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BIG CITY BLUES ACE’S ALLEYAugust – September 2009 Issue Ask Not What The Blues Can Do For You, Ask What You Can Do For The Blues By Johnny Ace A v  ery happy and safe summer to all of you out there in Big City Blues Land. All is basically going to plan out here in San Francisco, not mine, but somebody’s. Cathy and me along with the band are finally going into the studio to cut the new CD. I’ll keep you posted. We’re all glad that Tommy Castro’s new CD on Alligator will be out. By the way, who took those photos for the BCB article on Tommy & Co.? Not bad.I just had a talk with Tom Mazzolini, the owner and producer of the oldest and now defunct (hopefully not for long) San Francisco Blues Festival. He told me he just put on a great show in Lake Tahoe called “The San Francisco Blues Festival Presents Blues By the Lake.” On the festival were the fantastic Mavis Staples, Elvin Bishop, and The Manish Boys, featuring Eddie Clearwater, Jimmy Johnson and Lonnie Brooks. I’d have loved to have been there! Tom said he’s looking for a sponsor for his FREE San Francisco Blues Festival here in San Francisco. That’s keeping it in the real spirit. If there’s anyone out there who’s interested in sponsoring this event, just Google Tom Mazzolini, or email me and I’ll get you to him. Right now I’m gonna go back to May of this year…. It was a sunny afternoon, and I was just strolling around San Francisco enjoying my life, being happy. I was who I am, ME, a musician, not stuck in a horrible day job, sweating it out just to make ends meet. Oh yea, times are tough, but at least I’m basically happy. I wound up in North Beach and decided to stop in this little yogurt store and relax with a healthy treat. You know, just a place to be alone with my thoughts and look into my soul. The yogurt place was empty, that’s why I went in. Can you dig it? As I was enjoying my mango yogurt, I asked the part of my criminal brain how this place could stay in business? Well maybe these people are using it for a front to launder their money from some other illegal more profitable business they have. I sure hope so because every time I walk by the place there are never any cash customers—just this real young counter girl about 17 and her boy friend—maybe one is an owner. They just sit there listening to this music that sounds like a dentist’s drill inside a real loud washing machine. Is that a sign of the times? This place was painted all in white, so if it’s daytime and the sun is shining and you’re looking at the walls for more than 20 seconds you immediately become snow blind! You can’t see a thing! If you’re alone, you’re forced to look out the windows. The windows are huge. I immediately started to go back 17 years in my mind to when The Grant & Green was really ripping. Affectionately us musicians called it “The Stain Room!” The Grant & Green at night was always filled with sweat, heat, overflowing toilets, and smoke as thick as a coal mine. Hey, these weren’t health spas! It had blues, sex, drugs and debauchery every night of the year except Christmas until its owners sold it around 2000. For them it was a real smart move to save there health and sanity. For me it was the end of the last real big wave of madness before I left “Funky Broadway” and moved over to “Straight Street” Many, many great nights were spent in there playing really fine music and going wild with all the Bay Area blues people, too many to mention. Ah, those times! MERCY! Tommy Castro even had a video of us playing which said it all. Unfortunately, the video mischievously disappeared from the face of the earth. Probably that was really good for us, especially ME! I’m not gonna go into details—just use your imagination, or ask Tommy if you ever run into him and he’s in the mood to go back. Ha ha! J Well, anyway, as I sat still sinking into a frosted milky white cloud of nostalgia for the good old days, Carlos Santana strolled by with a friend. Carlos was dressed really sharp, and why not? I’m not a friend, but I did want to approach him to discuss something. Of course I didn’t. I just sat there still thinking. Now I know that two years ago Carlos made a CD with a lot of his famous musician friends doing old songs that represented PEACE. Each artist did one song. I don’t know if it stopped any wars, but it was a nice idea. I don’t know how it sold, but I’m sure a profit was made. What I wanted to and still want to ask Carlos is could he do a CD to help promote the blues? You know, give the blues a push into the main stream. Maybe he could get some younger famous artists to sing on it and then MAYBE some young kids would buy it and get a bit turned on to the blues. I’m not asking Carlos to get The Jonas Brothers to do Muddy Waters’ “My Home is in The Delta” or Beyonce to do a tribute to Ma Rainey or even Madonna and Britney Spears to do Tampa Reds “Let Me Play With Your Poodle.” Now that could sell! I can just see the video, the uncut DVD, T-shirts, pajamas, underwear! Oh yea! Now that’s entertainment! RIDE! But seriously, there is a way to do it Carlos! I know this can be done! It’s not asking too much. And after Carlos gets all the big main-stream stars, he can get B.B., Buddy Guy, etc., and maybe some older rock stars who love blues like Eric Clapton, Rod Stuart, Stevie Winwood, etc. MERCY! Just think about it Carlos. Also I should mention to my BCB readers that I received an email from Charlie Musselwhite the other day saying that Sun Records’ 1950’s Rock a Billy unknown to the main-stream legend, Billy Lee Riley, is having health problems—stage IV bone cancer. He and his wife Joyce are struggling financially. Plus Billy is in a lot of pain. They’re accepting checks to help pay for medical expenses, bills, and food. I would think that any Rock-a-Billy musician who has ever played “Red Hot”—and that’s probably ALL of you—or any fan—would want to help. Please send checks or money orders to: Billy Lee Riley What I am getting at here is it’s time for all of us who love this music to try to help keep it going, from the Carlos Santanas of this world to BCB readers. And if you see one, lone musician out there in an empty train station with a cup out playing “Stormy Monday” or “Johnny Be Good” –well , put some money in his cup! It needs to be like in 1960, way, way back on that freezing cold winter day when JFK made that famous speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country!” Well, I am saying “Ask not what the blues can do for you, but ask what YOU CAN DO FOR THE BLUES!” AMEN and RIDE! Oh yea, the yogurt store went out of business just three weeks later! |
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ust as I was sitting there with my yogurt thinking on these memories, a young lady, very blond, tall, wearing short shorts, legs all over, highly attractive, parked her new shiny car by the fire hydrant that was right in front of The Grant & Green. In a flash of smoke she entered the front door by unlocking the pad lock. I’m guessing she was one of the new owners, or maybe a barmaid who had the keys. In my mind I was thinking she was gonna pick up her stash left in the club the night before. Or maybe pick up a real huge load of drugs to make a deal. So I was playing my little mind game just hoping for her to at least come out with a ton of liquor for a party. I was getting all excited. About two minutes go by as I was watching to see how the scene would play out. She then very coolly and calmly opened the door and walked out … with a tennis racket! My—how the times have changed! MERCY!