Jason Ricci posted this on his Facebook page tonight:
"This Friday I have the privilege and honor of playing one of my first hero's: Paul Butterfield's parts at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio with Zac Brown, Tom Morello and company for Butter's induction into the Hall of Fame. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined this coming true. Just Paul Butterfield finally being inducted is great enough but the fact that I get to play his harp parts for millions of people on HBO is truly amazing! I can think of three harp players as good or better than me for this job and somehow I got the call so I am very humbled,grateful and excited to be there!"
JR, check, I get it, but.... What the heck do Zac Brown and Tom Morello have to do with the Paul Butterfield band? Or Blues for that matter?
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Apr 15, 2015 9:48 AM
Rob Paparozzi and Ed Palermo's "Electric Butter" (w/Mark Naftalin, Steve Cropper, Harvey Brooks and Jimmy Vivino) would be a great addition to this Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and would do Paul Butterfield's spirit proud.
Are they going to be on the bill? ---------- The Iceman
Mark will be there for sure....don't know who else will be tho.......
Inducted Members: Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Mark Naftalin, Billy Davenport, Sam Lay and Jerome Arnold
Last Edited by sydeman on Apr 15, 2015 11:35 AM
Unfortunately, since the R&R Hall of Fame has become "corporate", so to speak, sometimes authenticity is not on a producer's radar in his choice of participants.
For instance, I believe they chose Peter Wolf as the MC or presenter of this award. Peter is more mainstream than blues, but has wide name recognition.
We are a bit more in tune with authentic blues and its representatives here.
---------- The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Apr 16, 2015 6:23 AM
Here's a little teaser of a film Gabriel Butterfield has been making about his father. It's a nice tribute to the harmonica master in itself. ---------- Ted Burke __________________ ted-burke.com tburke4@san.rr.com
Awesome honour but...I sure hope J gets more rehearsal time than James Cotton appeared to have had with the Paul Schaffer band for the Little Walter induction disaster. Zak is a good old country boy and Tom appears to be a guitar wanker (from the utube samples that pop up). Best of luck.
I think Jason is perfect for this for a lot of reasons. Sure, there are other proficient players around, but Jason has the same scrappy energy, tortured soul (I mean no offence by this, but Jason has been through a lot and you can hear it in his playing), and a 'bravery' in his playing style (can't think of a better word right now) that not everyone has.
---------- My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2_8CnjaiNLcPke4gWQ65A
Paul was the first harp player who moved me emotionally, in a sad way. Magic Dick on "Whammer Jammer" and "Pack Fair and Square" had all the boogie-woogie good feeling, but "Driftin Blues," the live version on GOLDEN BUTTER, hit me in a much deeper way.
My first paid indoor gig as a harp player in New York, Butterfield was sitting at the bar getting drunk. This was in the fall of 1985, at Mill's Tavern on Bleecker Street. I was playing with Bill Taft and was delighted to actually be playing an indoor gig after a month playing the streets. Buttefield drifted past us at one point and gave a thumbs up. "Nice harp, man," he muttered, or something like that. I was 27 years old.
Here's what one report in 1986 said about Mills Tavern:
"Mills Tavern is the roughest spot on the Bleecker strip, featuring folk musicians and an occasional late-night brawl. Older men who have been coming to the Village since before World War II congregate at the bar of this colorful establishment."
I saw him play live at least twice, both times within a 10-block radius of each other down in the Village. The first time was at the old Tramps. He was blowing through two Fender Twins, which was a lot of firepower in a small room. He was great. Epic. Danny Draher was on guitar.
The second time was at the Lone Star Cafe on 13th Street. He was drunk, very drunk, and my memory was of him riffling once, twice, three times, through his trumpet case--that's what he had his harps in--unable to find the right harp. He was laughing like a guy who is way too high to play the show well. The lesson I took away is that some musicians let drugs and booze get in the way of actually delivering good music.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Apr 16, 2015 7:54 PM
I had the amazing fortune of seeing Butterfield for the first time at a no age limit folk and blues club in Detroit called the Chessmate in the late Sixties. What I saw that night changed my life forever, and Bloomfield did much the same. I saw him a second time in the seventies at the Catamaran Hotel in San Diego where he was playing with Rick Danko; his harmonica work that night, I remember, was superb. ---------- Ted Burke __________________ ted-burke.com tburke4@san.rr.com
THE perfect choice! Congrats Jason. I for one felt very proud when I heard the news. Can't wait to see it!
Isn't Stevie Ray Vaughan being inducted with this group? Wonder who is on the bill to pay tribute to another great blues legend.
I know the system ain't perfect, but we should be thrilled that blues and blues rock guys are being included. ---------- www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
For Stevie it will me his brother Jimmie and Double Trouble bandmates Chris "Whipper" Layton along with Tommy Shannon. Not sure about Reese Wynans on keys.
