The Business of the Blues With Bonnie Tallman of Billtown Blues Association - Chasing the Blues 2/Ep 18

On this episode of Chasing the Blues Podcast, Tom The Suit Forst catches up with Bonnie Tallman of the Billtown Blues Association (Billtown, PA) to talk about the business of the blues, including her views on how musicians must differentiate themselves, while investing into their own careers. Bonnie is a former microbiologist turned blues and roots music manager. Her career as a manager started with managing Greg Piccolo from Roomful of Blues, who she worked with for 25 years. Now retired as a manager, she works through the Billtown Blues Association to keep the blues alive in her local area, producing blues events including an annual festival. Folks like Bonnie Tallman are the heartbeat of the blues today, and we are happy to highlight her work on Chasing the Blues Podcast Season 2, Episode 18.
https://www.billtownblues.org/
Billtown Blues Association
PO Box 2
Hughesville, PA  17737
Phone:  570-584-4480

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Chasing the Blues Podcast is sponsored by Blues Festival Guide Magazine, which Bobby Rush calls his "roadmap to the blues."

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On this episode of Chasing the Blues Podcast (Season 2/Episode 17) The Suit catches up with "Los Angeles by way of Nashville" guitarist, singer-songwriter Bart Ryan, whose mix is contemporary take on old school blues. Bart discusses his new release "The Healer," coming this fall, as well as his work to raise awareness for ALS.

About Bart Ryan:

Bart Ryan is one of L.A.’s most gifted and powerful six string gunslingers. A native of Los Angeles, Bart has torn up nearly every stage in the city. His knack for Roots, Soul and Blues is uncanny. In 1994 he moved to Atlanta and owned the blues scene for 5 years there. Returning home to be closer with his family and make an album of personal yet stomping blues rock songs, Bart has also become one of L.A.’s most sought after side men.

His prowess on electric, acoustic and lap steel guitars is equaled only by his good nature and his musical intelligence and sensitivity. His recent projects focus more and more on the craft of songwriting to compliment his guitar and voice.

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Listen for Chasing the Blues Podcast on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and wherever podcasts are streamed around the world. Stay tuned for the new Chasing the Blues YouTube Television show starting in August. Chasing the Blues Podcast is produced by Factory Underground Studio, and Marketed by Factory Underground Media (Norwalk, CT). The season sponsor of the podcast is Blues Festival Guide Magazine, which Bobby Rush calls his "Roadmap to the Blues."

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Tom The Suit Forst catches up with the legendary Mark Farner, vocalist of Grand Funk, in Episode 16 of Chasing the Blues Podcast Season 2. Mark gives Tom some inside information about the recording of "I'm Your Captain," one of Tom's favorite blues-rock songs, which Grand Funk released in 1970. He fills Tom in about his work with Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp, and shares a personal message of unity, and the need for all Americans to come together as a nation.
"We are an American Family," he declares, with a nod to his classic rock song "We're an American Band."

Mark also tells Tom about his Go Fund Me, which he started with his wife, to help families across Michigan impacted by flooding over the past year.

Mark Farner's Mid-Michigan Flood Relief - Contribute Here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mark-farner039s-midmichigan-flood-relief

Chasing the Blues Podcast Website: http://www.ChasingtheBluesPodcast.com
Our host Tom The Suit Forst On the Web: http://www.TomTheSuitForst.com
Chasing the Blues Season 2 Sponsor: http://www.BluesFestivalGuide.comMark Farner's American Band: https://markfarner.com/

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On Episode 15 of Chasing the Blues Season 2, Tom chats with a veteran of the Chicago blues and jazz scene Larry Kimpel, who also performs under the artist name Bear Williams. Bear took on this name as part of a personal musical journey returning to his blues roots. He has performed throughout his career with a "Who's Who" list of musical artists from Steve Perry of Journey to George Duke, Jonathan Butler, Tom Scott, Boney James, Al Jarreau and many others. As Bear William, he stepped out front writing, singing, and recording his original music, after returning to his native Chicago from Los Angeles where he worked for many years. Bear talks about his days coming up in the Chicago scene, performing in the studios for Chess and Brunswick Records. He discusses his career as a touring bassist, and rediscovering his passion for the blues that lead him back to where it all began.

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http://www.BearWilliamsMusic.com
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-kimpel-mn0000129730/credits
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On Season 2, Episode 14 of Chasing the Blues Podcast, host Tom The Suit Forst shares a deeply personal and insightful fireside chat with powerhouse blues-revival vocalist Kat Riggins. Kat talks about her longing for social justice in America as a woman, an artist, and a person of color. She shares her struggling to overcome sadness in the wake of the George Floyd tragedy, as well as the struggle to remain hopeful in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Together, they also talk about the state of the music industry, hope for the future of live music, and overcoming the challenges with creativity, prayer and positive thinking. Kat also discusses her upcoming album release on Mike Zito's Gulf Coast Records, home of many of today's top blues artists.

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http://www.KatRiggins.com

On Episode 13 of Chasing the Blues Podcast Season 2, Tom The Suit Forst goes deep into the history of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which became one of the most historically significant festivals when it began in 1969. The historic festival, the first of its kind, put artists like BB King, Howlin' Wolf, Earl hooker, Albert King, Benny King, Son House and other legendary, original African-American blues artists on a major stage performing for a predominantly white, middle class audience exposed to such music for the first time. This festival not only set the stage for many blues festivals that followed throughout the country, and the world, but had a direct influence on notable attendees who would later become musical superstars in their own right - such as Bonnie Raitt, and producer Don Was, who was at the time a student at the University of Michigan.

On the podcast, Tom. speaks with James Partridge, who revived the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 2017. James shares not only the spectacular history and cultural significance of the festival, but also shares interesting insights into the challenges of running such a large scale music festival. He and Tom also discuss how Covid-19 impacted their plans to run the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 2020, and they look ahead to how the virus may affect music festivals in the future.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Arbor_Blues_and_Jazz_Festival

On Episode 12 of Chasing the Blues (Season 2), Tom The Suit Forst welcomes guitarist James Pace. James Pace Band is a guitar-driven rock n' roll act with shots of blues, funk, and soul, with a hint of Jimi Hendrix, that was born in the burgeoning Asbury Park music scene in the early 1990s. They were the Sunday-House-Band at the famed Stone Pony, having performed with blues legends such as Jeff Healey and many others on the circuit.

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On Season 2, Episode 11, Tom chats with Samantha Muffett of Can't Stop the Blues,"one of the largest virtual blues venues in the world. Broadcasting exclusive shows from multiple artists 5 nights/week...a great place to get together with friends and interact directly with the musicians." Look for them online at: http://www.CantStopTheblues.com and on social media @CantStoptheBlues

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In Chasing the Blues Podcast Season 2/Episode 10, Tom The Suit Forst catches up with guitar virtuoso and blues powerhouse Joe Louis Walker, who makes his second appearance on the podcast. Joe shares some interesting insight into how the blues has evolved over many decades into the music we know today.

About Joe Louis Walker: "Joe Louis Walker, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee and four-time Blues Music Award winner celebrates a career that exceeds a half a century. His new album Everybody Wants A Piece cements his legacy as a prolific torchbearer for the blues. Looking back on his rich history, Walker shares, “I’d like to be known for the credibility of a lifetime of being true to my music and the blues. Sometimes I feel I’ve learned more from my failures, than from my success . But that’s made me stronger and more adventurous. And helped me create my own style . I’d like to think that when someone puts on one of my records they would know from the first notes, ‘That’s Joe Louis Walker.'”

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In Chasing the Blues Podcast Season 2/Episode 9, The Suit has a great chat with 8-Ball Aitken, a bluesman originally from Australia, now in Nashville, TN. 8-Ball discusses his musical life during Covid-19, how he has kept in touch with his massive world wide fan base by live streaming on Facebook twice a week, while also writing a double-album's amount of material. Through it all, staying sane, while maintaining a sense of humor and a positive attitude - true lessons to be learned. 8-Ball also discusses his most recent album released in April 2020, Swamp Blues 2.

To learn more about 8-Ball Aitken look and listen for him on http://www.8BallAitken.com
To learn more about the host of Chasing the Bues have a look and listen at http://www.TomTheSuitForst.com