Bill's Big Merch Idea (And Some Photos)!

I thought I might begin by posting some stuff from Billy De Broux and S. Hussein Glantz.
I LOVE the McGoostock '09 as a title (what say you, Skip?).

From:
William DeBroux
To: Randy Tessier , Rick Wester , Kris De Broux
Subject: 'T' Shirts

Dear Randy & Rick,

Let's discuss donation opportunities. Kim Dudewicz, a childhood friend of my wife Kris, friend of Mr.McGee, graduate of NMU, and now hailing from St. Claire Shores believes that the illustration on the blogpost "McGeefest '09" would look mighty good on a T shirt with possibly McGeefest '09, McGoostock '09, or some such across the top and Big Bay,MI on the bottom. Give them free to the acts and sell them at the venue. That's where Mr. Rick Wester comes in. Rick is the owner of Pride Printing Inc, a business he established in 1985. Now, Kim wants to invest some money towards producing these snazzy shirts, maybe say, one hundred, or whatever the number is to get a good deal.
Rick, could you write-up a proposal on this? The idea is for us to purchase the blank shirts, have you print them up (if you could donate some production time from your crew, that would be moocho cool) and just like that, you are a corporate sponsor. Go to Randy's blog--meetthecrab.blogspot.com; scroll down to the post dated February 27, 2009 entitled McGee Fest '09 and you will find the illustration Kim is talking about. We are seeking your knowledge and expertise plus the skills of your team. Anything else you could kick in would be icing on the cake. WHAT SAY YOU?
Randy, the acts themselves are graciously donating their talents to this, but what about product? Most, if not all, I am sure, have recordings. Perhaps they could bring some product, and donate a portion of the price to the Fest. I'll tell you right now, if Tret brings a vinyl copy of her first album, I'm slapping down a 'c' note. I also want a copy of Mike Stadlers work. And I'm sure others are interested in purchasing recordings and they could load up on the good stuff. WHAT SAY YOU?

Late, Billy D.

Robert Hussein Glantz See this IMAX if you can. This number alone is worth the price of admission. Note the profound gesture of respect at the end of the song: Keith gives Buddy his guitar.

The Rolling Stones and Buddy Guy - Champagne and Reefer - Live 2006
Source: http://www.youtube.com/

Pure Blues... The Stones and Buddy! A man who played with Muddy Waters in the old days! Amazing!Posted 17 hours ago · You like this.

Mark Smotroff at 6:19pm March 14
I saw Buddy Guy last year on his 70th Birthday show here and he was amazing -- he and his band smoked the place. The odd thing that was just ludicrous was that they had him OPENING for George Thorogood -- there was no way Thorogood could top Buddy's presence or playing. What was bothersome was that Thorogood didn't even try... he just karaok'd ... Read Moreall his ... um... borrowed Chuck Berry moves from 30 years ago (when I first found him boring ;-). Strutting around saying you are "Bad to the Bone" doesn't make you that. He was just bad. The crowd loved him tho. But we were so aghast we left 5 songs into his set.

Robert Hussein Glantz at 8:39pm March 14
We were at that show. Buddy Guy was in great form. A couple years earlier, we saw him at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, splitting the bill with Los Lobos. The Santa Rosa show was AMAZING. He was at absolute the top of his game that night. ("I'm gonna play the blues so funky you gonna smell it.") Buddy would go from a delicate whisper to ... Read Morea full-throated blues roar and back in four bars. The worst BG show I ever saw was at the Greek. The promoter had Buddy Guy opening for Johnny Lang, who then then all of 19 years old. Buddy was pissed and gave a half-assed show. I think Johnny Lang, a young man whose taste and talent I admire, was embarrassed to be at the top of the bill. Buddy Guy is the living link between the Chicago blues masters of Chess Records and all those skinny Brit kids who were picking up what they were putting down - kids like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.

A word about the photos below. Sudsy's facebook post about Buddy Guy got me looking through some pics.


The photo of Buddy Guy and the guy in the Cal Schenkel T-shirt (yes, the dude responsible for all those Bizarre records by Zappa et. al.) was taken at Buddy Guy's "Legends" in Chicago. That's Rich Dishman, drummer par excellance, in front of the logo. The third photo from that series is of myself and the horn man from Junior Wells' band. George Bedard opened the show that night.

The photos of, and with, Johnnie Johnson were taken at two places, the Magic Bag Theatre in Fernadale, and a private wedding in Windsor, CA. we played as Johnnie's backup band on a number of occasions when he came to the Detroit area. The guy was an unbelievable player, and Bedard's early dedication to Chuck Berry's stylings (George plays Chuck Berry BETTER than Chuck Berry!) made the band sound sick. The two dames in the Magic Bag pics are, Thornetta Davis in the beads, and Niki James from Niki James and the Flamethrowers. Below is a thumbnail sketch from Wiki of who Johnnie is. By the way, after he toured with the Bob Weir/Ratdog/post-Garcia Dead, he told me they paid him 50 grand, gave him a pink Cadillac, and transported him in a pimped out tour bus with all of his favorite DVDs.

He was born Johnnie Clyde Johnson[2] in Fairmont, West Virginia[1] and began playing piano in 1928. He joined the United States Marine Corps during World War II where he was a member of Bobby Troup's all serviceman jazz orchestra, The Barracudas. After his return, he moved to Detroit, Illinois and then Chicago, where he sat in with many notable artists, including Muddy Waters and Little Walter. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1952 and immediately put together a jazz and blues group, The Sir John Trio with drummer Ebby Hardy and saxophonist, Alvin Bennett. The three scored a regular gig at the Cosmopolitan Club in East St. Louis. On New Years Eve 1952, Alvin Bennett had a stroke and could not perform. Johnson, searching for a last minute replacement, called a young man named Chuck Berry, the only musician Johnson knew who because of his inexperience, would likely not be playing on New Years Eve. Although then a limited guitarist, Berry added vocals and showmanship to the group. As Bennett would not be able to play again because of his stroke, Johnson hired Berry as a permanent member of the trio. They would remain the Sir John's Trio until Berry took one of their tunes, a reworking of the Bob Wills' song, "Ida Red" to Chess Records. The Chess brothers liked the tune and soon the trio were in Chicago recording "Maybellene" and "Wee Wee Hours" - a song Johnson had been playing as an instrumental for years for which Berry quickly penned some lyrics. By the time the trio left Chicago, Berry had been signed as a solo act and Johnson and Hardy became part of Berry's band. Said Johnson, "I figured we could get better jobs with Chuck running the band. He had a car and rubber wheels beat rubber heels any day." Over the next twenty years, the two collaborated in the arrangements of many of Berry's songs including "School Days", "Carol", and "Nadine."








The photos of my life long, dear, reliable friend, and fantastic drummer, Don Kuhli, are, well, Don Kuhli. Dig the one of the cool in his canyon yodelling suit. Cool. Nice suspenders and bowtie, dude. He's a Ludwig man for life.

The Los Chickens B/W is, from left to right, Charlie Tysklind, Brophy Dale (see photo), Dave Cavender (the tall guy), Don Kuhli, and Guppy Boy. This shot was taken in front of the bar at Mr. Flood's Party.

The B/W shot of my son, Russell, (on bass) and the Ann Arbor Community High Big Jazz Band backing up Wynton Marsalis was taken at a rehearsal for an appearance at Hill Auditorium. I've also included some pics from his younger days.

The photos of The Magic Poetry Band under the Duke Ellington Boulevard sign, and on the promenade along the Hudson, were taken in Manhattan on the eve of our gig at The Knitting Factory. Left to right are M. L. Liebler (THE Magic Poet), Brigitte, Jim Carey, and yours truly (photos by Barry Wallenstein).

Best - R. T.