This July, the 19th in fact, saw the birth of Sleepy Hollow Blues Club in 1994, 25 years ago! The club kicked off with sets from Muddy Puddles and Tin Pan Alley.
It was formed by a dedicated group of blues lovers whose main aim is to promote the blues in Geelong. SHBC is a non-profit organisation owned by its members and operated by a dedicated group of volunteers. Without members the club cannot exist. With members we can continue to provide top-quality live music to the Geelong Region and be an active member of the community at large.
The club meets every fourth Sunday for a top-class afternoon of blues jamming and a headliner band.
The name of our New Year’s Eve Bluestone Blues Festival came from the walls of the Inverleigh Hotel where our first Festival was held in 1996. Bluestone presents top blues music, in a fun atmosphere and brought good memories to the many thousands who have attended over the years.
SHBC is more than a monthly blues get together. We have run a “Blues for Blankets” event raising money to assist the homeless in our region, and our annual Vic Hunt Memorial Grant aims to assist local musicians. Come down one Sunday and check it out.
It’s getting towards the 14th of July – Bastille Day, a much better reason for celebrating a country rather than invading another country. I thought it would be an appropriate thing to do to run through a few French blues artists for your listening pleasure.
That was not as easy as it sounds, especially if you rule out the Cajun! Still some persevering research did uncover a few.
Mike Goudreau & the Boppin Blues Band have a very cool blues track “Last Call Blues” on YouTube, which comes from their album “Sweet Blues.” The band is Mike Goudreau (guitar), Norman Lachapelle (bass), Alain Bourgeois (drums), Dany Roy (tenor sax) and John Sadowy (piano). Pete, if you are reading this and these blokes call, grab them!
Theo Lawrence & The Hearts is a French rock band from Gentilly. The group is inspired by soul music, southern rock and blues. Current band members are Theo Lawrence (vocals / guitar), Thibault Ripault (guitar), Thibault Rooster (drums), Olivier Viscat (bass) and Nevil Bernard (keys). They have a very produced and smooth sound.
Parking West is a five piece, a nice bit of tenor sax in with the usual guitar and drum combo. They sound good, but I have not been able to find much about them – just think for a minute what Google does with a name like that! There are some tracks from their album “Open Ticket for the Blues” on YouTube, but not much else.
Dona Boar is a blues/rock trio formed, as they say, for the pleasure of drinking, eating and playing music. You can find a video of their track “Si j’étais Dieu” (If I was God) on YouTube.
Closer to home there’s a Sydney band, Monsieur Camembert, who are my favourite. Check their Famous Blue Cheese CD that features Leonard Cohen material.