooves on all the songs Cathy Lemons and he write together. Cathy says, "The idea for the song comes first, and a feeling for the rhythmic structure, then the full melody and the words. Melodies come easily. As a vocalist you can create what will enhance your sound. Literally write to the best of your voice." Asked if Ace has inspired a particular lyric, she replies "Yes! He's a hardheaded man! Oh Mercy!"

Her partner says he remembers the first time he heard her song "Dark Road." He's right about the sadness in her voice and her lyrics. "It's a cold morning' babe. Sky's white as snow. I'd like to stay here with you. But I don't know which way to go. Seems like I been walkin', baby. All my life down one dark road. I feel like a stranger, every old place I go Goin' down, goin' down the dark road alone."

On the album she plumbs the passion from deep inside her soul, wrapping the blues around a 14-song line up that will satisfy purists and inspire the rest of us. Through the crucible of artistic discipline, she's found gold in the fires of heartbreak and poured it into her music. The road ahead looks bright, and she's not walking it alone. As John Lee Hooker says, "She's got it! That's the real blues!"

The Cathy Lemons Blues Band performs every Sunday at Biscuits and Blues, S.F.'s premier blues club: 401 Mason at Geary in the theatre district. Dark Road is available through The Saloon Recordings and Tower Records.

Dallas Faulkner