The "Two Trains Running Tour" – December 13 through December 16, 2007

On the Road with Big City Rhythm and Blues Magazine

"Do you still have Big Red?" So began the phone call that I received from my friend Robert Jr. Whital, the publisher of this humble magazine. "Big Red" (BR) is an 8 passenger GMC Savana van; factory equipped with an added subwoofer under bench seat 1. I use it for vacations and this proved to be one of the best!

Robert Jr. and Ted Boomer of the South Ontario Blues Society put together this Blues tour composed of Bobby Rush, his guitarist Keith Ruff, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, and his manager/record producer Michael Frank.

As luck would have it, I was asked to join, not as a performer, but as a driver – guitar technician. So, all of the studying and practicing of the Delta Blues over the past years, all of the "woodsheding" that I have done, all of the ways trying to figure out how to perform songs from the 20's and 30's all went out the window; it came down to the fact that I bought the right vehicle and had a full tank of gas.

For four days I had the pleasure of escorting around and getting to know "Honeyboy", Keith, and Bobby Rush. One of the famous quotes of the tour is from "Honeyboy": "I don't like this van, I LOVE this van!" So, everyone stopped liking everything and just LOVED everything!

Thursday, December 13 @ Bert's Warehouse Theatre in Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan – Bert's is a huge performing venue located in the heart of Detroit's famed Eastern Market. It could easily seat 2,000 people! This is the first time that I was to see "Honeyboy" and Bobby Rush perform and I did not know what to expect. "Honeyboy" was dressed in what many would call a Blues outfit, but is still a very dignified person. Bobby had his stage act trimmed down to a two – person show and they did pretty much what his stage show does without the dancers and other musicians. There was great music, great stories, and some adult humor that was quite hilarious!

One of the ways to access the stage at Bert's are two stairwells that started in the center of the stage and came down to either side. I sat in the stairwell as "Honeyboy" and Michael Frank performed; it felt like just for me! He even played my favorite song of his "Next Time That I See You".

After the show was over, everyone lined up to have their photo taken with "Honeyboy", get his autograph, or just shake his hand. This was a pattern that was to repeat itself for the next three nights!

Friday, December 14 @ Oasis Pub, Home of the South Ontario Blues Society in Windsor, Ontario. This is a great venue located downstairs in the Place Concorde. Bobby Rush opened the night with Keith Russ on lead guitar. He got most of the crowd on their feet by the end of the set and got everything ready for what was to come. One thing to keep in mind when sitting near the stage at a Bobby Rush concert; you might get the "Comedy Club" treatment as he had quite a bit of fun with a young couple via his verbal suggestions!

After Bobby's set, "Honeyboy" was inducted in the South Ontario Blues Society's Hall of Fame. After a brief televised awards ceremony, "Honeyboy" made his way to the stage and played a great set with Michael Frank. At the end of the evening, everyone was on stage for few songs that made this show worth the wait; it was sold – out for a month ahead of time and was totally packed!

Saturday, December 15 @ Dawghouse Pub & Eatery in London, Ontario. The tour then headed to a smaller town in Ontario, London. The beginning of the worst snowstorm to hit this area in 60 years was starting to make its appearance; more on that later. The drive to London was slower, but very entertaining as "Honeyboy" and Bobby had plenty to say about life on the road being a Blues musician. Once we arrived at the Dawghouse, we had our dinner complete with "Honeyboy" showing how he used to cheat at dice. Once, his National resonator was stolen in the 30's on a riverboat and he had to gamble to get enough money to get another guitar as that was his major source of income!

Everyone at the Dawghouse really appreciated the fact that the tour stopped there; they were getting to see the real deal. The show had "Honeyboy" once again as the headliner and he and Bobby closed the night. Everyone lined up to get "Honeyboy's" autograph on their CD's, his book, "The World Don't Owe Me Nothing", or something that they brought for him to sign. One lady brought something extra special as she asked if "Honeyboy" would sign one of her frontal body parts. "Let's see what you got!" was "Honeyboy's" answer. I must say that this was the most carefully crafted autograph of the whole tour! It does not hurt the have your camera set to video for such occasions.

Sunday, December 16 at Hugh's Room in Toronto, Ontario. Everyone knew that the normal 2 hour drive to Toronto from London was going to be much more than that, so we got an early start. We drove through a massive snowstorm and came in with 6 – ½  hours on the drive meter. Through it all, "Honeyboy" kept us entertained with his stories. We play Levon Helms' new CD "Dirt Farmer" for him and he liked it a lot. He also related the story that is in his book about getting in a fight in Mississippi, thrown in jail for 60 days, getting out of town as the person he got in a fight with died four days after he got out, and Big Joe Williams winding up with his guitar.

I have a cool video of Bobby Rush jumping out of the van and cleaning off BR's windshields wipers!

Another van discussion was of Keith Richards and open G tuning. We had Keith's solo CD playing "Talk is Cheep" and Keith Ruff started asking about it as he is a big Richards fan. I talked quite a bit how Keith and his open G tuning licks can be heard in Delta artists such as Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson. (Maybe a future BCRB article extrapolating this is in order?) "Honeyboy" interjected, "Yea, I played with Keith Richards, someplace in Connecticut. He followed me pretty good!" Keith Richards followed him! Man, what a gig that must have been!

Hugh's Room was a very cool club that also has folk acts; much like The Ark in Ann Arbor, MI. The sound check was a piece of cake as their sound system was excellent.

This show was probably the best of all as "Honeyboy", Michael, Keith, and Bobby all were on their game and had the three previous nights to hone their sets. It is really something to see "Honeyboy"who is 92 years old and still can perform; albeit not with the same level that you might hear on one of Alan Lomax's recordings, but a lot of playing Delta Blues is "not playing". "Honeyboy's" timing is spot on and I really wish that I could have sat in with them!

The autograph line was almost too long as I had not recovered from the drive out earlier in the day, but duty calls. One person drove from Montreal to Toronto just to shake "Honeyboy's" hand; can you imagine?

The drive back to Detroit was littered with crashed cars and trucks; more so closer to Toronto, but still an issue with Windsor, Ontario in site.

With an interesting, video – recorded,  pre – boarder crossing van check, we were able to conclude another BCRB tour with great memories for everyone involved.

One of the best memories for me was playing "I'm So Glad" and "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" for "Honeyboy" over at Robert Jr. and Shirley Mae's house in Royal Oak, MI. I still need to get a copy of that video recording!

For me, this tour was the chance of a lifetime: to meet the sole remaining link to the music that has so moved me – The Mississippi Delta Blues.

Last February 1 – 4, 2006, I had a chance to attend the International Blues Competition (IBC) that is held annually in Memphis, Tennessee ( www.blues.org ). From being on the board of the Detroit Blues Society, I have become acquainted with Robert Jr. Whital and his lovely wife, Shirley Mae Owens. One Saturday night I went to downtown Detroit to see Sir Mack Rice backed up by RJ Spangler and the Rhythm Rockers at Fishbones; one of Detroit best places to see and hear music. From our conversation, I learned that they were going to the IBC and invited me to come along with them!

We decided to take my full – sized GMC Savana van (Big Red) and enjoy the extra room that vehicle offers. The trip was even more interesting having Robert Jr. along as he lives and breathes the Blues and was a Blues history lesson mile after mile. He also had his XM radio receiver to get Blues stations all the way down.

Junior knows how to get around the country. Case in point: after I picked them up, I headed to I-75 as I was headed down south, but Robert Jr. said "Take I-696 to Lansing". I truly thought that he was joking; why would you drive north to head south? He does a lot of driving down south as his magazine "Big City Rhythm & Blues" warrants that he shows up in person. So, off to Lansing we went! I have to admit that from Royal Oak to Indianapolis, Indiana (our first stop) there was no traffic at all, the roads were in perfect shape, and we avoided all of the bad weather that blasted the I-75 corridor, which also gets rather hilly once you venture into Kentucky.

Our first stop in Indianapolis was at the Slippery Noodle, one of the best Blues clubs in the upper mid – west. I met the owner, was treated to a nice complementary dinner, and did a little Blues networking. From there we stopped for the night about 1-1/2 hour's drive from Memphis.

Coming into Memphis from the west the next morning was interesting: Apparently, they do not get too much bad weather down there as I saw more than a few scars through the highway's median and the corresponding destroyed guard rail. About twenty miles out, we encountered traffic and this was a problem as they had to get to an IBC meeting at 10:00 AM. After about a ½ hour delay on the road we saw the Memphis Pyramid Area, crossed the Mississippi River, and pulled in front of the Double Tree Hotel on Union Street.

I was now on my own for couple of hours; which was fine with me! I parked the van and walked through the downtown area. There was: WDIA radio on Union Street where BB King played on the radio when he was starting out, Beale Street which is like three Greektowns laid end – to – end, The Gibson guitar factory, Peabody Place, and then it was time to meet up with Robert Jr. and Shirley Mae. Joining the party was the well – known Blues musician from Chicago, Steve Arvey, and his girlfriend, Dianne Pritchett from the Suncoast Blues Society from Tampa, Florida (suncoastblues.org).

It was then time to hit Beale Street and the International Blues Competition. It was a lot of fun to go from one Blues club to another and see them all packed. I did watch the acoustic / duo winner from the Detroit Blues Society, Jeff and Christy Howard ( myspace.com/christyhowardband - play their set at Sweet Polly's. They played well and I could tell that they had a lot of fun! Next up after them was Stefania Calandra (myspace.com/stefaniacalandra ) from Rome, Italy. She had a great voice and sung her songs half in Italian. I was surprised how much of the songs I could understand. As I had been consuming adult beverages, I did make an Italian comment or two that made it up o the bandstand. I also met up with her table of supporters and had a good time speaking Italian with them. Around 1:00 AM it was time to call it a night; Beale Street was not winding down, but I was!

The next morning, I went to the IBC's Annual Awards hoping to see the Rev. Robert B. Jones get his "Keeping the Blues Alive" award. I missed the presentation and Robert Jr.'s and Shirley Mae's introduction of him, but I did get to sit next to him and his lovely wife Bernice. We talked about what each of us has been doing over the last year and he agreed to come over my house again for another Blues "lesson".

Around noon Robert Jr. gave out the word that it was time to head to the Delta. I pulled Big Red around the front of the hotel and Shirley Mae, Jim (the Windsor, Ontario radio DJ), Ted Boomer (President of the Canada South Blues Society - bluessociety.ca ), Steve Arvey, Dianne Pritchett, all got in with Robert Jr. being the trip narrator. Our first stop was the Lorriane Motel. We got out for a quick tour of the site and saw the scene from that fateful day Dr. King was shot. I always thought that the assassin had a long shot, but it really was just from across the street and he never had a chance.

We then did a drive – by past STAX Records (soulsvilleusa.com ) where Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, the Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the MGs, Johnnie Taylor, Little Milton, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Ike & Tina Turner, and my personal favorite electric Blues player Albert King recorded. As it would have taken too much time to go inside, it will have to be the next trip for sure!

Driving out of the south side of Memphis we headed to Walls, Mississippi to see Memphis Minnie's grave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Minnie ). How Robert Jr. ever found this place was beyond me.

When we got to Clarksdale, our first stop was the Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art memorabilia store (cathead.biz ). Inside, I saw Detroit's own Rev. Robert Jones on the cover of a Blues calendar! From there we went to an art gallery that had free wine and a Blues performer. I decided that it was time to play a few tunes and was able to play "Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues" before Steve Arvey took over.

We had lunch at Morgan Freeman's "Ground Zero" restaurant (www.groundzerobluesclub.com ), then we went to a very cool place The Hopson Plantation (www.shackupinn.com ) where long ago Sir Mack Rice was born. There, we met the proprietor and was given the tour. Hopson has many "shotgun" shacks that you can rent and "live" on a Mississippi plantation. The whole place was geared towards music and the Blues!

Leaving the Delta, we saw a very large, red moon over the very flat, dark Delta that was very striking. When we got back to Memphis, we went to the New Dolly Theater to see the acoustic IBC Finals. There were some very talented performers! Stefania did OK, but committed a cardinal sin of trying to retune her guitar on stage when it really counts. Her last couple of tunes were a little out of tune; mi dispiace Stefania!

I went from one end of Beale Street to the other and when I was with Robert Jr., he knew everyone he met: the bouncer at the door, the band playing, and the owner of the bar; truly remarkable!

After 2:00 AM, it was time for bed and a safe return to Royal Oak, MI the next day!