So How was the International Blues Competition in Memphis you ask?

Greg,
How did you and the band do?   We watched with baited breath the first announcements of who did what last weekend,    and we were excited by the results.    Apparently there was some kick ass music happening all weekend.
 
Would you be interested in answering a few questions for our publication?    (we have answers to some of these questions but ask for publication purposes.)
 
Tell us about your experience in being selected to represent your Blues society.   What was your reactions to being so selected.
 
We won Richmond, VA's River City Blues Society's first Blues Challenge in June of 2005.  We were one of five band competing.  The judges panel consisted of musicians and other music industry members.  The atmosphere for us was pretty much relaxed.  We didn't expect to win and as the competition took place on a Sunday afternoon it had more of a casual feel.  All the folks attending the event were friendly, helpful and in a good mood.  Or course, we knew more people than not and several of our fans attended to cheer us on.  It was like playing in front of a bunch of friends.  Rick broke a string during one of the songs, but we didn't miss a beat while he switched out guitars.  By dealing successfully with that incident it lead to our comfort and confidence on stage.
 
For many different reasons we still didn't see the competition as more than a lark and were hoping for maybe a second or third place finish.  When we were announced as winners some of the biggest smiles ever were displayed.  Honestly, for the first few minutes it was like walking on air.  I felt bad for some of the other bands when I saw the look of disappointment on their faces, but then it could have been us.  We're not eligible to represent the River City Blues Society for another two or three years so this year's competition will have a new winner and someone else will experience the excitement of winning and knowing they're going to Memphis, TN for the International Blues Challenge.
 
For myself I'm considering helping run the upcoming competition just to keep my hand in the event.
Tell us about your expeience in Memphis.
 
Memphis was great.  At least the part we saw was.  Our rental car agency and hotel were a block apart and only about five minutes from the airport.  The blues society had donated some money to us and we had saved money from our gigs so our airfare, car rental and hotel costs were all covered which significantly lowered our individual out-of-pocket expenses.
 
While there we all went on the Sun Records tour - a great place to visit with a fascinating history.  Rick and I toured the Gibson guitar factory, Rick and Dave explored Graceland and Mattie saw the Civil Rights Museum.  There were the ducks in the Peabody Hotel fountain for a different sort of thing to see.  Barbecue at the Rendevouz restaurant was wonderful.  It was even better since our blues society president and her husband bought it for us.  Somehow free food always tastes better.
 
Walking up and down Beale Street was interesting as well.  King's Palace Cafe (great food, slow service); B.B. King's; Rum Boogie Cafe; A. Schwab's store; Dyer's Hamburgers; and Pig on Beale were nice places to eat, shop and hear music.  Pat O'Brien's and Hard Rock Cafe are newer, but still nice.  The New Daisy Theater, site of the band finals, appears to be a partially rennovated stage theater and an excellent choice to pack in everyone with a ticket (and probably some without) for the weekend's main event.
 
We have read mixed reports concerning the bands in the competitions over the years (predominately white,   older artists who all looked like Stevie Ray Vaughan,  etc.)  What was the bands like?
 
While in Memphis I didn't have great oppurtunity to check out bands playing in other venues.  As you've no doubt heard, there are plenty 'A Hat and A Strat' bands.  Our venue, Pat O'Brien's, featured a couple of those.  One band, oddly enough from Florida, had three guitars.  Sound like any other band from Florida you might know?  Mac Arnold was at our venue too.  He must be 70-something, is from Greenvile, South Carolina, and has played in bands with some of the blues greats.  (Can't remember if it was John Lee Hooker or Muddy Waters.)  Mattie is from Whitmire, SC, which is close to Greenville, so they had a common bond and easlity struck up a conversation.  Mac and his band were a great bunch and kindly lent Mattie an amp for her harmonica.
 
Jill West and the Blues Attack, from PIttsburgh and our venue's winner, featured 18-year-old guitar prodigy, Zack Weisinger.  I'm not sure the things he did to make his guitar sound like it did are legal in all 50 states.  He's truly one to watch for in the future.
 
Aside from Mac Arnold all the performers in our venue were white and I'd guess at least in their thirties with a few exceptions.
 
 
What was the crowd like?   
 
The crowds were great. A $10 wrist band granted admittance each night to all band and solo/duo venues.  Where else can you get into 15 bars for one cover charge?   All the acts received enthusiastic responses.  Cameras were flashing and film was rolling.  Wish I had my own audio-video recording of the event.
 
How far did you guys make it in the judging?
 
Scores and judges comments are to be mailed out in the near future.  It's our hope that we can see our scores in relation to the other acts to see how we rated.  It's not necessary to know who the other bands are, but to see how we ranked among them.  The winner from our venue, Jill West and the Blues Attack, finished third in the finals which was quite an accomplishment considering there were 80 bands.  If we were fortunate enough to rank second in our venue my guess would be that would place in the top 20 bands - the top 25%.  That'd be no mean feat considering the overall level of competition.  It will be interesting, maybe even eye-opening to see how the judges perceived us.
 
How did you and the band fill your hours between sets?
 
Drinking?  I went to the Blues Business Meeting.  The primary topic was the growing importance of digital resources and the internet in growing your bands and revenues.  The highlight for me was meeting Bill Wax of XM Radio and having him tell me he'd be glad to have me send him a Phifer Marshall Band cd for airplay consideration.
 
What did you and the band take away from this experience?      
 
We were up to the challange musically and professionally.  There were minor differences within the band and always will be within a group, but when it was time to be at the venue and on the stage everyone was there and ready.  It was our first extended time together.  All our previous events have been 12 hours or less.  It was gratifying to see everyone pull together when the time came.
 
For myself it was nice to be complimented for coordinating a successful tour.  The planes and car rental went exactly as planned.  By booking the air tickets in November instead of January I saved the band roughly $900.00.  Everyone liked that.
 
I feel at the level of competition in Memphis the difference between 1st and 3rd place is minimal and determined by the taste of the individual judges.  Winning would have been nice, but by no means were we a failure.  I believe we are a very good band with our best still ahead of us.  Musical opinions are just opinions.  We all have them.  They are neither right nor wrong.
 
I had a great, great time.  I love to travel and had never been to Memphis so I got to see someplace new.  Even spent an hour at the Detroit airport, Dave. 
 
I've been in and out of bands for over 30 years.  I was fired from my first band by my then-bassist and drummer and replaced by two younger, better guitarists.  A bit of self-evaluation led me to the bass guitar which opened more and better doors for me.  Ten years ago Rick Marshall, an acquaintance from WV moved to VA and drug me nearly kicking and screaming back into performing music.  It was one of the best things to ever happen to me.  Considering I'm a failed lead guitarist who had no interest in playing music winding up in Memphis, TN on legendary Beale Street in a band competing in the Blues Foundation's 22nd Annual International Blues Challenge with 130 of the world's best unsigned acts is nothing short of amazing.  I'm a very lucky man.
 
Never mind that you didn't make the finals.    There is always next year.   And remember what it took to at least make it this far.   Of all the bands in the world,   the Phifer Marshall Band is one of the best.
 
Congrats.
Dave King
 

POWERHOUSE BLUES