Situated practically next door to where CBGBs used to be, Crash Mansion is bracing itself for a night of unpredictable, untamed blues excitement. The Lower East Side of Manhattan is equipped for loud amplified crazy rock musicians and lots of wild punk energy as no where else in the Big Apple! This is important. As Meredith offers, “Good blues is never tame and has something of a dangerous, unpredictable edge."
Was Crash Mansion a good choice of venue for such an event. You bet! Other than offering all the amenities of an upscale, downtown bar, this venue can comfortably house up to 300 people. And Meredith and Jon expect that it will be stuffed wall to wall with festival goers.
Who will be appearing at this festival? Presented by FreeNote Music the Blue Apple Blues (B.A.B.) Festival will feature blues artists Willie McBlind (led by Jon Catler), Terraplane (led by Elliott Sharp), Hugh Pool, and Stone Crazy Blues Band (led by Chris Morda). This melting pot of progressive blues artists will culminate in a performance by the 13 O'Clock Blues Band, a collaborative effort of the above artists which breaks new ground in the field, melding mysterious blues overtones and rhythmic patterns into what promises to be a hypnotic and rousing finale.
This collection of dedicated artists has been seriously honing their craft as blues musicians for years they are seasoned players who forge ahead in pursuit of new ideas and are far from resting on their individual laurels. As the night takes off, the cumulative synergy summoned by these artists will be palpable and shouldn't be missed by true music lovers who want to hear something exciting and revolutionary that taps into true blues/rock spirit.
Whether you do what sensible New Yorkers do and take the subway, pound the pavement, or hail a cab, get there for what promises to be an unforgettable night of blues excitement. And leave your preconceived notions regarding the Big Apple, and particularly the downtown Manhattan area and its people at home.
April 3, a Thursday, you are going to be hosting the first of what will be called the annual Blue Apple Blues (BAB) Festival. How did this idea come about? Was this a shared idea, or was this your “baby?"
I would say it was our “baby" in the sense that Jon Catler and I collaborate on most of our projects - but I will claim authorship to the name of the festival. I believe we were walking up Broadway during one of the many street fairs a few summers ago when the name Blue Apple Blues came to mind. But like many “babies," I guess the idea took a couple of years to gestate.
Other than arranging the entertainment, which we will ask you about in a moment, what other preparations did you have to make to bring this together?
Well the main thing was finding the proper venue to house this event. And of course the many facets of publicizing it which folks like you at Just Roots Publicity have helped make happen in such a wonderful way!
As this will take place at a downtown Manhattan venue, was parking a consideration?
Somewhat - parking is a challenge anywhere in the city - but this part of town is a lot easier to deal with regarding parking than say, the Midtown Theatre district or Times Square area. A lot of people will just do what most sensible New Yorkers do - take the subway! And New Yorkers love to walk all over town too - we're not afraid of pounding the pavement - or jumping in a cab late at night.
Establishing a strong vibe is the most important thing when finding the right venue - Crash Mansion fit the bill for us, even though they host all kinds of music events, not just blues. Of course, there are a few large and famous downtown venues in NYC such Bowery Ballroom which would be really cool. But we are focused on making the first BAB Fest at Crash Mansion a memorable and special one!
How large is the Crash Mansion? What is its seating capacity?
It's the perfect size - intimate enough to enjoy good music with straining your neck and yet big enough to get a good crowd vibe. I believe it holds about 300.
Three of the four acts which will playing April 3rd are from the New York area. How do you know Chris Morda, of the Stone Crazy Blues Band? He is originally from the Pacific Northwest--a continent away?
A few years back, Chris Morda contacted my partner, Jon Catler, about the microtonal guitars that Jon designs through our company FreeNote Music. He expressed an avid interest in learning more about Just Intonation tuning and had a burning desire to get his hands on one of Jon's microtonally refretted guitars, specifically the 12-Tone Ultra Plus guitar which he has been playing now for three years. His blues band got its start in Seattle since Chris attended college at University of Washington, but Chris actually has his roots in the Detroit area. Chris does actually have a connection to NYC as well since his father resides part of the year in an apartment in lower Manhattan - so in a way, NYC is a home to Chris as well.
What others bands are going to be playing at the Blue Apple Blues (BAB) Festival?
We will be presenting some amazing players - all very unique in their approach to blues. Hugh Pool is a phenomenal musician who has a shamanistic presence on stage who plays fierce electric dobro and has an equally impressive vocal sound which hearkens to the stylings of Howlin' Wolf - Hugh also is a gifted recording engineer who we worked with in our debut Willie McBlind CD, Find My Way Back Home.
Headlining BAB Festival will be Elliott Sharp and his band Terraplane. Elliott is a highly respected musician who has been at the forefront of the cutting edge downtown music scene for a couple of decades and who tours with his various musical projects throughout the world year round.
To close the night, 13 O'Clock Blues Band will present a mindbending progressive blues piece called 'Parallel Blues' featuring many of the musicians from the various bands, as well as a few other guitarists who also play the FreeNote 12-Tone Ultra Plus guitar and a phenomenal electric bass player, Mat Fieldes, who plays fretless. I play my harmonically tuned vintage Oscar Schmidt autoharp too. There is cumulative energy that occurs as of all these musicians jam and the piece unwinds that is nothing short of hallucinogenic and is sure to twist people's mind - in a good way of course!
Are there any misconceptions that you would like to dispel, or any things that you would like to clear up regarding the New York City populace at large?
I think the biggest misconception is that New York City is a hostile, violent city - this is absolutely not true. It is, however, a very extroverted city - people are very out with their behavior - but also very embracing. People have no qualms about talking to total strangers - coming from a more “polite" and “puritanical" type of environment in New England, I found this behavior extremely liberating - I breathed more freely (in spite of the air pollution!) and progressed in leaps and bounds as a result.
What:Blue Apple Blues (B.A.B.) Festival @ Crash Mansion
When: Thursday, April 3, 7:30PM to 1AM
Where: Crash Mansion
199 Bowery @ Spring Street
New York, NY 10002
Admission: $15 at door (age 21 and over)
Phone: 212-580-0602
blueappleblues.com
crashmansion.com
For more information contact Just Roots PR.
