The Amanda Fox Benefit at Last Day Saloon, 10/26/03

A stunning lineup of National, Regional, and Local stars. Confessions
of a broken-down benefit volunteer.

Arriving at the Last day Saloon at 12:00 noon I found members of the
bands and staff of the Daniel Castro Band and the Alameda All Stars
waiting for someone to show up and open the hall. I enjoyed listening
to musician and road stories from T. Moran and the soundman. Dan Daher
arrived and we all went in and began doing our various jobs. I want to
thank Dan and the staff of the Last Day Saloon for their cooperation.
We set up the ground rules and physical layout of ticket sales, the
merchandise table, and the division between the commercial operation
and the Benefit. Mickey Fox had alertly set up a trust account for the
benefit so we had a single depository (yeah, I know: BOR-RING. Don't
try to do a benefit without a trust account). Donna arrived to oversee
the volunteer organization having traveled hundreds of miles to get
home in time. She had news that Terri was stuck in Orange County
airport (sixteen hours to get back home) in the fire zone. Terri made
it too.

Lynda Wilson and I had the ticket shift from 2:00 to 4:00 which meant
that I missed seeing the Alameda All Stars. Every so often I would
sneak through the door into the Hall and see The All Stars in a full
concert setting very different from Spanky's. They had a rich full
sound and they were doing the full production on their songs. Tommy
Thompson's voice through a good big PA system really impressed me.
Their sound had a thick 'molasses' feel. I need to see the All Stars
again when they can really shine like this.

From 1:30 to 4:00 Lynda and I had a very thick stream of customers
buying tickets. It was interesting seeing the fairly large number of
people who weren't familiar with the wristband ID. We explained that
the band allowed them in and out easily, including seeing the
afternoon shows, going home for a nap (the show was going to go past
midnight) or out to dinner (mentioning The Last Day's restaurant). The
blues regulars were out in force plus many new faces. Many ticket
buyers showed a lot of music and blues knowledge. I guess we haven't
been reaching a lot of folks. Dan opened up the back bars with the
steady flow of patrons in the door.

By the time Lynda and I had counted out and handed over to Francine
Merlonghi and Debbie Sherman (they handled a lot of traffic too), MO
Blues Band with Johnny Nitro was up on stage and I got to watch them
for a little while. We found that there were a few people sneaking in
the side door to the back lounge and I went and smilingly ushered them
back out to the ticket line (I pretended they were telemarketers)
which kept me from fully enjoying MO's strong performance. I'm
impressed with how hard this band is working -they get better every
time I see them. Having Johnny Nitro as a teacher sure can't hurt.
Nitro, out of the constraints of a bar gig, did some of the best
straight guitar work I've seen him do.

I have to apologize to the Royal Doggs, I didn't see much of their
rock performance. I had to get a break and some dinner and the way my
stomach was feeling I wanted some prawn chow mein. I caught the
beginning and the end of their show and they looked strong with good
audience support.

Pretty much free from the afternoon shift, thanks to Bonnie Gordon and
Neil and Mary St. John, I was able to watch The Volker Strifler Band
do its incredible soaring thing. The Volker Strifler Band is: Glenn
Sullivan, trumpet; David Schrader, tenor sax; Gary 'Smacky' Silva,
drums; Don Bassey, bass; Volker Strifler, guitar; and sitting in was
Mike Emerson on keyboards. In a forty-five minute set they did some of
Volker's best songs as strong and driving as I've seen. Volker's
guitar, both slide and standard, was powerful and muscular. Having no
time for the extended take-you-far-away solos that have made his name
in Sonoma County circles, Volker concentrated on power.
"Might be superstition but there's something in my home,
Might be superstition but there's something in my home,
I've got the feeling -there's something going on."
(V. Strifler)

Around me in the crowd fans were exclaiming over the power of the
Strifler Band. Fans and musicians who weren't familiar with this band
were stunned. Mike Emerson added tasty organ fills and had a fine solo
(Volker would later tell me, "Some of the arrangements we do are
inside-out and not obvious, he picked it right up!) David Schrader had
a powerful honking solo. And that rhythm section! A fantastic short
set of Volker's original tunes and guitar!

Somebody Help Me (Hanging Tough)

"Smack dab in the middle of nowhere,
Feels like that's where I'm at.
The baby's crying and the rent is due
The landlord's breathing down my neck.

Sometimes it's rough
I've got a hound dog running after me
I'm hanging tough
Somebody help me cause I can't see."
(Volker Strifler)

If Blues fans from the central Bay Area had been surprised by Volker,
then in turn I was surprised by Chris Cobb. I'd heard the name and
knew he was the proprietor of Real Guitars in San Francisco. Somehow
I'd missed him in my forays into the City. A magnificent guitar
player, he was joined this night with his new vocalist Leah Tysse
('tie-see'). What a magnificent blues voice. She killed on the Ruth
Brown classic…

"I said mama he treats your daughter mean
Oh I said mama he treats your daughter mean
Well he's the meanest man I've ever seen

I said mama this man is lazy
Almost drive me crazy
Mama he takes all my money
Makes me call him honey

I've stood all that I can stand
Said what's the matter with this man

I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
Oh I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
Well he's the meanest man I've ever seen
Help me now!

I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
Oh I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
Well he's the meanest man I've ever seen

Oh I said mama I'm so disgusted
He just can't be trusted
Mama he makes me squeeze him
Oh tell mama my squeezes just don't please him

I've stood all I can stand
Gonna pack my bags and leave this man

I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
Oh I said mama he treats your daughter so mean
He's the meanest man I've ever seen
Lord, No, Now!"

And Chris is simply an ecstatic guitarist. Don't be fooled by his
modest self-deprecating humor, he's a killer on the six-string. His
solos were high and lyrical and had people screaming. Joining him on
drums was Ronnie Smith, one of my favorite drummers, Don Bassey
filling in for Artis Joyce on bass. Artis would play the second half
of the set. A tight rhythm section backing Chris's soloing. And that
heavenly rich voice! A magnificent set.

A shortage of volunteer personnel up front and the evening rush of
patrons plus the need to circulate and check for claim jumpers, and to
talk with new acquaintances and old friends meant that I didn't get to
watch the entire set of the Detroit Disciples. I like the Disciples
brand of basic rock.

Ah, the blues scene at a big benefit: talking with writer Joseph
Jordan about blues writing, sitting out on the benches with my
anarchist sister (when we're together we get into trouble--show us an
idol with feet of clay and--but that's a bunch of other stories).
Checking out Levi's cool new shoes and old hat. Checking out the
nearly full house and seeing the pleased look on Dan Daher's face.
Talking with one of the Last Day's doormen and discovering he's a
leading jazz drummer between gigs who knows Ronnie Smith. Talking
trash with my home girls (first base?-hell, I'm not even into the
on-deck circle). Watching the musicians tell each other gig stories.
Wandering over to the back of Ron Hacker's station wagon where Ron was
showing the band how he played "Love in Vain" on his old National
Duolian. Meeting Ron's humorous lovely soulful wife. Wouldn't miss
none of it for nothin'.

Ron Hacker and the Hacksaws absolutely killed the crowd from the first
note. I felt a great relief from this since Ron's Tradewinds show last
spring had been poorly attended due to a variety of causes and I
really wanted Sonoma County to know about the "Hack attack." Lots of
people got the point this time. In a time when lots of blues acts
sound somewhat the same Ron has gone back to the root and plays the
real old blues with power and drive.

I am, a back door man
I am, a back door man
Well the, men don't know, but the
little girls, they understand

When everybody's tryin' to sleep
I'm somewhere making my midnight creep
Every morning when the rooster crow is
tellin' me that is the time to go

I am, a back door man
I am, a back door man
Well the, men don't know, but

little girls, they understand

They took me to the doctor shot full o' holes
The nurses cried save the soul
I was guilty of murder in first degree
Judge's wife cried, let the man go free

I am, a back door man
I am, a back door man
Well the, men don't know, but
little girls, they understand

I was guilty of murder in first degree
Judge's wife cried, let the man go free

I am, a back door man
I am, a back door man
(Willie Dixon)

Ron's collection of stone blues guitars sounds so good when Ron plays
them, and so down home! And the mordant weary way he has of singing
combined with the flashing hard slide guitar drives the songs right
home to you. Forty-five minutes just wasn't enough. Sonoma County fans
around me in the audience were asking about Ron, I told them what I
knew and about his great CD "Burnin'" Ronnie Smith showed me again why
he's one of my favorite drummer; rock solid simplicity! Combined with
the advanced way Artis Joyce plays the bass the Hacksaws have a rhythm
drive of spine-shaking power.


Levi Lloyd and the 501 Band were the next band up.

"I was standin' at the station
Ten to midnight in the rain
I was mindin' my own bus'ness
Waiting for that midnight train

Nobody in sight, starin' at my shoes
I took out my paper to find me some good news
Mindin' my own bus'ness
When the ticket man calls my name
Yeah, yeah, babe

There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
Comin' down the line

So I say, "If it ain't too much trouble
When's the local out of town?"
His reply: "Two a.m."
If I'm leavin' local-bound

I can catch it in forty minutes
If I want to grab the express
But the local trains are hard to come by
This time of night, more or less
Listen, said

There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
Comin' down the line

So I stood for forty minutes
It was raining and it was cold
When the express rolled down the track
I did not care where it was gonna go
Yeah, yeah,

He said
There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
There ain't no midnight train
Comin' down the line."
(Jon Tiven/Roger Reale)

Levi and the 501 Band (Adam Birney, keyboards; Dee Wills, vocals and
percussion; Sweet Lou , bass; Steve Guerrero, drums; Levi Lloyd guitar
and vocals, and with the Pulsators horn section of Steve Long, trumpet
and Rick Clifford tenor sax.) showed me something this night. Levi has
a big background in show bands and he ran the show with full power
knock-em-dead drive. And Levi put himself out front with vocals and
guitar. Starting slowly with a folky tune (a lot of people don't know
that Levi is a great folk singer) he built the tempo of the set slowly
driving the dancers more and more. The floor got crowded as the 501
Band built the set. As Levi came to the midpoint of the set the
dancers were going wild.

And then the whole roll changed as Levi introduced the benefit guest
musicians. First up was Nick Gravenites doing the Chicago blues that
made his name in the 60s and 70s. Nick was immediately comfortable
with Levi's band and did a fine mini-set of classic 60's tunes. The
501 Band kept up the rhythm and drive and Nick phrased his way through
tunes that had people singing along as they danced.

Next up as a guest was Joe Louis Walker in a slight scheduling change.
Joe did several fine tunes and showed a jazzier side to his guitar
playing using a big jazz ES-5 guitar. With Joe's gospel-tinged
swooping voice it was the blues to the core. Levi showed his chops in
a couple of guitar duels with Joe, a real guitar feast. Levi and Joe
had Nick Gravenites join them for their finale, Nick's "Born in
Chicago". The crowd sang along. A whole lot of fun! I was really
pleased for Levi, he really led the band while really showing what a
fine guitar player he really is. He didn't hold back this time. Git it
Levi!

My complements to the people who put the raffle together. They
gathered a relatively few high quality prizes stimulating raffle
ticket sales while not clogging up the proceedings. Jo Barrington won
the Johnny Nitro stratocaster!

A fairly long break was followed by the star turn of the whole
evening: Daniel Castro -with Tommy Castro joining him. Tommy yelled
out over the microphone, "Los Castros!"

"Let me love you, baby, you're driving my poor heart crazy.
Let me love you, baby, you're driving my poor heart crazy.
When I'm with you, woman, my whole life seems so hazy.

Baby, when you walk, you shake just like a willow tree.
Baby, when you walk, you shake just like a willow tree.
And ooh-whee, baby, you sure look so good to me."

Daniel had 'em up and dancing within seconds of starting the set.
Michael Emerson, generally having a triumph this night, was as strong
as can be with organ fills and piano solos.

Got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you
Got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you
I need you so bad till I don't know what to do

I'm going down to Louisiana just to get me a mojo hand
I'm going down to Louisiana just to find me a mojo hand
I'm gonna teach these women here just how to love that man

Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you

Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working (got my mojo working)
Got my brrrr working (got my mojo working)
Got my bumdebumdebum working (got my mojo working)
Got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you

Gradually as the songs unfolded Tommy came to the fore more and he and
Daniel were sharing leads and working together more and more. Some
real stupendous guitar work with Mike Emerson doing some great
keyboard work.

For me and other blues fans one of the hallmark jewels of the blues
that sets it apart from rock is playing slowly and playing quietly.
Both of these are a standard of judging musicians in the blues. Daniel
and Tommy really showed this to perfection when they struck into a
slow medley that included the Buddy Guy classic "When My Right Eye
Jumps" and B.B. King's "Sweet Little Angel."

"When My right eye jumps and my flesh begins to crawl,
When My right eye jumps and my flesh begins to crawl,
You know I get to feeling, I don't know where to go."


"I`ve got a sweet little angel
I love the way she spread her wings
Yesss- got a sweet little angel
I love the way she spread her wings
Yes, when she spreads her wings around me
I get joy, in everything"

Both Castros were showing each other something, it was the old
fashioned blues showdown in a friendly way. For a fan it was just
wonderful, the real blues show. I've been to Tommy's shows and they
are up-tempo with lots of crowd pleasing rockin' fast tunes for his
fans. This was different: Daniel and Tommy playing late night in the
blues club for the regulars and the musicians. Deep blues. Going for
expression and feeling. And driving dance tunes were just wonderful.
Daniel who'd been on his feet for thirteen hours was a marvel.

I had to shut down and clean up the volunteer stuff so I missed some
of it. What I heard whetted my appetite for much, much more. I can't
wait to see something like this again. Benefits allow musicians to
play together since they often don't get to see each other since
they're playing different gigs at the same time.

I'd like to congratulate Daniel Castro, Tommy Thompson, and Frank
Orcino for organizing this benefit. Thanks to "Pops" the stage manager
and booker for running a tight schedule (an absolute 'must' for a
benefit). The whole Benefit show was a monster. Ten hours of music and
thirteen hours of operation! And thanks go out to the Sonoma Tunes
volunteers too. What a great staff.

This review is dedicated to Mickey Fox, and to my home girls.


Rolfy's Awards (unscientific, subjective, often tongue-in-cheek, and
in no particular order, and I didn't get to see everything):

Guitar: Volker, Ron Hacker, Chris Cobb, Levi Lloyd, Tommy Castro,
Daniel Castro.

Drums: Gary Silva, Ronnie Smith, T. Moran.

Bass: Artis Joyce, Don Bassey.

Keyboards: Tommy Thompson, Mike Emerson.

Vocals: Volker, Leah Tysse, Tommy Castro.

Horns: David Schrader. Section: Sullivan and Schrader.

Best shoes: Levi Lloyd.

Best gig shirt: Artis Joyce.

Best hair: The Alameda All Stars, Leah Tysse, Ronnie Smith.

Best smooth move: Mike Emerson sitting in with Volker and picking up
on Volker's involved arrangements without turning a hair (and he looks
so innocent too.)