Long Lunch With Avey Grouws Band

Songs played

Texas Flood

Pride And Joy

It's My Own Fault 

Featuring

Chris Avey on Lead vocal on It's My Own Fault, and guitar on the other two

Freddy Jones-Harmonica on It's My Own Fault

Kristopher (the kid) Bries-Lead vocal on Texas Flood and Pride And Joy, and guitar

Brian Bries-Rhythm Guitar 

Russ Swearingen-Bass

Rodney Smith-Drums

Terry McDowell, Tommy Bruner and Billy Bourbon are the Mandela Effect

Phil Bo King and Kat Blue and Donna Jo Eisner took part of their own songs.

(Photos courtesy of Avey Grouws Band) 

The band with PJ and Pam and our favorite waitress. 

It was a better than average crowd to come see the Avey Grouws Band play for a few and then I got the chance to jam with Chris Avey on guitar.  He sat in with Blues Rox, who ALL FOUR PLAYERs showed up.  In my case, it was a long lunch break and Terry got me up to jam with the guys, tho I would have loved to have him set in if he wanted to.

(Kristopher, myself, Freddy Jones, Chris Avey)

I think in the past Chris did jam with Brian n Kristopher at various blues jams at Parlor City, but I have never heard this band till I got their new CD when I was up there.  This jam tonight was special.  I do believe that this was Russ' best performance on bass.  I could hear him for the first time.  Kris was very inspired as well.  We only did three songs but they did ran about five to six minutes, so I think we were on stage for at least 20 minutes.  Then I had a long chat with Bryan West, their drummer, nice fellow, from the QC area.  We talked about music and drums till I needed to get back to work.  In the meantime Terry may have been the only other drummer beside myself  and Bryan.   Phil Bo did his fave blues songs, Donna Jo sang The One I Love and Kat Blue sang Gold Dust Woman and Dreams with the Mandela Effect helping her out.   I thought there would be more musicians to show up and play, which might have been to me a disappointment, but the music was hot and on fire.

(Mr. Avey on drums, he means business) 

In the case of Blues Rox, this was our shining moment of the year.  With Avey on stage, he challenged Kris to play his best and the kid came through.  However, Chris showed why his band is one of the best around, with a remake of John Lee Hooker's It's My Own Fault to which he took his guitar lead into the atmosphere up till the final verse.  I was trying to follow his riffs and where he was going, but the final guitar break was borderline chaos, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Oronette Coleman.  How I managed to keep up with him, I have no idea.    Diana Koening recorded the whole 5:43 song and posted it.  Hearing the recording really blew me away.  That might have been the best song I have been associated with since coming back,  maybe one of the all time best songs I ever got to play on.  That is saying a lot.

(Tommy, Terry, DJ, Kat Blue with the Mandela Effect, Billy Bourbon off to the side of Kat) 

Russ played his ass off.  Kristopher really wowed the crowd as well.   I knew that if there's somebody on stage to help our guitar player, it would bring out the best in him.  He's had Daddy O, Craig Erickson, Billy Lee and Bryce Janey and I know he admired Chris and that made this epic.   

This was not supposed to happen.  We were busy at work and I wasn't sure if they would let me have a long lunch, but we got our major project out before 7 and I thought I'd asked and then come back later to work.  So this was a minor miracle but I think that Blues Rox made a good case of being an opening act for Avey Grouws if they would need an opening act in the future.   We were on our game tonight.  We really did rock the place. 

Upon listening to their new album, Chris, did a searing, into the heavens guitar lead on Mariana that sounded like what he concluded on the extended lead on It's My Own Fault.  It was fun to see Freddy Jones quit playing harmonica and watch the battle leads between him and The Kid.  I've never been so amazed on how this song went, even tho Me and Chris never jammed before, it sounded like we knew what we were doing.  Not exactly, but I kept my eyes on his guitar player.  I had to, otherwise I might have been left in the dust.   Even tho I have been hurting from rotator cuff issues and was in pain most of the performance, I'd be dammed if I was not going to participate.  That's why I did take an extended lunch break.

Thank you Bryan West for the good chat.  And the last four photos are from Diana Conwell-Koening