Dicky James and the Blue Flames

R & R

Will — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:29:20 +0000

Dicky James and the Blue Flames
This blog letter is mainly to say that there will be no blog this week. We are taking 2 weeks off for some R & R and to do a little rehearsing. We have a cool new song in the queue and we’ll spend a little time working on it. I’ll be back in a couple weeks to let you know about our next gig at the Banks of the Wabash on 1 June. Well. I guess I just did.
I do have to say that I just watched the video by Canadian space station astronaut Chris Hadfield doing David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’on the ISS. I have been a fan of the space program since my mother made me get out of bed to watch every manned liftoff. This video has to one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. What a testament to human ingenuity. Great. Just great.
DJBF Schedule

June 1 Banks of the Wabash Fest, Terre Haute, IN
June 8 Private
June 14 Southport Bar & Grille, Indianapolis, IN
June 22 Salt Creek Brewery, Bedford, IN
June 26 The Cabin, Terre Haute, IN
June 29 Corner Bistro, Marshall, IL
July 5-7 Private
July 12 Martha’s Midway, Mishawaka, IN
July 13 Niles Burn Run, Niles, MI
July 14 Huntington, Syracuse, IN
July 19, 20 Apple Club, Terre Haute, IN
July 24 The Cabin, Terre Haute, IN
July 27 Wild Willy’s, Brocton, IL
Aug. 2 Weber Fest, Kokomo, IN
Aug. 3 Abbodanza, Terre Haute, IN
Aug. 9, 10 Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 17 United Way Benefit, Merom, IN
Aug. 24 Downtown Block Party, Terre Haute IN
Sept. 6 Main Event, Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 13 Crossroads Blues Fest, Terre Haute, IN
Sept. 28 Fisher’s October Fest, Fishers, IN
Sept. 29 Wabash Valley Music Fest, Terre Haute, IN
Nov. 1 Wild Willy’s, Brocton, IL
Nov. 15, 16 Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis, IN
Dec. 20 Main Event, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 2, 2014 Carl Deal Benefit, Bloomington, IN

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluesociety.org

Dicky James-Expanding the Mind

Will — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:29:38 +0000

I have been sort of interested in meditation ever since a close friend learned how to do it when we were about 19-20 years old. Needless to say that was some time ago. Well, last night I finally went to a beginner class. It was all very ‘60s, minus the acid. The instructor taught us some simple techniques then talked at length about the benefits. I will admit after a long day I had a little trouble meditating while remaining awake and upright but it was fun. I may follow up. Jai Guru Deva Om
I will need some meditation this week because I’ll be pulling double duty on Saturday. After sitting in on a jazz gig with Tom Montgomery and the Rasley family, I’ll be joining DJBF at the Eagles Club in Brazil, IN. This gig start s at 9 pm. Now, I have heard that this club has an eclectic ear for music. Let’s hope that extends to the BLUES………and why wouldn’t it? As always we love playing a new room.
We have new t-shirts and you would love to have one. They are only, only $12 (plus $5 shipping. We don’t charge for ‘handling’ because that’s a rip off.) Drop me a line at my email below or through the website and I’ll be happy to sell you one for each of your family members and all their friends. Yes folks, we wanna sell some t-shirts!

“Pop music is aspirin and the blues are vitamins.”
Peter Tork

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluesociety.org

Dicky James – Hurricane & Tornado

Will — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:27:13 +0000

Dicky James and the Blue Flames
I’m trying to write this while my twin 7 year old grandsons, Hurricane and Tornado, ravage the living room as they watch a Star Wars video on the laptop. I may have to snatch some headphones from the studio just to save my hearing. I’ve been playing music for a long time and I’m not sure I’ve ever played as loud as those little monkeys can be. Ok, that’s not quite true. At least they like Star Wars.
Various parts of the band will be at the Cabin in Terre Haute this Wednesday night for a benefit. The music starts around 7 pm but I’m not sure what time we go on. Now that I think of it I don’t know what the benefit is for either. It’ll be fun though.
On Friday night at 8 pm we return to one of our favorite venues, the Player’s Pub, 424 So. Walnut in Bloomington, IN. We love this place – good food, great dark beer, good people. You can’t go wrong.
Saturday night we will be making our first stop in Ambrosini’s at 14th & Wabash in Terre Haute. We always look forward to a new adventure.
On this week’s thank you list are Quality Fence, for the use of their garage and tools, and the ever versatile Tommy Mac for his expert welding skills. We had a little trailer issue but….no more! We are good to go.

“Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear.”
Billy Gibbons

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Dicky James – If Memory Serves……

Will — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:23:37 +0000

Dicky James and the Blue Flames
This may be the first time I have written this little blog a week early. Wouldn’t want to rush into anything but, what the heck, it’s a rainy night in Georgia. DJBF starts out this week with a gig at The Cabin, 1350 Hulman St. in Terre Haute. If memory serves, and it seems to less and less, we go on at 8 pm. This is a fantastic place and it holds a special place in our hearts being the first room that allowed us to play. On Friday and Saturday, April 26 & 27 at 9:30 pm we make a return trip to the Apple Club in the Terre Haute Holiday Inn. I think we are the only BLUES band which plays here, something that should be rectified quickly. More BLUES!!
As always we have someone to thank. We owe a lot of people for the help they’ve given us along the way. This week we want to acknowledge the tremendous help given us by Courtney Cox. She has been tireless in building some of our various sites on the web and, perhaps more importantly, she has provided us with a million great photos – fantastic shutterbug.

“It’s going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music.”
B. B. King on Muddy Waters
(But couldn’t that be said about many of the old blues masters?)

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Thanks before we move along.

Will — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:21:07 +0000

Dicky James and the Blue Flames
Wow. That describes it. What a cool week we had in Clarksdale at the Juke Joint Festival. We played 4 or 5 gigs, depending on which one of us you talk to. Started Thursday night at the Bluesberry Café. On Friday we played for a large and fun group of Australian blues fans. Saturday I started it out by sitting in with Robert Kimbrough, son of Mississippi Hill Country blues great Jr. Kimbrough. A little later we played a set to a packed house at the Stone Pony (or rather a packed street) and then after that we had the privilege of performing with the legendary Earl ‘The Pearl’ Banks. Earl is a super guy and has played with B. B. King, Muddy Waters, and more blues stars than I can count. We can’t wait until next year! I would be remiss not to give thanks to our brother Sean ‘Bad’ Apple without whose help we could never have pulled this off. I also need to thank our sound/stage manager Tommy Lee who busted his butt running not only our shows but several other acts as well. Kudos.
But as I always say, or, as I might have said once or twice before, the only gig that counts is the next one. Let’s move on boys and girls.
This coming Saturday, 20 April, we’ll be participating in a benefit for cancer victim April Shotts at Harlan Hall, 603 Locust St., Marshall, IL. The event in this classic venue begins at 4 pm with a dinner, auction, raffle, 50/50, and more. Our set starts at 8 pm CST. Come on out, drop a couple bucks, and support a good cause. Ah, come on!

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com

facebook

century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Delta Blues

Will — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:55:11 +0000

Had a great gig at the Noodle last night but didn’t get home ‘til about 5 am. Hmm. A little tired today but it‘s the good kind of tired. After my coffee IV I noticed while reading the Sunday Trib that today (7 April) is the 80th anniversary of the end of Prohibition. A welcome ending it was. I love these little tidbits of history. See how educational this newsletter can be. Aren’t you glad you signed up? Aren’t ya?
This week we head to Clarksdale, Mississippi for several gigs at the Juke Joint Festival and who knows what else. We’ve been looking forward to this one since last year. Thursday night at 9 pm we’ll be at the Bluesberry Café on Yazoo Av. On Friday we’ll be utility players working with whoever needs a hand. On Saturday at 3 pm we light up the Stone Pony Stage. At 4 we’re backing a set by the great Earl ‘The Pearl’ Banks and then finish with another DJBF set at 5. Way fun.
If you are a blues fan but have never been to Clarksdale, the home of the Delta Blues, you owe it to yourself to make this trip. The blues will just ooze from your pores the whole time. It’s our favorite trip of the year.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything”.
Plato

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
facebook
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Back to the Noodle

Will — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:56:08 +0000

Another week gone by and another gig coming up. Can’t get enough. Tonight we’ll be doing a little rehearsing and I think we’ll be starting on a new tune. You never know how practice is going to go ‘til it’s over.

This Saturday we’ll be at the Slippery Noodle Inn, 372 So. Meridian, Indianapolis, starting at 9:45. It’s always a highlight to play at the Noodle…..always. That will get us pumped for next week in Clarksdale, MS for the Juke Joint Festival. We’ll be doing several gigs down there and, man, I am looking forward to some blues, mud bugs, and dark beer. Don’t get no better than that!

“Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.”
Alberta Hunter

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Gigs & Bling…ish

Will — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:27:08 +0000

We just received some new bling that we will have for sale at the gigs. Well, t-shirts are sort of like bling. Anyway I think you’ll like ‘em and they’re only, yes only $12. A bargain at any price! Just another added incentive to come hear Dicky James and the Blue Flames. That’s easy to do this weekend because we’ll be at the Southport Bar & Grille, 5220 E, Southport Road, Indianapolis. We begin the blues at 9 pm. We are taking this Saturday night off for Easter. Next Friday, the 6th, we’ll be back at the Slippery Noodle so make plans now. Page down a little and you’ll find a schedule of some upcoming gigs.

“Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear.”
Billy Gibbons
DJBF Schedule

Mar. 29 Southport Bar & Grille, Indianapolis, IN
Apr. 6 Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis, IN
Apr. 11 Bluesberry’s Café, Clarksdale, MS
Apr. 12-15 Juke Joint Fest, Clarksdale, MS
Apr. 20 April Shotts Benefit, Marshall, IL
Apr. 24 The Cabin, Terre Haute, IN
Apr. 26, 27 Apple Club, Terre Haute, IN
May 3 Player’s Pub, Bloomington, IN
May 4 Ambrosini’s, Terre Haute, IN
May 11 Eagles Club, Brazil, IN
June 1 Banks of the Wabash Fest, Terre Haute, IN
June 8 Private
June 14 Southport Bar & Grille, Indianapolis, IN
June 22 Salt Creek Brewery, Bedford, IN
June 29 Corner Bistro, Marshall, IL
July 5-7 Private
July 12 Martha’s Midway, Mishawaka, IN
July 13 Niles Burn Run, Niles, MI
July 14 Huntington, Syracuse, IN
July 19, 20 Apple Club, Terre Haute, IN
July 27 Wild Willy’s, Brocton, IL
Aug. 2 Weber Fest, Kokomo, IN
Aug. 3 Abbodanza, Terre Haute, IN
Aug. 9, 10 Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 24 Salt Creek Brewery, Bedford, IN
Nov. 1 Wild Willy’s, Brocton, IL
Nov. 15, 16 Slippery Noodle Inn, Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 2, 2014 Carl Deal Benefit, Bloomington, IN

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Singin’ the BLUES!!

Will — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:51:51 +0000

I thought had better get this down before I start cooking dinner. Thanks to my wife Cass and her cookbooks, my pal Andy at the Wawasee Culinary Institute, and my own hunger I am becoming quite the just barely better than mediocre cook. I must say I do enjoy it. Cleaning up the mess is the part I don’t like. It’s a good thing we have a rule in our house that whoever cooks does not have to do dishes. Actually it’s more like a guideline….or a fervent hope. Anyway, on to the DJBF blues.
This Friday, March 22 at 9 pm we’ll be back at the Main Event, 7038 Shore Terrace in Indy. We love this place. (I say that about everywhere we play ‘cause it’s true!) Good food (get the mushrooms), an excellent selection of dark beer, and very cool atmosphere.
On Saturday we’re doing a private affair in Danville, IL so I won’t bore you with those details.
We are singin’ the BLUES……….literally!!

“The blues is the foundation, and it’s got to carry the top. The other part of the scene, the rock ‘n’ roll and the jazz, are the walls of the blues.”
Luther Allison

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org

Dicky James-Inspired??

Will — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:31:33 +0000

What will I write this week? What is my inspiration? Where is my muse? Hmm……………..Duh. I dunno. Actually I’m trying to remember what I wrote a couple weeks ago. When I finished I hit the ‘post’ button and KERBLOOEY! The site went down. Yes. I said “kerblooey”. Like many thoughts and ideas it’s disappeared into the cosmos. Oh well. As I wrote only last week, this Wednesday, March 13th at 8 pm, we’ll be at the Cabin in Terre Haute. This is joint is, well, intimate but is one of our favorite places to play. Friendly people, good food, and Ken is always doing something to improve the room.
On Saturday at 8 CST we’ll be at Wild Willy’s in Brocton, IL. Another fun room and the last time we played here it was packed. You could barely walk in the place so get there early.
We booked another gig in Clarksdale, MS just prior to the Juke Joint Fest so we will be busy little beavers on next the trip to the Delta. We want to thank our pal Sean ‘Bad’ Apple of the All Night Long Blues Band for setting us up on this tour. As always a fun time will had by all.

dickyjamesandtheblueflames.com
century80@gmail.com
indianabluessociety.org