SEAN CARNEY AND FRIENDS IN FLORIDA
May 8 - The Seaside Soul Serenade
TRAVEL PACKAGE PRICE REDUCED TO $499!
Call Sean at 239-218-6064 for all the info
Come to Sunny Ft Meyers Beach - it's good for your Soul
Sean Carney will be joined by blues greats Gene "King Saxe" Walker, Jo List, Bo Diddley Jr.,
Wendy DeWitt and the Original Funk Brother, Joe Weaver
| Mike Patrick and Sean Carney at S.O.B.'s in Ft. Myers Beach | King Saxe and Island Sand Paper Editor-in-Chief Carl Conley riffing at The Orpheus in Ft. Myers Beach |
Photos courtesy of The Island Sand Paper
An
Exclusive Gulf of Mexico Blues Getaway Offer for Columbus Blues Alliance Members
The Seaside Soul Serenade will take place on Mother's Day, May 8 on sunny
Ft. Myers Beach with The Gulf of Mexico as the backdrop for 5 hours of groovy
blues and sweet soul. This exiting concert event will be headlined by Detroit
R&B pioneer Joe Weaver and San Francisco's queen of boogie woogie piano
Wendy DeWitt and include Jo List, Bo Diddley Jr., Gene Walker and Sean Carney
along with master of ceremonies, Carl Conley. This festival is presented by
The Island Arts Foundation in association with The Island Sand Paper who are
pleased to offer an exclusive Gulf of Mexico Blues Getaway package to members
of The Columbus Blues Alliance. Round trip air, two nights in an island hotel
within walking distance of the concert, airport transportation and exclusive
seating for CBA members at The Seaside Soul Serenade are now offered at the
rate of $499 per person and additional nights are available at low pre-arranged
rates. Ft. Myers Beach is a barrier island paradise along the Gulf coast of
Florida The island is only seven miles long and three blocks wide, negating
the need for a car with trolleys which continuosly for either 25 cents or
at no charge. Book your reservation early to guarantee exclusive seating by
calling The Island Sand Paper at 239-463-4461.
Pianist/vocalist Joe Weaver who started out in the early '50s playing blues,
boogie-woogie is acknowleged as one of the significant pioneers of Detroit
R&B and what we now know as The Motown Sound. While still in his teens,
he formed the Bluenotes who quickly became popular, leading to regular gigs
around Detroit. Joe Weaver's first hit was on the Deluxe label, called '1540
Special.' After that, the Bluenotes became the house band for Fortune Records,
backing artists like Nolan Strong, Andre Williams, the Royal Jokers, Nathaniel
Mayer and many others. Joe also scored with hits of his own - 'Baby I Love
You So' was his biggest seller and he's recently been nominated for induction
into the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame based on that classic. Joe backed the Miracles
on their first recording for Berry Gordy and this led to many more sessions
and live gigs with Motown acts like Martha Reeves, Barret Strong, Stevie Wonder
& Marvin Gaye. After the heyday of classic R&B ended, Joe went to
w! ork for the Ford Motor Company. Today, over thirty years later, Joe has
retired from Ford and enthusiastically returned to the stage. Recent gigs
all over the US and Europe along with a brand new recording have ushered this
pioneer of American music back into the spotlight where he belongs. Joe recently
appeared in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, an award winning film documentary
about Motown's Funk Brothers.
Pianist, vocalist and songwriter Wendy DeWitt performs regularly in San Francsico's
best blues venues, at festivals, and around the world. Leading her own four
piece band for 15 years, Wendy also remains dedicated to her work with the
Steve Freund Band with whom she has worked for over six years.Wendy has appeared
with Charlie Musselwhite, Otis Rush, and Jimmy Thackery and was featured at
Freight and Salvage, Berkeley’s historic venue with Big Joe Duskin,
appeared at the Cincinnati Blues Fest’s famed Arches Piano Stage, headed
to Boston with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters for a performance at Boston
Symphony Hall, and played before a sold out audience at San Diego Museum of
Art where she returned last August. The year started with a SRO concert in
Paris and three weeks touring the Virgin Islands where she performed on St.
Croix, St. John and St. Thomas. With Steve Freund's Band Wendy has performed
at The San Francisco Blues Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Legendary
saxophonist, Gene Walker aka "King Saxe" is Central Ohio's Ambassador
of Jazz & R&B. This veteran musician recently celebrated fifty years
in the music business and his zest for life and good sounds are infectious
and inspirational to all within earshot. Walker's early years were spent in
New York City, where he was mentored by the late reed boss, King Curtis, with
whom he'd go on to open for The Beatles at Shay Stadium. Gene's most recent
CD, "King Saxe Plays the Blues" is an excursion into old school
blues as only Mr. Walker can coax - wail away, King Saxe!
Bo Diddley Jr. was given his moniker by Bo himself who was amply impressed
with the young bluesman's mastery of working the crowd and bending the strings
in the early '60's. Spending his tender years in Washington D.C., Bo was a
contemporary of Bobby Parker's and eventually made it to New York City where
he'd record with Tommy Tucker and Screamin' Jay Hawkins and perform all over
Long Island during the 50's and 60's. Bo Jr.'s unconventional guitar style
is as much a visual treat as it is a pleasure to the ears, as Bo has mastered
every trick in the book and is never one to shy away from stealing the show!
Central Ohio guitarist/vocalist, Sean Carney is one of the young Renaissance
men of the blues recognized for presenting classic American music with soul
and integrity. Carney's beginnings with R&B queen, Christine Kittrell
prepared him for whirlwind years with belter Teeny Tucker, with whom Sean
has worked not only as guitarist, but co-writer and bandleader. Carney's toured
the U.S. extensively, as well as Germany in 2004 in addition to having been
nominated for the Albert King Most Promising Guitarist Award in 2003 and 2005.
The
Columbus/Fort Myers Beach Blues Connection
by
Sean H. Carney
The icy grip of winter found CBA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient "King
Saxe" Gene Walker and I escaping the bitter cold of the Midwest for blues,
sand and sun on Ft. Myers Beach for ten days in February. Ohio transplant
and entrepreneur, Carl Conley made it possible for us to perform on the island
with a local rhythm section through his work with The lsand Arts Foundation,
an organization which he founded along with The Island Sand Paper, the definitive
local news source. We performed a series of concerts at clubs such as The
Barkin' Shark, The Surf Club, Jimmy B.'s, S.O.B.'s, The Orpheus and a huge
party for the readers of The Island Sand Paper. This particular trip was special
for Gene because he's celebrating 50 years as a professional musician, but
it's easy for me to see why Gene's enjoyed such a distinguished career. Gene
is the consummate professional, both by being a fantastic teacher and by setting
an example of excellence to which others of us may strive.
Even on my first trip to Ft. Myers Beach, I was awed by the amount of Buckeyes
I encounter on the island. Friends from Columbus and Buckeye Lake never fail
to show up to support the visiting musicians from back home and enjoy the
laid back vibe of this island paradise. On this particular trip, I was pleasantly
surprised to run into Columbus bluesman, Mike Patrick catching some rays on
the beach! I invited Mike out to join us for some blues that evening and join
us he did, kicking the whole show up a notch and really giving the audience
their money's worth. Mike sat in for the remainder of the shows and rounded
out a great series of concerts, in addition to meeting a new friends and making
new fans.
When you consider all of the Central Ohioans in Ft. Myers Beach and the representation
of the CBA, it's easy to understand why I think of The Island Arts Foundation
as the sister organization of the Columbus Blues Alliance. Carl Conley's hands
on approach to promoting good music on the island is a welcome breath of fresh
air for locals and visitors who've grown weary of the usual pop rock beach
sounds which lure in tourists. The Island Arts Foundation will present it's
biggest blues event yet on May 8 with The Seaside Soul Serenade which will
feature myself, Gene Walker, Jo List, Bo Diddley Jr., Wendy DeWitt and the
Original Funk Brother, Joe Weaver. I'll see you in Florida.
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