Blues Infusion

Whether it’s happy or sad, the blues definitely have that beat. For cryin’ in your beer, noddin’ knowingly or shakin’ those tail feathers, there is nothing like the blues, and Ventura County has plenty of blues bands to offer the desired effect.

While there is no House of Blues equivalent in Ventura County, regular blues gigs happen every Monday night at Cafe Voltaire in Ventura, and down the street at the Santa Clara House on Friday and Saturday nights, while local artists such as Blue Stew, the Buds, the Slow Burn, Bob Jones and Randy Rich & the Ravens all have regular weekly or monthly gigs somewhere in the area.

On an irregular basis, classic rock, acoustic music or worse alternates with blues bands at places such as Cisco’s in Westlake, the Clubhouse in Camarillo, A&M;’s Roadhouse in Oxnard, O’Leary’s Side Bar in Ventura, 66 California in Ventura, Mojo’s in Oak View, Calypso’s Bar & Grill and Local Hero in Ojai and the Deer Lodge in Meiners Oaks.

What follows is an opinionated guide of where to find and what to expect from local blues artists, and a few talented tourists who have regular area gigs.

(KEY: CB--Cry in your beer: sad songs; NK--Nod knowingly: lyrics hit a responsive chord; SMM--Shake your moneymaker: dance tunes.)

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Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan: The funniest blues guys around, these two have been doing obscure acoustic numbers, plus a bunch of riotous originals such as “Perfect Woman,” for about 20 years now. Songs such as “Who Drank My Beer When I Was in the Rear?” and “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?” pretty much set the tone for these Santa Barbarians. Sultan plays and Ball sings about every week in S.B. (when they’re not touring), and they head to this county every month or so. Don’t miss these two. (NK)

Blue Stew: Perhaps the longest-running blues gig in these parts, Blue Stew has been packing them into Hi Cees at Ventura Harbor every Saturday and Sunday afternoon for about four years. “Long Gone,” one of the greatest-ever local CDs, features plenty of upbeat dance-inducing tunes like “High Roller.” Blue Stew is adept at Texas, Chicago, Delta, West Coast, jump blues as well as inducing beer sales at the venue. (SMM, NK)

The Buds: This is a trio of famous rock stars who have been playing in the basement of the Hungry Hunter in Thousand Oaks on Friday nights, off and on, for years. Guitarist Chris Pinnick used to play with Chicago, drummer Chet McCracken is from the Doobie Brothers and bassist Buddy Sklar played with the Spencer Davis Group. The Buds have a CD from last year, “Thorn of a Rose.” (CB, NK).

Ashford Gordon Band: Gordon may be wearing Laurel & Hardy’s trademark derby, but he rocks a lot harder. Solid, in the Robert Cray style, guitarist Gordon, with his proficient four-piece band, also does oldies from Marvin Gaye to Eric Clapton. The band has a CD and may be heard Sunday afternoons at Eric Ericsson’s on the pier. (NK, CB)

Harmonica Shorty & the Tail Draggers: Yup, he’s short and he plays harmonica, weekly at the Brickyard in Santa Barbara and about once a month down here. Shorty has the look--white T-shirt and shades--and the band plays upbeat rockin’ Chicago blues, heavy on the Little Walter and Muddy Waters, and just perfect for beer and dancing. (NK, SMM)

Catfish Hodge: The Catfish lives in L.A., Colorado and a lot of other places. His endless tour has resulted in over 20 albums, about six or seven available on CD. A guy with a million stories and an acoustic guitar, Hodge is an engaging performer. He plays locally irregularly but is definitely worth checking out. Best song: “Blues Got the World.” (NK)

Bob Jones: A Camarillo local, Jones has been playing since 1958 and operated the Back Door in Ventura in those silly ‘60s. As a solo artist, Jones is a master of acoustic finger-pickin’ country blues; with his trio, he rocks more. Jones knows lots of Robert Johnson songs, and can be heard on the last Monday of every month at Cafe Voltaire and Friday nights at Seaside Johnny’s in Ventura. The guy in the Panama hat has a CD, “Bourgeois Blues.” (NK)

Patrick Landreville & Blues Deluxe: Landreville has a beard that would make Rumpelstiltskin proud. Rumor has it that it grows a bit every time he plays. But can’t be; it’d be to the floor by now. Electric blues. (NK, SMM)

Little Jonny & the Giants: Lawton and his company of all-star players, which include Jim Calire and Bill Flores, are masters of their craft. Little Jonny has a couple of CDs, the most recent being “No Mercy” from 1996. Though they have relocated to the Bay Area, the group plays down here maybe once a month. (SMM, NK)

Jackie Lomax: Originally a bass player, Lomax is a British blues guitarist who used to hang out with the Beatles and actually recorded an album for Apple Records, “Is This What You Want?” Influenced by early American R&B; and Motown, Lomax plays a few times a month, sometimes with his own band or sometimes he sits in with such people as Ashford Gordon. (NK, SMM)

Janiva Magness & Jeff Turmes: This husband and wife team out of L.A. plays Cafe Voltaire the first Tuesday of every month. Magness is one of those smokey, bluesy diva types, while Turmes plays guitar and has an extensive resume, including a bunch of albums with James Harman. He also writes the songs. They have a CD that came out this year, ‘It Takes One to Know One.” Best tune: “It Ain’t No Such Thing as a King Bee.” (CB, NK)

Guy Martin Group: Probably the most rockin’ of the local blues bands, Martin was influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Not only can he do Vaughan and a bunch of originals, Martin ends his show with “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix. This tight trio usually plays the Santa Clara House once a month or so. (SMM, NK)

John Marx & the Blues Patrol: Marx is a veteran of the local scene and is such a sought after guitarist that he often can be found sitting in with other bands. Basic electric blues. (NK, SMM)

The Pontiax: Named for a misspelled car, the group has been around since 1982 when Mitch Kashmar founded the band with the late guitarist Buddy Smith. Kashmar sings and plays harmonica on the band’s 50 or so originals, plus the hundreds of covers in the Chicago and Texas blues styles. The Pontiax usually play our area once a month at 66 California in Ventura. (SMM, NK)

The Preachers: These veteran blues guys play a lot in Ojai at Calypso’s Bar & Grill and at Sharky’s in Ventura. (NK, SMM)

Randy Rich & the Ravens: The Camarillo High grad has been around forever and is the best local rockin’ blues dude. At the recent live recording session at Ventura’s Cafe Voltaire, which involved an epic 14 bands, most agreed Rich’s smokin’ version of “Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle” was the best song of the weekend. Rich, who plays only originals, can be seen the first Monday of the month at Cafe Voltaire and a couple of times a week elsewhere. “Suspicions & Doubts” is another of his ragers. (NK, SMM)

The Slow Burn: They are generally William James & the Slow Burn, but these days James is taking a break. Too bad, he can do Motown style R&B; in a spellbinding fashion, and he does a mean version of “Hey Joe.” The band has had a Saturday-night Hungry Hunter gig for ages, probably because they’re totally tight. (CB, NK)

Stevie & the Stealers: Based out in the desert, Stevie is slide guitar whiz Stevie Ray Davis, inductee of the Texas Guitar Hall of Fame and former sizzling side man for Michael on Fire. Davis usually plays our area once or twice a month and would love to sell you a copy of his tape. (NK, SMM)

Robert Thomas Blues Band: Robert Thomas Bucy is based in Santa Barbara and plays the Deer Lodge or the Santa Clara every once in a while. Before he moved to Tennessee (someone has to live there), Bucy was lead guitarist of the Crawdads. Now he sings and does the basic electric blues thing, not unlike Blue Stew. (NK, SMM)

Steve White & the Barstool Pigeons: First of all, White is one of the great underappreciated singers in these parts; this guy can do Jackie Wilson and pull it off. He also plays keyboards, harmonica and sax. The band does the classic blues thing with lots of Willie Dixon songs, while his buddy from the Convertibles and the Ordinaires, Mike Fishell, shreds on guitar. They have a five-song tape out this year. (NK, SMM)