If you ever get the chance to hang out with D.K. Harrell and his band, make sure it’s over the breakfast table. The conversation flows fast and thick like our biscuits and gravy and the subject matter ranges from everything family and friends, good times, hard times and all things music. The entire band is well-versed in the latter and all speak fluent blues, jazz, soul, R&B and roots dialects. Not only young and talented, they openly display a shared enthusiasm and serious commitment to the music they love. You see it clearly when they acknowledge influences or when praising those who paved the way, but it grabs you by the throat when they step on stage and you witness it up close and personal with every note they play.

D.K. let’s start with early life; you’re originally from the Peach Capital of Louisiana… “Ruston, Louisiana is my hometown, I was born there on April 24th, 1998. I was there because I marked it on the calendar.” He grins. “And it is the Peach Capital of Louisiana. I spent a lot of my childhood listening to blues music with my grandfather, C. H. Jackson from Spearsville, Louisiana which was 36 minutes North of Ruston, way up in the country. My mother, Christal Jackson was also my inspiration when it came to blues because my grandfather kept blues not only around me, but around the whole family. He was a blues fanatic and he loved old school R&B from the 50s and 60s because during that time in his life he was in his late teens and early 20s. A college kid at HBCU listening to Otis Redding, B.B. King and Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and it stayed with him throughout his life…and he hipped his grandson to it. His other grandchildren and my cousins were more into Hip-hop, that’s what they liked. But there was something about the blues and R&B music that just stuck with me and I loved being around my grandfather. We actually counted how many vinyl albums he had and it amounted to 322 vinyl records in his home. And it was a vast variety of music; blues, gospel, R&B, soul and he liked Elvis. Which kind of blew my mind…but he told me Elvis had come to the Monroe Civic Center which is just 30 minutes away from Ruston and B.B. King had played there, Albert King had played there, and Johnny Cash because back then it was considered the chitlin’ circuit. And my grandfather actually housed Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and his band at his home in 1977 when they were traveling from Jackson, Mississippi to Dallas and instead of staying in a hotel in Monroe they came across my grandfather, who was an educator and he said, ‘you know what, I’ll save you guys some money you can stay at my home.’ If you know about Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland at that time, there were about 8 or 10 people in the band. And we’re talking about a three bedroom, two bath room home; he said he had so many pallets lying out through his house…” (laughing)

Is it true some of your first words were singing along to B.B.’s ‘The Thrill is Gone?’ “I was about 18 months old and I didn’t make much noise as a baby. I rarely cried or didn’t babble or say momma or dada and it worried my family to the point they almost had me tested for vocal cord issues. My grandfather said, ‘Maybe he just doesn’t have anything to say, right now.'” (laughing) “One day my mother and I were going to Shreveport and my grandfather gave her a copy of B.B.’s ‘Deuces Wild’ to listen to and she heard a little voice in the background in a car seat singing ‘The Thrill is Gone.’ And that’s stamped as the day I started talking. But the way my mother puts it, ‘that’s how he started talking and since then I haven’t been able to get him to shut up.” (laughing)

“To play that guitar, I was done living right then, my life was done. Take me now, Lord!”
—D.K. Harrell on playing ‘Lucille’ B.B. King’s guitar.

You got to meet B.B. at a concert, didn’t you? “Russ Bryant, my musical director…” D.K. starts to shake his head. “…the way the universe works is strange. Russ runs PSS the Premier Production and Sound Services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana…Russ, you tell him.“

Russ Bryant: “My company PSS…we were doing all the sound production for B.B. King’s performance at the Baton Rouge River Center Theater and unbeknownst to me, I had never met D.K. but he was there, and Andrew Moss our bass player was there as well. We were all at this show before we met each other and eventually we all realized we had experienced B.B. King together and I still have the microphone that B.B. King sang on. And I think it was one of the last shows he did in Louisiana before he passed.”

DK: “It was January 19th 2013. It was a late Christmas present and my mother had a manila envelope and I opened it and it was two tickets to see B.B. King in the Orchestra section; it was beautiful. At the end of the show I kind of pushed my way through the audience to the front of the stage and everybody is yelling, ‘BB, sign my hat. Sign my shirt,’ and I’m like, Mr. King, Mr. King and he looked dead at me and I swear my legs turned to jelly and he goes, ‘Hey young man.’ And I said I want to be just like you, I got my haircut just like you from the 50s. And he goes ‘Yeah, I remember when I had hair like that, but I don’t have hair like that anymore.’ And he gave me one of his picks and he shook my hand and said, ‘Young man, you can be whatever you want to be, and if you want to be like this old man you gotta’ work hard.’ And as soon as I got out the door of the theater, I busted out in tears and haven’t been to another concert since. It was a very magic moment. My grandfather came to Baton Rouge with us and picked us up after the show and said, ‘Did you get a chance to shake his hand?’ I said, yes sir. He said, ‘Well, maybe B.B. put some good mojo on you.’ And look, ten years later, this is what you got.” (laughing)

I don’t think many people realize you didn’t start on guitar, but on the harp. “Yes. Not harp like classical music, but harp as in harmonica… the Louisiana saxophone. My cousin, Jamari Harris is older than me and around 2009 or 2010 said there’s a movie called ‘Cadillac Records’ and it’s got blues and stuff in it, so you’ll like it. I watched the film and it had music from Little Walter, who is actually from Marksville, Louisiana and I said man, I want a harmonica. I asked momma, can I please have some harmonicas and she said okay as long as you actually play them. She got me three in the key of A, C and D and I blew the reeds out of them in two days.” (laughing) “I shattered them all! I’m pretty sure over the course of two years I went through like fifty harmonicas.“

You’ve mentioned Guitar Slim as another influence for you. “He did a song called ‘Think it over one more time’ and I was like, I really like this song. I like the way this guy’s playing because what I like about the old cats is they just had an ear for music and then of course however they played was just how they played. It was so interesting because he just had a different playing style and it almost sounded sloppy to me. When you listened to the guitar solo in ‘Think it Over’ it’s a weird solo when he starts it but it folds out better as he goes on. My grandfather and I would stay up till like two in the morning watching different artists on his computer like Big Joe Williams, Big Joe Turner, Sarah Vaughan, Slim Gaylord…what I liked about Slim was his humor, but in my opinion his was one of the most underrated jazz guitarists, Slim Gaylord was a very talented musician from piano to guitar he could play anything. That’s one thing I’ve tried to bring to my show from Slim Gaylord…is the humor in the stage presence and lyric wise with the vocals.

Another big influence when I first started playing guitar was Elmore James and Muddy Waters, but I’ve got stupid fingers. I can’t play slide to save my life.” (laughing) “…very stupid fingers. I also listened to Chuck Berry, but the Stones got him down and the Animals and all these guitar players have his sound down so I thought to myself, this was like 2012, who’s an artist that people try to get tone-wise and style-wise and try to have that same approach but just can’t get it? And it’s B.B. because if you think about it B.B.’s playing to me as a guitar virtuoso, is very similar to the approach of Miles Davis an how he handled trumpet because Miles took advantage of space just like B.B. took advantage of space. And that goes hand-in-hand on what my grandfather used to tell me, time waits for no one, so do what you can now. In other words you have to take advantage of time and space because once it’s gone you can’t get it back.“

Russ: “It’s not about how many notes you play or how much you can shred as a guitar player, but rather can you play the right note, at the right time and the right place. And that was B.B.’s style.“

Let’s talk a little about your songwriting, do you write with your guitar, do you have a process? “My process is usually, I sit down, not with my guitar but by myself in a room and sometimes I watch movies or TV or talk to random people and sometimes they’ll say something that just clicks and I’ll go…Oh there’s a song in there somewhere and I’ll write it down on my phone but I still believe in a pen and paper, but the phone is right there and I’ll take it out and make notes. And I’ll come back to it and then I’ll sit there and really focus on the lyrics. A lot of people like music specifically for the music; you know the sound of the instruments but I feel like a real artist is concerned for what the audience listens to on a lyrical basis. Because the lyrics are really what makes the audience connect with you. If you think about it, every poet, every painter has details in their speech and in their art and if there is one little thing missing or one word is missing it wouldn’t make sense. It’s the little things that matter and that’s what changes you. When I write songs, I try to be as personal as possible. Even if you haven’t been through it, you can understand it because I’m trying to describe it in detail…and that’s the process I try to use.“

Blues has always been considered a form of communication; do you consider yourself a storyteller? “Oh yeah, watch this…Once upon a time.” (laughing) “I do consider myself a storyteller but the words I use really matter and you know that saying, ‘words hurt.’ What’s the actual saying…the pen is mightier than the sword. That saying is true. If you tell hurtful things to some people, they can hurt themselves or other people just because of what you said. So storytelling is important you try to make it positive and even if it’s a negative subject the idea should be that you overcame whatever it was that was hurting you and that you continue moving forward. Either way, life is short, take it with a grain of sand and keep moving.“

Tell me about your album ‘The Right Man.’ “Jim Pugh is the president of the Little Village Foundation recording label and I owe a great deal of gratitude to this man. About two years ago we met at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and I really owe my recording career to Jim Pugh and Michael Kinsman. ‘The Right Man’ was recorded in three days with Kid Andersen; we also had Tony Coleman who was B.B. King’s drummer for 35 years. We had Doc Kupka from Tower of Power do horns for us along with Neil Levonius, John Halbleib, Mike Rinta, Mike Peloquin and Aaron Lington. But a real highlight of the whole recording session is we had the original bass player on the recording of B.B.’s ‘The Thrill is Gone’ Mr. Jerry Jemmott.

Jerry is in his mid-70s now and we were recording ‘Leave it at the Door’ and I was sitting there playing my guitar part in the studio and Jerry was listening and said, ‘the red Gibson you’re playing’ it belonged to Kid Andersen and was like a ’66 or ’68, ‘it’s the very same style of guitar that B.B. had when he recorded ‘The Thrill is Gone.’ It wasn’t the exact one, not his, but it looks just like it. He told me recording on this session these past few days has brought back so many memories of recording with B.B. and it’s an honor to be on the record with you. And I wanted to cry; because I was thinking…I should be saying that to him.” (laughing) “But recording that session was like a match made in heaven and Jim Pugh…I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

You had the unique opportunity to play B.B.’s guitar ‘Lucille’ at one time, didn’t you? “Yes! September 9th, 2019. I was 21 years old and my very first gig, my first show, was the B.B. King Symposium in Indianola, Mississippi near Itta Bena, B.B.’s home town. Lil’ Ray Neal is usually the guy that plays B.B.’s guitar, he’s part of Kenny Neal’s band and I think he’s his little brother; and Lil’ Ray pulls out ‘Lucille.’ There were several of them but this was the ‘Lucille’ that Gibson made for B.B. when they opened the museum in 2005. At that time only three people had played it; B.B. himself, Keb Mo and Lil’ Ray Neal. I said to Ray, Oh, are you going to play it? And he said, ‘No, today is your day!’ And the first song I played on that guitar was ‘Sweet Little Sixteen.’ To play that guitar, I was done living right then, my life was done. Take me now, Lord!“

Introduce your touring band? “Russ Bryant is our production manager, musical director and saxophone player. Andrew ‘Fingers’ Moss on bass, Orlando Henry on keys, Dan Isbell on trumpet who now goes by Doctor because he’s a professor of music at Penn State University. And the youngest member of the group is Justin ‘the Giant’ Brown on drums from Vicksburg, Mississippi. This band is my dream band. We like hanging out together and I really like how close everyone is. Having a relationship on stage is great but having a relationship offstage makes the energy on stage ten times better.“

Your music draws from so many musical influences; the grittier hill country blues, the Chicago city sound to a soulful R&B feel. Do you consider yourself a student of the music you play? “You know I became a fan of hill country blues after I discovered a film called ‘Black Snake Moan’ and I really see that film paying homage to R.L. Burnside. And that’s when I first heard hill country style music and fell in love with it. The song ‘Alice May’ was one of my favorites, and ‘Stagolee’ which is very vulgar and raw and much grittier than the original…that’s R.L. Burnside. I also get a lot of influence when it comes to guitar from jazz players, Grant Green, Django Reinhardt and even horn players like we mentioned earlier, Miles Davis. I heard some of the licks he does and apply them to what I do on stage. I like to do a mixture of morphed jazz and blues…“

Russ adds, “We try to pull from every area and all the masters, it helps you develop your own sound and your own style. Drawing from everybody helps you create your own vocabulary and rearrange it to what fits your heart.“

DK: “If you listen to ‘The Right Man’ record, in my opinion, of course its blues but to categorize it into a certain genre, it would be difficult because the record contains so much blues, jazz, pop and R&B influence it becomes a mixture of everything. So, sound-wise the record is very unique.“

A number of musicians I’ve spoken with throughout the years have told me that a bands’ energy comes directly from their audiences, does the D.K. Harrell band every experience that? Russ says, “At a show in Lucerne, Switzerland last year we played a special dinner show and D.K. went into the crowd and everybody got up and surrounded him and he was just singing his heart out and they wanted to be in the moment. It was special because we not only want to play for them, but to actually connect with them while we do it. Because if we don’t have the people to connect with, what’s the point? We might as well play in a vacuum, music is meant to be shared and experienced.”

The post D.K. Harrell – Rhythm and Roots in the Key of Blues appeared first on Traveling Archive.

He has released five albums in the last decade under his blues pseudonym; Mr. Sipp. His latest, ‘the Soul Side of Sipp’ was recently honored with a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues album. And then there are the just announced Blues Music Award nominations where Coleman has been recognized in not one or two, but four different categories. Those include Album of the Year, Soul Blues Album, and the performance-based Contemporary Blues Male Artist and the highly-coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. It makes sense really considering his earliest blues influences are indeed legends, like the aforementioned B.B. King, John Lee Hooker as well as songwriters and showmen like Willie Dixon and Bobby Rush.

Never one to rest on his laurels, there’s Coleman’s burgeoning acting career. He appeared in the James Brown film, ‘Get on Up’ the television miniseries ‘Sun Records’ where he portrayed a young B.B. King and the feature film ‘Texas Red’ that also highlighted one of Castro’s original songs, ‘Dirty Mississippi Blues.’

The man is more productive than any three people I know and when we had the chance to sit and talk, we started with the music. After so much success and decades of playing gospel music how did Mr. Sipp come to be? “Mr. Sipp came to be after 26 years of playing gospel music, I took two years off in 2010. I came off the road as a gospel singer and stayed at home as a family man, just hanging out with my four girls, my son, my wife and the dog and I eventually realized I was a road rat. And I also became aware that the family missed me more or were happier to see me after I was gone and then came back.” (laughing) “So I decided to go back on the road but wondered what should I do? Should I do R&B, should I do hip-hop, soul…neo-soul? But I decided I’m going to do the blues, I’m from Mississippi and some of the greatest blues artists came from Mississippi. And I also realized once I got to the blues that I had been playing the blues for 26 years before I became a blues guy…because church music and blues music are first cousins.”

And you still live in McComb, Mississippi. “Yeah, I still live in McComb, I’m not looking forward to dying anytime soon, but I want to die in McComb.”

You spoke of great artists from Mississippi, a number of them came from right there in McComb; Bo Diddley, Vasti Jackson, King Solomon Hill…what’s in the water down there? “It’s a little fish grease!” (laughing) “Nah, the soil in McComb is rich for music and I’m grateful to be from McComb, Mississippi and following some of those greats you just named, and continuing to carry the legacy of music out of McComb. I’m very proud to do that.”

You and your band don’t seem to have any limitations in the music you play…you still incorporate gospel, soul, rock and blues in your sets and that’s definitely reflected in your productivity with Grammy and BMA nominations for vocalist, songwriting, guitarist, producer…are there any limitations in what you do? “No there are no limitations when it comes to music for me. To be a carrier of the gift of music first of all is just a major blessing. Music reaches all people, all kinds, any time, all the time and to be a carrier of that gift is just…it’s freedom. Its freedom and when I think about music and think about the notes and think about lyrics or the melodies I think about the freedom of it. So no, no limitations. After whatever, Grammy’s, BMA’s we’re reaching forward, if nothing else we want to just keep spreading the joy and love.”

You picked up the guitar early. “At the age of six was my first chance at showing my parents that I could play. I knew I could play before six; I got the chance to spend time with my Aunt Grace in McComb. Her husband was a guitar player and one day he gave me the guitar and I started playing some familiar tunes and my Auntie said, ‘Stop! Do your mom and dad know you can play?’ I said no ma’am. She said, ‘Let’s go!'” (laughing) “She packed me in the car and took me back to my parent’s house and she told my dad and mom to ‘sit down, shut up and listen!'” (laughing) “And I just began to play and my mom and my dad’s mouths just dropped and the rest is just…history.”

You release your first Mr. Sipp album ‘It’s My Guitar’ and you played all the instruments on it? “I played every instrument, sang every vocal part, did the mixing, production…everything. At that time I didn’t really know any true blues players. I knew what I heard and knew what I wanted to hear, so I went in the studio and just hashed it all out.”

When you create music, create a song; do you have a process or a plan, how do you approach it? “It kind of starts a little something like this.” (Castro breaks into song) “Nah, nah nah Naah! I really don’t have any lyrics, but I have a melody and most of the time now, with the new technology I turn on the recorder on my phone and record what I just did. When I come back to it, I put it together like a puzzle. For me every sound is a melody and every conversation is a song, so it comes almost second nature for me.”

Your music has now become a global experience, from Europe, the Middle East and South America. Do you see any differences in the audiences or has the music become the universal language? “I really don’t see a big difference because once the music starts then the movement starts. And once the movement starts, the smiles start and when the smiles start the love and the joy starts and it’s passed back and forth from the audience to the stage and the stage to the audience. And it becomes a great and wonderful experience.”

It’s not like you don’t have enough on your plate with the music, but now you’ve become an actor. You were in the James Brown film, ‘Get on Up.’ You played the role of a young, B.B. King in the series, ‘Sun Records.’ And you were in the feature film, ‘Texas Red.’ How did the acting come about? “It kind of fell into my lap. The James Brown movie was filming in Mississippi and I heard about the auditions and nobody really thought it was real but I was going to check it out. Turns out it was really real.” (laughing) “So they actually got me to recruit some Mississippi musicians and the hardest thing was to convince them they were shooting a real movie in Mississippi.” (laughing) “Our bass player, Jeffrey Flanagan was in that movie as well. The Sun Record thing kind of piggy-backed off the James Brown movie and Texas Red, my great friend, Cedric Burnside starred in that and I got to be in that with him and was able to do one of my original songs, ‘Dirty Mississippi Blues.’

Mr. Sipp – ‘Dirty Mississippi Blues’

What inspires you as an artist? “What inspires Castro Coleman? I don’t know…I’m a sucker for Peace, Love and Happiness!”

If and when you have downtime, how does Castro Coleman kick back? “If you ever come down to McComb, Mississippi find a guy with the overalls on, driving a 1992 Chevy pickup truck. I’m just a country guy and I love working in my yard. I’ve have 23 acres but I do have a serious problem, I love cars and guitars and I’ve got a bunch of them. I spend most of my off time in my yard working on my tractor, or working on my old cars, and I have some beautiful old cars.”

The post Mr Sipp – The Mississippi Blues Child appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The American Symphony stateroom – a ship’s term – doesn’t accurately describe accommodations more befitting a mid-sized hotel room with more closet and dresser space than in my apartment. Flat-screen TV. Check. Vases of fresh flowers. Check. Private balcony. Check. Sumptuous robe. Check. It was so comfortable we almost hated leaving it. But ah, both food and excursions beckoned.

The gourmet meals were fortunately accessible by the half-portion, because some form of edibles is available round-the-clock. There are more snacks accessible in multiple lounges than in your neighborhood 7-11. Return from an excursion – big basket of candy welcomes you back. Enter your room only to find a delicious pastry on your dresser. Warm cookies show up every day at 10 and 3. And a menu separate from the dining room is available from 6:30 a.m. to 5 in the Sky Lounge. Of course, there is a daily cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres preceding dinner. Heaven forbid you should go to dinner actually hungry, not that that seemed to hinder anyone… Not exactly a spa vacation. Yes, there is a fitness room but as one crew member said, “It’s the cleanest room on board!”

I’m accustomed to complimentary wine and beer available at meals but here all manner of alcohol is available all day. Being a Fireball drinker, that’s a real boon. And Madison guarded my bottle with loving care, transporting it from lounge to lounge as necessary. And you gotta love a cruise that offers Baileys with your morning coffee! If you’re a teetotaler, this may not be the cruise for you. The “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere rule” does not even begin to apply. Bloody Mary’s abound in the morning and the 3 o’clock lecture features a rum punch.

And with all of this, tipping is discouraged. Several times my husband and I said to each other: “Why in the world would every crew member be so accommodating and gracious when they’re not even getting tipped?” A very unexpected cruise benefit. Plus there’s free laundry…. Oh, and did I mention, airfare is included?

At the introductory meeting, cruise director Christian, describing all the on-board activities and shore excursions available, used the word “enrichment” about five times during the half-hour presentation.

Multiple excursions are offered daily from walking tours of the different cities to visits to a myriad of museums, historic homes, national parks, gardens, multiple plantations, cultural outings, brew and view tours, local river explorations and outdoor adventures. Onboard there are daily lectures, interactive games galore, guest speakers, music and multiple places to just get away from it all in which to drink, read, isolate, socialize or just ponder life.

Every night there is entertainment from ’50s and ’60s sing-alongs (alas, that may indicate the age of the majority of clientele…), blues band, C&W combos, comedians, and more.

Sample game? Two Truths and a Lie. Guests fill out a form listing two truths about themselves and a falsehood. The rest of the guests vote on which is the lie. Some of the interesting offerings: Former Rose Bowl Queen; Exotic Dancer in College; Met Buzz Aldrin and Alan Shepherd; Married 2 ½ times; Had a starring role in 16 adult films; Lives in Brooklyn (okay, not ALL the answers evoked interest….). And of course, much of the fun lay in discovering just what was true and what was not. Not always predicable!

You can be as social or anti- as you like. There’s the option at every meal to dine alone or with others but everyone was friendly and welcoming, interesting and well-traveled. And, of course, you can do as much or as little as you like. The al fresco upper deck is a delightful place to read or just watch the river world pass by. And if you’re anything of a Civil War buff, this trip resembles heaven – every town involves a Civil War Museum of some type, Civil War history, military encampments, Civil War forts – and once back on the boat? An assortment of lectures on Civil War history. But other options prevail with more wide appeal.

For me, this was the most appealing: The Great River Outdoor Adventure. Driving the ATV around the Double C Ranch seemed innocuous enough at first (a far cry from the Antebellum homes and Civil War museums in which I’d spent most of my time). We initially saw a herd of cows and calves cavorting the countryside, forming a very close welcoming committee – literally as we were able pet them from the vehicle. I tried to imagine what kind of treat you’d give to a 1000-pound bull to get him to French Kiss an ATV driver.

Next stop: an archery range. After a quick lesson, we got to test our skill. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment as I killed that bear – three hits out of three. We also stopped to pet Fred, a very imposing 1700-pound Brahma bull. He’s friendly, we were told, although the woman who got a tad more than nudged in the crotch was none too happy. Then onto fly fishing and tomahawk throwing. Not my forte. I wanted to go back to the archery range.

Initial summary of the ATV adventure: I couldn’t read the notes I took. Then I couldn’t even take any. Then Mackenzie instructed us all to put the ATV into 4WD – and we started flying over treacherous terrain, through deep mud puddles, up and down steep ravines. At this point just surviving the ride was the goal – but what an exhilarating experience! Now maybe tomahawks, bows and arrows and ATVs were products of the Civil War, but I doubt it!

Another non-Civil War getaway? The Cajun Swamp Pride Tour. Instructions ahead of time? If your hat or phone falls into water, don’t retrieve it. No one needed to be reminded twice as the waters were strewn with alligators. And why not? The captain feeds them marshmallows from the boat. Why marshmallows? Don’t ask.

We also stopped to view a herd of wild pigs on the shore – as well as an array of adorable raccoons, rewarded for showing up when called with some corn meal. Alligators obligingly ate their marshmallows alongside. It was almost more zoo-like than wild life encounters until the captain opened a gate leading to a perch attached to the boat – and from there fed the alligators chicken for which he encouraged them to jump up out of the water to retrieve, which they willingly did…. Also menacingly. I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else on board knew how to steer the boat….

For more information, visit Lower Mississippi Cruise.

The post Mississippi River Cruise: Where the Ship Experience Rivals the Itinerary appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The Gateway Arch towers over the mighty Mississippi. Built in 1963, it is today the symbol of St. Louis. Blues music fills the night, and St. Louisans sit at sidewalk cafes in the historic Soulard neighborhood in front of tables of toasted ravioli, paper-thin square-cut pizza, and frosted mugs of Bud, the beer here that is still king.

Four hours west down the road, a fountain glistens in the Kansas City twilight. The city has 200 of them, more than any city outside of Rome. From the Blue Room, a club in the iconic 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, a jazz quartet is warming up for their evening set, while the fragrance of hickory smoked barbecue is still in the air.

Greetings from the heart of the Heartland. Throw a dart at the dead center of a map of the Continental US and you will hit a highway in Missouri called I-70. This highway links two world-class cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, each situated on opposite ends of Missouri.

I am happy to report that many of the stereotypes that I had of the Midwest are true: the people are warm and hospitably; fiercely proud about their cities, but not pretentious about it. The food is good and the portions are huge. But this is only where the accolades begin. Linked by the 250-miles of pavement, the cities have much in common, but still are very different from one another, each offering their own unique charms.

• ST. LOUIS: THE MOST WESTERN CITY OF THE EAST
• POPULATION: 293,310
• MONIKERS: “Gateway to the West” | “Mound City”
• ICONIC SYMBOL: At 630 ft., The Gateway Arch is the nation’s tallest man-made monument, twice the size of the Statue of Liberty. Take the tram ride to the top for stunning views of downtown St. Louis and the muddy Mississippi.
• FAMOUS ST. LOUISANS: Chuck Berry, T. S. Eliot, William Burroughs, Miles Davis, Tennessee Williams, Yogi Berra.

BACK STORY: Located on the western banks of the Mississippi River, St. Louis’ first inhabitants were the Mississippians, Indian mound builders. As many as 40,000 people lived in what was then the largest city north of Mexico. By 1300 AD, the civilization mysteriously disappeared, and the French arrived in 1698, establishing a mission and a thriving trading port. The US flag was raised in 1803 when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon I, making it part of his plan for a Continental United States. The 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair gave the city international recognition. It is known today for manufacturing, medicine, biotechnology, and other sciences.

THE VIBE: St. Louis is renowned for its historic neighborhoods of red brick and expansive parks. Like most eastern cities, it is a pedestrian town with a great transit system. Soulard is a former French neighborhood, lined with bars and pubs, while the chic Central West End offers sidewalk cafes, boutiques and antique stores. Forest Park, home of the World’s Fair, features 1,300 acres of lakes, walking paths and an array of free cultural institutions. The Hill is the Italian neighborhood, while the The Loop is the hot spot for concerts. For the adventurous, swing over to East Louis, and you’ll seed why its moniker is East Boogie.

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS: Experience the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Saint Louis Zoological Park. See a stage show at the famous Fox Theater, tour the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and visit the Museum at the Gateways Arch for an indepth look at St. Louis’s role in United States history.

EATS: Thanks to the Hill, there’s toasted ravioli and St. Louis-style pizza, super-thin crusted, made with Provel process cheese often via Elmo’s Pizza. Other delights include Gooey Butter Cake and shoulder-cut St. Louis Pork Steak. With a large German population, beer has always been essential and Budweiser dominates the market, but micro-brews like Alpha Brewing Company and Side Project Brewing are gaining well-deserved attention.

BLUES: Due to its location the on banks of the Mississippi, St. Louis blues music is a tantalizing hybrid of Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues. The city boasts more working blues musicians than any other city in the world.

• KANSAS CITY: THE MOST EASTERN CITY OF THE WEST
• POPULATION: 508,394.
• MONIKERS: “The Fountain City” | “Paris on the Plains”
• ICONIC SYMBOL: With respect to the 200 fountains, the National World War I Museum gets my vote. It is the only national museum in the US dedicated to The Great War, and an experience that will touch your soul.
• NOTABLE KANSAS CITIANS: Charlie Parker, Robert Altman, Joan Crawford, Walter Cronkite, Wallace Beery, Walt Disney.

BACK STORY: Originally a homestead settlement, Kansas City is located at the confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers. It became an important site for America’s westward expansion, with the Santa Fe, California and Oregon Trails all originating in the area. The location of a number of Civil War battles, Kansas City was incorporated in its present form in 1850. It gained national attention when the stockyards were established in 1871, the second largest in the country. This is where Kansas Citian’s love affair with beef began, and it became acclaimed for its barbecue. Today Kansas City is headquarters to nine Fortune 500 companies and numerous agriculture companies.

THE VIBE: Kansas City is distinguished for its spacious boulevards, numerous parks and over 200 fountains. This is a western-style town and a car is required to get around. Designed in 1922, The Country Club Plaza is 14-square-block outdoor shopping and entertainment district with Spanish-Moorish architecture. The 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District is a swinging hot spot and the place to learn about Kansas City jazz. The Crossroads Arts District is a growing arts community, while the downtown River Market features the Midwest’s largest farmer’s market.

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS: Visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the architectural wonder, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. The American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum both share the same building, and the Arabia Steamboat Museum is located in the River Market.

EATS: Barbecue is synonymous with Kansas City and today over 100 establishments feature hickory or pecan smoked ribs, brisket and burnt-end ribs. Each restaurant seems to offer its own secret sauce. Other delicacies include Kansas City Strip Steak and Chicken Spiedini. For beer you can do little better than the micro-brews, Casual Animal Brewing Company and Torn Label Brewing.

JAZZ: Kansas City became celebrated for its jazz clubs when political boss Tom Pendergrast ignored prohibition and allowed alcohol to flow into the 12th District. Displaced musicians poured in just as fast, inventing swing jazz and new late-night sensation called the jam session.

For further information, visit Explore St. Louis and Visit KC.

The post A Tale of Two Cities: St. Louis & Kansas City appeared first on Traveling Archive.

It’s been almost 30 years now since I ran into Carey Bell. He was touring through Europe and was gracious enough to sit down and talk for awhile about his friends, his life in music and the road he travelled. Immediately after our conversation, in his typical workingman’s approach, he stepped on stage and proceeded to blow everyone in that Italian theater against the back wall. He was a remarkable talent and genuinely funny human being.

Born in the winter of 1936 and raised on a farm in Macon, Mississippi, Carey Bell Harrington grew up working hard. He laughs, “Damn sure did!” I heard you taught yourself harmonica? “Yeah! I got one for Christmas and started blowin’ on it.” Your mother sang in church, do you think that was your first musical influence? “Yeah, I guess so. That’s what they all say.” He laughs. “I haven’t the slightest idea, you know? 

What was life like for you in a small community like that? “There wasn’t too much to it, I just didn’t want to work on the farm, so I ran away. I learned how to play the harmonica and when I thought I was good enough, I went to Chicago.”

Talk a little about working in Bobby Shore’s Tavern in Meridian? “Oh yeah, that was great! It was a restaurant and a tavern and I was selling bootleg, moonshine whiskey.” (laughing) “But I drank too much! (laughing) Were you playing blues there? “No, Western and Country music and that was great, too! Yeah, that was the first thing I learned but after blues came along, I got into that.”

You grew up around Lovie Lee. “Yeah, he’s still hangin’. But working with him I felt it was too slow because I wanted to get up real fast, you know? Who were some of the people you listened to on the harmonica? “You mean the people I liked?” I nod. “Oh I listened to Sonny Boy, Big Walter, Little Walter, Sonny Terry, Jerry McCain, Junior Wells, James Cotton. They were playing way before I was…Cotton is old as Moses!” (laughing) “Junior, too!”

Like most bluesmen of the era, Bell would busk on street corners; sometimes alone, sometimes with others. “Yeah, I played with a band, Robert Nighthawk, Honeyboy Edwards… shoot, a lot of peoples.”

You played in a place once called the Cadillac Baby Bar with Little Walter, what was that like? “That was okay.” What did you do? “Nuthin’!” (laughing) C’mon, running with Little Walter had to be a high point in your career? “No, it wasn’t.” (laughing) “You see when I went to Chicago I was too young to get into the clubs, I had to go in the back door. I had to sneak around and people would sneak me in.”

I had always heard that Little Walter Jacobs was a scrappy little guy and would fight anyone at the drop of a hat, but Carey set me straight. “Naw, everybody tells that same lie.” Then he says. “Well, I guess he would if somebody would jump on him, but everybody have to defend themselves, you know? There was no doubt that he was an unbelievable harp player. “Yeah he was, he’s gone but he’s still has stuff out, it’s still great stuff.”

I was looking at some of the people you’ve played with and it’s unreal. You’ve played with Big Walter, Earl Hooker, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters… and the list of venues, what was the rowdiest club or bar you’ve ever played? “The only place I remember was a house party in Mississippi. They got to fightin’ and I went up under the house.” (laughing) “Yeah, under the house, the guitar player got in his car and left. Yeah, people got beat. That was about the rowdiest.”

Charlie Musselwhite and Otis Rush both told me about a place called the ‘I Spy Lounge’ in Chicago? “I didn’t hang out in the ‘I Spy’ that much. I always heard about all the fights and stuff going on in there, that’s one of the reasons I didn’t go in there!” (laughing) You and Charlie Musselwhite are pretty good friends. “Yeah, we used to hang out together, every day almost, every Sunday playing on the street. He’s crazy, though.” He’s settled down now a little bit, haven’t you? “No!” (laughing) “I just ain’t as fast as I used to be!” (laughing)

You toured a great deal with Willie Dixon’s All Stars. “Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine. I was his main man. We used to cook in the hotel, and we’d get busted for it.” (laughing) “Hot dogs, pork chops, potatoes.” You mean like a hot plate in the room? “I had one of those big, old Hoover electric frying pans and we had a good time. They told us to quit but then the hotel manager would sit down and have a bite with us. Willie was good at starting a conversation. After we finished the guy would leave and tell us, ‘Well, you guys don’t do it every day or just put something at the bottom of the door so the smell doesn’t go all over.’ You know those white potatoes and onions you could smell them a country mile…” (laughing) “And the band wouldn’t help round up food with us; we’d sneak off to the grocery store and they’d be sleeping and when they’d wake up they’d smell the food and Willie would lock the door and wouldn’t let them in.” (laughing) “Oh, we had great fun!”

You’ve been on the road a long time, you ever tire of it? “Un-uh!?” Carey shakes his head. “It’s my life…I love it! You know why?” He smiles. “I don’t want to work!” (laughing) Isn’t it tough sometimes? “It ain’t like work!! Man, work would KILL me! If I had to go back to work punching a clock and here come somebody telling me, ‘How come you’re late? I’m docking your money. Well, you’re fired!’”

What kind of work did you do, outside of music? “Oh man, shoot. I worked in junk yards, nursing homes; washing cars…you know that work? I put on a rubber suit at 7 o’clock and wouldn’t get through till 5 in the evening, keeping that yellow suit on. It was yellow. They had those little pads you stick your hands in. Man, I used to say if I ever get out of this here… man that was something else.”

Describe Carey Bell’s blues? “I just DID!” (laughing) “I just did!” (laughing) “The first wife I had, we moved from Mississippi to Chicago with Lovie Lee and a whole band. I didn’t know the city and I had to go look for a job and at that time that had old junk carts that they pulled through the alley picking up scrap and stuff. Her mother’s old man built me a wagon to pull. Now, I had been plowin’ with a mule in Mississippi and man, when I get to Chicago they go and make a mule outta’ me! Owww!” (laughing) “Un-Uh! They put me out! Yeah, that’s when I met Honeyboy (Edwards). Honeyboy took me in. If it hadn’t been for Honeyboy I’d probably woulda’ been dead or something, or in jail!”

You’ve played with everybody, do you have a favorite session or recording that you truly enjoyed? “My favorite was with Muddy, the London sessions. Oh, we had great fun. With Sammy Lawhorn and I can’t remember the other guys. Only three of us left Chicago and went to London and they had musicians there in London. They were big guys but I can’t recall their names.” That album was loaded with talent including Rory Gallagher, Rick Grech, Stevie Winwood, Mitch Mitchell and many more… I totally understand why it was your favorite. Other than the talent, what made it so special for you? “Muddy was funny. They didn’t want to give me no whiskey. Muddy said, ‘you don’t give that boy no whiskey, he ain’t gonna’ play!” (laughing) “You better go out and get him some. It was real funny. And we’d lay up in the hotel all day and do the session at night. It took us a week. In the hotel, we’d order anything we wanted, Champagne… anything we wanted and we didn’t have to pay for it.”

The results speak for themselves.

We lost Carey Bell in Chicago on May 6, 2007 from heart failure. He left us with an incredible library of music. (Check him out — Carey Bell; I know you’ll like it.)

The post Carey Bell Blues appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s first poll for 2021 is dedicated to favorite domestic destinations: Cities, Towns and Sites. We felt this would be an appropriate theme as traveling to domestic destinations is slowly opening up.

You’ll find members’ selections to be deeply personal, reflective and educational; experiences that helped shape their lives. I know I did. Here’s looking for a spectacular year of travel.

Visit our past polls

— EB

Richard Carroll — T-Boy writer:

For me New Orleans is like a spirited island unto itself. Music swirls about the city in a marvelous mix of church gospel, the 12 bar blues, R&B, Zydeco, Cajun, Latin, and timeless New Orleans jazz, all captured throughout the day and night in Jackson Square, and free concerts in the St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously operating Roman Catholic Cathedral in the country dating to 1720 when New Orleans was a Spanish colony. I feel the Square resembles Paris along the Seine or Prague in summer. Artists sit jauntily under umbrellas displaying their work as the ubiquitous street entertainers juggle, tap dance, play the tuba, strut and mime, and work one-liners off the audience. It’s such a blast to dance to Tuba Skinny or Superband or the Smoking Time Jazz Club, all New Orleans’ street jazz bands, usually performing on Royal St. with great passion.

I believe New Orleans is the most European of U.S. cities with convincing Caribbean influences hovering about. With the Mississippi River a stone’s throw away, the city has the feel of a vibrant 1860’s seaport town, where mystical voodoo shops flourish, and music, art, and dining are revered aspects of the city’s lifestyle. After numerous visits I discovered there are more than 50 historic locations in the Quarter, eight museums, tree-lined parks and aged churches with character. It’s exciting to feel that the Vieux Carre or French Quarter is a heady concoction of Paris, Trinidad, and the Caribbean spiced with a touch of other cultures including Italian, Spanish, Irish, Central America and Africa, and yet remains purely American.

I’ve observed that the Quarter and Bourbon Street are a setting for a youthful adult playground with a dress code beyond a fashion queen’s worst nightmare. College kids deep in their “Go Cups” sporting T-shirts, jeans, seven inch platform heels, and leopard skin mini-skirts roam the Quarter in a mesh-mash of rampaging hormones, and new best friends, though the excitement fades into the mists of the fast-moving Mississippi River when reality sets in.

With each visit I notice that New Orleanian’s have stubbornly refused to release their heritage and the city has retained a distinctive character that is reflected in their language, cuisine, music, architecture, neighborhoods, and celebrations. New Orleans with character to share is among my favorite domestic destinations for sure.

Stephen Brewer — T-Boy writer:

A Trip Up Steens Mountain, Oregon

According to the official count, only 12 people live in Frenchglen, way over in the southeastern corner of Oregon. I would have guessed that with so few neighbors for company, you’d be eager to chat with just about anyone who crossed your path. Then again, you’re probably pretty taciturn by nature if you choose to settle in such a remote spot.

Or so I’ve learned over the years. On my last visit I arrived just in time for dinner at the Frenchglen hotel (served at 6:30 sharp, no exceptions). The paneled, brightly lit, linoleum-floored room feels like a homey ranch kitchen, and heaping platters of baked chicken and roasted potatoes were set out on the long trestle tables. An aproned woman who seemed to be in charge of things came within earshot, so I informed her that a rather large rattlesnake was stretched out under a tree on the front lawn.

“Yep,” she said, “better eat those biscuits before they get cold.”

Another conversational gambit was no more productive.

“Think I could have another piece of that marionberry pie?”

“Nope.”

The other business in Frenchglen is a general store with a gas pump out front. This is where you top up the tank before heading out on the 50-mile-long gravel loop road that crosses the flank of Steens Mountain. It’s slow going up the rutted track, through steppes covered in aspen and mountain mahogany, but the leisurely pace makes it all the easier to enjoy the sights along the way. Cowboys on horseback and herds of grazing cattle appear as silhouettes against the horizon. A cloud of dust and the thud of hooves signals the fleeting appearance of a herd of wild horses. Pronghorn saunter onto the road, apparently  with no intention of moving along anytime soon and seemingly mindful that most of us have no idea how to get a huge, furry, fearsomely horned wild animal out of our way. A faded marker identifies a pretty little patch of greenery as Whorehouse Meadow, where enterprising women used to set up tents to service Basque and Irish shepherds. Just shy of 10,000 feet the road comes to a viewpoint. Far, far below, at the bottom of a sheer precipice, spreads the Alvord Desert, the dried-up bed of an ancient lake that’s now a glaring expanse of white, crinkled earth.

A little farther along another turnoff leads to the edge of Kiger Gorge, a cleft in the mountain half a mile deep and more than twice that in width. Looking over the snow-dusted furrows and folds I sensed a slight disturbance and turned my head to see an enormous eagle just over my shoulder, floating on some unseen current. I had time to notice a keen eye and the delicate ribbing of an enormous wing, then the creature was far away, high above the gorge.

I was still experiencing a rush of excitement when I sat down to dinner that night. “I saw an eagle,” I reported to the serving lady when she set a heaping platter of carved ham on the table. “So close I could almost touch it.”

“Yep,” she said. “The baked beans will be out in a minute.”

A little later, unsolicited, my friend brought me a second piece of pie, this time blueberry. I like to think she was helping me celebrate that magnificent creature soaring over those timeless landscapes.

Ed Boitano — T-Boy editor:

Chicago, IL: Isn’t Seattle a super city, Dad! This I proclaimed to Louis Boitano while driving through downtown Seattle as a young adolescent. It was a magical summer evening. Illuminated by neon and city lights, the fleet was in town and furloughed sailors marched past Pike Place Market and down First Avenue in search of unknown pleasures.

My father finally broke the news, Seattle is not a city, Eddie. Chicago is a city. He knew the BIG city well after receiving months of technical training at Chicago’s Navy Pier in preparation for his involvement in WW2.

Years later, I found myself riding the 1.79-mile Chicago Loop, with no intention of ever getting off. That is until a gaping hole in my stomach told me it was time for an exploration of the city’s delectable food scene. I was not conflicted upon the choice of my first meal, Uno Pizzeria, the birthplace of the deep-dish pizza. The following days included more deep-dish at Gino’s East, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria and my personal favorite, Giordano’s, which offered a Northern Italian interpretation. A walk to the South Side led me to Little Italy for Italian beef and ice, with stops in between at vendor carts, selling the Chicago Dog or Chicago Red Hot, an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, topped with mustard, chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices and absolutely no catsup. After all, I did need to keep my strength up.

At night, entertainment consisted of the riveting blues clubs: Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S. and Buddy Guy’s Legends. By day, Millennium Park; the Magnificent Mile; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Science and Industry; Lincoln Park Zoo; and two major league baseball stadiums (if you live north of the Chicago River, your team is the Cubs at Wrigley Field, south the White Sox at the new Guaranteed Rate Field). Then, the unequivocal  highpoint of my Windy City experience; miles upon miles of Chicago’s architectural treasures witnessed on a Chicago Riverboat Tour. We can thank Mrs. O’Leary’s cow for that.  And all this with a BIG midwestern sense of politeness and hospitality.

Baltimore, MD: It’s pronounced Balamor or Balmer, explained Joel, my lifelong Baltimore friend. Then, beaming with pride, It’s also the birthplace of the Coddy — salted codfish cakes, cheaper than crab, served on two saltines with mustard; the Snowball — crushed ice and syrup served with liquid marsh mellow or ice cream; Chesapeake Blue Crabs, Fort McHenry and Babe Ruth. Joel’s insider tips were helpful as I prepared for my first trip to this Mid-Atlantic city, just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. I was a goner upon just setting my eyes on the now pristine Baltimore Inner Harbor. In the neighborhoods beyond, blocks of white marbled stepped rowhouses; Lexington Market, the oldest market in America circa 1782 and home of the Faidley crab cakes; and the retro-modern Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with my seat on the hotel room deck overlooking the baseball stadium. Baltimore loves its artist and personalities, and Edgar Allan Poe dominates much of the old city with his last house, now a museum, and the Baltimore Ravens football team naming itself after his narrative poem, “The Raven.” I was a tad disappointed with the city’s bus tour, but was enthralled upon discovering the Baltimore Harbor Taxi, with stops at the National Aquarium, a real working Little Italy, and the terraced waterfront homes of former maritime captains at Fells Point, dating from the 1790s. In its middle, the must-eat eclectic restaurant, Bertha’s Muscles. Though still shrouded in mystery, many believe Poe himself was found lying in a Fells Point gutter on the day of his death at Washington College Hospital. But, no one really knows for sure.

Natchez, Mississippi: You came all the way over here from Los Angeles California to see us… well, I better get you a good room, said the kind woman at the hotel’s front desk. Moments later on the elevator, I turned to the quiet teenage Africa-American bellhop. You certainly live in a beautiful city! His under the breath reply, Get me out of here. I took pause, realizing that a Yankee boy from the West Coast had much to learn about the duality of the polite bellhop’s Deep South City. Located high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, Natchez  is home to more than one thousand structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a number  of Antebellum (“pre-war,” “pre Civil War”) mansions with many open for tours. Characterized by neoclassical and Greek Revival architectural style, they were once the lavish dwellings of prosperous plantation owners, built by the hands of slave labor. I decided to take a pass on the tours and save the analysis of the city’s duality for later, and chose to simply lay around on the lawn in a quiet little park, basking in Natchez’s sublime ambience.

Seattle, WA: Kennedy was shot, whispered my grade school friend, Ricky Meyers. Many of us know the exact time and place when we first heard this horrific, almost incomprehensible news. My place was the sacred playground of Magnolia elementary school on Nov 22, 1963. Its holy grounds also offered a spectacular view of the building of the Space Needle. As a first-grader, each day at recess Ricky and I would rush out to the playground and watch this architectural wonder’s construction, marveling at its new growth and futuristic space age splendor. And with its completion for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition — Seattle World’s Fair, my little maritime town, seemingly hidden in the northwest corner of America, became a world-class city for the rest of the planet to see.

New Orleans, LA: Red beans and ricely yours, was how former Black Storyville resident Louis Armstrong would often end his letters, due to his passion for New Orleans’ traditional Monday night meal of red beans and rice. Passion and emotion  screams New Orleans with its unique fusion of Spanish and French Creole, Amerindian and Afro-Caribbean history and culture, music and architecture; relished by tourists and locals, who seem to live in the moment with plenty of free time. This includes its regional cuisine, a diverse mix of the culinary traditions of French Acadians, Spanish, Sicilians, African-Americans and Afro-Caribbean slaves, and AmerIndian nations. It’s hot and humid in Nola, and with the blending of local produce and seafood from the Gulf, its recognizable cuisine is justifiably known throughout the world. Personal favorites include  po’ boy and Italian muffuletta sandwiches, Gulf oysters fried or on the half-shell, boiled crawfish and seafood etouffée (smothered), jambalaya, gumbo and yes, Satchmo’s favorite, red beans and rice. But why on Mondays?  It’s wash day, of course, and the ovens and stoves needed space for boiling water.

T.E. Mattox — T-Boy writer:

1. Memphis — B.B.King said it best, ‘Memphis is the Home of the Blues.’ Spend an afternoon visiting the Blues Hall of Fame, and just across the street is the Civil Rights museum. Then take in the night life along Beale Street. The Rum Boogie Café and a hundred other jukes and bars will truly enchant. Sun Studio’s and the Memphis Recording Services, Stax Records… Gospel, R&B and Rock and Roll… Memphis is a musical wonderland.

2. About an hour south down Highway 61, you’ll find Clarksdale, Mississippi — better known as the Blues Crossroads. Legend has it that’s where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. Visit the Hopson Plantation and spend the night at the ShackUp Inn. The evenings are filled with blues at Ground Zero, Red’s or the Juke Joint Chapel. An amazing cultural and musical emersion you’ll want to experience again and again.

3. Julian, California — an easy drive east of San Diego. A step back in time. The local drugstore still serves egg creams like they had in the 1800s. You can still pan for gold and tour the depths of a gold mine. Julian Pies are the stuff of legends. A fun day for the whole family.

4. Old Town Temecula, California — Old Town Blues Club is known for its appearances of national and international artists and some of Southern California’s finest musicians. The boardwalk runs through the entire town and is lined by antique shops and restaurants for every appetite. Temecula vineyards provide world-class tastings. Guaranteed you’ll take home at least a bottle or two.

5. Austin, Texas — Where BBQ lives and the music scene thrives. A college town, Austin is known for its high energy clubs, bars and entertainment. The Continental Club, Antone’s and the Saxon Pub are but a few must-experiences. The party rarely stops so plan to have a little fun.

Allan Troy Smith — T-Boy writer & photographer:

A few years ago, I discovered the Quilieute Oceanside Resort located on the Quileute Nation, at La Push, Washington.

In the northwest corner of the United States, alongside the Pacific Ocean, it is one of the most peaceful, majestic ocean vacation sites there is in North America.

With an assortment of lodgings ranging from RV parking, cold-water A-frame cabins, small cabins with wood-burning stoves, to deluxe accommodations with stone fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling views of the mighty Pacific, there is something to please everyone.

No wi-fi ensures a completely relaxing stay. Huge pieces of driftwood litter the beach, which is covered with rounded stones of all sizes worn smooth by millennia of waves crashing on the shore.  The sunsets are memorable. I guarantee you will start thinking of your next visit as soon as you return home.

It’s a long drive from anywhere to get there, but well worth it. Although currently closed to visitors due to the pandemic, hopefully they will reopen soon. I have stayed there several times in different seasons, and it is always a wonderfully relaxing experience. I recommend a two-night stay because one is just not enough.

Richard Frisbie — T-Boy Writer:

I love to travel internationally (an impossibility this pandemic) and rarely travel domestically. Still, there are a few places in the US I go every year or so just to veg out.

A summer visit to Portsmouth New Hampshire and Southern Maine is a MUST. The seafood and seacoast are the main reasons, but family ties to the area round it out. I’ve even been known to take a day-trip there (8 hours round trip from New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley) just for a lobster roll and the rejuvenating smell of the salty sea air.

The exhilaration of walking the streets of Manhattan in all-weather day or night, soaking up the sights and smells while people watching, gets me on MetroNorth several times a year. I rarely spend the night in the city, unless an event makes me miss the last train, but the lure of a concert, a show, or an important museum opening is impossible to resist.

Finally, I love Ithaca and the Finger Lakes Region. That college town has so much action, and the natural beauty of the surrounding area begs to be viewed from a boat or a hiking trail. When that builds an appetite, I’m lucky, because the food scene is fantastic there, with an unlimited variety of great wines to wash down the creative dishes.

Mostly, though, I stay home. My town in the Mid-Hudson Valley is on almost every “Best Village”, “Most Charming Weekend Trips”, and “Best Destination” list every year. The Mid-Hudson Valley is beautiful, the art & culture scene is second only to Manhattan, and the overflow of chefs graduating from the Culinary Institute of America keeps this foodie very happy. I just stay here and let the world come to me.

Fyllis Hockman — T-Boy writer:

Key West, Florida

I don’t think Key West would ordinarily come to mind as a town worthy of being a domestic favorite but having just visited it is at the forefront of my mind.

Key West, Florida is more than a place. It is a spirit, a funky energy that enters your soul and takes residence in your worldview as well as your inner vision. A state of mind more than a city; a way of life more than a place to live. It’s a lifestyle, not a destination. All expressed in the absurdist poetry that is Key west, a language not spoken anywhere else in the country.

Renovated cigar factories share space with Victorian mansions laced with gingerbread trimming; upscale art galleries reside next to tacky t-shirt shops. Fashion, funk and frivolity define the town; art and shlock and whimsy co-exist on the same bar stool. And yes, those stools are there in abundance, many of which claim that Ernest Hemingway, the most famous Key West resident, occupied that seat as well. But even recognizing all this, I didn’t fully have a grasp on the essence of the town until I spotted several elderly old men playing Bocce ball. I asked another observer if lawn bowling is popular because many people of Italian descent live in Key West. “Oh no,” she chuckled. “It’s popular because you can play Bocce with one hand and hold a drink in the other.” I bet Hemingway loved Bocce ball. Welcome to Key West!

Rourke — Musician & composer:

Lower East Side/Greenwich Village, New York City — This would be home if I hadn’t married a small-town girl who hates traffic and noise.  There’s never a dull moment here.   I’ve spent many days trekking the neighborhood to see where Charlie faced off with Beg Bug Eddie (Pope of Greenwich Village), or where Johnny-Boy blew up a corner mailbox in (Mean Streets).And then there’s Katz, with corned beef and pastrami cured up to 30 days.

The Mission District, San Francisco — Easily the coolest area in S.F. (the Castro is a close 2nd).   There’s really no reason to leave the Mission District.  It has the best food, the coolest bars, the best cultural mix in the Bay area.

The National Mall, Washington D.C. — I’m a geek for politics and American history.   I remember posing for a picture with Barry Goldwater when I was eleven, and marching for the environment in 2017.   I remember going to Brad Sherman’s office to check-in for a tour of the Capitol and the son of a bitch didn’t even shake my hand.   I walked every inch of every museum to suck up every ounce of American pride until my feet bled.  And I would do it every year if I could.

Maine — It’s quiet up there.   That’s probably why George and Barbara loved it so much, that and the seafood.   And all the small little towns, each one with their own lobster shack, and many of those lobster shacks closed for the off-season.  Driving through Maine is about as American as it gets.  There’s no left or right, no red or blue, just good people living a good life.

Wailea, Maui — Yes, all the islands are a treasure in their own way, and there are other parts of Maui that are amazing too.   But sometimes in life you just want to curl up in the lap of luxury, drink Mai Tai’s all day, stare at the bluest ocean, watch the sunset, not lift a thought for anything else in the world, and do it all again the next day.

Brent Campbell — Musician & composer:

Big Domestic City — Chicago. I love NYC but Chicago has a very special place in America. It is the heart of America. Great museums, history, restaurants, and of course, the blues. Check out Buddy Guy’s club just south of the city and you will know what I am talking about.

Mid-size American city — Nashville. This mid-sized city has it all. Free music on every street. A great country music museum. Schedule a week in Nashville and it will take a while to stop smiling.

Small American city — Madison, WI. I call Madison small because they have no national teams (go Badgers). I have only visited on several summer weeklong stays, go to Madison any time. There is a constant energy in this place! The student union terrace is amazing in the summer. Dancing in the streets till dawn! Since 1983, Memorial Day the World’s Largest Brat Fest has sold more than 4 million brats to help raise almost $2 million to benefit 100+ local charities.

Tiny American city — Chelan, WA. Although the world has discovered Chelan, I can still claim it as a favorite. I went there often as a kid with my family. There was an old wooden roadhouse next to where we stayed. NW music ruled the night(s). It influenced my early exposure to music. Imagine sleeping on a cot next to the Sonics, the Wailers, the Kingsmen, etc, night after night.

Chelan’s climate is typical for Eastern Washington. Located behind the rainshadow of the Cascade Mountains, it receives a near-desert amount of precipitation each year.

Tony Chisholm — The Canadian Connection:

The Lost Boys

“The road to oblivion is easily traveled, the road back hard to follow.” — Chinese Proverb

A California Trip to Yosemite and Mono Lake

Chris, Steve and Andrew flew in from Canada and met up with me in San Francisco over a US Labour Day weekend  a few years ago to try some mountain biking at Mammoth Mountain and kayaking on Mono Lake.

From the coast of California, we traveled through the Central Valley and 105ºF temperatures then into the foothills of Yosemite National Park and spectacular mountain vistas.  Can four men with three maps get lost when there are only two roads?  Of course not, but our group of Lost Boy Canadians did manage to see an hour more of Yosemite then we had to.  In an effort to make up lost time, or just for the thrill of it, Chris managed to set the rental car brakes on fire flying down the mountains.   From the eastern side of Yosemite, Mammoth was only a short 20min drive away.  The Lost Boys had managed to make it from Toronto to exotic Mammoth Mountain is a mere 10 hours.

I was considered the experienced tribal elder, and immediately hauled the young braves to the best little restaurant in Mammoth for the local delicacy of “Chicken Fried Steak”.  A brick of Crisco would have been more nutritious and probably more tasty.

Friday, our first full day in California, the tribe set out to Mono Lake for a two hour kayak.  This was Steve’s and Chris’s first kayaking experience.  Mono Lake is a deceptively huge mountain lake laden with calcium bicarbonate.  The calcium forms into weird mineral towers of formations called “tufas.”  The only life in the lake was brine shrimp so thick that the water was cloudy with them.  The few seagulls and ospreys were their only visible predators. The lake is so base that the water is said to “eat your clothes”.

The four seasoned kayakers headed straight out to an island in the middle of the lake formed of mud that had been pushed up from the bottom.  Having not looked back to shore to take our bearings on the trip out, the four Lost Boys went a little off course on the way back (but definitely not lost).  The problem was that the lake was round and so was the island. After hitting shore, we decisively headed in the wrong direction until a solo paddler turned them around after several hours of wasted paddling. A two hour paddle had turned into a four hour paddle.

Chris’s custom paddling technique had managed to cover him in dried calcium.   Steve, who shared a double kayak with Andrew on the return trip, had a curious technique that managed to cover Andrew with calcium.  The calcium got into Andrew’s eyes and partially blinded him for the rest of the paddle.  Andrew was the group’s first casualty on our growing injury list.

Looking like guest stars from Gilligan’s Island, the Lost Boys dragged their sorry, stiff muscles back to their condo in Mammoth for their mountain bike adventure.

None of us will ever forget the strange landscape of Mono Lake.

Canadian Destinations

Weave Cleveland of British Columbia — Musician, composer and Travel Guys cinematographer:

If I ever pick up a visitor to Vancouver at the airport [YVR] and we have a little extra time, I will take them to discover this interesting gem. It is a dilapidated old fishing village just inside a little spit of land on the banks of the southernmost tributary of the Fraser River. The tide ebbs and flows and affects everything inside the little water channel.

In the 1890’s a group of Finnish people found their ideal spot. They cleared farming fields for the land owners and earned their access to easy fishing. By the 1920s people were taking to putting motors on their boats. There were no bridges to help make one’s way to Vancouver. For the Finn’s it was an entire day’s trip to go to Vancouver and back by boat.

As the century passed the Finn’s left and squatters moved in. They’re not all squatters, some are fairly old people who want some solitude. It has been a sometimes contentious issue as they have been provided electricity but they don’t pay taxes. This is the romantic story I have been told and I do not care if it is true or not. It is always a special singular adventure for people to come and see Finn Slough.

Though not as isolated as it once was it’s still a little hard to find which is why it is a special secret discovery.

The village developed without the organization of property boundaries, city ordinances, provincial regulations or any governing body.

It’s the length of a football field, it’s falling apart at the seams and it’s home for some people.

Ringo Boitano — T-Boy writer and feeling rather Canadian today:

In Montréal you will you hear it pronounced “bah- gal” and yes, they are different.  In contrast to the New York-style bagel, the Montréal bagel is smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt, and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked. You will also hear from locals that they are the best and most authentic bagels in world.  I once took a homeless man, a Montréal expat living in Vancouver, for coffee and asked if he would like a bagel, too. He declined, adding that they were not real bagels; only Montréal has real bagels. His favorites and now mine: the bagels from Montréal’s historic St.-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel.

Québec City was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and is the only walled city in North America. The best way to explore this historic city is to stroll its narrow, cobblestone streets lined with stone houses, cathedrals and cafes. The city itself is nothing less than a living museum. Québec City has embraced its history, which is reflected with more than 32 museums, exhibition halls and interpretation centers. Pedestrian streets are populated with local artisans and musicians in this city were 95% of the residents are French-speaking. A quick journey down the funicular leads you to Lower Québec, the birthplace of the city. A ferry ride on the St. Lawrence River is mandatory for stunning photo opportunities; in particular the Château Frontenac which towers over the city and is, in many respects, the iconic symbol of Québec City.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park consists of 366 square miles of magnificent highlands and rugged coastal wilderness. Established in 1936 as the first national park in the Atlantic Provinces, it is for many the highpoint of a journey to Nova Scotia. The Cabot Trail, named for Italian navigator and explorer, Giovanni Caboto, (John Cabot), runs through the park, offering seemingly endless hiking opportunities. On foot, I spotted whales, bald eagles and even a moose, swimming across a lake. From the car I enjoyed picturesque valleys and unforgettable vistas of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

On the other side of the park is the Acadian town of Chéticamp. La Société Saint-Pierre is a cultural center whose main objective is to preserve Acadian heritage in Cape Breton. The French-speaking Acadians pre-dated the arrival of the English, but most fled the area after the defeat of France by the British in the French and Indian War. Many headed down to Louisiana to an area now known as Acadiana, where the Acadian name evolved into Cajun. The center features traditional crafts and food items. I made a note that Acadian chowder, unlike New England chowder, consists of a clear broth.

Halifax’s Old Town Clock sits on a grassy bluff, overlooking its historic downtown and waterfront. Erected in 1800 for the British garrison at the Citadel, it is the most important symbol of Halifax’s rich historical past. As I rested on the lawn below the octagon tower, I could see a hybrid city of elegant 18th-century architecture alongside modern buildings of glass and steel. Groups of tourist, locals and laughing school children strolled past me, while ships glided in the distance on the world’s second largest natural harbor. As the September sun shone down, I realized I could sit there forever.

Vancouver Island is located in British Columbia, along Canada’s West Coast. It is a region renowned for spectacular coastlines, rolling fields, old-growth rainforests, quaint towns and seemingly unlimited recreational activities. The only thing better than hiking in a rain forest is following a trail that leads to an ocean beach, and that is what you will get on the East Sooke Coast Trail. The park features 3512 acres of natural and protected coastal landscape and is considered one of the premier day hikes in Canada. The trail leads you through a dark, second growth forest of Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock to a protected beach, lined with driftwood and massive boulders. There’s even a little waterfall that cascades onto the beach. This is a west coast wilderness experience unlike any other. The hike takes approximately six-hours roundtrip. Leave early and remember to pack a picnic lunch for the beach.

Back to Livin’ in the USA

James Boitano — T-Boy Writer:

Favorite Domestic Cities
San Francisco
New Orleans
Boston
Washington DC

Favorite Domestic Small Towns
Walla Walla, WA
Solvang, CA
Sitka, AK
Montpellier, VT

Favorite Domestic Sites
Steptoe Butte State Park, WA State
Shiloh National Battlefield, TN
The National Mall/Smithsonian Museums, Washington DC
Yellowstone NP, Wyoming

Raoul Pascual — T-Boy illustrator, webmaster:

California:

1. beaches
2. golf courses (I don’t normally go because I don’t play, but I would like to just walk around there)
3. parks
4. orchards
5. mountainous areas like Big Bear
6. swimming pools
7. camp grounds
8. vineyards
9. parades
10. fishing

Specific local destination:

1. Huntington Library
2. Disneyland
3. Knotts Berry Farm
4. Yosemite/ Redwood
5. San Francisco
6. Carlsbad
7. Hollywood
8. Palm Springs
9. Orange County Fair
10. Sea World
11. Universal Studios/Warner Bros Studios

Sandy Lorrigan — Former director of Sitka Tourism:

Valdez, Alaska

There are hidden small towns that are full of robust adventure and Valdez, Alaska is one heck of unforgettable experience! Boat tours, kayaking and halibut and salmon fishing excursions entice adventurers from around the world and Valdez should be on your bucket list for outdoor fun! Jagged glaciers, seals, sea lions, porpoises, and huge whales are just part of the exciting ocean scenery! Surrounded by lush, deep green forested mountains, Valdez is tucked at the end of a fjord and the destination can be a trek to reach. The population is just under 4,000, and with several campgrounds, hotels and bed and breakfasts in the downtown area, the variety of visitors compliments the friendliness of the locals. The sea walk that aligns the harbor is a magnet each afternoon as boats unload their day’s catches and skilled boat crew filet fish with fast precision. Valdez is a pristine playground!

See Readers’ Poll Favorite Domestic Destinations

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