The Godforsaken Blues

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The Godforsaken Blues:
Dateline Seattle: The Heat Death of the Blues Scene & Entropy in Pioneer Square

Sadly, it is fitting for me to tell this tale, on one hand myself as a blues muscian resents how the clubs in Seattle book less local Blues. Therefore, when I heard that Larry’s nightclub got their liquor license shut down do to the unfortunate events that unfolded a few months ago. I thought good! It serves them right for switching away from booking the blues to DJ, TRIP HOP, HIP HOP, hippity hop on down to the bank & the barbershop. Then, it dawned on me that Larry’s, other clubs, the New Orleans supported the blues for a few decades, and ironically it is a really sad event to see them fold up. The New Orleans Still supports Jazz & blues, Gaye Andersen the owner runs a real friendly, fun venue with good food with great Jazz & Blues Music. Never the less, I know that it is a struggle for her to stay in business.

Many Moons ago I played with Dave Conant & the D-rangers at Larry’s Greenfront Bar and Café, located in the historic Pioneer Square District in Seattle. It was back in mid 1990’s and they had blues music there 7 nights a week along with four or five other bars
doing the same thing. Most of the night clubs supported local blues bands with regular weekly gigs and sunday through Thursday with different band rotations from month to month.
Weekends and occasionally Thursday – Saturday, Larry’s would host the bigger name local, regional and national acts. The Charles White band was a mainstay at Larry’s with a regular Wednesday night for years. In addition, he hosted a Jam Session on those nights which attracted players of all abilities. Therefore, if you were a new player with chops from out of town or a new player in the music biz, it was a good place to be noticed and sought after for gigs. Most of the Pioneer Square clubs supported a lot local blues and R n’B bands 7 days a week all year long.
You could hear Isaac Scott, Dick Powell, Little Bill & the Blue notes, Seattle Women in Rhythm & Blues, Night Shift, Led Jaxon, Tom McFarland, Steve Bailey & the Blue Flames, B.I.G., Sweet Talkin’ Jones, Duffy Bishop, Paul Delay, Fat James, Guitar Slim, The King-a-Lings and the list goes on. If you were lucky, you often could see all of these bands in a night or two just walking around the Square. Most bands were paid very well and you could still almost make a living without leaving town. For the longest time even back to the 1970’s the Seattle Area was fat for good blues bands, there was a lot of work. However, as with anything the world changes, people and their habits change. New generations seek different types of music, the social climate changes, liquor laws change. Drinking goes down, then owners cost go up and the bands get less money for gigs. With the exception of the New Orleans, blues bands were replaced with "play for the door" College Frat Bands, DJ, Reggae, Ska, Hippy Groove Bands, and the blues has been slowly receding like a never-ending low tide. Also with tougher Liquor laws, the post W.T.O. disturbances, the whole business atmosphere has made club owners leery to promote anything they think will bring out the unruly mobs. In addition, the older crowds and the Politically Correct contingent with their stingy wallets and purse strings have really stifled a lot of business downtown. Typical Club owner response,"sorry but your crowd is uptight, cheap, high maintenance and we don’t make any money! So sorry folks ! we can’t afford your band.”
So in light of this, places like Larry’s , wanting to stay in business meant changing their demographic to young kids with credit cards, who liked to drink.. Sound familiar anyone? Well with all that, goes the territory of people classifying or stereo-typing the crowd, their music, Oh ! it is so violent that music of those people, those kids, that race ETC......
Like any one does't have a clue about how our culture shoves violence down our throats like chickens being force feed before the slaughter. Then turns around and says tisk tisk you cannot act that way. You kids cannot drink & smoke! so go do something constructive like go kill Muslims and die In Iraq . Then all the good folks can be safe in their little plastic bubble cars while the price of oil soars, then Dick Cheney and his gang can get fatter pockets. So folks rest assured that you are a little safer now because Larry & cha Charlie lost there liquor license and we will all have our sober kids killing our enemy’s, not our Sports Heroes. God bless America and Lets hear it for the Red White & BLUES or is it BOOZE. Are you a BOOZE BAND or a blues band?

The song Dave Conant & I wrote “Godforsaken Blues” was inspired by an event at Larry’s that took place while we were playing TO NO ONE ON CHRISTMAS EVE!

See Story Below:

Liquor license pulled at Larry's Nightclub
Full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002725915_larrys07m.html

By Jennifer Sullivan
Seattle Times staff reporter

Seattle police and state agents pulled the liquor license at Larry's Nightclub
in Seattle's Pioneer Square and removed all liquor Friday night, saying the
business was putting people's lives at risk.

Police and agents who arrived about 7:45 p.m. stopped people from entering the
club while confiscating the liquor, said bartender Jeff Stine. By 9:30 p.m., all
liquor and beer had been removed, Stine said.

Liquor-control agents served owner Larry Culp with an emergency-suspension
notice enacted "for the protection, welfare, health, peace, morals and safety of
the State of Washington," the notice says. Culp said he notified his lawyer and
plans to go before a judge next week.

The suspension comes nearly a week after a man told police he was stabbed on the
dance floor of the club. The man's head and face were "covered in blood" when he
left the club early Dec. 31, said police spokesman Rich Pruitt.

The man was stabbed in the chest about 1:25 a.m. during a fight and reported
what happened to police officers patrolling a block from the club, Pruitt said.

Assistant police Chief Nick Metz said the man's condition is unknown, but the
department's homicide unit is investigating.

Culp and Stine said they were a few feet away when the fight broke out toward
the back of the club.

They said the brawl was over in less than two minutes, and bouncers threw the
men out. About 20 minutes later, Culp and Stine heard from another club patron
that someone was stabbed during that fight, though Culp and Stine said they
didn't see a stabbing.

"I'm still not convinced it happened," Culp said Friday night from inside his
empty business. "I think we're being picked on and discriminated" against.

Culp said he believes police, Pioneer Square residents and business owners are
targeting him because of the media attention cast on the bar after an Oct. 17
fight involving Seattle Seahawks safety Ken Hamlin.

That night, someone apparently used a metal street sign to smash Hamlin in the
head during a fight outside the nightclub. Hamlin suffered a fractured skull, a
blood clot on the brain and a broken hand. Police still cannot say whether the
beating is linked to the slaying of a man who was at the club that night.

Culp, who said his family has owned the business for nearly 20 years, angrily
paced the dance floor Friday night, vowing to fight the closure. He said he
plans to keep the nightclub open this weekend but will not serve liquor in
compliance with the order.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com