Month: October 2022

Hi South West Blues Club members,

We had another great jam day on the 16th October at The Parade Hotel. The first notes were played at 2.00pm and the music went through to 6.00pm. There are some great photos of the day on the club Facebook page. The jam day seems to have two aspects to me. The early part when a lot of people are keen to get on “the stage” and there is a lot of activity around the “board”, and then the second half when the vibe gets a bit more laid back with musicians being a bit “cooler”. As I said last time the jam is only possible because of the dedicated club members that arrive at The Parade early, between 11am and 11.30am and then get the gear out and set it up. Key people are Vice Chairman Gary Green and Treasurer Ron Kinson who have the technical know-how about setting up the P.A., and then there are the people like myself who provide the manual labour involved in carrying everything in. The big challenge will come from next month onwards when we play outside and get to set the pergola up, which is like trying to pass an initiative test to qualify as an officer in the armed forces.

We had a good response to the call for more hands to help in “setting up” and “putting away” and this made the whole task easier and more enjoyable. Thanks for that and keep it up. Helping in this way is a good way to ensure you get on the “board”.

November is a time of year to renew membership. To get on the board to play at jam sessions you need to be a member (unless it is your first time playing) so please ensure you have renewed your membership.

A number of club members are playing at The Bridgetown Blues Festival this year so if you get there please support them if you can. At this time I do not have details of where and when members are playing but Saturday seems to be the day when they are involved.

While we are on the topic of support please get along to the SWBC Blues Central at Froth Tavern held the second Sunday of the month and support South West Blues Club bands on stage. It is a great chance to hear an afternoon of blues in a wonderful new venue.

Where there’s smoke there’s fire. Join us for an afternoon of smokin’ hot blues with Bunbury’s own Smokin’ Joe. This five piece South West Blues Club band is running hot with a string of local gigs under their belt and now for the first time playing at Froth for November’s Blues Central. The sessions just get better. See you at Blues Central: Froth Tavern the second Sunday of the month.

What a great turnout for our September Jam. We have only just packed the gear away and we are already getting excited about our next jam. More new members, more new faces and more new talent to hear. What ever the weather we stay warm and dry in the Parade’s River Room. Put a ring around this date and we will see you there.

Our second Blues Central afternoon is Sunday the 9th of October at Froth Craft Brewery in the heart of Bunbury. This time it is an afternoon of Jump Blues with Stumptown. Get on down to Bunbury’s newest venue. Grab family and friends and make an afternoon of it. Keeping the blues alive.