Let the Blues Be Scene Again
Contributed by Rob Woolsey
PSA! Something special is happening in Anchorage over these last few months. The blues is….well it’s happening again. but first allow me to reminisce and romanticize that smoky blue neon sweat factory that colored the ears of my youth. Many moons ago, a small little club in Spenard made a huge cultural splash that would ripple over years…The ripples, though small still make minuscule reminiscent wakes today. Blues Central, or Chefs Inn was THE place for the blues in Alaska. When I was a kid, I’d sneak in the back-alley door to play. When I was finally 21, I showed up to every single Sunday Blues Jam. I was exposed to some incredible talent that has shaped and molded me into the musician I am today. Soulman Sam, Armand and the real deal, bucket of bolts, Big Mitch, Mike MacDonald, Joey Fender, Gary Sloan, Full Tilt, James Pruitt…. These are just a few of the monstrosities of talent that allowed me to slowly glean and eventually reap the blues prowess that they offered. There were a lot of us little punk kids trying to get in on that scene… Heck, there was a lot of people who wanted to be part of it.
Back to it…. It’s happening again and ironically, it’s in the building right next-door to the now torn down blue Central. Ridiculous amounts of old and new school talent are flocking to The Blue Note AK on Sunday nights. There is a crop of new high-school kids from South High coming down and killing it! Champagne, Joey Fender, Mike Merrill, Tom Bergalski…. So good to have a stage worthy of these legends and one to cultivate the younger generation. It’s definitely a BLUES jam, but there is never a moment where there aren’t nuggets of gold coming off of that stage. Even the young inexperienced players get to play with seasoned musicians with years of gigs in their back pockets. 10 minutes on that stage is better than wood shedding at home for six hours. it does something to you… The crowd, the pressure to perform, the beat red blanket of embarrassment that covers over you when you hit a bad note makes you tell yourself “I’ll never do that again”.
I feel a cultural shift… Or at least something happening that reminds me of those days. Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s seeing these young Horn players come out and grow in their craft, maybe it’s the dad who brings his 19-year-old kid to play drums smile ear to ear while he sits in the audience sipping a beer. Maybe it’s the music of nostalgic musicians pouring their hearts back into the past while living in the present. Whatever it is it’s happening again, and I love it.
If you sing, bass, harp, spit lyrics, guitar, drum…. yo…. Bring it! Hosted by The Rebel Blues Band. Starts at 6pm. If you play…. come. if you don’t… Come. Get saturated in this new baptismal scene that’s happening! Kids can jam with their parents’ present. Every Sunday at the Billiard Pallace/Blue Note Ak at 6pm. Come see the scene.