History
of the Illinois Central Blues Club
Vicki Biddle Chmura*, February 5, 2006
Part I - In the Beginning
The Illinois Central Blues Club (blues club) was conceived in the summer of
1985, appropriately, on a bar stool in the river town of Davenport, Iowa where I
grew up. My sister, Jan Eaton and I
were having a beer at a small bar on River Drive and started talking about the
Mississippi Valley Blues Society (MVBS) t-shirt that was hanging on the wall
above the bar. We speculated about what a blues society was, what they might
do. (I remember Jan and I also
talking about the term “society” and commenting that it seemed a little
uppity for blues music folks. Thus,
when the time came, we used the term “club” for the Springfield
organization.) I was able to get
contact information for the MVBS and the rest is, as they say, history.
After a preliminary
telephone conversation with Ross Haecker, president of the MVBS, I talked to Dan
Bringman, local blues aficionado, about what was going on in Davenport and the
idea of starting a blues club in Springfield.
I knew Dan by seeing him at blues concerts in Springfield, which at that
time were infrequent compared to Iowa City, Iowa, where I went to school at the
University of Iowa. He was
completely supportive and encouraged me to talk to two professors at Sangamon
State University, now the University of Illinois at Springfield, Bob Sipe and
Mike Townsend, who had organized blues music events in the past.
Both Bob and Mike encouraged our efforts and offered to help.
Both men served as excellent resources during the club’s first few
years.
On a subsequent visit to Davenport, Ross and his wife Doris invited me to their home for dinner to hash out the details of how to get a blues society started in Springfield. I learned from them the roles that the state arts council, community businesses, local media and membership played in Iowa. I left their home armed with sample newsletters, information about booking agents, by-laws, etc. and they continued to serve as a resource throughout the first few years. Ross was a somewhat controversial figure with the MVBS, forward-thinking, with lots and lots of creative energy and some might say a fiery disposition. (Ross made what I consider to be brilliant moves in the early days of the MVBS which set the stage for them to have one of the best ongoing annual blues festivals in the Midwest. Davenport was, and continues to be, establishing themselves as somewhat of an entertainment center. The MVBS received fine cooperation from the media, including radio and television, which furthered their cause enormously.)
Through Ross’ cooperation
and effort, the MVBS agreed to give us money, maybe as much as $2,000, though I
don’t recall the exact figure, to get started.
At that time, to be eligible for a full Illinois Arts Council grant, an
organization had to show they had been in operation for one year.
The money from MVBS enabled us to meet this requirement and was a key
element to the success of the blues club. We
probably also received start-up funds from the Illinois Arts Council ($1,000)
and from Springboard, the Springfield Area Arts Council ($750).
The next step was to gather
together all the local blues music fans that wanted to have more blues music in
Springfield. A copy of the first
organizational letter and meeting invitation list, dated January 26, 1986, is on
file with the current blues club secretary, Judy Burgess, who is thoughtfully
compiling the club’s history and arranging for the records to be archived with
the city or university library. We
met at Mike King’s home on Wednesday, February 5 and discussed the details of
forming a blues club. The
group was in total agreement that we should form a blues club and start the
wheels in motion to get more blues music into town.
I think we did pretty well
setting up the organization that first year.
It is probably safe to say that most of early organizers of the club were
not accustomed to business meetings or being on a board of directors and some
adjustments were needed and did take place over time as we learned how to work
together as a group. Officers were
appointed, a board of directors formed, and committee chairs named.
These facts were accounted in the minutes of the first February 5
meeting: Officers:
President, Vicki Biddle Chmura; Vice President, Dan Bringman; Secretary,
vacant; Treasurer, Fred Johnson. At
the February 26 meeting, Dave Balmer was appointed secretary.
Eventually I was appointed Executive Director.
The first board members were: Dave
Benner, John Corbett, Vic DeLong, Pat Hickey, Dick Hofman, Mike King, Curt Nave,
Bob Sipe, Bob Sloan, Mike Townsend, Scott Waggoner. Bill Evans made the first
motion that the club organize and hold three concerts the first year.
Other documentation indicated that the first three paid blues club
members were Fred Johnson, Mike Beatty and Vicki Biddle Chmura.
Planning for our first
concert began at the first meeting with the result being securing James Cotton
for a spring concert at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
This arrangement worked out particularly well. I liked that it tied the local community together with the
university and with the students. It
demonstrated continuity and cooperation between the university, whose professors
spearheaded previous organizing efforts on behalf of blues music, and the newly
formed blues club. This was a
united effort.
Subsequent meetings were
held February 12, February 26 and March 5 as we worked hard to get the club
established and to prepare for our first concert.
By February 26 we had our first business member ($50), Recycled Records
(Mark and Kathy Kessler), and the bank account was up to a whopping $320.00. No grass grew under the feet of the blues club!
Dan Bringman would not allow it! While
I do not have the exact date that Blue Mondays started, I do know it was very,
very early. Dan was ready.
Articles of
Incorporation under the General Not For Profit Act
Bob Sipe, Mike Townsend and I were
the signatures on the original incorporation papers filed February 18, 1986.
The name of the blues club was originally the Central Illinois Blues Club
and was later changed to the Illinois Central Blues Club, in keeping with the
name of the railroad line. On July
20, 1987 we received tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service per a
report from treasurer Fred Johnson in the August, 1997 newsletter.
First Concert
I will never forget that first
concert at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
It was very exciting. The
famous harmonica bluesman, James Cotton, was in town on Friday, May 9, 1986 and
the blues club had brought him here. The
local group, The Shoal Creek Blues Band with club member Scott Waggoner, was
opening the show. It was rumored
that one of the key Chicago musicians was newly into drug rehab I was a bit nervous that the band would not show up.
Presuming they did show up, I only hoped that they would all be in good
shape to play the gig. And, we didn’t really know what would happen, if the
concert would be a success or if we would fall flat on our face, with only the
planners and a few students in attendance.
Students were admitted free with their student I.D. and blues club
members were charged only $3.00, the public $5.00. My mother, Jean Sanders, even came down from Iowa for this
event, as I was hopeful that we would need help to take tickets and direct
people to the right location. I can
always count on her to help out and she is a true music fan.
As it turned out, the
concert was an amazing success with both Shoal Creek and James Cotton and his
band in top form! It was stunning
to hear the harmonica riffs, live, that we blues buffs had heard on James
Cotton’s records for so long, and to meet the legendary bluesman and introduce
him to a new audience. The concert
was attended by 550 people, who danced and even sat on the floor in front of the
stage to get a better look at James Cotton.
We were able to pay the band with the MVBS money and keep the money from
ticket sales for the operation of the club until we were eligible to apply for
and hopefully receive a full Illinois Arts Council grant the following year. This successful concert put us in a good position.
Other Concerts
Between concerts and Blue Mondays, the blues club far exceeded the goal of
hosting three concerts during the first year of operation.
Concerts were given by Fenton Robinson, Big Time Sarah with the Glen
Davis Band (June 13 and 14, Blue Monday II in Union Station), Big Daddy Kinsey
and the Kinsey Report with Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials (November 22 at the
VFW Hall, 350 in attendance), and Patrick Hazel (November 7, Bruce‘s Tavern)
At one point we worked in
cooperation with the MVBS in Davenport and blues fans in Champaign and booked a
blues artist for a mini-Iowa/Illinois tour.
While strong in concept (keep blues artists working and perhaps get a
more affordable rate because of three guaranteed bookings), the plan was not
feasible as scheduling was too complex and time consuming for a volunteer
organization to do on a regular basis.
I have less information
regarding concerts in 1987, but performers included Magic Slim and the Teardrops
(Magic Slim aka Morris Holt on Jan 30 at Union Station); Rondo and the Blues
Deluxe (August 16, 1987 at the ‘87 state fair, in cooperation with Budweiser);
and Jimmy Johnson (Saturday, Nov 14 at University of Illinois at Springfield
with opener Springfield Shaky/Doc Hughes with the King Wolf Cookie Hour).
Other Blues Club
Activities
|I recall an article in the local
newspaper that described how the blues club folks were ‘fanatics’ or some
other similar descriptor, regarding their level of activity.
I hope the article is still in the files.
I think the author’s intent was to get the idea across to the readers
that the blues club was doing an enormous number of things to “keep the blues
alive,” which became our slogan, if we had one! The intention at the time was to take the broadest approach
possible in order to be in the best possible position to be awarded an Illinois
Arts Council grant, on which our very survival depended.
If we failed in securing that grant money, it was not going to be because
we didn’t try.
Blue Monday
The very first thing to happen, thanks to Dan Bringman, was what is
traditionally known as Blue Monday, community jam sessions every Monday night at
Bruce’s Tavern, located on the corner of South Grand and 11th
street. Following the format that
Dan saw in Chicago clubs, a host band played the first set of music.
During the second and third sets local musicians were able to sit in with
the band and play or sing. Springfield
Shaky (Dennis Locke) was the first host band for Blue Mondays.
It was a beautiful arrangement in that musicians of all levels could get
the experience of being a part of a real blues band!
The musicians came in all shapes and sizes, that is, some never played
with a band before and the experiences at Blue Monday were encouraging and truly
furthered their music education. Other
musicians were very seasoned and joined the jam to play with musicians they
would not otherwise have had the opportunity to play with - the result often
being musically stunning. You never
knew who would come to Blue Monday and what would result - anything from blues
music 101 to musical nirvana!
Other bands that hosted Blue
Monday, in no particular order, included Springfield Shaky, Shoal Creek Blues
Band featuring Fenton Robinson and Johnny Ownes, Santiago and Friends, Bill
Evans and Friends, J.D. Blue, New Life Blues Band, South Grand Blues Band, 911,
Willie and the Hand Jive, Backbreakers Blues Band, Oysters Rockefeller, and
bands led by John “Catfish“ Evans, Greg Pasenko, Mike Taylor, Frank Mason,
and Eddie Snow. While incomplete, this list gives some idea of how many
musicians participated.
In November of 1986,
Springfield Shaky hosted a rare acoustic jam at Blue Monday.
For a period of time, Blue Mondays rotated between several Springfield
clubs.
As far as I know, admission
to Blue Monday at the Alamo is still only $1.00.
In the early days, if you didn’t have a buck, Will Sternitzke, the
soundman/ticket-taker might have let you in or someone might have fronted you
the money if they knew you were short. Income
is almost never a barrier to people who want to hear blues music through the
blues club.
Lastly, one gift that the
blues club brought to Springfield, that was obvious from the very beginning at
the first Blue Monday, was a natural communication and kinship between people.
I remember looking out at the crowd at Bruce’s Tavern, and later at the
Alamo when Blue Monday moved there, and seeing black and white faces, all
smiling, people in their 20’s and in their 70’s, people in wheel chairs and
with canes, and people in business suits, evening wear, overalls, jeans and
lacey mini-skirts. There is no end
to the diversity of people that blues music brings together and it is just one
of many wonderful spin-offs of the blues club.
Newsletter
Another very early activity was the compilation and snail mailing of a blues
club newsletter to the membership. Some newsletters were very comprehensive, with educational
articles about blues music and artists, reviews of old and new recordings, book
reviews, concert information for the blues club and local blues bands, concert
reviews, a list of music in the blues club’s lending library, and business ads
sold by blues club members. The
newsletter was done by volunteers and was a big undertaking.
Many of the board members helped. Unfortunately,
I have no records regarding newsletter editors who put so much time into this
valuable activity of the blues club in the early days.
Nancy Taylor and Dan Bringman were certainly two people who put a lot of
time into the newsletter, along with Greg MacDonald and Rick “the blues
doctor” Cowgill who contributed articles.
One of our earliest business supporters was Mark and Kathy Kessler at
Recycled Records, who faithfully supported the blues club by buying ad space in
every newsletter, hanging posters in their store, and bringing groups of their
friends to blues club concerts. Other
early advertisers, in no particular order, included Budweiser, Bruce’s Tavern,
Westring Sound and Lighting Productions, Walko Music, Apple Tree Records, State
House Inn, Rock Shop, Kwik Kopy, Masterpiece
Cards, Club On Broadway, WYMG, Arlin’s Café, Chantilly Lace, The King’s
Stereo, and University Records.
Lending
Library
Blues club member Steve Truesdale was the first librarian.
He started an extensive collection of tapes, many of them from members’
old blues records, and hauled them to Blue Monday for members to check out and
return. We had our own version of
the bookmobile! This effort was
very helpful for members who could not afford or even find some of the music
from early blues recording artists. Sorry
to say, some of this music was and still is simply not available commercially
any longer.
Note:
the lending library was conceived long before the days of the extreme
copyright abuses now being done via internet.
The original intent of the lending library was to eventually donate the
tapes to a local library to further share the music with the community
Blues in the Schools
The blues club continued, in a different form, the blues concerts in public and
parochial schools that were started by Mike Townsend, professor at University of
Illinois at Springfield. It is my understanding that the Blues in the Schools concerts
that Mike arranged often took the form of an artist-in-residence and were long
term, involving much more money and commitment than the blues club events.
The artist-in-residence programs were comprehensive projects, offering
rare, stable income for the artists and ongoing blues music for the
participating schools. The blues club Blues in the Schools concerts were most often
single concerts, and exposed black children as well as white children to music
they might not have heard before, music that was often a part of their heritage.
The blues club was able to do concerts in the schools by including a
school concert in the contract of the artists coming to Springfield for a club
concert. By offering the bands a little more money, they were happy to
get into town a few hours early to do something for children.
Actually, they all seemed to really like doing it and put a lot of effort
into their shows.
One of the earliest Blues in
the Schools concerts that stands out to me is the concert performed by Lil’ Ed
and the Blues Imperials. The
concert was held in the orchestra room at one of the public schools.
Ed was walking in between the rows of students, wailing on his guitar,
playing guitar while laying down on his back etc. The kids just loved it.
After the concert for the kids, Ed let me record a song with his band so
at least once in my lifetime, I could say that I sung with a Chicago blues band!
Lil’ Ed was and is still known as one of the nicest, most fun bluesmen
in the business.
Children’s
Art Fair
I have fond memories of the Children’s Art Fair organized by the Springfield
Area Arts Council. One year Walko
Music donated a couple dozen kazoos and we were set to go.
I sang Jimmy Reed tunes (one of a handful of blues artists with songs
suitable for young children!) to Mike Taylor’s guitar, and the kids played
kazoos, following me as we marched around in a big circle.
I really felt like the pied piper!
In 1987 and 1988, the blues club had a contest to
select local blues artists to be on a compilation tape that would be paid for
and sold by the blues club. Bruce Iglar of Alligator Records, the big blues label based
in Chicago, was one of the reviewers of the tape.
Of course, we were hoping that Bruce would “discover” one of our
local artists, but alas, that never happened.
In the July 14-20, 1988 issue of the Illinois Times, Rich Shereikis,
reviewed the tape we made, “Illinois Central Blues”, explaining that the
tape was a compilation of 13 original blues tunes by local artists, recorded at
Jaigh Records, owned by Jaigh Lowder.
He said, “ the
“Illinois Central Blues” (tape) is an impressive collection of varied styles
and approaches…and while it won’t threaten the giants of the industry, it is
an eloquent testimony to the talent and resourcefulness of local artists.”
I was lucky to have an original tune on the tape, “Mr. Alligator,”
where I imagined a woman with a crush on Bruce Iglar and what she might say to
him. While I never met Bruce until
years after the song was written, I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time
talking to him on the telephone, booking acts for Springfield.
In the early days, Bruce did the booking for his recording artists.
Special Blue Monday
Parties
On Monday, July 13, 1986 the blues club hosted a special party co-sponsored by
Budweiser, with the usual $1.00 admission featuring Bill Evans and Friends as
the host band. There were free BBQ
sandwiches, free Bud Light t-shirts to the first 30 people to join the blues
club (at the party), and many prizes provided by the blues club or Bud.
Also, draft Bud was provided for 50 cents.
Best of all, Fenton Robinson made a surprise guest appearance and jammed
with the band. Over 200
blues-lovers attended! A similar
party was held on October 24 at the Tradewinds, which I believe was the bar at
Knight’s Action Park.
LincolnFest
The blues club had a “blues booth” at LincolnFest.
We called it “Blues and Bagels” and hoped it would raise money for
the operation of the club, which it didn’t, unfortunately.
Supplies were generously provided at cost by Lox, Stock and Bagel and
blues club members grilled the bagels and sold them.
My mother came to Springfield to help with this event also.
Film by a University
Student
In the first or second year of the blues club, a student from the University of
Illinois at Springfield made a film about blues.
Several blues club members were interviewed, including me.
I understand that it aired on the university station, but I never got to
see it.
Promotional Items
Thanks to Springfield artist Bill Crook, who drew and donated the logo still
used by the blues club, we were able to produce t-shirts, sweatshirts, and
bumper stickers for sale as part of our fundraising and promotional efforts.
We also produced matchbooks and had tiny membership forms on the inside
cover - I wonder if any of those are still around.
Thanks to other artists, including Scott Waggoner and Bill Collins aka
Wms, our posters and calendars were unique, very artsy and appealing to the eye.
Wms did some wonderful work on blues club posters and a booklet for one
of the anniversary parties.
Financial Support
The earliest support for the blues club came from the membership dues, concerts,
including Blue Monday and two club benefit concerts at the Four Seasons, and
promotional items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, and bumper stickers.
We didn’t generate a lot
of revenue this way, but enough to make a dent in
our operational expenses. The
only reason we made anything at all from concerts and promotional materials was
because of all the donated services, including advertising.
If we had to pay for the
goods and services we needed we probably would not have survived.
See the section on community support.
The October, 1987 blues club
newsletter announced the club’s receipt of an Illinois Arts Council
grant for $6,400! We were
elated! Springfield Area Arts
Council grants were also awarded to the club and supported specific events,
which enabled the blues club to increase the number of concerts held each year.
Community Support
Many, many businesses supported the blues club in the early days.
The idea was to make the blues club’s relationship with the community
mutually beneficial. Mostly it
worked out that way, but not always. Clubs
such as Bruce’s Tavern, operated by Rich Bruce, certainly benefited by the
blues club involvement as they never drew the large number of patrons on a
Monday night that we attracted to the bar through Blue Mondays.
Other businesses may have benefited directly by helping the club and
having their business associated with the club and “advertised” on concert
promo materials, but it is something that can‘t be proven.
I think many of the businesses simply had a good community spirit,
understood that we were trying to do a good thing, and only hoped that they too
would benefit from the experience.
At
the risk of leaving key players out, I will list, in no particular order, the
businesses I remember that supported the blues in the early days:
Recycled Records (the Kesslers bought ad space, hung posters, brought
people to concerts, etc.); The Mansion, The State House Inn (Mr. Lothe), and The
Red Roof Inn (provided free and discounted rooms to performers from out of
town); Sir Speedy Printing (the Montgomerys provided free printing of the
newsletter) and Kwik Kopy; Walko Music (Ken provided musical supplies, sound
equipment at a discount, hung posters, bought ad space etc.);
Union Station (hosted concerts, paid the postage on the newsletter for
awhile); On Broadway (hosted concerts, provided food for the James Cotton
concert); Mary Bryant Home for the Blind (residents earned in-house store
credits from the home administrators by helping to assemble, fold and label the
newsletters. This was one example
of how the blues club tried to create a win-win situation and be a positive
force in the community); Westring Sound and Lighting Productions (Mary Ring
Westenberger and George Westenberger provided excellent sound and lighting
services at many blues club events through out the years and could always be
depended upon to do an exceptional job and solve any problem that might arise.);
Budweiser (co-sponsored many events); Prairie Grapevine (at one point the blues
club cooperated with the folk society to bring Roy Bookbinder to Springfield).
Key to the success of the blues club was having the cooperation of The
Illinois Times and the State-Journal Register.
Rich Shereikis, Gale (last name unknown), and Bill Fury at the Times and
Matt Dietrich at the Journal faithfully did articles on upcoming concerts and
concert reviews. Without their
support the blues club would have probably died as ad space was not affordable.
In
September of 1987 we received a congratulatory letter from State Representative
Michael Curran regarding receipt of the Illinois Arts Council grant and his
recognition of the broad range of artistic activities of the club. By October, 1987 the officers and board members
changed somewhat. As listed in that
month’s newsletter, the officers were: President,
Dan Bringman; Vice president, Nancy Taylor; Secretary, Cecelia Sanders;
Treasurer, Fred Johnson; Executive Director, Vicki Biddle Chmura.
Board of Directors: Bob
Sloan, Arlis Bates, Bill Evans, David Benner, Curt Nave, Mike Boos, Mike King,
Adele Shafer, Dennis Locke, Bob Sipe, Mike Townsend, John Montgomery.
At the end of 1987 I resigned from the blues club and Tom Teague
took the reigns as the next executive director.
On July 23, 1988 the blues club held its first
annual blues fest at Knight’s Action Park
In reading this account it may seem that the formation and development of the club was linear, but it was anything but that. However, things always fell into place in the nick of time and the blues club has enjoyed great success over the years. The success of the blues club is due to many factors, but perhaps mostly to the dedication of the many blues club members who volunteer their time. Very special thanks needs to be given to the following women who most often worked with me to hold things together: Arlis Bates, Nancy Bringman and Thea Chesley. Also, thanks to Will Sternitzke for his years of work for the club. Without local cooperation and support from the musicians, newspapers, businesses and the city and state arts councils, the blues club could not conduct their activities. My thanks goes out to all of these people.
* Disclaimer: Time and events surrounding the founding of the blues club are being recalled 20 years after conception, and though an attempt has been made to assure a degree of accuracy, alas, what emerges from the fog may unintentionally be a bit distorted in spots. My apologies, in advance, for any misrepresentations or for leaving out any person, place or thing that played a role in the formation and growth of the club. Questions and comments can be directed to me at (708) 309-1020 or 795-0695.