The
site of the Simi Cajun and Blues Festival every Memorial Day weekend is a
spacious park in the bedroom community of Simi Valley in Ventura County. This
festival pays tribute to and honors the men and women who died during service in
the armed forces and I applaud them for that! A lesser known fact is that they
raise funds for a long list of local community, national and international
organizations and activities, and should be commended for the enormous effort it
takes to put on a festival of this magnitude!
There are two stages: Cajun and blues, as you might be able to surmise
from the name of the festival! The only time I left the blues stage area or
covered dance floor was to use one of the vast array of 'restrooms' lined up on
the baseball diamond.
Speaking of
thriving, the opening band was Reverend Tall Tree (not sure if he is an actual
reverend, but he is tall, yet not as tall as a tree). Anyway, Mr. Tree has a
voice and harp skills as solid as the trunk of even a short tree. Their set
consisted of all originals, nicely arranged and delivered with diversity. The
band set out to play a set of songs that the hundreds of festival goers would
revel in, and revel they did. The band definitely did not bark up the wrong tree
- they knew what they wanted to project and did what they came to
do.
What
can I say about the toughest girl alive? I could say that Candye Kane is
inspirational, that she is a survivor, and that she is ecstatic to even be
alive. She honored her commitment to be at this festival to deliver her message
and her music, even though she was released from the hospital for cancer-related
issues the day before. Goose bumps overcome me! I first saw her & band in
Solana Beach when I lived in Rancho Santa Fe and I was blown away by her immense
talent. She pens a lot of the band's songs including "I'm the Reason You Drink"
and "Super Hero" and "The Toughest Girl Alive". They put on a set filled with
mostly danceable upbeat songs with a couple of slow easy blues.
Guitar
Shorty and his band "Triple Danger" were up next. I know Shorty, his bass player
Crazy Tomes and his keyboard player Malcom Lukens. Unfortunately I do not know
the names of the other two players in the band (guitar & drums). This band
energized the crowd with their sensually searing sound. Shorty is truly a genius
guitar player/singer and proves it every single time I see him. "The Thrill is
Gone" was poignantly performed for his friend BB King; a heart-wrenching,
bittersweet rendition of one the King's greatest hits. It rocked my soul to the
core and touched me deeply.
Big
brother was in attendance at the festival... in the shape of Big Brother and the
Holding Company, a 1960s band led by Janis Joplin. The bandleader told us
stories about his days with Janis and I think he is the only one of the founding
members in the band today. On their first song, the female lead singer sounded
EXACTLY like Janis! Throughout their set she showed us that she was not a Janis
Joplin impersonator, but had her own unique voice to lend to the band. "Down on
Me" and "Summertime" and "Take Another Little Piece of my Heart" were just some
of the songs that rolled out of her lips and the musicians instruments, into the
blue skies above us. Their last song was "Ball & Chain" written by Big Mama
Thornton. The story was told that Janis heard it and really wanted to record
it... and so goes history.
The
Spencer Davis Group was another band in the 1960s, led by Spencer Davis, and
that remains the same all these years later. Their newest CD is called "So Far"
and they did a few songs from it. The musicians were all at the top of their
game skill-wise and their harmonies were harmonious to this writer's ears. They
did some of their early hits like "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man".
Now,
normally I have heard of, and LOVE the headliner, and they are one of the big
reasons why people go to music festivals. So, it was odd that I had never heard
of the headliners before today. I had you-tubed them and was impressed, but not
as impressed as I was when they were live in front of me!
The
Record Company consists of old souls Chris, Alex and Marc - three 20 or
30-somethings who are 1) visually appealing; 2) audibly appealing; 3) just damn
appealing!! I have never been impressed with a band at first sighting as I
was/am impressed by these three men. An all original set of songs were
energetically performed in a rapid formation one after the other, with the next
one even more mind blowing than the last. Chris is the lead singer and also
plays harp, lap steel, pedal steel and guitar. Alex is the bass player and also
does vocals. Marc is the drummer and also does vocals.
How
creative are they, you ask? I will tell you. One song was bass, harp and drums;
no lead guitar... and it was brilliant! Oh, you want two more example of their
creativeness? Okay, have you ever seen anyone play lap steel on an ACOUSTIC
guitar or slide BASS? The crowd was in awe, as most had no idea what to expect
from this unknown, yet highly successful band. You see, they have had their
music in numerous commercials and tv shows. They have played with such phenoms
as BB King, Buddy Guy and Robert Randolph & The Family Band. These guys get
around, as word spreads like wildfire in the music industry, and rightfully so,
as they deserve and have earned the respect of their peers and audiences
world-wide.
Yes,
we paid tribute this past Saturday and Sunday, and we did it with the universal
language of music... on a perfect-weather day... in the bedroom community of
Simi Valley.
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! - ”LIKE”
