Dallas/Fort Worth Blues News 2001  archive         
Last Update   1/1/02
       

Keep James Cotton in your prayers.  He was very sick at J&J on New Years Eve, was very ill, and was taken to the hospital. 1/1/02

There's a nice review of K.M. Williams' Texas Country Blues Preacher CD in the current issue of Blues Access (#48, p. 67).  12/29

Randy McAllister is self-releasing his new CD, Givers and Takers, and has a CD release party scheduled for Saturday, January 26 at the Hole in the Wall.  12/29

Texas Slim is working on a new CD.  12/29

Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King have a new website at:   http://smokinjoekubek.home.att.net/   They plan to cut a new CD in early 2002.  12/23

K.M. Williams has a new web page up at MP3.com and has been successfully selling lots of CDs there.  12/22

Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones has a new website.   http://geocities.com/jrboyjones/     12/20

J&J Blues Bar will no longer book live blues on Thursday.  Rumor is they will have a tejano DJ on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  That club used to have live blues 5 nights a week.  It is now down to Friday, Saturday, and a Sunday jam.  12/20

Gregg Smith's Celebrity club has closed.  12/15

Andrew Jr. Boy Jones has released his new CD, Mr. Domestic on his own Galexc label.  12/15

Beth Garner now has her own domain name website.  http://bethgarner.com/

Just confirmed, Mem Shannon will be appearing at the Boar's Nest on December 1.  11/29

Johnny Mack will not have final copies of his CD at his release party this Friday.  However, he will have a few burned copies for sale that may be traded in for the real Topcat Records release, which is now estimated for January.  11/29

The Mem Shannon gig scheduled for J&J on December 2 has been cancelled.  11/27

Beth Garner has released her new CD, Much Later for You.   11/23

HashBrown has a new jam on Sunday, 4 pm to 8 pm, at The Boar's Breath Saloon at 2115 W. Lover's Lane between Empire  Central and Regal Row in Dallas, (214)  634-2192.  11/23

Jay's Cafe in Deep Ellum has closed.  11/18

Cricket Taylor has released her new CD titled Let Your Mama Drive.  She also has a new website at http://crickettaylor.com/   11/17

Andrew Jr. Boy Jones new CD should be out in about 2 weeks.  It is titled Domestic Man and is on Jr's own GalexC label.  11/17

The Soul Patriots have a new CD single out called When Liberty Sings the Blues.  The Soul Patriots are Gregg Smith, Bernita Arteberry, and Jerry Ross.  11/17

Wow!  There's a flood of new local blues releases all of a sudden.  Josh Alan, Betty Lewis, and Tommy Hill all have new CDs out.  11/10

The Sista Monica gig scheduled for J&J on Nov. 8 has been cancelled.  Miss Blues from  Oklahoma will perform instead.  11/3

Paul Byrd reports he is no longer associated with Cold Blue Steel or the Byrd Dogs.  10/31

Holland K. Smith reports that Milan's Hideout is closed.  10/31

Beth Garner's new CD is being pressed with release planned for December 1.  10/27

Doug Swancey reports Kenny Traylor has been very sick with a mysterious illness.  He has had to cancel several gigs.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  10/27

Lee McBee's new CD, Soul Deep, is finished and is being shopped.  10/27

There's a nice interview with Tutu Jones in the new Fall issue of Blues Access.  10/19

The Jerry McCain gig scheduled for December at J&J has been cancelled.  Jerry has been having health problems and will not be touring.  10/15

Look for J&J Blues Bar to cut back on booking major road acts and start booking more local bands due to poor attendance.  Several road acts tentatively scheduled have already been cut.  10/14

K.M. Williams has released his new CD, Sanctified Boogie. K.M. Williams website    10/14

Local blues TV show Da Blues has moved to 1:30 am Sunday morning on channel 21 and is FINALLY airing new episodes.  10/14

The tentative Charlie Musselwhite gig at J&J has been cancelled.  10/2

Andrew Jr Boy Jones is at Audio Dallas this week working on his new   CD.  10/2

The Dallas Blues Fest scheduled for November has been cancelled.  9/25

Tommy Tucker reports Betty Lewis has released her first CD, Betty Lewis  Live.  Jake Crawford has also released his second CD, Nothing to Lose.   9/13

Although the Blue Cat is now closed, there will be a few additional shows at that location between now and January.  Their liquor license expires in January.  Check the Blue Cat website for details. 

There's a new blues club in the Fort Worth stockyards called Bobby Blue's Club.  Live local bands on Saturday and Sunday.  9/1
 
Dave MacKenzie will make a rare DFW appearance on Sunday, November 11 at J&J Blues Bar in Fort Worth.  8/30

Mike Morgan's latest CD, Texas Man, will be reissued in the U.S. for the first time on Severn Records.   8/30

Topcat Records has reissued Bob Kirkpatrick's Drive Across Texas CD.  They have also reissued a self-released CD by Johnny Nicholas.  8/30

Well the rumors are true.  The Dallas Morning News reported today   the  Blue Cat is closing after September 8.        http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/456011_bluecat_28ove..html       8/28

Rumors are flying that the Blue Cat is set to close soon.  The most recent mailing from the club says to watch for their e-mail and Observer ad this Wednesday 8/29 for a "big announcement".  There is a large sign on the outside wall of the club advertising Space for Lease and when I was there last week the large portraits of EC Scott, Henry Qualls, Lucky Peterson, and Shemekia Copeland were noticeably absent.  8/27

For any of you other old farts who grew up around DFW, here is an amazing site dedicated to KLIF radio.  Not the lame current KLIF, the classic Gordon McClendon KLIF.  Don't go to this site unless you have about 3 hours to kill!    History Of KLIF

My annual Freddie King birthday tribute show will happen Friday, August 31 from 6 pm to 8 pm on KNON 89.3 FM.  Two hours of nothing but Freddie King!  For those of you outside the DFW area, you can hear it streaming live at KNON.org.     8/20

Here's the site for the 4th annual Denton Blues Festival:     http://www.dentonbluesfest.com/     8/12

K.M. Williams reports he was informed by Gregg Smith that the live Monday blues shows at the Celebrity Club have been cancelled.  8/12

Tutu Jones called to say he will NOT be appearing at the Celebrity Club August 10 and 11.   8/9

Jim Suhler has released his new CD, Bad Juju.

The Caravan of Dreams will close September 29 to make way for the new location of the Reata restaurant.  8/6

Looks like the Dallas Blues Festival has been moved back to November 9-11.  Still no line-up or further information.  Recent e-mail enquiries to MEI have gone unanswered.  7/30

Christian Brooks is back in town visiting and working on his first CD.  7/25

Johnny Mack's missing "Como-wear" has returned.  7/25

Hash Brown's Sunday jam at Borrowed Money is no more.   7/23

I finally got to visit Gregg Smith's new Celebrity Club last night and had a great time.  It's a small, cozy room with good food.  They are starting a Blue Monday traditional blues night in August.  7/23

Beth Garner hopes to have her new CD out in October.  7/23

Johnny Mack reports Froggy's has reopened with new owners and will honor the gigs already booked.  7/19

The North Texas Blues chat group has a new website at:  http://www.northtexasblues.org     7/17

The Silvertones will record a live CD at The Hole in the Wall on July 20. 7/16

Patti Coghill reports local blues TV show Da Blues has moved to Channel 21 and a 3 am Sunday morning time slot.  It will move to 2:30 am after September 29.  7/16

Richard Chalk reports Topcat Records will soon reissue Bob Kirkpatrick's UK CD, Drive Across Texas.  7/13

Johnny Mack reports his new CD is due out on Topcat Records in November.  7/13

Froggy's in Fort Worth has closed.  7/10

I made it out to Hash Brown's new Sunday jam at Borrowed Money last night and had a nice time.  It is a very nice country bar that is giving blues a try.  Roomy and plenty of free parking.  The jam starts at 5 pm and a buffet is available for a small donation.    7/9 

The annual Blind Lemon Jefferson Blues Festival in Wortham, Texas has set their line-up for their September 8 fest.  Robin Bank$, Andrew Jr. Boy Jones,  K.M. Williams and others will perform.  Blind Lemon Jefferson blues fest website

Gregg Smith has opened a new blues and  R&B club in Grand Prarie called Celebrity.  See Gregg's website for line-up and info.  http://www.spmedia.com/   

Jim Suhler is releasing his new CD, Bad Juju, on Lucky 7/Rounder on July 31.  The band has scheduled a CD release party for August 4 at the Blue Cat. Jim Suhler website      7/3

As expected, the NBCi site is going away July 16 so I will no longer be maintaining the site at that address.  I am looking for another free website provider (other than Homestead or Fortune City) which I can use as a mirror for when/if Geocities goes away.  There is a lot of dot com reorganization/retrenchment going on right now so this will be a continuing process.  All I can say is I will try to keep you posted on moves as they are required.  If you know of another free web based site provider with a minimum of 10 megs free space, please e-mail me!      6/27

Robin Bank$  Monday jam at the Hurricane Grill has already blown away after only one month.  6/26

Patti Coghill reports Hash Brown has a new Sunday blues jam at Borrowed Money 13930 Trinity Blvd Arlington. Jam starts at 5pm with free BBQ (Sonny Bryan). $5 cover with $3 going to the Ann Simon Reeves Childrens Aids Center. Starts this Sunday, June 24. 6/22

The Boogie Man, John Lee Hooker, passed away on June 20.   6/21

Nick Curran has released his new CD titled Nitelife Boogie.  Nick is heading out on a 2 month tour to promote the new CD so this is your last week to catch him locally for awhile.  6/20

The tentative August appearance by Louisiana Red at J&J Blues Bar has been cancelled.  Red found more lucrative gigs on the east coast on the same dates.  6/20

Fort Worth blues musician Johnny Mack is alive and well.  That was a different Johnny Mack who was reported shot and killed.  6/12

Patti Coghill, and no one else, reports that Cozy's has closed.    6/7

Shame on you DFW.  Guitar Shorty drew about 10 paying customers at the Blue Cat 6/3.  No wonder it has been 2 years since he has been through.  No wonder the DFW blues scene gets no respect from the local media.   In case you haven't noticed, live music is in SERIOUS trouble around here.  If this is the kind of response a major touring act receives from the DFW blues community, it makes me seriously question whether it is worth my time to maintain this website or not.  6/3

Here's a new Yahoo! group for discussion of North Texas blues:    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northtexasblues     6/3

Gregg Smith has a new website at  http://www.spmedia.com/   6/3

The City
of Bedford has their website up for the City of Bedford Blues
Festival.  Even more country acts than usual.   City of Bedford Blues Festival
website   MEI still has their Dallas Blues Festival listed for
the same weekend but there is no information on this year's festival,
yet.   Dallas
Blues Festival website   5/30     

Robin Bank$ reports: "The HURRICANE Grill located right beside the GBG, 2831 GREENVILLE AVE, is having LIVE BLUES EVERY MONDAY with The ROBIN BANK$ Blues Band starting this Monday June the 4th.   The 1st Monday in June will feature Robin, Marc, Drew and Hash Brown on guitar and vocals. 8:00 pm start."  5/29   

Shawn Pittman is finishing up his new CD with Double Trouble and plans to self release in June.  I caught his gig at J&J on May 24 and he was sounding awesome.  5/25

Here's a Yahoo! club I set up for the fabulous Farmersville Blues Society.  http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/farmersvillebluessociety   Mainly just a place to share photos from their 2001 annual Blues Soiree featuring Randy McAllister, Texas Slim, and more great food than anyone can eat in one day.   5/22   

There's a nice one page article on Hash Brown in the new issue of Living Blues Magazine.  5/21

K.M. Williams has released his new CD,  Texas Country Blues Preacher.  K.M. Williams website    5/19

Congratulations to Andrew "Junior Boy" Jones who has a new record deal with Severn Records.   5/18

Congratulations to Jake Crawford who is graduating from Corsicana High School on May 25.  Boy,  do I feel old!  5/18

A new Robert Ealey tribute site is in the works at:   http://www.robertealey.com/   5/18        

Here's a new Yahoo! club for fans of Anson Funderburgh: 
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ansonfunderburgh   5/16

K.M Williams has completed a new CD of all original material.  5/14

Beth Garner is set to go in the studio in Austin next week to cut her first CD.  Phil Bennison (the artist formerly known as Homer Henderson), Nick Curran on drums,  jim lehnert on horns, and kevin smith (austin upright bass player) will be on board for the festivities.   5/10

Dave Jeffery, former "harptender" and booking agent for J&J Blues Bar  has moved over to Froggy's in West Fort Worth.    Froggy's is now booking live blues with plans to bring in a few roadshows.    5/1

Tutu Jones is seeking a drummer to go on the road with him in June.  Call his beeper at:  214-865-1005    5/1

I attended part of the live Betty Lewis recording session at the Blue Cat on Tuesday April 24 and enjoyed what I heard.  Betty cut a whole live CD of original material.  4/25

From Bobby Rush's management: 
Five of Bobby's band members still remain hospitalized. Bobby is now convalescing at home and seeing a physical therapist to treat his injuries. Updates on the bands health status are being posted by the Blues Foundation at www.blues.org and on http://www.tigerink.com/bobbyrush/

Blues Aid has established the Bobby Rush Band Fund in order to help cover the overwhelming costs of the horrific accident. If you would like to help with a fund raising effort contact:
Beverly Tatum - btatum3143@aol.com
Phone: (404) 373-8803
Fax: (404) 373-3414

If you would like to make a contribution please make your check payable to
the Blues Aid / Bobby Rush Band Fund and send them to:

Blues Aid
P.O. Box 237
Helena, AR 72342


Jack Smith reports J&J Blues Bar in Fort Worth will now open at 7:30  pm on Thursday and Sunday nights with music starting at 9 pm on those two nights.  4/25

Those of you (old folks) who remember Marc Tuton's blues show on KNON may find this story interesting in today's Dallas Morning News:   http://www.dallasnews.com/metro/columnists/348108_blow_25met.html       4/25
 
The Randy McAllister/Joey Love benefit for KNON scheduled for Friday, April 27 at the Sons of Hermann Hall has been CANCELLED.  4/23
  
From the Blues Foundation:  
Bobby Rush’s tour bus was involved in a one-car accident en route to Pensacola, Florida in the early morning hours of Thursday April 19.  Details are still emerging, but we can report some facts as well as a request from Bobby’s family.

The most tragic news is that band member Latisha Brown was killed in the accident.  Virtually every other band member suffered injuries, some serious, and several band members have gone or will undergo surgery.  None of the injuries is life threatening, but several band members suffered major broken bones.

Bobby himself was kept overnight in a Florida hospital with head and neck injuries, but he will return home today, April 20. According to his wife Jean, the first order of business will be for Bobby to rest and recuperate. Thus, the family has asked all those concerned fans who have Bobby’s phone number NOT to call the house for the next week or so.  Your concern is appreciated, but the family has been overwhelmed by the volume of calls, and simply cannot keep up with them.  Bobby is doing well, and is expected to fully recover.

No official cause of the accident has been reported, but the current theory is that the driver suffered a heart attack that caused him to lose control of the vehicle and strike a tree.

If you wish to send a card or flowers, the family asks that you send them to Bobby’s son, Carl Ellis, at 2615 Harriotte Avenue, Jackson, MS  39209. Bobby and his family will be in contact with The Blues Foundation, and we will pass along information as we receive it.  Bobby’s wife asks that everyone please keep them in their prayers and to pray for a full recovery for all band members.  That is all that can be done right now, but there may be a medical fund set up - The Blues Foundation will keep you posted.   4/21



I have finally finished transferring files (over 500!) to the new site at Geocities.  It should be fully functional now and will be updated as regularly as the NBCi site.  If you find a dead link there, let me know.  For now the new site will function as a mirror.  I dread changing the address at all the search engines so I'll rock along with the main site at NBCi until they decide what is up.  The FTP server at NBCi was down almost a week, but is finally working again.  Their counters seem to have have disappeared though, just as I was approaching 50k hits.  :'(    For now, it is important that all users visit and bookmark the new site.  If NBCi pulls the plug there is no guarantee that they will give any advance notice.  Better safe than sorry if you are a regular user.  If you notice the NBCi site seems to be idle, check the news section of the Geocities site for updates.  When NBCi decides what's up I'll decide whether or not to maintain NBCi as the main site.  Once again, here's the address for the new mirror:  http://geocities.com/bluesdfw/

Robin Bank$ new CD is now available at her gigs and will soon be available via her website.    http://www.geocities.com/robinbanksblues/   4/20

John Zakoda writes:
Seasoned guitar player in the Fort Worth area looking to form original blues band. Hoping to meet a bass player, drummer and possibly a keys player
wanting the same. Please be dedicated, talented and enthusiastic. No egos needed. Must be willing to rehearse and gig asap. Looking forward
to your reply!
Thinline9@hotmail.com


Paul Williams from The Netherlands reports:
Hi don.o, just thought you needed to inform the  d/fw crowd Mike Morgan& the Crawl will play Ospel friday  04 May. Saturday 05 May has Lee Mcbee & the Passions feat Johnny Moeller  & Hash Brown, Johnny Bradley, Wes Starr. Also paul size is to play in a  tribute to lester butler with zach zunis & mason casey,
Johnny moeller will be touring here with memo  gonzales for a gig  01 june in belguim. then he has a week touring the  benelux with a belguim combo.  4/17

Wes Race has had Robin Syler, Homer Henderson, Johnny Moeller and others in the studio recording for Race Records.  4/14

Smokin' Joe Kubek says they don't plan to record again til late this year and release in 2002.  4/14

Here is the URL for my NEW Dallas/Fort Worth Blues website:    http://geocities.com/bluesdfw/    I am currently in the process of moving all files to the new site.  Both the NBCi (current site) and this new site will be maintained for now.  Since the future of NBCi is very uncertain right now, I STRONGLY SUGGEST that all regular visitors to this site visit and bookmark the new site in case NBCi goes away with no warning.  It is going to take me awhile to get everything moved so be please patient, (hopefully NBCi will not evaporate immediately).  4/12

Nick Curran is set to release his new CD in June on Texas Jamboree Records.  After checking his contract, he found he owed them a second CD so he will delay his move to a larger label.  4/12

Tommy Tucker reports:  There has been a small change on the BETTY LEWIS live CD at the BLUE CAT. The club has made a small error. The date is on TUES. the 24th NOT the 17th. PLEASE mark it on your calendar that it is TUES. the 24th. Betty and her band will start around 8:00 P.M........... So bring your voices and be part of this spectacular event. It will be a lot of fun to see if you can hear yourself on the finished product.  4/11

Scott gave me the cheery news that NBC is planning to sell or shut down NBCi.com, home of this website.  That means I will be looking for a new internet home, most probably at Yahoo!/Geocities before too long.  Here is the article referenced by Scott:   http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/10/technology/10NET.html?ex=987914369&ei=1&en=a89d8b145516174a     Don't change your bookmarks just yet, but watch this space.   4/11

Alan Wiggins reports about Alan McDaniel's Monday night jam at Bandera's:  "Alan McDaniel has become an official endorser of the custom made Rowan Guitars built by Dallas luthier Mike Rowan.  Jammers who stop by at the Monday night jam at Bandera's will be given the opportunity to play one of the Rowan Guitars during their portion of the jam.  Also, any jammer that would like a recorded copy of their jam performance at Bandera's should bring a blank cassette with them the next time they stop
by. We will record their performance on a 4 track recording system."

Tommy Tucker reports:   "I am producing BETTY LEWIS's LIVE CD.  We are RECORDING the CD LIVE at the BLUE CAT. On TUES. the 17th of this month (APRIL). If ya want to come and be a part of that audience on the 17th, and hear yourself scream on the finished product, and show your support, come out to the BLUE CAT on TUES. the 17th and SCREAM. We should be kicking the show off around 8:00 p.m. ish"

Robin Bank$ new CD, Honestly, is now being pressed with delivery expected in 2-3 weeks.  Honestly!  4/5

Johnny Mack hopes to have his new CD, Gave Myself the Blues, available to the public in May.  A preview copy is currently getting play on KNON.  4/5

From Steve Meek:  "U.P. Wilson is in Ft Worth for likely his only US appearance this year the 14th of April at The Captains Den on Calmont. Currently gathering ex-band members and friends to turn it into a farewell jam. He goes back to Paris the 26th where he plays French spring festivals, cabarets and dinner theaters thru June with more European dates coming in that will carry him thru the fall. By which time I expect he will marry his French fiancee and make Paris his residence."

From Joanna Iz:  "Lady Lotion was in a car wreck. She had to have surgery and 2 people were killed but all I know so. In Baylor/John Roberts hospital intensive care right now."  4/2

Alan McDaniel, has started a Monday night blues jam at Bandera's Club in northeast Dallas.  4/2

Lucky Peterson has been booked as one of the headliners for the 2001 Chicago Blues Festival.     3/29

Apologies to those who tuned in to hear Gayle Dean Wardlow on Hal's show on Tuesday.  Gayle got caught in traffic in south Fort Worth then got lost twice and never made it.  If you tuned in you did get to hear two nice live tunes from K.M. Williams.  Thanks K.M.!  I have put up a small website for Wardlow at:   http://www.geocities.com/deltabluesdetgdw/

From Patti Coghill:  Rory Block will be performing in Dallas April 7th at Uncle Calvin's Coffee  house at 9555 N. Central Expressway at the Presbyterian Church (www.unclecalvins.org). Tickets will be $15 adv & $18 door. This is a non-profit place working with the church and they have so graciously decided to donate the profits to the new Southwest Blues Heritage Foundation.

J&J Blues bar in Fort Worth has confirmed Roy Gaines for April 21.  His last appearance there in December was the best live blues show I have seen in 5 years or so.  Outstanding and highly recommended!!!!!  3/26

Hash Brown's Monday jam at The Pub on Main is no more.  3/26

When is an apology not an apology?  Read the Fort Worth Weekly's "sort of" apology to James Hinkle  here .  Personally, just reads like more crap   to me.  Read some of the letters generated by the original crap here   (including mine) but page down to the "Go to Hell Hearsay" part.  Anyone else think "Colin Maycock" is just another pen name for Robert Wilonsky?   My opinion, just think of those guys as "Dallas Observer Junior" and you will have it right.  Use 'em both to line the cat box and pick up Southwest Blues or Buddy if you want to read about music in these parts.  Ha hah!!  Be sure to read the "letters policy" at the bottom of this page at Fort Worth Weekly dot com.  Note carefully the addresses and name?  You thought I was kidding about Dallas Observer Junior!  Ha hah!!!!!  Don't tell 'em.  Our little inside joke.  3/21

Gregg Smith reports he is set to go in the studio soon to cut a new, all blues CD with Lucky Peterson producing.  3/20

Bob Kirkpatrick is hosting a new Tuesday night blues jam (9 pm to 1 am) at Moose and Vinny's in Dallas.  3/20

Congratulations to Patti and Joanna at Southwest Blues Magazine for putting on a great show on Sunday, March 18.  It was well attended and hopefully raised a bunch of money for their new foundation.  3/20

In case you haven't heard about it, check out this piece of crap in the Fort Worth Weekly (now also known as The Dallas Observer Junior) trashing James Hinkle:   crap     The mystery writer seems to be outraged that Hinkle got paid for hosting the Sunday jam at J&J, a gig that was booked weeks before Robert Ealey died.  I have sent a letter to the editor and I understand others are doing the same.  3/17

I have started a Robert Ealey tribute page and welcome contributions and links:   Robert Ealey Tribute Page

Here is updated info on Robert Ealey's services:
Funeral: 11 a.m. Monday at the Pilgrim Valley Missionary Baptist Church, 4800 South Riverside Drive. Rev. Landon Spradlin will
officiate.
Burial: 2 p.m. Monday in the Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetery.
Visitation: 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 4 to 6:45 p.m. Sunday at the Veronica Chapel of the funeral home, Gregory W. Spencer Funeral Directors, 4000 Miller Ave., Fort Worth, (817) 531-8666.
Wake: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
The family will gather and receive friends after 8 p.m. Sunday at the Caravan of Dreams, 312 Houston St. in
downtown Fort Worth.  Doors open at 7 pm.

Here are a couple of articles about the passing of Robert Ealey:
  http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/306839_ealeyobit_09me.html
  http://www.fwweekly.com/issues/2001-03-08/hearsay.html

Fort Worth blues legend Robert Ealey passed away on March 7.     3/7

Holland K. Smith reports:  OK, jammers, this is to let you know about my new regular jam starting this Wednesday 3/7 in downtown Fort Worth at the Black Dog Tavern, 903 Throckmorton..ph# 817/332/8190. Free Parking after 9:00, and a free beer or 2 from the management if you show up to jam.  3/5

Homepage.com has announced they are terminating free webpages at the end of March.  Therefore the mirror for the main site will cease to be available.  The main site at nbci.com will not be affected.  This is probably the start of many shake ups on the web.  Remember, somebody, somewhere is paying for all this free hard drive space, servers, etc. that all these free web pages exist on.  The idea that banner ads would pay for everything has proved to be a dream and reality is starting to come crashing down on the dot coms.  For now, I will no longer maintain a mirror site.  nbci.com seems to be fairly stable right now so that should not be a problem for most users.  Again, this affects ONLY the mirror site, not the main site.  At least not yet.  3/2

Here's a nice article on Kenny Neal in this week's Fort Worth Weekly.  They use a couple of my photos for the story.  Kenny is at J&J March 3.   Kenny Neal Story    3/1

The Fender Benders have a new website at:   http://www.thefenderbenders.com

The Mem Shannon gig scheduled for March 7 at Stumpy's was cancelled.  A real shame.  Mem hasn't played around here in 2 years or so.  2/24

Nick Curran has just completed recording his new CD with tentative release due in June.  Reportedly a special 45 rpm record will also be pressed from the recordings.  2/22

Hash Brown reports that bass player Pat Whitefield has also left Anson and the Rockets and will be replaced by Johnny Bradley.  2/20

Danny Cochran, who has played drums with Anson and the Rockets for the last 11 years, played his last show with the band on 2/17.  Wes Starr will join the Rockets as their new drummer.  Danny had tired of the road and will pursue other projects around DFW.   2/17

From the blues-l newsgroup: "Martin Scorsese will serve as executive producer for a multi-part PBS television series documenting the evolution of blues music. Directors Michael Apted, Charles Burnett, Spike Lee, Marc Levin and Wim Wenders are expected to contribute to the series. No word on whether Scorsese will do any directing himself for the project, which is expected to premier in the fall of 2001." 2/15

Robin Bank$ now has a website up at:   http://www.geocities.com/robinbanksblues/        Robin's new CD will be mixed soon and will be titled "Honestly".  2/15

Tommy Tucker reports guitarist Matt Snow passed away on Sunday, February 11. I have no further details at this time. 2/13

Hash Brown reports that his Monday jam at The Pub on Main is in trouble and needs your support: "BASICALLY WHAT IS HAPPENING IS IF WE DO NOT GET SOME PEOPLE TO COME OUT IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS, THE JAM WILL NOT CONTINUE, AND WE FEEL THIS WOULD BE AN UNFORTUNATE THING FOR THE BLUES COMMUNITY." 2/12

HERE is the new T-shirt design for KNON's Texas Blues radio shows for 2001. Designed by Sandra Harris. 2/7

Nick Curran is set to go in the studio to cut his first CD for his new label, Hightone Records. 2/7

Lee McBee will  cut a new CD for the Pacific Blues label in April.   Hash Brown, Johnny Moeller, Johnny Bradley, and Wes Starr will be backing.  2/4

Stumpy's has a new website a: http://www.stumpysbluesbar.com

From Johnny Mack:   Just wanted to thank everyone that came out to J&J's for Robert's benefit last Wed. We had a standing room only crowd & lots of great musicians. I know we raised over $800.00 alone just passing the tip jar around. The money was given directly to Robert & Helen the next day, & they too said a big thank you to everyone that helped out. Remember to Robert in your hearts & prayers y'all.  1/29

Scott Ferman reports: The KNTU Blues Revue is no more. They now run the 'Beale Street Caravan' on Sunday nights from 9PM to 10PM. No other blues shows. 1/29

Thanks to all who came out to the second annual KNON Blues festival on January 20 and 21. It was the most successful blues benefit KNON has ever had.   Thanks also to all the great bands who played for us!  Click HERE for some photos!

From Lisa DuPré: A Tribute & Benefit for Robert Ealey. Emceed by Lisa DuPré. Co-sponsored by Caravan of Dreams, Buddy Magazine & Brook Mays Pro Shop. Featured Artists Include: Mike Morgan Cricket Taylor, Johnny Red & the Roosters, Joe Jonas, David "Bottlehead" Miller, Betty Lewis, Richard "Mr. Topcat" Chalk, John Nitzinger and other special guests. 8-12pm, Friday, February 9, 2001 at Caravan of Dreams, 312 Houston St., Fort Worth, Texas. Metro (817)429-4000 $10.00 Donation at the Door. 1/25

From Candy: "J&J's Blues Bar is combining the Wed and Sun jams on Sunday nights. Wednesday nights they will be closed unless they have a special show. Starting Feb 1, J&J's is only open Thurs-Sun." 1/24

Johnny Mack reports that Robert Ealey was injured in a car wreck in December and now requires dialysis.  There will be a big benefit for Robert at J&J Blues Bar on Wednesday, January 24 at 10 pm.  1/21

Congratulations to Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets featuring Sam Myers for their nomination as Blues Band of the Year for the 22nd annual W.C. Handy Awards. 1/16

Johnny Mack reports: "James & Betsy Hinkle had a little girl last Tues. night (1/9), Evelyn Clair. Also, we are having a benefit for Robert Ealey at J&J's on Wed. the 24th featuring my band, James Hinkle, Kenny Traylor, Rollo Smith, Dave Milsap & all the cat's we play with. The money is going to help take care of bills that piled up when he was in the hospital."

Jim Suhler had a gig with George Thorogood pop up in Las Vegas so Keri LePai and Harold Walker will play the 4 pm slot at the KNON Blues Festival on Sunday, January 21.  1/6

DFW Blues News for 2000