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And now, the final last few days of our US tour where we get a bit touristy. For previous sections see here (part 5)

Day...err...whatever it was...

After playing their hearts out at The Crossroads and waking up on The Rock river, it was time fo turn in our gear, our van, masks and capes and become...Tourists..

MY GPS correctly identified that there was a river in front.

Ok, lets head for town and drop of the gear

Did someone say we should stop for breakfast in Byron?

They'd supported the previous days gig

We've been back a week, and man I miss these American breakfasts.

Once more to the Tolls Roads, my friends. I am starting to wonder if Macquarie Bank has a Chicago Office. All these toll roadss...hmm

Our first stop was back at Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR)

SIR rocks.

the gear was brilliant and worked flawlessly.

These big ass road cases were quite a task in moving in and around but some solid protection for awesome gear.

Thanks Cesar.

Feeling strangely naked, we returned the drums to West Side Music exchange. It was like turning in your six guns...

We had organised to do a mini Ferris Buellers Day off whilst we were in Chicago, so we headed for Navy Pier and and an architectural cruise.

I spotted this inside the mall at the pier :-) Must have known we were coming

The boys were a little suspect about doing this cruise but with a simply stunning clear blue skied day, we headed out on a lake so vast that it calls to the ocean.

Being from a Harbour town like Sydney it was something I did not expect.

The great lake is so freaking huge it fills the horizon.

At the walls of the Emerald City, the wizards there have locked away the river that joins the great lake. The Chicago river (aptly named) runs counter to nature, against gravity and through Chicago towards Gary Indiana. there's a whole explanation for that to do with flushing out the city during it's early meat packing days, but I settled for looking at the pretty pictures.

Chicago, in many ways, echoed Sydney's crumbling stone edifices, 1930's sigils and signs. For a lot of folks who think of the US as LA and NY (apols for the TLA's)

Chicago truly is the beating heart of the country, right bang slap in the middle of the middle.

The wonderful emerald city of the mid west..

BTW if you're there, do the cruise.

With dinner reservations we struck for a photo opp at the Bean

Before plunging back into Downtown towards Dues for Deep Dish

We'd opted for a celebratory end of tour dinner at a Chicago Landmark establishment, Due's (doo-ay, as it 2, not as in Doo or Dew)

Ok so there was a lot of build up about Chicago Deep Dish and Pizza Pie. We had to order ours by phone before we even arrived at the restaurant.

The crust is like a short crust pastry and the tomato is above the cheese.

ABOVE THE CHEESE!!! Has the world gone mad?

Sydney can hold its own in Pizza Land, our Italians are twice as opinionated as your Italians, use twice as many hand gestures and are way crazier on account of the fact that they're all sleep deprived because they have to stay up until 3am to watch soccer.

I'm willing to revisit the deep dish but right now it scores a resounding 'meh'.

So with our celebratory dinner complete we contemplated a quiet night in or..

We went in to catch some Blues with Big Time Sarah at Blue Chicago

SOAPBOX ALERT! WOOT WOOT! SOAPBOX ALERT!!

Ok, so she did standards I have heard in every blues bar from Bangkok to Hawaii, sure the house band traded on Guitar Frippery for endless aeons of time chewing noodling.

I think we have us Muso's have some work to do on inspiring the audience but that's a rant for another time.

Whilst the music was happening, a stream of passersby stopped, walked in and started to check out the music.

Our laconic doorman had shrunk his perimeter now to inside the club. People would walk up, receive a lazy hand preventing them from going further, be told there was an eight dollar cover charge and then....leave!

With the music blaring, I couldn't hear the conversation, but I could see the body language play out each time.

One of the two passers by (and they were usually in groups of a few, such as socials animals we tend), one foot would go onto tippy toe, the other foot would turn, someone would make a polite apology and they'd bail out.

I must have seen $2-300 worth of cover charge turn away.

Why? 

When they entered they didn't expect to pay and when realising that they'd have to, decided it just wasn't really worth it.

The bar was now too full, the music wasn't that good, there was something else up the street.

Strangely enough these reasons didn't seem to exist BEFORE they found  out the cover charge.

Now in Sydney, we play a lot of shows as the 'entertainment' band. We're lucky that we get away with playing our own music. Most of the times in pubs what they want are human jukeboxes that patrons can sing along with.

And that's fair enough.

Looking at it from the point of view of the average dude In the Street looking to while away his after work hours, the short answer is:

you have to be the good time that the punter is looking for.

Now theres a marketing answer to the problem posed above; a big sign saying cover charge on the door, the outside wall. Stops punters who are just tire kicking from coming in.

Seeing a stream of people u-turning at the front of my gig would bum me out, I'd work on that.

I think that suggests a mindset of our current times where musicianship has a batshit crazy valuation system - we'll pay $150 (or more) for a mainstream big scale act to entertain us for 90 minutes, yet  wont pay $8 to see a local legend with 30 years on the ground experience singing street Blues in Chicago entertaining us all night. Add $20 for enough beer to make you need a cab ride home.

There's a lot to unpack in this issue, I'll save it for my future tract on marketing (available as an ebook for only $22) 

but I'll say...

$8. 

I know times are tough but jeez louise. 8 lousy bucks.

Big Time Sarah asked me why didn't each one of us buy her CD, she sure could use the money.

Rant over.

Thanks for the music BTS, I bought a CD.

Rant Over

Bye Bye Van

Yep, finally we had to return Old Green, she'd served us well. She needed a bath so we took her to Berts

For the Ladies!

Street art on poles in Chicago

That night it was our turn to cook a thank you dinner for Paul, Mo and the Girls.

I opted for a good old fashioned Australian classic.

Greek Lamb.

Crikey Lambs exxy ($$$) overt there!

Cheers to My Mary for Sous Cheffing :-)

BTW it was AWESOME. Once again, we earn our reputation as the hardest living, Michelin Hatted, travelling band. Sacre Bleu! Where is zee haloumi?

The Last Nosher

That was it, flight out that night, but there was still one last breakfast in America.

The bread was pre-buttered, which confused Rosie no end. He ordered additional butter three times before catching on. they just thought he was crazy for cow.

Big tip for us Muso travelers - Excess Baggage is a huge cost on the return flight, watch out you won't get caught unawares and have to leave your Bass player behind as payment.

After a long, tedious and uncomfortable flight back home, we emerged into a smiling Harbour city.

She knew we were back.

The last gig of the tour was the following evening, and despite the jetlag the boys delivered an outstanding performance. I was so mentally drained I forgot to take my phone so no pics, but Mr Wizard will post some.

Shout outs to Fran, John, Steve and all the folk from the Royal in Bondi who made us feel like we'd never left :-)

So that just about wraps up our tour blog, thanks for reading along.

The only thing left will be so send out some additional thanks, but I'm still shagged out and will save that for another post!

MJEB

err...

Where was I? If you can't remember go here and read part 4...

Okay, So there we were leaving Kansas City, saying our goodbyes to L&L&R, departing for the last 3 gigs of the tour. Had it gone by so fast? (yes, simply the time dilation effects and jetlag). Even now, the great Emerald City beckoned,

it was time to head for Chicago.

....except for maybe just one teency weency little side venture when nobody was looking.

Whilst the boys packed, I headed into Kansas city to go check out the vintage harp microphones put together by Kansas City's own Mr. Microphone, Dennis Oellig. Check him out at www.mrmicrophone.com

Dennis was kind enough to let me come in, flugle around with a few of his mikes and listen to their sound.

 Custom hot rod paint? No problem. Vintage inserts? No problem. if none of this makes any sense to you then sadly, you are not a harmoniac.

If some drooling has occurred, come to my arms! Sweet sweet tonal devices..

Dennis works with each harp player to find the right sound for them. Taking into account that I play mostly through the PA, not an amp, DJ suggested one of these, whatever it is.  I tried it, it sounds great...

Only problem is, DJ doesn't make to order - he puts together vintage setups for original gear whenever he can find them. Old school indeed. You want? You better get your order in so you can get'em when they emerge. Of course, a trip to Kansas City might be in order too.

Anyhoo...returning to Casa Del Roscoe, we bade our goodbyes (so sad) and ventured forth to the highway. We had to say goodbye to our tactical Support Officer for the tour. We missed everyone as soon as we'd departed :-(

As dusk fell, we stopped for yet another edition of What Road Food Is That?

Mr Wizard has no fear. Doomsday Preppers, delight! Twinkies have returned! Or maybe they never went away......

There's also hand made kettle corn to be had in your Illinois Truckstop.

Rosie chose the Cheesy Popcorn. Yum.

We had opted to split the drive to Chicago with a stop in St Louis.

When booking I hadn't realised that this (very nice) hotel was done in mock-horrible-elizbethan/tudor/omfg Decor

I almost lost it. I felt like I had accidentally wandered into the Philosophy Sequence from The Meaning of Life, complete with soft pastel wearing midwesterners mistaking me for a Pom over toast in the aptly named breakfast 'Nook.'

When I asked where one could get the Pox the hotel staff were not at all amused. Her Majesty was hung in the living room in a Warhol multi screen print kind of way...are you starting get the picture

I stayed in the Sir Thomas More room, replete with a volume of 'Utopia'. It was hideous.

(it was very nicely appointed, the bed was nice, the people friendly etc, again I apologise but the decor messed with my head)

The 8 foot stuffed bear in the lobby was a nice touch and I like the ATM in the phone booth.

Everyone else thought this was the best place ever.

Go figure.

Whilst the boys went out and caught some Soul and Jazz in St Louis, I retired to my chambers under gas lamp and spent the night tormented by Ghosts of Interior Design Past (noooo.....not the chintz.....nooooo)

After escaping Castle Von Disneystein, we made for the freedom of the flatland roads, filled with Americas commerce hauled in long panel truck bodies, with scrolled names like Jesus and the occasional pair of truck nuts.

There were a number of old ironwork bridges in Illinois and Chicago proper that put me in mind of the turn of the century iron work of Sydney. Ah homesick..

As we neared Joliet, one of the old huge wrought iron bridges that regulate the flow of traffic along the Des Plaines river opened up.

Americans don't like to wait, many of them immediately started turning around and looking for an alternative path, as did we, after a  brief break to watch the barges line up.

We returned Mr Recht to the safely of Mo and headed off to the seedy side of town and broken down shack where broke musicians go to stay...

Unless of course they score an AWESOME deal through some website...not telling.

The next day, we decided to adjust out set list again. The Hyatt had a number of conferences on - Singles pleasing the lord (verbatim), Jesus loves Real estate (made that one up) and Macroeconomic Modelling of Long Term Financial Derivative Trading..with Jesus (also made that one up but you get the idea).

We hired our own room to readjust the set list and put up signage that only other Australians would understand.

Theo loves this part of the job.

Gig 7 - The Waterhole, Chicago

With the set list re-jigged one final time, we packed and headed into Downtown Chicago for our gig at The Waterhole

As dusk fell, the boys loaded in and began setting up. 

We ordered Red Beans and Rice, plus some chicken, I made a dash to radio shack for an adapter (1 block away how's that for luck?) and as the Stormcellar Weather closed in..

The Waterhole has seen some pretty serious musicians grace its stage and later I was told that it seemed as if some of those spirits had been with us as we played.

I have to say, the boys put on a hell of a show. That was one you had to be there for. Cheers to Dan for help on sound and Cat for inviting us to Chicago's Juke Joint.

Gig 8 - Old Town

Thanks to Mo, the following day we had an additional show at The Waterhole, a riders bar in the 'burbs

I challenged the crowd during Running Jody to see if they did more than sport a bumper sticker.

I am pleased to say that the rider community do more than just pay lip service, they are actively engaged with returning service people, and that's a damn fine thing.

Outside in the parking lot I saw a bunch of rides that would have been well thought of at our gig in Catherine Hill Bay a few weeks ago, but as Tim showed me, there was more to it than that!

That was a huge night and huge gig, including a very special rendition of Born in Chicago from our very own Mr Paul Recht.

Big thanks to Tina for inviting us, Mo for encouraging her, Rich for doing sound and shout outs to Jan, Tim and all the other patrons of Old Town. I have a feeling we'll be seeing you again.

Gig 9 - CrossRoads Blues Society 

Our last gig of the US tour was with the Crossroads Blues Society and their annual after festival thank you party.

They host a party to say thanks to all the volunteers and people who come to make the Crossroads Blues festival one of the fastest growing regional festivals in Illinois.

So for a last time, we headed out on the road. Well sort of last time, we still had more driving, but you know what I mean.

Youtube did some copyright claim and muted the audio on this, I cant even remember what we were listening to...

The VFW hall is in an old Quonset hut, the FW are like our RSL, except without the Pokies (hence the old Quonset hut)

The US version of the RSL is The American Legion, and they volunteer their time and effort to keep these places open for the community. Way to go guys.

Our host, Steve Jones, gave a short speech and held the elections to the board for the coming year and then ceded the floor to us.

Word had spread from the previous nights gig and we had a number of people come down to hear us after reports from the night before. Cheers guys.

For our last show the boys were in fine form, I'd managed to get a cold after Danny Cox's lawn party but thanks to Walgreens, I was buzzing off my little noggin with cold and flu remedy.

Some elements of that last show were simply mesmerising. After the show we were teated to a wine tasting over Italian. Yeah, it's a hard life on the road...

Thanks to Steve and Annette and all the members and volunteers for the Crossroads Blues Society and all the people who chose to spend a Sunday afternoon with us.

Our hosts for our stay were Don and Becky at the Blackhawk Trail lodge and I cant think of a more fitting and beautiful way to finish. What a gorgeous place.

The trip wasn't over for us quite yet, we still had gear to return or resell, vans to wash, some sightseeing to do, and officially our last gig for the tour was our return to the Bondi Royal.

Next Installament:

Chicago architectural tours

Deep Dish Pizza is scary

I try to remember everyone to say thank you to

Flying Back

Jetlagged gig at the royal goes off!

Stay tuned.!

MJEB: Dawayne posted me this recently and I asked his permission to republish. I'll forward any comments to him.

DAWAYNE G:

Ben Webster Soulville http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQkpYzRarkA

Lester Young http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WON5vOK2Qw0

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVLMR3ffNSQ

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaPIyo51cr4

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeqwPX4T4E0

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcM8itcB2eI

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GpQv4GxZJ8

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUvFBsLkdc

Buster Smith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyrn1Gl1gZw

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks3H3SR7W2c

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K51s5KBDZ9Y

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxM42ylCFfk

                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L0eMOo4FIE

Jimmy Smith & Stanley Turrentine  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_6TM2VifwE

How can you separate Blues from Jazz?….you can not….and should not!

All of the great “Blues Harmonica” men that I have personally known told me the same thing…they all learned and pulled from sax players, jazz sax players, piano, organ. Country and western, swing, riffs, grooves, and melody as they saw fit; Little Hatch, Ben Kynard, Snooky Pryor, Mojo Buford, Billy Boy Arnold, Carey Bell, Easy Baby, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Paul Oscher, Jerry Portnoy, Charlie Musslewhite, Little Mack Simmons, Willie Cobb, Arthur Williams, Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson, James Harmon, Jerry “ Boogie’ McCain, Wild Child Butler, and Lazy Lester. I am sure that I have forgot to name some more folks that I have met and worked with. I have been very blessed and extremely lucky to have known these wonderful folks.

My friend Honeyboy Edwards personally carried Little Walter and Big Walter to Chicago for their first times respectively.

All of these guys always told me that Little Walter, Sonny Boy, Big Walter, Wolf, Muddy, Jimmy Rogers, George Smith, and Jimmy Reed all listened and learned from Jazz players….and then some. Robert Johnson stole from the best!

I have learned so much from Piano, Bass, Drum, horn, harp, keyboard, and vocalists through Blues and Jazz. It is really very hard for me to separate the styles in many ways. Any so called “Blues” fan or “Blues” player that thinks that they do not like jazz is being very narrow and closed minded. The best “Blues” has a debt far too many times to “Jazz” or other styles of sound. My new friend Michael Barry who has very nice tone surely understands these thoughts. Please punch the next ignorant so called “Blues” chump who thinks differently.

Champagne or gutter blues??? One is refined and the other is raw. Both can carry their own beauty equally.

Big thanks to all the Friends of The Band who picked up an Ozicana Tour T-shirt - they're on their way to you.

For anyone who wanted one but didnt get one, I have limited stock so act now or miss out. For true

They look great!

Here's the lovely Mr Wizard holding one up for ya, thats the back

.

I have 

1 X SM

4 X M

6 X L

2 of XL

4 of the  XXL

and 2 XXXL

Going, going going...

If your size isnt available I'll refund ya, first in best dressed, literally!

Here's the art from the back, the fornt has a small left breast logo

for $45 get yourself a piece of history :-) if you dont do paypal, message me and we'll sort something

Stormcellar OZICANA 2013 TOUR Tshirt

Size

SMMLXLXXLXXXL

Taking a break from the gig narrative, here's a moment from an excellent evening of music and company with DG and Cathy. (FOR PART 3 GO BACK HERE)

- A SEGUE in KC- 

Please take your seats, the Professor will be with you presently. For those of you unfamiliar with the Professor, he has been an active participant in the life of Blues in Kansas City for 30 years and counts among his friends and confidantes some of the greatest living Blues musicians still kickin it.

Bitchin. 

Auteur, Diplomat and Bon Vivant, Professor Gilley hosts an occasional soiree involving 'BBQ' and the spinning of obscure and interesting choice 78's.

The Southern Gentlemen from the musical combination referred to as a ''S.C' were fortunate to be invited to participate is just such an event, and thanks to the wonders of Moving Pictures, can share this experience with the class.

~---------~

Schooled In The Blues

Ok, I gotta keep the info brief as Dawayne would whack me for revealing how awesome he is (like a Boss), but I have some stuff to share from our lesson in the history and nature of how Blues, Jazz, Country, Big Band, Gospel and Folk all mixed and mingled in the mid west. On our second night of R&R, Dawayne and Cathy treated us to awesome Oklahoma Joe's Kansas City BBQ (yum).

Dawayne then proceeded to play us some amazing stuff and explain the intricacies and detail of how they were recorded, who recorded them, who played on whose album, who pinched whose riff and so on. Just amazing.

While my mind was being blown, I managed to take some snaps and record just a fraction of some of the sounds we heard. Enjoy.

Now don't worry about trying to match the videos to the covers, I kind of randomly grabbed stuff in between bites of BBQ and finger snapping :-)

\

Totally bad ass.

Dawayne played us examples from every conceivable related cousin of blues - country blues, jazz blues, Champagne blues, Gutbucket blues, blues rock, big band, gospel you name it.

BB King, Johnny Cash, Mavis, Bessie, Kokomo Arnold, Willie Dixon, Count Basie,  were all companions as, we travelled through 100 years of styles in one evening.

and the biggest lesson of them all?

Dawayne says there's only two types of music: Good and bad.

The rest is up to you.

NEXT INSTALLMENT:

The boys get some soul in St Louis

Chicago here we come

The tour enters its perigee