May is done and it was full of guitar work! Thank you Dave Smith for the initial inspiration to bring up the game. Thank you Cascade Blues Association for requiring Duo recordings which required better rhythm guitar work. Thank you Jason JT Thomas for the practical help with more efficient chords. Lots of practicing was inspired and The Mick Schafer Band got better!
If you missed any of our May Social Media Posts here are some of my favorites.
Friday Music. Guitar Improvement. The timing is perfect for Mick’s rhythm guitar playing to come up a notch or two. The Journey to Memphis Contest this year includes the Mick Schafer Band in the Duo category. Mick’s Epiphone Joe Pass guitar will be the rhythm section for the duo of Mick and Jesse Samsell. Jesse, who has already won a Muddy Award will be playing lead guitar.
Mick’s daily practice routine now includes guitar exercises along with the vocal exercises that had been added in February. Jason JT Thomas from the One Silken Scarf Album will be giving Mick some private lessons. What develops will be reported.
One of the inspirations for Mick's guitar improvement came from a night at Montavilla Station with Sweet N' Juicy's Dave Smith.
The Mick Schafer Band Duo tuning up for the 2019 Cascade Blues Association Journey To Memphis Competition tonight going on at 9:25 at The East Portland Eagles Lodge, 4904 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
The 2019 Cascade Blues Association Journey To Memphis competition will take place over this weekend May 10 and Saturday, May 11. Sixteen acts will face off for the right to represent the Cascade Blues Association and the region at The International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN (January 28 – February 1, 2020).
Each act will play twenty-minute sets before a group of judges scoring them on blues content, vocals, instrumentation, originality, and stage presence. The top two scoring acts from each night will move onto the finals to be held at the Waterfront Blues Festival on July 4 where the overall winner will be determined.
Electric guitar player, Jason JT Thomas was introduced to the Mick Schafer Band a few years ago by bass player, teacher and producer Timmer Blakely for an EP project called Gypsy Blues. A few months later JT’s name came up again when Producer/Sound Engineer Bob Stark was selecting a guitar player for the studio work on the Mick Schafer Band’s full album, One Silken Scarf. Jason has played for years in excellent Portland bands, most notably the Lisa Mann and Fenix Sanders bands (recently Fenix renamed to Fenix Rising).
After being blown away with Jason’s guitar work in two studio projects and many live shows it made sense to approach him for help in taking Mick’s rhythm guitar up a few notches here in May.
Friday Music. Jason JT Thomas has agreed to help Mick Schafer bring up his rhythm guitar a few notches so here it goes!
Continued learning for Mick Schafer working with Jason JT Thomas to solve some technical issues.The problem that was brought to JT can be handled by using more efficient chord
Wednesday Wisdom. “Music is an outburst of the soul.” ― Frederick Delius
Check out his outburst of soul from John Dover's Trumpet at the Brickhouse Bar & Grill! John's gonna be with us this Friday night at Clark's Bistro and Pub.
Using better chords, as demonstrated by JT Thomas, is going to tighten up the bridge on Playing with Fire tonight at Clark's Bistro and Pub. JT is on tour with Lisa Mann so Mick is practicing with Tom Esch (tonights bass player) out at Beaverton Library Park.