And The Winners Are.........
Band Division - The Chris Canas Band
The Chris Canas Band can be seen blazing a trail in
the Metro Detroit area and beyond. In 2007 the Chris Canas Band
won their first Blues Competition when they competed in the West
Michigan Blues Society challenge. They also won the Kalamazoo Valley
Blues Association challenge in 2010, the Detroit Blues Society
challenge in 2012 as well as 2014. Chris " The Soldier For The
Blues" Canas, has put together a who’s who of veteran musicians over
the years and has learned many many lessons the long hard way to
help keep the blues alive and moving forward for all music lovers.
The Chris Canas Band has a well blended set of classic covers and
clever, roller coaster like originals that keep the audience
captivated and coming back for more. With their diverse mix of
Blues, Funk, and Soul they are always well equipped to bring the
party wherever they go. With heart-wrenching vocals, pulse pounding
rhythms, and an electric energy that can be felt in the air. Don't
miss an opportunity to see the CCB "LIVE" and in the flesh. Do your
Soul a favor and feed it some hot Bluesberry Pie with a side order
of fresh cut Funk and a tall glass of Soul! The Chris Canas Band is
available as an Acoustic Solo-Duo, Three Piece, Four Piece, or Five
Piece act. This band is driven to pump new life into “The Blues” as
well as embracing the rich traditional roots of the past. Brace
yourselves for the Explosion!
See more at:
http://www.chriscanas.net/
Solo/Duo Division - John Latini
John Latini may have grown up in Queens, New York,
but he’s as truly a son of Michigan as if he’d been issued a
passport. It’s not just that this singing, songwriting,
guitar-slinging, uber-performing bluesman seems to be a perennial
nominee for every Southeast Michigan music award, and winner of
many, including the Metro Detroit Songwriting Grand Prize in 2004
and the Detroit Blues Challenge winner in both 2008 and 2009, and
songwriting honors in North Carolina and Texas. And it’s not just
that he’s been awarded an official Proclamation from Paul Schreiber,
mayor of his Ypsilanti home town, or that he received a “Letter of
Recognition and Appreciation” from Michigan Governor Jennifer
Granholm.It’s more that, whether he’s fronting his band the Flying
Latini Brothers, working as a duo, or most often, commanding the
stage alone, John Latini personifies the best that the heartland,
and especially Michigan’s righteous rock history, have to offer: an
honest, straight-ahead, no-nonsense commitment to real songs about
real people. Latini also knows that all the best American music
flowers from blues roots, and whether he’s tearing it up at a blues
fest or captivating a room with original songs, folk and blues go
arm in arm in his music like the blood brothers they are.In addition
to being a serious crafter of clever, literate songs, Latini is the
purveyor of a slick, blues-soaked, economically hard-driving guitar
style— but more than anything he’s an intense, incandescent
performer, with an emotional, testosterone-charged voice that the
Ann Arbor Observer called “alternately celebratory, remorseful,
seductive and dangerous.”A popular, well-established voice in
Michigan, he’s begun to build an enthusiastic fan base throughout
the Midwest and beyond to Colorado and New York. Now, Smokin’
Sleddog Records artist John Latini is more ready than ever to break
out to a much wider audience.
See more at: http://www.johnlatini.com
The Blues Foundation and
The International Blues Challenge
International Blues Challenge
The 32nd (2016) International Blues Challenge will be held January
26-30, 2016 in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee in the Beale Street
Historic District.
ALL 2016 International Blues Challenge Information
can be found at http://www.blues.org/2015/10/international-blues-challenge-info/.
The 32nd International Blues Challenge will begin
Tuesday night (Jan 26) with the International Showcase. Wednesday
and Thursday night (January 27-28) quarter finals will be conducted.
Youth Showcase and Semi Finals will be held Friday evening (Jan 29).
Saturday (Jan 30) IBC will conclude with Finals in the beautiful
Orpheum Theatre .
Watch the IBC pages for further information.
The 31st International Blues Challenge is sponsored
by ArtsMemphis, Beale Street Merchants Association, BMI, Category 5
amps, Catfood Records, Gibson Guitars, Jontaar Creative Studios, Lee
Oskar Harmonicas, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Memphis
Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Blues Guitars and Tennessee Arts
Commission.
Media sponsors include Beale Street Caravan, Big City
Rhythm and Blues, Blues Festival Guide, Downtowner, Elwood’s
Bluesmobile, Living Blues, Memphis Flyer, Music on the Couch and
Offbeat.
__________________________________________
Donate To The IBC Travel Fund
This donation fund is for our Detroit Blues Challenge
winners and their travels to Memphis in January. 100% of all
donations go directly to our winners. Please donate today.
"I just got home from being a Judge at
the DBS Blues Challenge Finals at Callahan's. So difficult for we
judges to decide between an incredibly talented and diverse group of
players and bands, but so gratifying yet again to experience the
power of Detroit music. I love this town!"
John Penney - American Music Research Foundation
What The Winners Are Saying
Sweet Willie Tea
First of all, thank you DBS for the opportunity to represent you in
Memphis. It was indeed an honor. One of those road trips that you
never forget.
If any DBS members have never been to the International Blues
Challenge (IBC), run don't walk to next year's event. It is an
experience that every blues lover should have, at least once in
their lifetime. Memphis during IBC week is perhaps the ONLY time and
the only place on the planet where there are nearly 200 blues acts
all performing within walking distance of each other. You won't see
many "headliners" performing in the clubs this week, but you will
see acts that are the best "undiscovered" artists that the world has
to offer. Yes, I mean the world, from Europe to the far east, the
Americas, the near east, EVERYWHERE that blues is loved.
The artists range from solo performers like myself, to big bands
like Lady Sunshine, and everything in between. These are not amateur
acts, these are not your corner bar band. These are truly
world-class artists and believers delivering their best stuff. And
believe me, their best stuff will knock you out!
If you love traditional blues (Delta, Piedmont, etc.) or electric
Chicago or Memphis style bands with the full compliment of
instruments (horn sections, harp players, piano and organ, bass
drums, guitars, singers) or any genre of the blues, you can sample
it all just by walking a few blocks from one end of Beale Street to
the other. You can even take a side trip to Graceland, or
Clarksdale, or visit Sun Studios. And don't get me started on the
great food!
As an artist, the IBC offers a rare opportunity to see up close what
your peers from around the globe are doing. A chance to compare
notes, visit, and maybe learn a few licks from artists to whom
English may be a second language, but who speak fluent blues. And
believe me, the INTERNATIONAL Blues Challenge proves that blues is
spoken everywhere.
The "competition" part is exciting (and perhaps not easy for
delicate egos), the grand prizes are great, the label showcases are
awesome, and the workshops are informational and inspiring, but the
contest for first place is just a small part of it. What you really
win at the IBC is a chance to be surrounded by folks who share your
appreciation of an art form that is alive and well thanks to the
hundreds of musicians, music fans and volunteers who are pouring
their hearts into it, and standing right next to you on famous Beale
Street.
The event is truly a marathon of organization run by dedicated
volunteers that treat you like blues royalty even if you are a
"nobody" like me! I met so many good people both in front of the
mics and behind the stage that helped, supported and showed me so
much love that it confirmed what I believe: The blues is important.
Rick Humesky - Lady Sunshine and the X Band
I just wanted to send you a heart-felt thank you for
all the support the DBS gave us in the Detroit Blues Challenge & the
IBC's. We all had a blast, in fact, Friday, at the semifinals, I
celebrated my birthday, and got to beat up my strat for a third
night in a row! That third night, even though we got a crappy draw
going first, I felt that L.S. & the X Band absolutely TORE it up,
out best set EVER. The judges saw fit to move another act on to the
finals, but nevertheless, I was still satisfied, because I knew we
truly gave it our best. Proud to have represented the D!
Kyle Marker – The Deals
It was absolutely amazing! I don't really know where to begin but
there was just so much talent there. Knowing that every club was
packed with fantastic blues musicians and fans that truly appreciate
the blues made it feel like being a kid in a candy store! Many
thanks to the Detroit Blues Society, Cherie Lowe, Christine Owoc
Murray, Tommy Nieman for his incredible driving abilities, The
Brendel's for letting us use the Brendelmobile, The Biven's family
for producing John Bivens, and all of our fans, especially those who
attended the fundraising event, for giving us the experience of a
lifetime!
Christian Brendel – The Deals
It was really cool, we really appreciate the blues society helping
us get down there. It was an amazing experience, we saw Lady
Sunshine and they were amazing. I would like to thank you again on
behalf of The Deals. We appreciate you helping us get down to
Memphis and Don for taking pictures and checking out our show. And
thank you for your support of local musicians and your dedication to
the blues!
John Bivens -– The Deals
Thanks Again for sending us Deals to Memphis and giving us the
opportunity. It was a wonderful time!
All acts should read this:
THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE
"What is it like to win the International Blues Challenge?" That's
what friends and acquaintances ask, it the opening question in radio
interviews an it's a question I have asked myself daily. From the
time that my band competed at the local level, and at Memphis, there
was a clear message. It was on the Blues Foundation website and we
heard it the first day in Memphis at orientation, "Don't go to
Memphis and expect to win - you should go there to network." I
remember thinking that I just did not understand the business well
enough to grasp what was really meant by that. It seemed to me like
going there to win was the only reason to go.
Well, it happened to us and it has been an amazing year. The
Legendary Blues Cruise through the Caribbean was beyond belief, the
Festival experience was a blast, and we have sold LOTS of CDs. The
Washington Blues Society, our sponsor, after having worked
tirelessly to promote the Blues in the Pacific Northwest, has been
rewarded for their efforts. It has been a great ride and so it
seemed to make sense that I should have been, "in it to win it." But
the other phrase kept popping back into my head, "It's not about
winning, you go there to network."
I resisted that voice for a long time. Then something started to
dawn on me. Underneath all of the great things that have happened,
there was an underlying theme. I think it's because I just didn't
connect with the idea of networking. Once I replaced that with the
idea of making friends, it worked for me. The whole point of this
challenge is to get us all up and out of our comfort zones. It's to
get us to travel to new places, make new friends, and to use our
passion to build the Blues community around the world.
When we first competed to go down to the International Blues
Challenge, we entered the South Sound Association's competition in
Tacoma, Washington, about 60 miles south of our North Seattle
comfort zone. We made it to the finals, but did not win. The real
story, the part I remember best, was sharing the moment before the
winner was announced with the band that did move on. It was a
success for us because we were out of our home town playing our
music in a town we hadn't played in before. I suppose you can call
that networking, but I really liked the people I got to hang out
with. I wondered what it was like in the next town . . .
Competing in the Washington Blues Society's regional competition the
following year, we not only made it to the finals, we won and the
Washington Blues Society was sending us to Memphis. One band that
shared our venue was a band from Florida called the Pitbull of the
Blues Band. We became immediate friends. Hey, that's networking,
right? But again, I really liked these people. It was more than just
getting phone numbers for potential gigs. There is a whole world of
great musicians great friends, out there.
Then came last year's challenge. we walked up to our venue in
Memphis and looked up at the arching front of the famous Historic
Daisy Theater. We were up against our friends from Florida again,
the Pitbull of the Blues Band. They came back bigger and better than
the year before and we got to see our old friends again. They had
driven up from Florida in their van this year with new zoot suits
for every set.
Like it or not, I had to come to the conclusion that, regardless of
how you fare at the International Blues Challenge, the rewards are
there for everyone. By entering the Challenge, you are reflecting on
what you do and who you are as an entertainer. You are setting the
standards higher for yourself and that makes you a better act.
Because once you travel to Memphis, you have accepted that what it's
really all about is traveling to new places and meeting new people
who share a love of the Blues that reaches across all borders.
I learned that you need to travel and play music somewhere else and
then come home again. What difference does it make if the costs are
covered? Just go somewhere and come back. You'll have amazing
stories to tell. Isn't that what this is all about? That road trip
you took will happen again and again. That night at the Orpheum in
Memphis when we had realized we had won . . . we were looking out at
a theater full of friends.
When I think of the Blues Hall of Fame that we all working together
to build, I think of the countless towns that were visited by those
Blues greats we hope to honor. These towering figures mad Blues fans
one person at a time. I realized that as I saw Bobby Rush handing
out donation forms one at a time to contributors on the Legendary
Blues Cruise. If Bobby Rush can do it, we can all do it. This is
your call to action. Come to Memphis and spread the word about this
American art form we call the Blues and . . . NETWORK.
Written by The Wired Band - 2012 IBC Band winner
