Schofield Moves, Red Sky, Last Chance for Matt Cox Band...plus Graham and Alvin Updates

by B.J. Huchtemann

The good news is this week Hoodoo returns to a weekly spot in the print version of The Reader. The size of the column has been shortened, however, so please bookmark HoodooRootsBlues.blogspot.com and follow Hoodoo on the web for expanded weekly content and web-only exclusives. Thanks to everyone who values this column and expressed their support. The print version of the column also appears online at The Reader site thereader.com/music but I can add more text plus videos and such on this page.  

Matt Schofield Show Moved to Union Pizzeria
The gig by English guitar phenom Matt Schofield has moved to the Union Pizzeria, 14th & Cuming downtown, on Thursday, July 21. This is a FREE show and starts at 6:30 p.m. Blues Society President Terry O’Halloran hopes to get folks already in the area for the blues-oriented Thursday of Red Sky Music Festival to come by and enjoy Schofield’s amazing talents.

Guitar & Bass magazine calls Schofield “One of the top ten British blues guitarists of all time.”

O’Halloran reports admission for local bands plus Buddy Guy, Eric Johnson, Bruce Hornsby, 10,000 Maniacs (minus Natalie Merchant) and more during the afternoon is now $15. See all the Red Sky details at redskyfestival.com.

Here's Schofield at the FEQ Festival in Quebec just a couple weeks ago. His Omaha show is FREE!

Matt Cox Band Update
Your last chance to catch the Matt Cox Band is at the Red Sky Music Festival local bands extravaganza on Saturday. The band is scheduled to play at 3:45 p.m. on Stage C. See the fulll schedule including Kris Lager Band and other great local acts at  redskyfestival.com/Schedule.aspx

I previously reported incorrectly about band members’ plans. Nick Semrad is off to New York City. Andrew Tyler is headed for California. Eventually Ben Zinn will be going to California also. The full band, including bass player Seth Ondracek, is at the heart of Cox's brand new CD Tracks in the Sound. Check mattcoxmusic.net/press.html for more info and recent press on the disc.

The band will likely be playing as a trio once Semrad and Tyler depart. Here's a little taste.

Hot Notes
The Hullabaloo Music & Camping Festival organized by Brandon Miller and Kris Lager Band happens August 5, 6 and 7 at River West Park, 233 & Maple on the Elkhorn River. Over 25 great bands perform. For tickets and camping info visit hullabaloomusicfestival.com.
Amazing blues vocalist Janiva Magness plays Lincoln’s Zoo Bar on Wednesday, July 27, (6 p.m.) and the 21st Saloon on Thursday, July 28, (5:30 p.m.) Magness is one of the top blues-soul vocalists performing today. She's a multiple Blues Music Award winner, including being the only female besides Koko Taylor to win the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year (2009). She's also been honored by the BMAs with the Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year award. She was nominated by Downbeat Magazine in their best Blues Artist of the Year Reader's Poll category and is up for two Living Blues  magazine Awards. Magness is a regular headliner on the festival circuit and a must-see for blues fans. Check out Magness in action on Youtube.  

Hoodoo Heroes

Jon Dee Graham has launched the next phase of his JonDeeCo Co-Op. For a monthly fee of $10 Graham promises a wealth of content available only to Co-Op members including: "A NEW SONG EVERY MONTH, DOWNLOADABLE  TO  MEMBERS ONLY; A LIVE MONTHLY WEB-CONCERT EACH MONTH; A MONTHLY WEB CONCERT ONLINE EDITION OF ‘THE JON DEE & FRIEND SHOW’, WITH A DIFFERENT SPECIAL GUEST EACH MONTH; A NEW PIECE OF VISUAL ART FOR DOWNLOAD EACH MONTH; A WRITTEN-WORD PIECE EACH MONTH; PLUS ONCE EACH MONTH I WILL DRESS IN A BEAR COSTUME AND ADDRESS CO-OP MEMBERS QUESTIONS."
Co-Op members will also have "EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO NEW ALBUM SLATED FOR JANUARY 2012." 

Graham promises "not just recordings but webcast performances from the roof of my goddamn house… A CONSTANT TORRENT OF ONLINE CONTENT AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY TO CO-OP MEMBERS." (Yes, he's so excited about all this he's shouting, ladies and gentlemen. I'm looking forward to seeing how the virtual world of JonDeeCo evolves.)

Check the front page of jondeegraham.com for the complete JonDeeCo Co-Op Manifesto 2011. 

Graham's music is miraculous and moving, fierce and life-changing, luminous, tough and tender. Check out the first clip below for the passion and fire of Graham and his longtime bassist Andrew Duplantis and drummer Joey Sheffield rocking through "October" at Fitzgerald's Americana Music Festival earlier this month. 

The second clip is Graham acoustic, performing the sweet and beautiful $100 Bill.

Hopefully we'll see Graham in the Omaha-Lincoln area this fall, keep an eye on this column for details. If you like the sort of music I write about here, attendance is pretty much mandatory.

Dave Alvin & the Guilty Ones sizzled through their Zoo Bar set at the Anniversary Fest in Lincoln on July 8. Alvin is touring in support of his excellent new disc Eleven Eleven. Alvin stopped by Rolling Stone magazine where he recorded some intimate acoustic versions of two songs from the new CD plus an old favorite and gave an interview about the new disc and his creative process. Check it all out at rollingstone.com. Keep up with all things Alvin at davealvin.net.
Since I'm playing the video jukebox today, here's Alvin performing the first track from Eleven Eleven at SXSW courtesy of Music Fog.

FREE BLUES PARTY ON THE RIVER
That's right, on the river. This just in from Blues Society president Terry O'Halloran, who has assembled a cool bunch of players to get the blues party going at the River City Star landing:
" A bunch of BSO folks share July Birthdays, including Ric Cowger, Michelle Olmstead, Mia Weir (Keyboardist for Kris Lager Band) and myself, so we are throwing a bash this Sunday 7/24 at River City Yacht Club, 151 Freedom Park Rd, where the River City Star is docked. Doors open at 6pm, The Blues Society All-Stars will perform 6:30pm-10:30pm, it is an all-ages event, and I imagine we will be hanging out even later.

This edition of the All-Stars will be Craig Balderston, Dan Macca, Dave Cupek, & Mitch Towne, with special guests Brad Cordle, Dave Barger, Bucky McCann, Jon Pearson, Kris Lager, & Jeremiah Weir. Admission is FREE, but we are encouraging tipping the band to help with their compensation. This event will be right on the river’s edge, under the big tent. We will be bringing in high-powered fans to keep it comfy til the sun goes down. Hope you can make it. I’m really looking forward to a great night on the river amongst my Blues friends." - TerryO'


Zoo Bar History
And if you missed it, be sure to check out my abridged history of the coolest place on the planet, Lincoln's Zoo Bar. Check out the previous post at http://hoodoorootsblues.blogspot.com/2011/07/everybodys-rockin-at-zoo-bar-by-b.html

photo courtesy of zevents.com