The International Blues Challenge ("IBC") - The contest begins months before at dozens of regional "battles of the bands" presented by the Blues Foundation's 135 Affiliated Organizations. The winners of these preliminaries are matched in head-to-head juried competition for the chance to take their band or solo/duo act to the national stage with great gigs, cash and prizes. 
     The IBC weekend also features the only international conference for Blues societies, offers networking and problem-solving opportunities not found elsewhere. These behind-the-scenes people so important to the Blues world are also honored during the IBC weekend with the Foundation's annual Keeping the Blues Alive Awards.

On the Road to Memphis:

     Ventura Singer/Songwriter Kacey Cubero heads to International Blues Showcase in Memphis
(01-05-06 Ventura, CA.) - 
     Late this month, local singer songwriter Kacey Cubero and her band will join 130 other Blues bands & solo artists from around the world in Memphis to play in this year's International Blues Challenge. Memphis will play host to artists from 33 States and 7 countries for the 22nd annual edition of this event billed as the largest gathering of Blues players in the world. 
     Kacey goes to Memphis as the winner of the recent regional showcase hosted by the Santa Barbara Blues Society. Kacey & the guys join the list of great past performers such as Tommy Castro, Susan Tedeschi, Zac Harmon, Larry Garner and Michelle Wilson. 
     Washington, DC-native Kacey Cubero moved to California right out of college with just a suitcase and a guitar. She soon became the front person for a local band, opening for such national acts as The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Her first album of blues & jazz standards, and original songs, was critically well received, generating both mentors as well as opportunities.
     A prolific songwriter, performer, and studio musician, Kacey has collaborated with an array of eminent singers and songwriters, including Jackson Browne, Louis Johnson, and Gary Scruggs. She's shared the stage with great performers such as B.B. King, Lucinda Williams, and Kim Wilson. Her songs have been used in some well-known, independent films, such as "Hey Mrs. Stu" and "Silver Dollars".
     In 2002, and again in 2003, Kacey was chosen by Singer Magazine as one of six Indie Artists of the Year. Her latest CD, "Diamond in The Rough", debuted in Fall 2003, and includes a guest appearance by friend, Leo Sayer. The CD displays Kacey's remarkable songwriting, arranging, and producing skills. Kacey finished 2003 with a U.S. tour to benefit underprivileged children.
     In 2004, Kacey continued her solo tour to promote Diamond in The Rough and was also busy fronting for The IRS, the all-star band whose members include Chris Slade (AC/DC, The Firm), Joe Molland (Badfinger), Greg Douglass (Steve Miller Band, Van Morrison), Mario Cippolina (Foreigner, Huey Lewis), and Terry Ilous (XYZ). She ended the year entertaining U.S. troops in Japan. 2005 included much more touring and the opportunity to help raise $26,000 for Hurricane Katrina To end the year, the Santa Barbara Blues Society named her winner of their yearly, regional competition making her a candidate for the IBC. 
     Traveling with Kacey to Memphis are veteran players Mike Miller and Kirk Maxson on guitar & bass (you might recognize them as Blue Stew Alumni) and Sacramento transplant Michael Golden on the drums. 
     Kacey and the guys are available for interviews, appearances and on air performances in an effort to spread the word and support their efforts. 
     Please feel free to use the contact info above if you'd like to learn more about Kacey and the story that might help focus some attention on Ventura & Santa Barbara music.
     Michael Golden c/o
     The Kacey Cubero Band
     (805) 443-9120
     2707 Waverly Ave.
     Camarillo, CA. 93010
     m_golden@verizon.net

http://www.kaceycubero.com/
http://www.sbblues.org

     It all started with a weeknight phone call about three weeks ago.  It was Kacey. 
     After some polite chit chat she said, "Hey, I recently won a Regional Blues Showcase up in Santa Barbara and I'm looking for a drummer. Wanna go to Memphis the end of this month?" 
     Not a bad phone call eh? 
     I ran it by my better half, Kim. She looked at me and basically said, "you'd be nuts not to go".
     Cool.
     So, I checked our family calendar in the kitchen and all was clear on those dates. So the next morning at the office I put in for a couple of days off. After getting the blessing from the powers that be, it occurred to me on the way home from work that night I'm going to Memphis to play in the 2006 International Blues Challenge. Life is good. 
This year's event featured 130 bands and acoustic artists/duos from 33 states and 7 countries including Australia, Poland, France and Canada. Each act was to perform a 30 minute set on both Thursday and Friday night for a different set of 3 judges each night. The idea is to continue on to the Saturday show where the final 10 bands play a 20 minute set at the New Daisy Theatre.
     I had been fortunate enough to get a phone call from Ventura County singer/songwriter Kacey Cubero. She had claimed the spot representing the Santa Barbara Blues Society with local icons "Blue Stew" as her backing band. (Mike Miller on guitar & vocals and Kirk Maxon on bass). When their drummer couldn't make it, Kacey said she remembered listening to Sacramento's Linda Bracamonte Band CD "Champagne Rain Rhythm & Blues". (I was a long time Sacramento resident until about a year and a half ago). Kacey had dusted it off, gave it a second listen and dialed her phone. (Thanks Linda!)
     Rehearsal started in our make shift garage "studio" and continued right up until the afternoon of the performances in one of our hotel rooms.
     All of the bands were to be judged by a number of criteria. Initially there's what I'll call a compulsory element. Did all the registration paper work get submitted on time and correctly, is there a current bio, picture-promo pack, did the band/act show up and check in on time the night of the shows? yada, yada, yada. So in theory, you could actually lose points before you even set foot on the stage. 
     Once you hit the stage, each band has a limited amount of time to get set up and ready to roll (about 5 or 10 minutes as I recall). This means getting the house amps dialed in for our guitar guys, with no sound check. For me it meant getting my cymbals and pedals set up on the house drum set then getting them all adjusted. When the music starts the judges looked at 1) Musicianship, 2) Appearance, 3) Professionalism, 4) Originality and 5) Blues Content. So bottom line was, avoid cover tunes and have your act together, all in about 10 minutes and by the way, if your set goes longer then 30 minutes you start losing points. No pressure right?
     So we're at the point where we're ready to go on, but before we continue onto the events of the each evening, what say we take a look at the host city, Memphis, Tennessee?
    
The City...
     Let me start by saying it right up front . I WAS A TOURIST!!! How can you go to a place like this and not be? I took pictures, asked dumb questions and hit the tours of places I wanted to see. The locals were couldn't have been more gracious or friendly. If you get a chance to go, I encourage you to be a tourist too. Just don't ask for sauce on your ribs. (more on that later).

       ...If there was ever a city that lived up to it's billing, its gotta be Memphis. 
       ...The birthplace of Rock & Roll? No argument here. 
       ...Home of the Blues? Damn right! 
       ...Some the best Bar-B-Que going? Ohhh Mama! 

     Even the most skeptical should be convinced with a single stroll around Beale Street any night of the week. Did you catch that? Any night of the week. 
     Memphis is a city of sights, sounds and aromas. Not surprisingly as we strolled down Union Street, past the Peabody Hotel towards Beale, the first thing that hits us is the sweet smoky smell of food being oh-so-slowly cooked in wood pits and ovens. This is not a place for vegetarians. But if you like Ribs (both spare ribs and baby backs), chicken, steaks to die for, sausage and almost anything that will go on a grill, you're in luck.
     The second thing you notice as you near Beale is the sound of music tumbling out of the clubs' open windows and doors into the street. Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Funk, Jazz, and Rock & Rock in places like Alfred's, B.B. Kings, Rum Boogie Cafe, Pat O'Brians, the Hard Rock and Club 152, to name just a few. Part of what makes it so cool is that you see older folks as well as youngsters not only in the crowd soaking it all in, but up on stage mixing it up as well. 
     So why is that? 
     It might be that this thing called Soul, Blues, R&B or whatever, it is so ingrained in the culture and the people, that it's only natural that locals of all ages appreciate and/or practice the art of what I'm gonna call real music. Nothing synthetic or programmed here. Given its so much part of the city, those of us that aren't locals don't have to go looking for it. It's all around and it finds you. 
     Ask me & I'll tell you that the local bands we saw Wednesday night before the IBC started had what can only be described as a Memphis feel or sound to them. Real thick, real solid and real soulful. In fact a food comparison might be in order right about here so why wait. Let's talk food specifically Bar-B-Que.
    
The Food...
     As I just mentioned, this is not a place geared towards vegetarians. In a city where almost every corner has a restaurant boasting the best ( _fill in the blank ) in the city, we decided we needed a little guidance. We asked some of the locals including the Blues Foundation folks for the best Bar-B-Q joints around. As to be expected there were a variety of favorites, but a couple of places kept coming up. Specifically, The Rendezvous, Corky's, Interstate and the Blues City Cafe. The carnivores in our band (that's all of us) hit all but Interstate. We also hit a couple of not so famous places. For the most part we kept things within walking distance of our hotel. 
     The good news is, famous or not, the food did not disappoint. The bad news is gaining weight is EASY in Memphis. Fortunately we walked almost everywhere we went and that seemed to minimize the need for more notches in the belt. 
     The first place we looked for was the legendary Rendezvous that was established in 1948. (yes the same one that John Hiatt sings about). We were told to simply go out our hotel door, make a right in the alley and follow our nose. How tough could that be? (Off of Union in the alley between the Holiday In & the Best Western). We sauntered down the stairs from the alley and the smell of slow cookin' went from prominent to WOW! 
     One thing to note about Memphis style bar-b-que is the use of rubs instead of sauce when the meats are being slow cooked. The rubs are a combination of "secret spices" that you rub on the meat before you start cooking. This forms a spicy crust that seals in the juices as things cook. It works. Now if you want sauce on your stuff, you grab one of the squeeze bottles that adorns each of the tables that's standard in the restaurants and do a little dippin'. However, if you do insist on having your ribs served up with sauce, ask for "wet ribs". But expect a couple of raised eyebrows, especially down at the Rendezvous. It's just the way it is. So use the squeeze bottle on the table regardless of where you are. Trust me on this one.
     The place that quickly became my/our band's favorite was the Blues City Cafe  at the corner of Beale and Union. Their Ribs were tender and moist (even without the sauce). They have a New York to die for that they cook up damned near perfectly and the Memphis Soul Stew is superb on a rainy Saturday. Find me a better staff of servers, cooks and bartenders and I'll buy dinner. These folks at Blues City were great. Their slogan is "Put some South in your Mouth". Good advice. 
     Needless to say there were dozens of great places that we couldn't get to given our schedules and time constraint, but I'd say start at Blues City and use that as your yardstick. 
     Was it any wonder that I didn't see a McDonalds or a Jack in the Box anywhere? Hell, they'd go broke.
    
Come to ya, on a dusty road... 
     There are a couple of places they say are a "must see" in Memphis. Most folks point to places like Graceland, Sun Studios, The Memphis Rock & Soul Museum and Stax/Soulsville among others.
     Well I regret that I missed what some might say top that list, Graceland. Sorry gang. 
     Truth be told, Elvis was a little before my time. In addition to the Beatles, I grew up with Sam & Dave, Booker T, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Al Jackson Jr., Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett as well as the Motown artists. So for me the must see was Stax Soulsville and we were running out of time.
    I needed to see where the brainchild of Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton turned the local neighborhood kids into stars by simply recording good music. The museum has the recreation of the original control room, the 2,4,8 and 16 track consoles, a recreated sloping theatre floor as well some of the as the original instruments used on those classic soul tunes. This truly duplicates the feel of the old theatre on College & McLemore. You can be at the same spot where all those legendary songs sprung up under the watchful eye of producers like Issac Hayes and David Porter. There are plenty of great interviews on video throughout the exhibits from the folks that were there during it all. The video footage alone makes this a place you have to visit if you grew up with one of those little ear phones in your ear attached to a 10 transistor AM radio. (Note: no pictures allowed inside the museum)
     The Memphis Rock & Soul Museum looks at the beginning of Rock and Roll and Blues/Soul music through its roots in the fields as well as it's Country roots with the focus on how the City of Memphis impacted the music as much as the music impacted the City. Some call it "That Memphis Magic". (Note: no pictures allowed inside the museum)

Thankyou, thankyouverymuch...TCB
     While the Stax and Memphis Rock & Soul Museum are a high tech, interactive sort of things, the Sun Studio tour is about as down home and simple as you can get. You walk in through the Sun Studio Cafe  restaurant/gift shop. Walk upstairs into a display room, (no pictures please) then into the small Sun office where Marion Keisker, (who some say actually was responsible for getting Elvis in front of Sam Phillips), worked. Then you're into the one room studio where some say Sam created Rock & Roll. The key to this tour is the guide. He or she will tell you stories with little song sound bytes of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and more recently U2.
     You want cool? How about the mic Elvis used for all his Sun hits before he jumped to RCA? It's still there and working fine. In fact, the studio is still being used today and if you are willing to pay $75.00/hr, you can croon through it too. Even the same ceiling and floor tiles that Sam installed all those years ago are still in place.
     For all it's simplicity this tour is well worth the money. (Note: Take all the pictures you want once you're in the studio)

Six Strings...
     Gibson is known the world over for it's guitars. The solid bodies like the Les Paul & SG, the semi-hollows like the ES 355 and BB King's Lucielle and world class acoustics. While the solid body guitars are made in Nashville and the Acoustics are made in Bozeman, Montana, the Semi-Hollow body guitars are made from the ground up in their Memphis plant. 
     The gluing up of the veneers for the top, back and rims, the lay up of the fret board, all the binding, head stock and final paint and assembly all happen at the Memphis plant. As you approach the factory the first thing that hits you is the smell of cellulose lacquer in the air that makes these guitars so gorgeous (and repairable). 
     We were fortunate enough to see the last of the production run of the "80 Lucielle" that commemorates BB's 80th birthday. Complete with it's hand rubbed ebony finish to the gold hardware and 5 diamonds mounted in the headstock, these things are gorgeous. As you might suspect, these very special guitars are a limited edition and there will only be 80 of these made. Is it any wonder they already all been sold?
     How good are these 80th Lucielles? It would appear that the folks at Gibson got it right on the first pass The first prototype was given to BB by the Gibson production folks and he liked it so much he didn't want to give it back. So Gibson had to make a second prototype from scratch to produce the remainder of the production run! 
     If you love guitars as a player or as a fan of music, do yourself a favor and hit the Gibson plant. (Bring your camera and snap away, just don't talk to the folks workin').
 
     So there is the highlights of 4 days on foot and one trip in a cab (Stax Museum). 

Back to business... sort of
     During the course of the rehearsals we had come to the conclusion that even though we have some blues influence to our approach, we really weren't all that blusey. Sure, we had a couple of shuffle things and a 12 bar deal going on a couple of tunes, but nobody is going to confuse us for an out and out blues band. 
     So now what? Well given it was a little late to worry about it, we just decided to do what we do and let the chips fall where they may. A healthy approach if you ask me. 
     We were scheduled to play Pat O'Brians both nights. We were required to check in at 6pm Thursday even though we didn't go on unitl 9:10. This gave me time to sit around, get the nerves going and think too much. "Now don't play to loud, don't play to fast, how's the crowd gonna react?, we're not bluesy enough, watch Kacey for cues and oh yeah have fun."
     When we finally went on, the set was over far too fast. That meant no train wrecks and we all hit our spots. Mike's slide playing was on the money, Kacey was  well being Kacey making her tunes come to life. Kirk was keeping the bottom going making my job easy. Being the new guy with about two weeks to prepare, that was HUGE! (Bless you Kirk). The good news is that the crowd was very responsive and the judges made it a point to let Kacey know that they enjoyed what she does. 
     That first night I was so intent on nailing things and playing a mistake free set that it didn't occur to me until after we got off stage that first night that I should've really soaked in the moment and enjoyed it. Now don't get me wrong I really enjoyed playing the first night, but there is something to be said for taking in and appreciating special gigs like this one. I mean when's the next time I was going to be play Beale Street to a sell out crowd with 9 great bands?!?!
     Fortunately there was Friday night. So with far fewer nerves on end as the result of making it through Thursday night, I made it a point to try and really enjoy the Friday show. We were the first one out and despite the early slot, we were relaxed and it worked!
     We cruised through the set. I found myself enjoying the faces, sights and most importantly the sound. While our second night seemed a little more laid back, I think we sounded a little more in control and dare I say, fatter? Hell who knows? The crowd seemed to be behind us and what I do know it was a whole bunch of fun. 
   
Let's schmooze...
     Part of the fun of playing shows at a big gathering like this is the meeting and hanging out with the other musicians and seeing their shows. 
     With the early slot Friday night we were able to hang out with other bands and the attendees and see all of the other band's shows. 
     My particular favorite at our venue was Jill West and Blues Attack out of Pittsburgh PA. During their sets my jaw hit the floor. I was SO glad we didn't have to follow them. They were tight, great showmanship and a guitar player I have never seen the likes of. He was only 18 years old and was probably one of the best guitar players I've ever heard or seen. Nice, polite young man. Came with his parents and grandma too!
     His is name Zack Weisinger. He was so good that he was named the Albert King Award for best guitar player at the festival. Watch for Zack, Jill, Nick & the guys. I'm here to tell you they're going to make some noise nationally soon.
Now keep in mind due to the aforementioned schedule and time constraints I only caught about 15 of the 130 bands that were at the event. So I didn't get to hear the acoustic solo winner Eden Brent or the band winner Joey Gilmore. So go to the links at the bottom of this article for details on the winners, participants and the event itself. There was SO MUCH talent, just being there was an honor yeah I know it sounds cheesy but if you only could have been there. It's just a shame a person can't be at about 8 places at once. 
     As for us, well we did better then I thought we might. While we didn't advance (that Blues Content thing) we did get high marks everywhere else, so I can't complain. Don't know that we'll ever really be a full on blues band But I sure did enjoy what we did and where we're headed. 
     So there it is. One guy's take on Memphis and a great event. 
Looking back, how about a little advise? No? Well too bad, you're gonna get it anyway. To really drink in the whole City and all it has to offer, you'd really need at least a week. Another thing to keep in mind is things move at a much more deliberate pace. So sit back, relax and don't be in a hurry. Being in a hurry doesn't work. Enjoy Memphis like Memphis cooks, slowly.

     I'd like to take a moment to say thanks to Kacey, Kirk and Mike for the invite. Thanks to the Santa Barbara Blues Society for getting us in the show. A tip of the hat to the Blues Foundation for putting on a truly amazing event. Take a bow Kenny Van Cromphaut aka: Obie Dee aka: "the Old Blues Dude" for helping us spread the word and keeping Blues Alive in and around Sacramento as well as up and down the West Coast all these years. 
     Thanks to my family Wade, Alyssa and my better half Kim for allowing me not to have to grow up at least on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
     Most importantly thanks to all of you who love and support local music, it wouldn't be any fun without you.

Thanks so much
Mike 
  
Go to the photo gallery for pictures of the event and of some of the tours detailed above.  
For more details on the event, who won and who was there go to: http://www.blues.org/

Other Links:
www.kaceycubero.com
www.bluestew.com
www.soulsvilleusa.com
www.bluescitycafe.com
www.bealestreet.com