Date: 04/30/2006
The Basement Blues Band - Time Flies When You're Having Fun
by Gary Hill
gary@beetcafe.com
http://www.basementbluesband.com/
It seems almost unfathomable, but The Basement Blues Band (formed in 1983) is now in their 23rd year. That's a long time in terms of making payments on something or slaving at a job you don't like. But when you are talking something that's as good of a time as this band, it seems like nothing. If you haven't seen them live Rockford's Groove Walk might be a great opportunity to make the acquaintance.
The group plays a form of blues that's quite authentic and based firmly in the Chicago style of the genre. Still they manage to weave a lot of modern blues rock into the sonic tapestry at the same time. While, as you might imagine, quite a few people have been part of this outfit over the years, the current lineup is Bob Schmidt on drums, Steve "Spider" Leigh on guitar, and Rich Gordon on bass. That last name might be more familiar to you than the others because Gordon (in addition to showing up on other projects) has been a mainstay of Rockford radio as a disc jockey for even longer than he's been holding down the bottom end in The Basement Blues Band.
They've also amassed quite a list of area festivals that have been graced by one of their performances. These include numerous appearances at Rockford's On The Waterfront, Davenport Iowa's Mississippi Valley Bluesfest and the Greenwich Village Art Fair at Rockford's Burpee Museum. The group has played gigs at clubs from the Quad Cities to Darien, Wisconsin. They've also shared the stage with many big names in blues including Howard and The White Boys, Lonnie Brooks and Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio. They have also been honored with multiple Rockford Area Music Industry (RAMI) awards.
The Basement Blues band will be at Brio (at Bacchus) for Groove Walk. The event is this an annual music walk celebrating Rockford's downtown River District and music scene. One $6.00 ticket (that's advance, it will cost you $8.00 at the door) gets you into 14 establishments. You get to check out a different musical act at each of them. You can walk from place to place or hop the RMTD trolley for a complimentary ride to any of the venues. You'll definitely want to make Brio one of your stops that night. What better way to check out a killer blues band that is also a well established Rockford tradition?
The Basement Blues Band
http://www.basementbluesband.com/
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