BLUES JUNCTION Productions made a grand Colorado Blues tour this past June. It would be tough and entirely unfair to examine the entire Colorado Blues scene based on a three day road trip through the state, so I will focus on one band, one festival and one very funky hotel.

I don’t think too many folks think of Colorado as a hot bed of Roots music in general or Blues music in particular. Historically Colorado may not have had much of a scene. But that’s history. Today there is a flourishing scene that has it’s nexus in One Band, The Informants, One terrific Blues Festival in Greeley, CO, and a very Funky Hotel in Boulder, The Boulder Outlook.

Let’s start our travel log through the Rocky Mountains by discussing what may very well be the best live band I have seen in some time, The Informants. This is not strictly a Blues band, which makes them fun and interesting at the same time. They play Blues that is for certain, but they play healthy doses of Funk, Soul, R & B as well as straight up vintage Rock and Roll.

They have been around a few years and have two wonderful CD’s under their belts. Their second offering, Crime Scene Queen, won the 2010 International Blues Challenge award for best self produced album. What separates these veterans from the pedestrian is they have two very important things most Blues bands lack: good original material and a singer who can deliver that material convincingly. The Informants’ Mark Richardson turns out to be a
fascinating writer. Both Crime Scene Queen and the band’s inaugural release, Stiletto Angel, feature almost all original material by Richardson. His songs vary in tone, timbre, tempo, style, and theme yet blend together to make for an extremely satisfying listening experience. Kerry Pastine, the band’s singer can sell it all. I, for one, am buying it. She has a tough as nails, yet very feminine delivery. Pastine takes every song and applies her own personality and interpretation to the diverse material the band plays. Additionally she is one of the most dynamic and engaging live entertainers I have ever seen.

The Informants are made up of veteran players who have paid their dues. They have a true “band” sound. Each player works in an ensemble setting in service of the song. They are tight and they groove.

Richardson is a multi-instrumentalist who spends the lion’s share of a show behind the keyboard but he is also a trumpet player, who at times augments the fine two piece horn section of reed men Kenny Plum and Johnny Love. Richardson also plays accordion. Drummer Nate Nicholson, along with bassist Mac McMurray holds down the groovalicious rhythm section from behind the skins. The Informants’ Paulie Shellooe is a fine guitarist who understands that rhythmic and tonal dynamics have more to do with being a great player as show stopping (grinding to a halt) “look at me” solos.

The Greeley Blues Jam is an annual two day event presented by the City of Greeley and the Greeley Chamber of commerce. It is produced by Pam Bricker. The Informants were scheduled to open Saturday’s festivities at noon on the Festival’s main Stage. The bill included local and regional acts on a secondary stage. The main stage had a wonderfully diverse yet complimentary lineup which also included The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Shemekia Copeland, Sonny Landreth and “Too Slim” & the Tail Draggers.

The Greeley Blues Jam was scheduled to take place in an outdoor rodeo arena on the county fairgrounds. Unseasonably cool, relentless and at times torrential rain soaked the grounds most of the previous day and night. Under a flood watch and continuing steady rain, festival organizers had to make a call. Given the forecast the 2010 Greeley Blues Jam seemed doomed. The festival organizers caught a break and took full advantage of it. On the same fairgrounds sat an unused multipurpose, indoor facility. With the opening band scheduled to take the stage in less than two hours the call was made to move the entire event a few hundred yards to the cavernous hall that hosted a dog show the previous day.

Every piece of equipment was packed up, moved the short distance and loaded into the large hall. Everyone from sound technicians to pooper scoopers had concerns about the concrete floor. They all did the best with what they had to work with. A smaller meeting room in the building and adjacent to the main concert seating area was set up and substituted perfectly as a sponsor’s tent. Next to the larger sponsor area was a smaller adjoining room that served as the event’s “green room” This room was actually painted pale green. While back at the hotel I received updates from the fairgrounds from the very informative Informants’ bass player, Mac. He viewed the green “green room” as a good omen.

Meanwhile back at the hotel the word had been passed to the artists that the show would in fact go on. These seasoned road warriors take virtually any kind of logistical uncertainty in stride. I however was a little anxious and greatly relieved upon hearing the news that the event was moved indoors. This Southern Californian was none too happy with the prospect of traveling 1200 miles to either stand in the rain all day or have the event cancelled. At 10:30 am Mountain Time those had seemed like the only two options.

The event was behind schedule of course, but not by much. The very functional hall filled quickly with lawn chairs and people. All the while vendor and sponsor booths were quickly reassembled in the great indoors.

The opening band on the secondary stage hit the downbeat within an hour or so of the originally scheduled start time. By the time The Informants were tearing it up it was pretty much business as usual.

The crowd was large, enthusiastic, well behaved and seemed genuinely appreciative that world class musicians from all over the country had come to play on the high plains.

As the T-Birds were putting a rhythmic wrap to the event several hours later I glanced out from behind the stage and could see sheets of rain still passing in front of the lights that illuminated the loading docks and service entrance to the facility.

Because of the late hour, the scheduled jam that was to take place on the main stage was scrapped. No one seemed to mind. The after party and jam scheduled to take place at a local watering hole near the host hotel was attended by mostly regulars save the presence of
 myself, a colleague and Shemekia Copeland. None of us out of towners stayed too long. With another day of travel ahead and another gig, calling it a night seemed like the prudent thing to do.

The good folks of Greeley did themselves proud. The festival had everything from terrific national bookings to fine local talent. The hospitality and professionalism exhibited by virtually everyone we encountered at this event was nothing short of extraordinary. The town of Greeley didn’t let old testament rain interfere with old school blues music. They made it one of the highlights of BLUES JUNCTION Productions 2010 festival tour.

The next day it was off to Boulder. The wonderfully charming college town at the foot of the front range of the Rockies and in the shadows of the Flatirons would get to hear The Informants on a Sunday evening. After walking off lunch on the trail that runs adjacent to the Boulder Creek through town and into Boulder Canyon, BLUES JUNCTION Productions checked into one very funky hotel.

The Boulder Outlook Hotel is a retro-fitted, retro cool, mid century modern hip cat hang out. I am surprised they let me in the front door. Being a mid-centurion myself they gave this weary traveler a break. Upon entering the lobby you are greeted by a sign that reads: “Live Blues Music”. I almost wept. The adjoining bar and grill is named Blues & Greens. It turns out this establishment is the brain child of one of Colorado’s leading Blues impresarios, Honey Sepeda.

The hotel is an eco friendly, zero waste facility. The two story property doesn’t have an elevator. I suppose if you have made it to the rarified air of Boulder than you should be able
 to walk up one flight of stairs. I did. After taking a much needed power nap, that threatened to be much more, I was awakened by the sound of a live Blues band downstairs. It was 7:30 pm and time for the Sunday night Blues Jam. Thank goodness the jam started on time because I would have slept right through the night and missed The Informants performance at the Fox Theatre that was starting at 8:30pm.

I took a quick shower and headed down to Blues & Greens. I wanted to make a quick appearance before taking the short ride to the Fox Theatre. There was a nice crowd and a good five piece ensemble shuffling through Slim Harpo’s “Scratch My Back”. I however couldn’t stay. It was off to the Graziano wedding reception at the Fox Theatre.

I don’t know the Grazianos but these young lovers decided to celebrate their sacred union by booking the Fox theatre and The Informants on a Sunday night. It was an open to the public event and the public had a blast dancing to the band well into the night.

Seeing this group on a great stage, in a historic venue with theatre acoustics and lighting was a real treat. The Informants gave the Grazianos plenty to think about as they embarked on their new life with new originals like “Voodoo Doll” and “Crime Scene Queen”. Old covers like “Monday Morning Blues” and “Tramp” made for an appropriate send off to the consummation of their vows.

My Monday morning began with me trying to negotiate the one flight of stairs as I headed down to get some breakfast. I had some toast and jelly at the same joint that served up the jam the night before. Blues and Greens is a Blues bistro, bar and breakfast buffet all in one.
The entire establishment is adorned with original portraits of many of the musicians who have graced the Blues and Greens stage.

After breakfast I met the person responsible for the success of Blues and Greens, Honey Sepeda. Honey has had a three year run with Blues and Greens. She books Blues music and is successful at doing it. Honey has top shelf artists from all over the country making their way to The Boulder Outlook Hotel and onto her stage.

Bob Margolin, whose portrait hangs prominently in the lounge travels from his home in North Carolina multiple times a year to play at Blues and Greens. Honey told me something Bob has shared with her and has been my observation as well and that is:
There is still plenty of life and creativity as well as emerging talent in the Blues. The problem lies in the commercial aspect of the Blues business itself, which as we know, is on life support. If more people had Honey’s business savvy and outside the box thinking to go along with their passion for the Blues, there would be more success stories like Blues and Greens and more successful entrepreneurs like Honey Sepeda.

BLUES JUNCTION Productions was then off to Grand Junction where I edited some of the pictures from our Colorado Blues sojourn. As I
wrote these words and glanced out a six story hotel room window the sun was setting over the buttes, bluffs and mesas of western Colorado and Utah beyond. With bands like the Informants, festivals like the one in Greeley and Blues friendly establishments like the Boulder Outlook Hotel the sun won’t be setting on the Blues for some time… at least not in Colorado.

- David Mac