BluesView
by Earl Matthews
Hello everyone! I hope you have enjoyed this spring as much as I have and that you are ready for all the great car shows and outdoor parties that are coming this month. There are some really cool shows happening, and I don’t really have enough room to talk about them all so I am going to select a couple and ask that you check out the calendar to see what else is going on in the local blues scene for June.
Starting with a bang is a great band from the Sonora area the Little Fuller band. On June 2nd they are releasing their second CD at Black Oak Casino. They are not a blues band, I tell you this because I write the blues column but I am writing about them anyway. This should tell you how much I dig this band. They are fun, high energy and have killer music, great songs and a couple of the best singers around. No joke, if you don’t know about this band, get to knowing. They play a lot locally and that is a good thing for us the listeners.
The Pick and Gather Fest is on the 4th and 5th in Livingston at Riverdance Farms. There will be music, hayrides, games and activities for the kids, lots of art and last but not least cherries and blueberries that you and your family can pick yourself. Poorhouse Millionaires will be on stage 1ish on Saturday afternoon.
On Grafitti night June 10th after you watch the drag you can come down to the TIlted Turtle and catch Big Earl and the Cryin’ Shame playing some blues for you and all of your friends.
The biggest event I have to tell you about this month is called the Greasers Social Ball on June 18th on the 10th St Plaza. This free event will feature some truly great rockabilly and blues acts from near and far. John Clifton Blues Band, Rod & Honey Piazza, Rusty Zinn, Heebie Jeebies, Grease Hound and Big Earl and the Cryin’ Shame. There will also be a car show, The Luscious Ladies Pin-up Review, arts and crafts and a whole lot more. Fun for the whole family and that’s a pretty cool deal for free.
Last on my list for June, My friend Melissa Ruth is coming back to town and we are going to do some shows together. Her new project is called the Midnight Darlins and the band consists of Melissa and her husband Johnny Leal. Johnny was a founding member of the original Cryin’ Shame back in 2001. Poorhouse Millionaires will be sharing the bill with The Midnight Darlins at the Gypsy Shack on Thursday June 23rd. Then Friday with the Cryin’ Shame at the Torch Club. Finishing things up back in Modesto on Saturday night at Cafe Deva with the Midnight Darlins and the Cryin’ Shame.
I hope you all have a great month and I hope to see you out at a show.
