THE RON THOMPSON BLUESLETTER
August 2004 Edition
Jackie McCort, Contributing Writer
Carolyn Phillips, Editor
RON'S ON THE ROAD IN CALIFORNIA
Ron's summer tour of the Northwest and Canada, with blues diva vocalists Angela Strehli and Tracy Nelson, is wrapping up soon. He is focusing most of his gigs in California for the rest of the year.
Here are some exceptional venues, featuring Ron and other respected artists that we recommend you check out:
EAST BAY AREA
Hayward Bistro, 1001 "B" Street, Hayward
SOLO! If you haven't experienced Ron in solo performance, you are in for an exceptional and very special evening of entertainment. You will hear songs you have never heard or thought you forgot, and enjoy Ron's stories from his numerous years on the road with many blues and R&B legends, such as Big Mama Thornton, Eddie Taylor, and Carla Thomas. The Bistro offers a wide selection of micro brewed ales, as well as wine. This intimate and inviting club features a relaxing outdoor seating area where you can enjoy warm summer evenings while you experience an eclectic variety of live musical performances.
Ron Thompson ñ Solo! Monday, September 27 ÿ 7-10 PM … NO COVER!
Solo! Monday, October 25 ÿ 7-10 PM … NO COVER!
http://www.the-bistro.com/calendar.htm
CENTRAL VALLEY AREA
Rudy's Jazz & Blues Club, 423 W. Main Street, Merced
Jazz drummer Rudy Merino and his wife Cindy opened their club last year and have been drawing well-known acts such as Mark Hummel, the Daniel Castro Band, as well as many other blues and jazz performers. Rudy's also promotes young and upcoming musical groups such as Mike Hammar and the Nails, whose lineup includes Rudy's son Greg. Greg learned his chops from his dad and is becoming known as a drummer in his own right. http://www.mikehammar.com/. Rudy Merino grew up in Merced and a major part of his club philosophy is giving back to the community by hosting benefits for Hospice, local schools that desperately need funding to keep student music programs alive, and other worthy causes in the Merced area.
Ron Thompson & the Resistors: Saturday, October 23 ÿ 9PM ÿ $5.00 Cover Charge
RESISTORETTE ALERT!
Resistorette tank tops have finally arrived and they look incredible! And so will you when you when you wear yours! These flattering summer shirts feature gorgeous lettering (RESIST BOREDOM!) on soft black and stretchy cotton. Sizes available are: Small, Medium, Large, 1X and 2X. Start your holiday shopping early and order one for all of the Resistorettes in your family! These tops will soon be available on Ron's website, but until then, please send $23.00
($20 plus $3.00 shipping handling) to:
Jackie McCort, P.O. Box 20825, Castro Valley, CA 94546.
Please be sure to state the size for each tank top you order. As always, tank tops, t-shirts and CDs are available at any of Ron's gigs! Act fast! Supplies are limited!
FRONT BACK
NEWS FLASH! The Resistorette tanks have been such a huge success that we are planning to expand the men's clothing line to include tank tops, as well as create additional clothing for the women's successful apparel line. Future Bluesletters will let you know when they are available, so stay on our mailing list.
THANKS TO: Wanda, Kenny N., Danny Poore, Don Heflin, Terri & Jeff, Angela Strehli, Mike & Yelena, Tony J., Tony of Antonne's Music, Terry Later, Debbie & Guy, and Harvey & Angel. You have helped in so many ways. Your efforts, generous support, and most importantly, your friendship are sincerely valued.
WEB SITE: If you haven't glanced at Ron's website in a while, take a look! We are constantly adding new photos and updates. If you have any fun, cool or unforgettable moments captured on camera of Ron that you would like to share with the world, email the photos to www.rtblues.com
to be given consideration for the online Photo Gallery! Ron always appreciates photos with fans, and we hope to post many of these soon!
RON'S NEW CD: Mick Fleetwood just finished his long Fleetwood Mac 2004 tour and is looking forward to collaborating with Ron again. Ron's long awaited new CD has temporarily been put on hold until Mick can join Ron in the studio and lay down some tracks. Ron enjoyed seeing Fleetwood Mac and hanging with Mick when he was recently in Fresno.
ASK RON
Ken Loucks from Columbus, Ohio writes: "About 1996 Intermedia Records put out an LP titled Magic Sam - Magic Blues Genius, which they claimed was newly discovered recordings from Magic Sam's last session. It was a little suspect because there were so many slide guitar cuts on it. A song on this LP, titled Magic Blues, is exactly the same recording as T.L. Walkin' from your Tacoma LP. Have you been aware of this, and is it safe to assume that all of the cuts are yours? I hope this isn't an old, sore issue for you, but I've always been curious about the details of this."
Ron: Ken, thanks for bringing this up. That Magic Sam experience was a case study of someone ñ in this case, me, being young, naÔve, and way too anxious to get ahead. Yes, that album was me all the way and they cut out my vocal tracks. They slapped Magic Sam's name on it to make quick record sales. On the back of the record cover, they had a great write-up about the music but credited it to Magic Sam. Not only did it cheat me financially and as an artist, it desecrated and dishonored the memory of Magic Sam and his tremendous body of work. Magic Sam was one of the major blues artists and he would have played those tunes very differently than me! Lee Hildebrand, blues writer for the East Bay Express and the San Francisco Bay Guardian for many years, covered this story some years ago. Lee and I will be bringing this story to the public again soon. It was a hard but important lesson for me.
Grace Brenner, from San Jose CA, writes: "If you could go back in time before you were born, who would you most want to jam with?"
Ron: Jimmie Rodgers, the "Singing Brakeman." (1897-1933) Rodgers was one of the first white guys to get famous singing "black" music. But it's not that he was just a "white guy imitating the blues," he could play his soul for real. He was one of the first players that hired black people on the sessions, not because they were black, but because of the sound. He began recording in 1927 and in 1930, he recorded Blue Yodel #9 (also known as Standin' On the Corner) with a young jazz trumpeter named Louis Armstrong. Rodgers was a singer and guitar player who made his living on the trains until tuberculosis finally ended his railroad career. But the unfortunate bout with TB allowed him to devote himself full time to entertainment. Rogers influenced a lot of other musicians, and people like my grandmother and grandfather loved him. They told me that people in the South would line up for hours to buy his records. Rogers was not only "The Father of Country Music" but was an important influence on the blues. Jimmie even hired Lone Wolf, a steel guitar player, the guy who influenced the Black Ace.
For more about Jimmie Rodgers: http://www.jimmierodgers.com/home.html
Gary Adams, from Minneapolis writes: "Legend has it that you played with Etta James. Wow! She's my favorite singer ever, besides Aretha Franklin. What was Etta really like?"
Ron: Etta was very deep, and very nice. I was playing at the Monterey Jazz Fest and I was completely into it. She got behind me and she started imitating my moves. She wasn't making fun of me really, she was just really tripped out on me. A lot of people say she's up to Aretha as a singer, but the question is, is Aretha up to her? In my mind, they are possibly the greatest singers of all time! And that includes Caruso.
Pat B. from Ventura CA writes: "You've played with so many of the greats. Of all the blues players that you never got a chance to jam with, who would you pick?"
Ron: Probably Elmo James. When I first heard Elmo James, it made me crazy listening to that. My friend in high school, Jerry Amaya, used to be the ultimate in cool in a "vato" sort of way. He'd go down to Flagg Brothers to get his shoes and go to National Shirt Shop for his clothes. He used to stand with one leg against the wall - we used to call it "holdin' down." Jerry would tell me, "I'd give my left nut to play like Elmo James." Later on I got to make two CDs with Elmo's cousin, Homesick James, who was on a lot of the records with Elmo. I thought I could play the Elmo James style right. But when I heard Homesick James play the Elmo thing, I realized I was way off the mark from the real deal. All these years later, I continue to work on it. I listen to "Standing at the Crossroads" almost every single day of my life and I am still trying to get it.
