A QUICK REPORT ON PRELIMINARY 1, OF THE CTBS BAND CHALLENGE:
The Band Challenge for 2018 is off to a rousing start. Due to more
registration than we expected - an extra date has been added to the
schedule. Preliminaries are scheduled for 4/15, 4/22, 4/29, and 5/20.
Preliminary 1 was won by *MURRAY THE WHEEL. * It is always exciting to have
a new band enter the event and win over the judges.Tim Keegan led the
group featuring strong vocals, with exciting and creative guitar work.Jim
Hoefelt (bass) and Gene on drums, provided a strong rhythm section. Boulder
joined them after a couple of songs and played harp with excellent tone.
They started with an original, *New York City*, which got the judges
attention. They followed with a driving blues that featured Tim and Jim on
vocals.The harp pushed the driving beat on Everybody Boogie, which featured
the vocal duet again, plus impressive guitar / harp interplay.They ended
strong, with a shortened version of Hendrix's* Voodoo Chile*. It was a fun
set, with Tim, at one point, playing slide with a lit lighter.
*BRIDGEPORT JOHNNY* - Opened the event playing some rockin blues, featuring
John Belancik, on vocals and guitar. The audience enjoyed the traditional
Blues of Messing With the Kid. Glenn's keyboards played a stronger role, as
the set moved on. The slow blues of* People Get Ready* showed their RnB
side , even a gospel feel. *Move it on Over* was uptemp and " rocked out".
They ended with a strong version of Tab Benoit's *Night* *Train*, which was
a chance for Walter to step out on bass.
*THE KRIS HEATON BAND* - Kris Heaton, on vocals and guitar. is a veteran of
the competition - and brings super charged energy to the show. With his
flashy jacket, Kris launches into his blues on the edge of heavy metal. But
he can also get down and dirty. *Call Me * had exciting guitar solos by
Kris and Mike. The song also had an impressive bass solo by Drew.The ever
present Ace Foster was always a factor on harp. The closing song provided
Steve Stits a chance to show his stuff, on drums.
*SIX PACK OF BLUES* - Fran Drew leads this RnB / Swing Band through a
rousing set that had a Blues feeling, from the opening note. An excellent
dance band. Fran's vocals are strong and her song selection was excellent.
She pointed out that *Your so Fine* was an original, and was careful to
explain where the covers had come from. The full band sound came mainly
from the sax work of Wendy Mancini and Sante Isopo (who also played
harp). *Boogie
Like You Wanna* lead off with a nice guitar intro by Tom, followed by Sante
on harp and Wendy on sax. Fran knows how to deliver a song - as shown on *All
Your Love* (Magic Sam) and *Tell Mama* (Etta James). I Can Tell was a
highlight. Russ (bass) and Steve(drums) provided a fine rhythm section.
This band gets better every time and their final song Quilty of Rockin All
Night closed out showing their future potential.
Everyone enjoyed the Sunday format and it looks to be a good decision.
Please support these bands when they play near you. Big thanks to Sue and
Ray Meeker, the Event Coordinators.Terri Kirkland our timekeeper.
Kent Kirkland for the press releases. Mark Zaretsky for the nice promotion
in the New Haven Register. Of course, the many judges. Black Eyed Sally's
management and staff. Blue Moon Beer for there support. Tom Retano our MC
and jam organizer. Tom Petri for the sound. And everyone who made the event
a success.
Ed Stack Connecticut Blues Society
