Open Mics, Blues Jams, And Barbeque Chicken

Our lives are chock full of beautiful memories. Some of the simplest things can trigger them off. Add some live blues music last week to some photos I found while rummaging around, and voila - an incredible trip down memory lane.

In those fleeting moments, I went back to places I haven't seen in decades. But it was more than just memories. These were some epic moments of growth and discovery.

Those were the times when life was really as simple as an open mic, a blues jam, a guitar, a glass slide on my finger, and, yes, some barbeque chicken.

Austin was on my map for one reason: the number of amazing guitar players in the live music scene. On my second trip (or perhaps I should call it "adventure") to Austin in 1989, I decided to bring a guitar with me. After playing blues guitar for about 5 years, I was determined to try my hand at an open mic in Austin.

Lo and behold, I found one hosted by a band called Third Degree. It was at a club called Apollo’s on the corner of 6th and San Jacinto.

Stanley and Joyce Anderson were the husband and wife combo in the band. Stanley played a mean blues harp, and Joyce held down the bass lines. I arrived and signed in, and they immediately welcomed me to the blues community. When it was all said and done that night, I had two new friends that were anxiously awaiting my move to Austin.

Fast forward a couple of years, and there were Joyce and Stanley, picking me up on the way to one of the open mics and Austin Blues Society blues jams that they hosted around Austin. I fondly remember Mondays at Thundercloud Biergarten on E. Riverside and Wednesday nights at Valentine's Club at the Chariot Inn. The former was, well, a big empty space for beer drinking - nothing more, nothing less. And the latter - was a hotel lounge. But it was run by none other than Joe Valentine.

Valentine's was memorable because Joe would always make barbeque chicken - to this day, some of the best chicken I've ever eaten. We would always arrive a little early because that chicken would be gone quickly. Musicians are never going to turn down a free meal.

I can't remember how many of those blues jams I played. Or how much chicken I consumed. But those were the days of refining my blues skills. And those wood-shedding days were amazing.

Joyce and Stanley always gave me an open invite to hang out at their Third Degree gigs, even if it wasn't an open mic. "Come on down, and you can sit in with us after the first set" was always the word. I would show up with guitar in hand, and I would invariably get the introduction from Stanley: "welcome to the stage, Canadian Bacon sizzling on the slide guitar". Third Degree played a mix of blues and zydeco - an odd blend for a Canadian slide guitar player. My world was transformed.

I sat in with them at some crazy places. Thundercloud Biergarten. Joe's Generic Bar. Even what I (vaguely) remember to be Poodie's Hilltop. That one comes with a story all its own, starting with the long line of Harleys in the parking lot ...

Alas, there is a time and a place for everything. Priorities change. Stanley passed away in the mid-'90s. Joyce continued on with Third Degree for a number of years. My world, however, remained transformed by what I lived, experienced, and learned. Music will still touch me deeply, and the guitar will still take me to places that my soul remembers so well.

I will always thank Stanley and Joyce for opening their world to me. They embraced someone new to the Austin blues scene with open arms. They gave me the opportunity to play live music that truly, deeply, touched my heart and soul and changed my world.

And as for the barbeque chicken? It was just that tasty icing on the blues cake. And what a cake it was.

Photo credits: Numinosity (Gary J Wood)

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