Fun Night at HOB Blues Jam

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Alice

It was one of those quiet nights all across the Gaslamp with the threat of rain. But while few people were out last night, the music still rocked. At the House of Blues, the weekly jam brought in an interesting mix of musicians and sounds, and I got lots of room to dance!

The night started off with members of the JammingOut’s “house band” (Lafayette Falkquay on vocals – without his infamous guitar this time, and Kevin Cooper on bass guitar) along with Steve Douglas on drums, Junya Isogawa on guitar, Nicholas Butterfield on guitar, and Donna Larsen joining Lafayette on vocals.

Next Nicolas Butterfield sang John Mayer’s cover song Gravity, which always moves me. Its a beautiful song. Barry Farrar replaced Steve on drums for this part of the evening.

And then we had some jazz when Paula Mandell got up to sing Billie Holiday’s cover song Fine & Mellow, which was such a treat. She has the voice for this song.

And last, Rebekah Ensley, gave us a beautiful acapella singing Kimbra’s cover Withdrawal.

Walter’s Blues Jam Hits the Spot

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Alice

I’ve been away too long from Walter’s weekly blues jam at Patrick’s Pub, which always brings in a great crowd and a good group of musicians each week. All the different blues jams around town are unique and draw in a different mix of musicians from each other, and this jam is always lively, jammin and a good time! I will be back more often 😉

Last night’s jam started at 9pm with members of the house jam band (who give up their spots to other musicians who come in after the first set) and last night they included Johnny Vernazza on guitar, Victor Marquez on guitar, Jim Reeves on bass guitar, Matt Taylor on drums, Tim Sutherland on keyboard, Chuck Arcilla playing the sax, Lampchops (Carlos Serrano) on trumpet and Phil Lozano on trombone. Most of these guys have their own bands, and you can find them around town on other nights.

In this clip, Victor Marquez takes the lead with BB King cover song Why I Sing the Blues.

And in this clip, Johnny Vernazza leads and sings Buddy Guy’s cover song Talk to Me Baby.

Blues Calendar: Feb 24 – Mar 2

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Alice

In addition to what’s on the calendar this week, there is the weekly jam at House of Blues on Wednesdays 7-11pm. Hope to see you there!

Bit of Janis Joplin at HOB Jam

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Alice

Victoria Wasserman belts out cover song Me & Bobby McGee at the HOB Blues Jam this past Wednesday night. She’s accompanied by Jacinto Castaneda and Dave Keefer on guitar and Pat Kelley on keyboard. Not sure who was on drums or playing the bass.

Right Next Door at the SpeakEasy

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Alice

The Lance Dieckmann Band plays until 1am at the SpeakEasy on Wednesdays, so I headed there after the HOB jam to get some more of my blues fix. The crowd had thinned out temporarily after a busy night when they played the iconic Robert Cray cover song Right Next Door. Lance Dieckmann has the voice for this song, and he was well supported with Phil Diiorio on lead guitar and Larry Morgan on bass guitar.

Mix of Blues & Reggae Jam at HOB

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Alice

Wednesdays are one of my favorite blues nights of the week and usually starts at the JammingOut (www.JammingOut.net) and BLUSD (www.blusd.org) blues jams on the free stage at House of Blues. Last night was a full house of musicians who got up to play throughout the evening and an audience of locals and visitors.

Christine Gilardi took the lead and rocked the house singing and playing guitar to the great Etta James cover song The Sky is Crying in this video. She is accompanied by Neil Jones on lead guitar, Junya Isogawa on guitar, Kevin Cooper on bass and Rene Wooley on drums.

We don’t hear reggae too often at this jam, but Rosalie Thomas showed up with her steel drums and delighted us with the UB40 cover song I Want to Make You Sweat. Also on stage was Michael Minor on drums, Kevin Cooper on bass (and vocals) and Ray Zvetina on guitar.

Blues Calendar: Feb 17-23

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Alice

This week we have another good line up of blues jams and bands around town.

In addition… at the House of Blues, Lafayette Blues Band will be playing Thursday night 7-11 and the weekly Wednesday night jam is also happening there from 7-11. Hope to see you there!

Lance and Phil Slow It Down

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Alice

After HOB jam ended, I headed over to the Gaslamp SpeakEasy to catch the Lance Dieckmann Band, which is always there on Wednesday nights until 1am.

I got so caught up in dancing, I almost forgot to get some video of them until they did this nice slow song. Lance Dieckmann on harmonica and vocals, Phil Diiorio on guitar and Larry Morgan on bass.

Another Good Jam Night at HOB

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Alice

I got to the jam late and heard that I’d missed some incredible blues singers, who had just gotten off the stage. That happens at this jam, where talented musicians and singers often show up and if you aren’t there to catch them….

But I wasn’t disappointed for long. Rich Giglio, a local San Diego guitarist and vocalist, went up with Ron Ordon on bass guitar, Jaz Jaszewski on guitar and Kevin Cooper (who usually plays bass) on drums. Here they are doing a Stevie Ray Vaughn cover song, Flood Down in Texas.

Blues Calendar: Feb 10-16

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Alice

This week there is a good line up of blues all around the downtown area, and most of it is in the Gaslamp. Tiffany Jane is new to me, and I’m not really sure how to peg her blues sound, so I’m going with her blues/pop listing. She sounds more like Amy Winehouse or Norah Jones to me, so not quite sure that is really blues. Let me know what you think.

There is also a full week of jams to check out. Monday at SpeakEasy, Tuesday at Patrick’s, Wednesday at House of Blues free stage 7-11 (not on schedule since don’t offer discount), Thursday at Spaguetteria, and Saturday afternoon at SpeakEasy with young adults who are really talented and great blues musicians.

San Diego BLUES Downtown

Monthly Archives: February 2014