Kansas City Blog

Shinetop Jr. has the market cornered on blues piano in this city.

The KC native, a.k.a. Mike Sedovic, who occasionally gigs with Levee Town, Trampled Under Foot and John Paul's Flying Circus has also been nominated for a 2009 Pitch Music Award. Check out his boogie piano solo show every Wednesday night at B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ. Need a preview? Click the link for some footage of a show he played last year in Brazil.

The Pitch: How long have you been playing piano?
Shinetop Jr.: I've been playing piano for over 30 years - basically since I could reach the keys.

What is on your turntable?
I've just recently moved over to the iPod side of things, so I now carry around my whole collection on one device. Depending on my mood, I listen to everything from classical to metal. If I pushed play on my iPod right now, you would get some Brazilian music. My favorite is to put the iPod on shuffle and see which of the 12,000+ songs come up.

Where is your favorite place to play or see a show in KC?
There are a lot of great venues in KC, but with my playing style, I like B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ the best. When the music gets going, the place just seems to breathe with the beat. Plus, it's hard to pass on the barbecue and cajun food they serve.

Who do you think is the most influential person in the KC blues world?
Everyone has influential players unique to themselves... I owe most of
what I know to my former band, the Blues Notions and Lindsay Shannon. In my mind, I think Lee McBee has inspired and continues to inspire players, young and old. Part of being a blues musician in KC is sharing the love and knowledge of the music with anyone willing to listen. It's like a family.

How do you rate the blues culture in other cities that you've played in or been to, compared to KC?
The funny thing about the Blues is that it transcends culture. West Coast, East Coast, Chicago, Memphis, KC, even Brazil - it all plays about the same. It's the feel or the groove that changes. Kansas City has that "swing" that sets it apart from other cities and it's a big hit around the
world.

This past weekend, I headed west to the KCK Street Blues Festival, a completely homegrown gathering on 13th and State Avenue.

Dawayne Gilley, president of the KC Blues Society presents Diane "Mama" Ray with the Living Heritage Tribute Award.

Folding chairs and cooler in tow, my friend and I found spots in the grass around 6:00 and relaxed amongst the diverse crowd while the donation buckets came around, the kids chased each other and smells of grilled goodness wafted through the thick evening air.

There were a few honorees of the ninth "almost annual" festival (there was no event in 2007 due to lack of funds), most notably, the recently passed repeat performers Tommy "Soul" Williams and King Alex Littlejohn.

The festival, though, belonged to Diana "Mama" Ray, leader of KC's longest running jam session and assiduous fundraiser for the past 47 years in these parts.

Click here to see a slideshow of the event.

This weekend, for the price of five cans of Beanee Weenees, three cans of hominy and two cans of peaches, you can see some of the finest blues bands in KC tomorrow at B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ.

With proceeds going to Harvesters, the fifth annual Harvest the Blues benefit will feature Levee Town, Shannon & the Rhythm Kings, Sam and the Damned Band, Lonesome Hank & the Heartaches, Doghouse Daddies and Little Eva & the Works.

Also bringing in the dollars for the Harvesters will be an auction featuring a guest DJ spot on KKFI, an autographed Levee Town picture, free passes to Knuckleheads and other various items donated by the Kansas City Blues Society.

The show goes from noon until 7 p.m. on Sunday, June 21 and the admission is either a $5 donation or ten non-perishable food items (not necessarily of those types listed above). Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

Blues fans have reason to be glad this weekend -- and, to carry the pun further, cause to get stoned. The (mostly free) Gladstone BluesFest kicks off on Friday at Oak Grove Park in North Kansas City (76th and North Troost).

On Friday night starting at 6 p.m., see locals King King, northeast Missouri's B.J. Allen & Blue Voodoo and, all the way from Atlanta, the Chris Duarte Group.

Starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, hear locals Mark Montgomery & Max Berry and J.P. Soars and the Red Hots, Wichitans Moreland & Arbuckle, Louisiana's Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys and Chicago bluesman Guitar Shorty.

In a new twist for midtown, sweet rockin' harmonica sounds are coming to Record Bar tomorrow night, courtesy of this hombre.



Coming out of Nashville, Jason Ricci & New Blood will bring assorted improvisational tunes, funk and reggae covers, instrumental pieces and his own originals from this year's release, Done With the Devil. Expect a long set from Ricci. Opening up are locals Brody Buster and Billy Beale. The show begins at 9 p.m. and there will be a $7 cover. Local rag Camp interviewed Ricci in April.

Even more impressive is Ricci's series of YouTube videos about playing the harmonica fast...

Have you ever felt the spirit at Knuckleheads?

In the back of the biker-friendly blues venue in the East Bottoms, there is third stage, back  behind the bathroom. In this small, intimate, three-room area, Reverend Carl Butler hosts Gospel Lounge every Wednesday from 7:30 to about 8:45 p.m.

Carl Butler gets down with God.

"We play some Jesus music, we play some other stuff," says Butler while he's on stage speaking to the 12 people in the room. He calls it "a church geared toward service-industry people."

It's definitely free-form and definitely honkytonk, and when Butler and his crew played Merle Haggard's "I'm Always On A Mountain When I Fall," I felt the spirit. 

Butler is a pastor at New Song Christian Fellowship in Gladstone and was offered the Wednesday night spot in Knuckleheads' Retro Lounge by the club's owner -- a  churchgoer himself -- Frank Hicks.

The small room has a couple of couches, a hightop table and a few chairs, but Butler says it's best that way. "I kind of like that vibe. 50 people in here is a success. I like the crammed-in thing."