Sat., March 12, 2005,
Wild Buffalo, 208 W.Holly, Bellingham, 360-752-0848
To read a review of this show click here
CD Release Party, March 12
The excitement of a CD release party has in many ways been diminished over the years by the repetitive use of the phrase from bands who schedule half a dozen such shows in a forty mile radius. This is not the case with the upcoming Cathouse Blues Band CD release party being held at Bellingham's Wild Buffalo on Saturday, March 12th, 2005. There is one show and celebration for their latest release Take It Downtown, and folks, this is it!
The Wild Buffalo has played the Take It Downtown CD before and during breaks of live music nights since the project was completed. As supportive as that is, the choice of the Wild Buffalo for this performance has deeper meaning for Cathouse Blues songwriter Kurt Aemmer. "I wanted to do it on the same stage Kevin Short (late lead guitarist of the Cathouse Blues Band) and I last performed together. The stage at the Buffalo is the last place I ever saw Kevin...To me it's a sacred place."
The Cathouse Blues Band (Kurt Aemmer, George Clark, Heather Christian Meagher and Ibidunni Ojikutu) will be joined by Adrian Clark of sevenAM on guitar, Rob Moitoza of Meantown Blues on bass, Dave Cashin of the Fat James Band on keyboards, Scotty Harris on sax and John Fricke on trumpet. It's a great lineup of musicians straight across the stage.
Formed in 2001 (with Aemmer, George Clark, Gypsy Lou Szepvolgyi and Jim Lowry) the Cathouse Blues Band has had a dreamlike and rapid climb to sucess rate. Player changes (both smooth and heart wrenching) haven't thrown the blues band from it's path. Opening for Curtis Salgado and Dr. Hook (at the old Two Louie's in Blaine, WA), the 2002 Mount Baker Blues Festival, WBS nominations in both 2004 and 2005 for Best Blues awards, two CD's and their infrequent but memorable gigs between Whatcom and Pierce counties have given this band a greater degree of recognition in a few years than most local blues bands ever hope to realistically achieve.
There has also been sucess in radio airplay for the new Cathouse release. Leslie Fleury, Blues Odyssey, KSER in Everett has been playing cuts off Take It Downtown on her show just about every week since it became available. Pooner Clark, of KISM's Locals Only, has also been playing cuts, even when the Cathouse Blues Band is not the featured band. Dwain 'The Blues Doctor' Anderson, CJSF in Vancouver has been playing Spanky's Blues on air quite a bit.
For a very complete article on Take It Downtown, read this article by Kurt Aemmer published here at the Blues Lamp in early December, 2004 when the recording project was finished and became available.
You won't want to arrive late for the March 12th release event at The Wild Buffalo, 208 W. Holly in downtown Bellingham. The Cathouse Blues Band plays only two sets beginning at 9pm. At 11:30pm Adrian Clarke and sevenAM will take the stage and finish the show. The new Cathouse CD, Take It Downtown, will be on sale for $10 at the release party. Their 1st CD, It seemed like a good idea at the time...will be sold for $15 at the event and only a limited quanity remains of that debut CD.
2005 WBS Award Nominations:
Best WA Blues Recording:
Take It Downtown:
Cathouse Blues Band
Best Blues Songwriter:
Kurt Aemmer
Best Male Blues Vocalist:
Kurt Aemmer
Best Blues Image:
CD Cover Art for Cathouse Blues Band:Take It Downtown by Rebecca Schlotterback
