PWF season 2

Playing With Fire - update 05/16/2005Monday, May 16, 2005

If FREE is the best, then the only thing that could be better is FREE and GOOD. This year’s 2nd annual Playing with Fire concert series promises to be an improvement over last year’s award-winning event.

www.playingwithfireomaha.com

In America, “too much is enough,” and that adage holds true with this year’s event. Not only are there seven free concerts (two more than last year), there is also a new four show Friday Blues series. That makes 11 concerts in all!

Last year’s inaugural season was initiated by local businessman Jeff Davis. “Jeff approached me about helping do ONE show in the Old Market: that quickly grew into five shows” says Homer’s President Rick Galusha. “With 11 shows this year he’s really worn out his welcome!” jokes Galusha. “I grew up with a ‘60’s idealism” says Davis. “We really wanted to create an environment for the community to come together, share in some exceptional music and do it all for free. Omaha’s is a happening community and I wanted to be a part of that. And I wanted share my love of music with all my new best friends.”

PLAYING WITH FIRE information:

There are five Saturday shows, a Sunday show, and a Friday show. Two of the shows (July 16th & September 11th) consist of three national recording acts. The seven shows will be held at Lewis & Clark Landing Park; right on the banks of the Missouri River between the new Qwest Center and the river (345 Riverfront Drive). Like last year absolutely no outside food or beverages will be allowed in the park. “These concerts are free because of the sales of concessions and sponsorships.” Says Davis. “We make certain that prices for food and beverages are very reasonable, so no one gets gouged. We want families to be able to afford to come.” So help keep this series free by bringing a BIG appetite! Gates open at 4:00 p.m.(except for the Sunday show on September 11th when they open at noon) and music begins about an hour later.
Playing with Fire requests that concert attendees bring a can of food or two for donation to the Omaha Food Bank, and to keep with the spirit of the event in giving back to the community. FREE PARKING: Due to a special agreement with Gallup University and Metro Area Transit, PWF is able to offer FREE parking just north of Lewis & Clark Landing, along Riverfront Drive, at the Gallup University campus. For a mere $1 per rider (50 cents each way: buy a roundtrip ticket when you park your car) MAT will shuttle guests between the parking lots and the parks. This area is for shuttle riders only. According to Galusha, “There’s been a concern with parking and we wanted to make it as easy as possible this year. Gallup’s help with parking certainly will relieve some of that pressure. ” To avoid park congestion, the quickest access to the Gallup parking lot is to take Cumings Street EAST toward the airport. Cumings will turn into Abbot Drive. Take Abbot Drive to North 6th Street and turn South onto Gallup Drive. With a commitment to help establish Omaha’s musical future, The Blues Society of Omaha’s ‘Blues Kids’ will open some of the shows with a short set that is certain to improve over the five month span of this series. BSO Kids Band coordinator Doug Backer is an enthusiastic supporter of his pupils. “The kids are really excited and ready to put on a great show.” The BSO Kids will also be circulating throughout the audience selling raffle tickets to help them raise money for lessons, instruments, and travel. Russo’s Music has donated guitars for the raffle: winners will get to go backstage, meet that evening's bands, and get their guitar signed. This event could not happen without the support of the Blues Society of Omaha. “We knew this was an event that will grow into a real showcase for Omaha. We’re glad to be a part of it.” says the BSO’s Dan Griffin.

Saturday, June 4 Bernard Allison: Recording with father (blues legend Luther Allison) at 13, Bernard got a job just out of high school touring with Koko Taylor. In 2003, the Prague Post called Allison, “a dedicated touring musician, and his live shows are reputed to be incendiary and geared toward a wide array of listeners.” (2004 Artist)www.bernardallison.com

Melvin Taylor: Influenced by B.B. King, Albert King and Jimi Hendrix, Taylor worked in clubs by the age of 12. Since the 1980s he, along with former members of his first band, The Transistors, toured Europe and opened shows for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Santana and George Benson. He then formed his own band, The Slack Band, and in 1995 recorded the best-selling album in Evidence Records catalog, Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band.

Blues Messengers: Dedicated to preserving authentic blues, this Lincoln-based band features the blistering guitar work of Joe Manthey and Shawn Holt, the son of Chicago blues legend, Magic Slim. www.bluesmessengers.com

Saturday, July 16 Curtis Salgado: His vocals shined at such an early age, his kindergarten teacher declared it by pinning a note about his singing prowess to his clothes. He began his band in the early 1970s, then spent a 6-year stint in Robert Cray's band, including performing on Cray's debut album. Salgado appeared on NPR's Mountain Stage and his last CD, Activated, gained a W.C. Handy nomination for "Soul Blues Album of the Year." His newest, Strong Suspicion, showcases Salgodo’s vocal talent and honed harmonica skills.www.curtissalgado.com

Fathead: The Canada-based band has garnered rave reviews worldwide, and member John Mays recently scored Canadian male vocalist of the year. The group's 1998 release, Blues Weather, won a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy) for "Blues Recording of the Year." The single, First Class Riff-Raff off their 2000 follow-up, Where's Your Head At? won the 2002 Canadian Indie Award and was nominated for a Juno. Fathead’s stellar songwriting, soul-drenched melodies and ensemble playing is not-to-be-missed.www.fathead.biz

Walter Trout and the Radicals: So popular in Europe that in a BBC poll, Trout was voted the sixth best guitarist of all time right behind Jimmy Page, and ahead of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jeff Beck. The Los Angeles Times describes Trout as “a torrential gladiator guitar player – a kind the term ‘guitar hero’ was coined to describe.” (2004 Artist) www.waltertrout.comSaturday,

August 13David Gogo: Ten years after being nominated for best new solo artist at the 1995 Juno Awards, this British Columbia-based Canadian just won the 2005 Maple Blues Award for "Guitarist of the Year." Gogo recently released his seventh album Vibe, which features guest artists like guitarist Jeff Healey and John Capek. The Victoria Times Colonist recently quoted Gogo discussing the music he makes. "I don't like to be a paint-by-numbers blues guy. I like to make things exciting." www.davidgogo.org

Dave Hole: This Australian slide guitarist with an "over-the-top" style of playing has drawn raves from audiences as well as international publications. Billboard wrote, "Slide guitar fanatics will have their brains blown out by this Australian fret-melter…Remarkably inventive, technically unusual overhand slide work…Prepare to hear your jaw hitting the floor." Hole has 7 studio albums and delivered ferocious live shows on 10 world tours.www.davehole.com

Tres Equis: Local band, Tres Equis, have toured the globe in support of national recording artists. Lead guitarist, Storm, won national notoriety with his dynamic style several years ago by winning Atlantic Records' "Play it Like Jimmy" contest. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Jimmy Page selected Storm as having the best recorded cover rendition of one of Page's guitar solos.

Friday, September 9Malford Milligan: This blues/soul singer gained national acclaim with his band, Storyville. Recorded on more than 30 albums, he performed three times on "Austin City Limits" and appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Texas Monthly Magazine said, "(He) may be the next great soul singer…his tenor resonance and barking delivery invite comparisons with Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, and when he's onstage, you can't take your eyes off him!"www.malfordmilligan.com

Tony Vega Band: Blues Access Magazine hails Vega as "a gifted Texas guitarist that demonstrates an ability to play varying styles with equal skill. He has a compelling, razor-sharp guitar style." Don 'T-Bone' Erickson, founding editor of Blueswax e-zine says the newest CD, Tastes Like Love, "serves notice that the band is a force that cannot be denied…one of my favorite albums of 2004…”www.tonyvegaband.com

Dave Nevling: Vocalist, harp player and songwriter, Nevling won the Real Blues 2002 award for Best Texas Blues Harmonica player. Nevling's Blues Kats band features talented artists--guitarist, Adam Burchfield, Jeff Parmenter on bass, Bob Armour on drums and Brad Dawson on the organ. Southwest Blues magazine calls the band's latest album Heady Brew, "…an awesome CD" with "a remarkable group of songs held together with great grooves and catchy lyrics."www.davenevling.com

Saturday, September 10 Dawn Tyler Watson (Dawn Tyler Blues Project): At 13 she played guitar as a seasoned performer and mastered many styles. Dubbed the "Queen of the Blues in Montreal" by the Journal de Montreal, Blues Review magazine raves, "Dawn Tyler Watson takes flexible vocals and a ton of stage presence and applies it all to songs with jazz, funk and pop shadings without ever losing her blues center."www.dawntylerwatson.com

Sue Foley: Honored with her first Juno Award in 2000 for Love Comin' Down”, she has since received a record-setting 14 Maple Blues Awards since 1999, in the categories of Songwriter, Guitarist Recording, Entertainer and Vocalist of the Year. Her recent CD, Where the Action Is, gained the first-ever W.C. Handy award nomination for a Canadian female artist. www.suefoley.com

Sarah Benck and the Robbers: Benck’s recent song, "Tidal Wave" gained national attention from becoming the national YMCA's theme song. Her web site boasts, "After hearing Benck play live, you can't help but agree that music fits Sarah like Cinderella's slipper."www.sarahbenck.comSunday,

September 11The Campbell Brothers: Raised in the "sacred steel" style, a rare music tradition rooted in the African-American Holiness-Pentacostal church, they schooled the popular pedal-steel guitar player, Robert Randolph. The Campbell Brothers combine the church repertoire with the growling, wailing, singing and swinging voice of the steel guitar. Living Blues boasts "…different from anything you've ever heard…essential listening for anyone interested in blues guitar."www.campbellbrothers.com

Dawn Tyler Blues Project; (see September 10th)

Heidi Joy: Operatically trained, Joy began her music career in 1995 and initiated her Holiday Joy concerts in 2000, playing in Nebraska and at a U.S. Naval Base in Guam. www.heidijoy.com

“FRIDAY BLUES” series.

The four “Friday Blues” shows will be held at outdoors at Downtown Blues bar (1512 Howard St. These shows are also free and the sales of concessions help to pay the bills. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. There is no on-site parking but plenty of on-street parking WEST of the Old Market area including a parking garage at 14th & Harney. Downtown Blues' shows will include bands playing outside in the parking lot, as well as Sarah Benck and the Robbers playing the break for each of the four shows.

According to Homer’s Vice President and local radio host Mike Fratt, “Sarah’s status within Omaha’s music community has been rising quickly and this is a good chance for people that normally might not get to see Sarah perform see a terrific local talent on the verge of exploding onto the next level of live music.”

Friday, June 3, 2005 Joanna Connor Guitar World magazine calls her "one red hot and blue mama." Combining funk, rock and world beat, Connor's soulful voice and guitar mastery brings audiences to their feet. Sharing the stage with Buddy Guy, Robert Cray and Los Lobos, Living Blues raves she is "a slide guitarist of ferocious intensity." www.dmamusic.org/joannaconnor

Friday, July 15, 2005 Eric Sardinas Known to “ignite his guitar and walk amidst the flames,” Sardinas has played since age six. About his opening for B.B. King in the House of Blues, the Las Vegas Sun wrote, “His wicked stage presence, combined with his fiery attack on the electrified dobro had the capacity crowd literally screaming.” (2004 Artist)www.ericsardinas.com

Friday, August 12, 2005 Hadden SayersBorn and raised Texan, Hadden Sayers started his own band in 1993, became drawn to the blues in 1996, and has performed, played or jammed with the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, The Neville Brothers, Susan Tedeschi, Double Trouble, Los Lobos, Ian Moore and many others. The Kansas City Pitch Weekly says the press, "doesn't quite explain Sayers' scorching guitar and bluesy, rockin', take-no-prisoners songwriting touch…Wear long sleeves, this band burns!"www.haddensayers.com