The drummer's name was Jacqueline Gooch, or at least that's what Terry "Big T" Williams told me her name was. She just smiled and gave me a different last name. She was a child prodigy as a guitarist--one of the success stories of the blues education program at the Delta Blues Museum. She's not anybody I would have picked to gig with--she was Big T's pick--and I certainly won't use her again. My pick from the very beginning, back in February, was Lee Williams: the guy who, as it happens, and much to my delight, Bill Perry brought along on Sunday. He is generally acknowledged to be the best shuffle drummer in Mississippi now that Sam Carr is dead. He was Sam's protege. I played a gig with him, Sam, and Dr. Mike at the Ford Center back in 2005. I'll certainly make sure that he is our guy in 2011.
If you google her name, you'll find lots of info about Gooch, who is usually described as "11-year old guitar prodigy Jacqueline Gooch." She's now 19. I hold no rancor for her, and I'm sure she's a decent guitar player. She's just a terribly uneven drummer and I'm disappointed in the fact that Big T--a blues guitarist/bassist/singer I hold in high repute--vouched for her.
Adam: if you need someone for next year on any instrument, please let me know. There's a whole slew of outstanding rhythm section guys (and some excellent gals too) in Jackson who would be not just good, but great.
@kudzurunner - having seen Billy Branch and Sugar Blue perform together, I think that would be a winner. If you got RJ Mischo there with those guys, I think I would have to make the trip.
You guys have more money than me. I've never been to a jam camp (over $900 / week), or Augusta ($435 for a week), and the blues cruise is WAY out of my league. So I don't get over-exposed to them. But, I am going to SPAH ($250, sleep in my van, Howard Levy), Bean Blossom Blues (about $95 including camping, Jason Ricci), Nor-East'r ($44, with Madcat), several other local festivals, and maybe the King Biscuit. I came to HCH largely for Terry Harmonica Bean, who I had seen once before, and he didn't dissappoint! I told him I drove 800 miles to see him, and I wasn't lying. I've seen Jason Ricci at least a dozen times, and he's great.
