Dear Dan,

In order to write this little weekly Blues Letter, I occasionally need some information from you; particularly when the schedule changes.  I don’t mean to be unreasonable, but I’m persnickety that way.    

Imagine my surprise when I received an email from the CBS’ Dave McIntyre informing me that on January 27^th the two of you are putting on a Colorado Blues Society Fundraiser for the acts going to the International Blues Challenge instead of the traditional blues jam originally scheduled for that evening.   I think it’s a tremendous idea, and certainly one you could have shared with me earlier, like before we sent out last week’s Blues Letter announcing the scheduled blues jam. 

Now I know that the Blues Community looks out for each other, so first I have Jasco giving me the lowdown on a gig, and now McIntyre.  What up, man?  How you gonna dis’ a sister? 

However, I thank you for answering my question with your email to me, just this morning:  “Sunday Night, January 27th we will not have our normal Blues Jam.  Instead we will have a special Colorado Blues Society Fundraiser for the International Blues Challenge.  Lionel Young & the Erica Brown Band will both be competing in the event:  Lionel will perform a solo set (he is competing in the solo competition in Memphis), and the Erica Brown Band will then perform a set.  There is no cover for this event but we will be passing the hat to collect donations to help cover the cost of their trip to Memphis.”

Again, Dan, a great idea, and a great way to send the kids off to Memphis with some Boulder style.  I’m so very glad Dave told me about it.  Now, a bit of advice:  I too have a case of Bluesheimers, and I find notes and lists to be helpful.  Make a “Things to Tell Honey” list.  And remember where you put it (uh oh; I just realized that you might have told me, and I’m the one with the bigger memory problem). 

Kindest regards (and all in good fun),

I’m looking forward to seeing, finally, George Whitesell and his All Stars Featuring Jill Watkins.  I’ve heard Jill perform with Bob Margolin and Erica Brown, but a full-on show with this band promises to be fun.    Go here and have a listen http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=87013.  If plans pan out, I’ll be interviewing George and Jill before that gig.  I enjoy the company of both, and I’m sure all of you will as well.

The February calendar is up, and it’s a doozey!  See for yourselves http://www.boulderoutlook.com/musiccalendar.html.  For the shortest month of the year, it’s HUGE and it’s full!  I can surmise that I won’t be getting much sleep next month (like so many others in the blues world, I’ve got a daily gig that begins pretty early in the a.m.).   It’ll be worth it.

Next week we’ll be giving you a full review I wrote on the Johnny O. Band, a really great jam trio if you haven’t heard them.  Johnny O. is doing a solo this month, as mentioned above, but we’ve got the whole band on February 2^nd.  They pack a dancing crowd, too.

We have big plans for Two Thousand and Great (ok, I have big plans for the year, but I haven’t mentioned them to Dan yet, and he might not share my enthusiasm since it’s his coin).  More on that to come, but the Outlook is going to have a rockin’ year.  And if any of you have information that might be useful to me, please let me know as Dan has probably already forgotten. 

I would like to remind all of you to encourage your music-loving friends to subscribe to the Blues Letter.  The Outlook is growing, and the more asses we get in seats, the more bands we get on stage.   Give us a hand in building the Boulder Blues scene, which should be a simple feat since there is rarely a cover, about which something most of downtown cannot boast.