Gotta love the blues ...

I've been to see a few blues bands in Rome, and they are amazing. Who would've thought Italy had such great blues musicians? There's a harmonica player here who used to tour with the son of Muddy Waters. Needless to say, he's amazing.

Here is the playlist I put together for my first lesson (which wasn't really an official lesson)

-The Thrill is Gone - BB King
-Red House - Jimi Hendrix
-Frisco Blues - John Lee Hooker
-Spoonful - Cream
-Six O'Clock Blues - Eric Bibb
-Down in the Swamp - Tab Benoit
-Dangerous Mood - Keb Mo
-Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
-Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
-Got My Mojo Workin' - Asylum Street Spankers
-Blues for Angel - Soul Miner's Daughter
-Down Home Blues - Etta James
-Black Night - John Lee Hooker
-In the Mississippi River - Mavis Staples

PS - As we were waiting for the blues band to play at Ombre Rosse, Jeff noticed the music playing over the sound system, and asked what it was. I had never heard it before, but my gut instinct was ... sounds like Mavis Staples. So he asks the bartender, and what do you know, I was right. I guess the hours on end of listening to blues have done something after all. :-)

Blues in Rome

Taught my first mini-class last night. There were only four of us, but it was a lot of fun. They were all lindy dancers, so the concepts came easily enough, and they seemed to really take to it. We're very excited about where to take this.
Valentina helped me as my follow - she's really fun to lead. Her and her dance partner are going to start teaching a lindy class, which I will try to attend.

Plans while in Europe

-Help expand the lindy scene in Rome ... maybe teach a workshop or a couple of classes ... get some organizing experience under my belt
-Start a blues scene (or maybe rather an enthusiasm for blues ... the scene will follow) in Rome. I have a base of interested dancers.
- Go dance in Barcelona
- Got to the London Balboa Festival.

Yay dance!

BluesShout?

I was down in SLO practicing solo blues with Mary, and we made some tentative plans. We both really want to go to BluesShout in Chicago (sometime in March I think), but that's one expensive trip - flights plus event plus food for a weekend etc. But we'll figure it out. And Mary and I pretty much want to do everything, so ... I know I'm competing again, in as many events as I can find partners for, and hopefully Mary and I are doing a routine.

First step ... find a song. I think we want something a little more vintage.

I'm excited ...

Roots

I went to Roots last night after my dad's birthday dinner. It was the smallest turnout I've ever seen. Not including Damon, Liz and myself, there were at most only two people in the room at any point. So I basically spent the night hanging out with Damon and Liz, and I got some awesome feedback on my dancing. Here's what I need to work on:

-Think more athletic, less dancing. I need to be more into the ground, bend my knees more. I'm sure it will help my follow, but it's also an aesthetic thing.
-Don't whip through my turns. I think this is a leftover of my ballet training. I don't spot any more, but I need to make my turns consistent.
-RELAX! This is my constant problem. It's slowly getting better, but I have so much tension, and it's hard not to let that affect my follow.

Yay for feedback!

8-16-08

Christine/Graham's Going Away House Party

I should throw house parties more often - our house is such a great space to do it in.
I didn't DJ much, just a short set towards the beginning of the night.

- Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
- Six O'Clock Blues - Eric Bibb
- Come Home Blues - Jennifer Nettles Band
- I Put A Spell On You - Tab Benoit
- Why Should I Suffer With The Blues - The Canes
- In The Mississippi River - Mavis Staples
- St James Infirmary - Bobby "Blue" Band
- Down In The Swamp - Tab Benoit
- Down Home Blues - Etta James

8-4-08

Backroom Blues - House Party

Small party, chill atmosphere, organically deteriorating from dancing into ... sleeping? It was late ...

Burning Fire - Otis Spann's South Side Band
Denver Blues - Tampa Red
Come Rain or Come Shine - BB King & Eric Clapton
My Kind Of Gospel - Michael Pewny
Dr Feelgood - Aretha Franklin
I Put A Spell On You - Tab Benoit
Three O'Clock Blues - BB King & Eric Clapton
Why Should I Suffer With The Blues - The Canes
Frisco Blues - John Lee Hooker
Six O'Clock Blues - Eric Bibb
Down In The Swamp - Tab Benoit
The Thrill Is Gone - BB King
Black Night - Buddy Guy
Sinner's Prayer - Eric Clapton
I Can't Quit You Baby - The Otis Rush Blues Band
Got My Mojo Workin' - Asylum Street Spankers
Come On In My Kitchen - Chris Thomas King
Rosewood - Cassandra Wilson
Nice And Warm - Tab Benoit
In The Mississippi River - Mavis Staples
Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
People Grinnin' In Your Face - Ruthie Foster
Peel Me A Grape - Diana Krall
Le Ballet - Celine Dion
Wade In The Water - Blind Boys of Alabama
Georgia On My Mind - Gordon Webster
Choux Pastry Heart - Corinne Bailey Rae
F-Stop Blues - Jack Johnson
My Blues After Hours - Mojo Blues Band
Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap
Hypnosis Theme - Wax Tailor

7-25-08

FNB (30 minute guest set)

Down In The Swamp - Tab Benoit
Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
Dangerous Mood - Keb Mo
Come Home Blues - Jennifer Nettles Band
Sugarman - Kid Jonny Lang & The Big Bang
Down In Mississippi - Mavis Staples
People Grinnin' In Your Face - Ruthie Foster

5-17-08

Drop Dead Blues
From a while ago ... oh well.

-Got My Mojo Working' - Asylum Street Spankers
-Blues For Angel - Soul Miner's Daughter
-Dangerous Mood - Keb Mo
-The Thrill Is Gone - BB King
-Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
-Five Long Years - Eric Clapton
-I Just Wanna Make Love To You - Muddy Waters
-Steamroller Blues - Soul Miner's Daughter
-Black Night - John Lee Hooker

5-25-08

Drop Dead Blues
Set 1
-Frisco Blues - John Lee Hooker
-The Thrill is Gone - BB King
-Sinner's Prayer - Eric Clapton
-Come Home Blues - Jennifer Nettles Band
-Dust My Broom - Elmore James
-Blues Hotel - BB King & Koko Taylor
-Blues for Angel - Soul Miner's Daughter
-I Just Wanna Make Love to You - Muddy Waters
-Come On In My Kitchen - Chris Thomas King
-Why Should I Suffer The Blues - The Canes
-I'm Prison Bound - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
-In the Mississippi River - Mavis Staples
-Black Night - John Lee Hooker

Set 2
-Do I Move You? - Nina Simone
-Down Home Blues - Etta James
-People Grinnin' In Your Face - Ruthie Foster
-Down In Mississippi - Mavis Staples
-Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down - Eric Bibb, Rory Block, Maria Muldaur
-Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman
-Son of a Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield
-Peel Me a Grape - Diana Krall
-Sinkin' Soon - Norah Jones
-Sentimientos - Andres Linetzky

Goal in mind

I just came back from Down Home BluesShout 2008, and I'm truly inspired. Graham and I competed in the Strictly Ballroomin' (for both of us it was the first time), and we made finals! The experience of competing, the thrill of dancing for a crowd, and the inspiration of both classes and dancing with amazing people have given me new drive. I know what I want, and I know what I'm working towards now. So I guess this blog marks the beginning of the conscious journey. Here is what I'm heading towards.
- I want to compete. It's one of the best ways to get my name out there and travel, and it's such a rush.
- I want to expand my teaching. I've been teaching for almost a year now, but pretty much only in SLO. I want to find some teaching partners that I have really good chemistry with, and start refining my teaching skills and vocabulary (this, btw, includes privates).
- I want to get my name out there as a DJ. I grew up on the blues, but there's so much that I don't know. I want to learn. Everything. This world fascinates me, and I want to be a part of it. I've DJed for a year now, again pretty much only in SLO, and that has given me a little experience, but not a lot of helpful feedback. The events I've DJed so far include the Solomon Douglas Workshop and SLX 2008.

This is me taking my first real step into a world that I've been captivated by ever since I was first introduced to it. From now on, I'll keep track of my experiences, traveling, classes I take, and sets I DJ here. Lets see where this takes me ...