Blues’ popularity goes in cycles

Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 | 8:06 a.m.

"There was a big blues explosion in the '40s and '50s and then again in the middle '60s," said Tommy Castro, one of the busiest blues guitarist/vocalists in the country. "The explosions seem to come when something happens to bring attention to the music, and people say 'Wow, this is great stuff,' when it's been around all the time.

"A lot of musicians have dedicated their lives to the blues -- we will continue whether it's popular or not."

Castro and his band will perform at 8 tonight at Boulder Station's Railhead Lounge. The free performance is part of the casino's ongoing Boulder Blues Series.

The San Francisco Bay Area resident recently talked by telephone about the blues and his recent successes, such as the release of a DVD based on his hit CD "Soul Shaker," and about his 2006 Blues Music Awards nominations for Blues Album of the Year and Contemporary Blues Male Artist of the Year.

While the blues industry may be singing the blues right now, it seems to be smooth sailing for Castro -- who performs about 250 dates a year.

Earlier this week he finished a gig with the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, a Caribbean cruise by a Holland America ship that featured 19 blues artists performing almost nonstop.

Other performers included Bobby "Blue" Bland, Taj Mahal, Millie Jackson, Buckwheat Zydeco and Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers.

Performances are broadcast live over satellite radio.

"My band and I have done the Blues Cruise the last three years in a row," Castro said.

While the number of landlocked venues offering blues seems to be shrinking, cruise ships are filling a void.

"It's amazing," Castro said. "The cruises are probably the best thing that's happened to the blues in years.

"It's a shot in the arm for blues music in general -- you go on the cruise and realize there is all this enthusiasm from people who pay around $2,500 per person to go."

He said the ship has a capacity of about 1,800.

"It's sold out and there's a long list of people wanting to get on," Castro said. "It gives you a feeling of great enthusiasm at a time when the club scene has broken down around the country."

Not only average fans, but people in the music industry go on the cruises to network.

"All the musicians get together -- the top blues guys from the old guard and the new," Castro said.

It remains to be seen if the blues bar scene is dead or merely on life support.

"Anymore, people are not inclined to go to a small bar and listen to the blues from 9:30 at night until 1 in the morning especially during the week," Castro said. "Fans are not as likely to go to a local blues joint and stay late anymore."

Castro says the blues scene is going to have to change.

"What I'm hearing from musicians is that gigs are harder to come by the old way of presenting the music," he said.

Castro talks about "reinventing the presentation."

"I was talking to a good friend of mine on the cruise and we decided it would probably be a good thing to put together a show with two or three strong acts and perform at different venues (other than blues bars)," Castro said.

He envisions concerts rather than one-band gigs, with performances in large venues, "instead of rolling through town and playing at a local blues joint -- people don't seem to care how much it costs, so long as they like who's performing and where."

Still, Castro says there are clubs around the country where he gets regular bookings.

"There are great little pockets where we will have a full house -- like Vegas."

He takes advantage of the Internet (tommycastro.com) to stay in touch with his fans.

"It's great," he said. "They can find out where we're playing -- and they can download free music from live performances; they can click and listen or burn songs from one of our shows that maybe they couldn't make it to."

Lounging around

Snow and Thompson also perform at the Paris Las Vegas' Ortanique restaurant at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and from noon until 3 p.m. the last Sunday of every month at the Jazz Brunch at Gordon Biersch, 3987 Paradise Road.

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at jerry@lasvegassun.com.