Debbie Davies - Freedom Blues Fest 2002Over at the Darwinfish 2 blog, our buddy, Bluzdude, has been posting a series of very interesting (to me anyway) stories regarding his chance meetings with the famous and almost famous. Please take a moment to check them out. We also link to him over on the right.
In his latest chapter he tells about meeting the late great Albert Collins, "The Master of the Telecaster." He's posted some vintage photos of Albert's performance out there too. And in one of them he mentions that I would recognize Debbie Davies as Albert's 2nd guitarist. And I certainly did. Ironically, Debbie Davies, is a performer with whom I have had a chance meeting!
I posted a comment on his blog which outlines the basic facts of our encounter but I wanted to go into more depth with the story and didn't want him to feel like I was hi-jacking his story. So I'll go into more depth about both Debbie and Albert here.
The Freedom Blues Fest & Chili Cookoff was an event held outside of Cumberland, MD for only two years, far as I know. 2001 and 2002. It was sponsored by the Potomac Blues Society which I fear is also gone now. Mrs. Dog and I (well, she wasn't Mrs. Dog back then -just wished she was) used to love to go up there because it's out in the mountains, it combined the blues and chili -which are a couple of our favorite diversions- and even though none of my family lives there anymore, I have family roots in Cumberland... same as Still A Fan.
In 2002 there were lots of good blues acts over the course of the weekend. Dave Hole, the great slide guitarist from Australia, The Nighthawks, and Debbie Davies. We went up Friday night to hear the Nighthawks only to have their set cut short by a nasty thunderstorm.
On Saturday morning we had breakfast in the hotel. Afterward I was just wandering around the lake and golf course killing time until the festival resumed in the early afternoon. I saw a tour bus pull up and assumed one of the acts had just arrived. Turned out to be the Debbie Davies Band. Didn't really think much of it so I went back to the room to see how soon Mrs. Dog would be ready. She was just getting out of the shower and it was almost noon. So I decided to go to the bar to see if I could catch the Steelers preseason game vs. the Lions. I was hoping Tommy Maddox would win the QB position from Kordell Stewart so I wanted to see him do well.
As I was leaving my room I saw a diminutive lady looking all lost and checking each door number. Then I realized it was Debbie Davies herself. So I asked, "Are you Debbie?" She replied that she was. So I introduced myself and asked what she was looking for. She told me she couldn't find her room, #210. So I casually mentioned that a room number beginning with a 2 was probably located on the second floor and that we were on the first floor. I took her to the second floor and she found 210 from there.
Her set was easily the best that day from my perspective. I happened to have a couple of her CDs in my truck so after she finished I got her to sign them for me and we BS'd a little more. She told me how important it was for Albert Collins to have given her a break by hiring her to play in his band. She spoke very highly of Albert. I said that I had not had the good fortune to ever meet Albert Collins. Then she added that he was as good a person as he was a musician.
Now back in January you will recall a post of mine summarizing my trip on the 2010 Rhythm & Blues Cruise. And in there I mentioned a couple of the a sizzling sets turned in by Duke Robillard. Well in the second one, Duke played an Albert Collins tune, the Dying Flu Blues. And to introduce it he told of a conversation he had with Albert not long before he passed away. Albert said, "Take care of yourself, Duke. There's only a few of us left." Albert knew he was about to go. And he said that Albert "burned down the house" that night. So when Duke got into Dyin' Flu, it was like he channeled the spirit of Albert Collins right down to his fingertips. I can honestly say I have never seen a guitar played like that since Roy Buchanan. Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
And that's pretty much the story. Mrs. Dog was speechless. And I walked out of there in a daze.
5 comments:
Great story, Dog, and thanks for the link. Hey, you can tell your stories on my comments page any time!
Albert was a real gem. Not only did he take the time to talk to a fan while he was tuning up his own guitar, (what roadies?) he also drove the tour bus!
There's not many of these guys left. I'm glad I got to enjoy these guys while I could. (I also got to see Roy Buchanan at the same place I saw Albert... he was just amazing.)
I'll have to keep my eye out for when the Duke comes around...
Yes, Roy Buchanan was absolutely amazing. I saw him play 3 times. Twice at the Syria Mosque out in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh (front row both times). And once at an old movie theater in Uniontown, PA.
The thing I remember about Roy is that he was standing 4 feet in front of me and his fingers were moving so fast I couldn't see them. I was watching him play and my jaw must've dropped in amazement. He looked down at me and when we made eye-contact he just laughed at me and kept on playing.
Later when I read his biography, American Axe, it mentioned that he used to pull that shit on his fans all the time. Play some amazing stuff and then laugh at you when you had that stunned look on your face.
Hey Dog:
Great bit on Roy. The guy just turned me on my ear. I saw him in 1987, touring on High Wire. I got to the front of the stage late, but he was on the other side.
A guy that worked for me put me onto him... He heard I liked Stevie Ray, and said, if you like him, you gotta check out Johnny Winter. Once I did and told him I loved it, he said, "if you like Stevie and Johnny, then you HAVE to check out Roy Buchanan." Boy was I glad I did. "Short Fuse" was life changing. Like the Batman theme meets Jimi Hendrix. I'll have to check out American Axe.
BTW, I just put up a couple more Albert shots, from the 2nd time I saw him. They include a couple shots where you can actually see Debbie's face.
There's nothing like seeing these guys up close, is there?
i will be in the second row for buddy guy at the keswick theater in may. now if i could just meet him.
Never met Buddy Guy but I stood in the spotlight with him.
They had some kind of Blues Extravaganza at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD back in I'm going to guess it was 1993. Koko Taylor, Eric Johnson, Buddy Guy and B.B. King.
I had been drinking a shitload of beer and by the time Buddy's set was half way done, I was all the way full. So, much as I hated to do it, I headed off to the rest room in the middle of Buddy's set.
But as I returned to my seat, I was walking down the steps and Buddy was walking up!! Just jamming away. He was using one of the first wireless transmitters and was mingling among the audience. When we got to the same step, I just kept following him back up the stairs. Near the top I stood next to him in the spotlight. He picked a young lady out of the audience and asked for her hand. He took her hand and used her index fingernail as a pick and continued to play his solo!!! Then he kissed her hand. Thanked her and went back down the stairs to return to the stage.
You will find with Buddy Guy that when there is someone he wants to impress or show off for, you will get one hell of a show. That night Eric Johnson & B.B. King got him to going. But if it's just him, he will play his set and it'll be good but it's not the same. When he's motivated his show is unbelievable. When he's not you'll still get your money's worth. But there's no comparison.
I'm going to see Buddy a day or two after you, Fan. He's headlining at the Chesapeake Blues Festival this year.
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