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Stravinsky-style riot at Buddy Guy’s Legends!
Well, not quite, but The Claudettes did cause quite an uproar with their Legends debut.
The Claudettes eagerly awaited their first show at the famed Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago — which, as fate would have it, fell on Friday the 13th of September. Pianist Johnny Iguana had played Buddy’s dozens of times with other groups including the Junior Wells Band, while this was drummer Michael Caskey’s first time.
As she often does, the band’s boss Claudette sent her assistant Tatyana to sell beers from the stage; this was disallowed by the club. But Tatyana still had a strong effect at Legends, where her flower dress and tap shoes, thick Russian accent and the fact that she didn’t play an instrument caused consternation among the staff. The displeased club manager considered, aloud, throwing beer bottles at Johnny; clearly, some feathers at this Chicago-blues institution were ruffled by The Claudettes’ appearance.
The crowd, though, had a different reaction to the music. Even as Tatyana tried to sell neckties from the stage, chastised the musicians for not smiling and interrupted the band to take phone calls from a worried Claudette, smiles and cell-phone cameras flashed all around the room. Feet were tapping steadily to the amped-up, off-kilter blues attack of The Claudettes as they blasted through 13 songs in 45 minutes. Concerned that the band’s unorthodox sound and style weren’t right for the club and would send customers to the exits, the management cut their set at 45 minutes (it was to have been an hour). Many in the crowd used those 15 extra minutes to come talk to the band and buy Claudettes CDs.
The band rated the night a success. Claudette, like the club manager, was not pleased. Couldn’t Tatyana have sold beer out on the sidewalk where the manager couldn’t see?
Colin Linden Rocks with Bob Dylan
How does an esteemed, veteran musician top all of his TV work, studio projects and on-stage triumphs in one fell swoop? Easy: Just join Bob Dylan’s band! OK, nothing happens overnight, not even for a guitarist of Colin Linden‘s considerable caliber. But Colin’s years of accolades for his incomparable guitar skills finally earned him his dream job: a tour as Bob Dylan’s guitarist.
It all happened in July 2013. Colin, a native Canadian, was by then viewing the “Nashville skyline” daily, having moved to Music City in 2001. It was Colin’s work with the cast of the ABC TV series “Nashville” that landed him the spot in Dylan’s band. Check out this recent interview with Colin in which he reveals how the Dylan gig came about, what it’s like and what his guitar style brings to the table.
Introducing… The Claudettes!
The White Stripes and Black Keys rock the blues with a guitar attack. Like the Bad Plus, The Claudettes brandish a piano instead. But- The Claudettes have created their own fanatical fusion of blues and soul-jazz — like Ray Charles on a punk kick. Imagine an amped-up piano hybrid of Otis Spann, Ray Charles and Mose Allison, joined by a jolly madman drummer and conducted in gonzo fashion by Raymond Scott. File under: post-burlesque? Neo-vaudeville? Cosmic cartoon music? You’ve never seen a piano-drums duo like this.
And let’s not forget the strange but true story of how- The Claudettes came to be — starting with Claudette herself, an unhinged bar owner who hired the duo as her “house band” but works out deals to showcase them at other venues: traditional nightspots as well as unconventional locations including Blockbuster Video and Staples Center (literally; the center of a local Staples office store). To read more about the band’s bizarre history, see the detailed backgrounder: http://bit.ly/theclaudettesPR .
See The Claudettes, Live in the Studio:
- More details and streaming previews
- Official press release (PDF)
- CDs and downloads available for preorder now! Visit the Order page to get your copy.