RE: [Harp-L] Any IBC tips? I'm going to Memphis

[chicago bluesman <chicagobluesman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Andy,

Congrats!  You must be really excited and it's great that your band won your local competition.  I can guarantee you that you'll have a great time at the IBC.  I'm sure there are other IBC veterans on the list but I'll share with you my own thoughts & experiences.  I went to the IBC last year representing Chicago in the solo/duo category, with my playing partner, Donna Herula.  There are a few pics and some memories posted on my website: chicagobluesdoctor.com.   I'll be going back again in February, this time representing the Decatur Blues Society, with a different musical partner, again in the solo/duo category.  While Donna & I didn't get so far in the competition this past February--we didn't advance beyond the quarter-finals round--I found the whole experience to be so cool that I was determined to get back again.  So I'm really happy to have the chance to compete again.  Here are a few....oh, I guess, tips, thoughts, etc based upon my experience last year:

--Don't get hung up on the competitive element.  The real prize is just being there.   I found the camaraderie among competing performers to be very warm--while everybody knows it's a competition, I found everyone to be just so supportive, warm and complimentary.  My experience was that it was a blues love fest, but maybe that was just me.  Gumbo might've gone to my head.  Really, though, it's great to meet so many performers from so many different places, all of whom are brought together for this event.

--Absolutely do bring your own amp, if that's what you usually gig with.  My advice: pack just about everything you would normally take to a gig.  Even a favorite mic stand, if it's somehow necessary.  You may leave stuff in the car unused but it's better to be prepared, assuming you've got the space in the car.  The folks running the IBC do a stellar job.  I can't imagine the details they have to manage in organizing this event.  But they rely upon the venues to have all accessories like mic stands, cables, vocal mics, etc.  Last year, my guitar-playing partner handled most of the vocal chores and she found that there was no boom mic stand in the bar to which we were assigned--she found it tough to play her National steel while sitting down, singing into a mic mounted on a straight mic stand, you know?  An unnecessary nuisance which seems like a big deal when you're already nervous.  The people doing the sound at the venue were sympathetic but...they only had the one stand.   After experiencing this on the first night of the quarter-finals (Wed night) we contacted Joe at the IBC--he runs the event--and he rustled up what we needed for our use on the second night.  Very helpful and responsive.  This year I'll be bringing everything I need: amp, DI boxes for line out of the amp and also the line out on my little stompbox, 1/4 inch cables to the DI boxes, even the xlr cables to the PA, just in case, a mic stand, my own vocal mic (in case I don't like theirs), a drum throne (I play drums with my feet while playing), etc.  Maybe I won't use half this stuff but I've got room so it'll go in the car for the long drive to Memphis from Chicago.   Guitar players have to use whatever amp is available on the stage and drummers work with most of the equipment available, as specified in the rules, but harp guys get to bring their own stuff.  Bring your own stuff or risk working with unfamiliar, unsuitable equipment.

--Since you'll be bringing your own stuff it means you'll want to stay as close to Beale Street as possible.  There are many hotels located within 2-3 blocks of Beale--easy walking distance.  You can map them on Google or elsewhere.  But, unfortunately, most of them are pricey business-class or rather luxurious hotels.  Go with the info available at the IBC website and start calling now to make reservations.  Hopefully your blues society will help offset expenses and maybe you can do a fund raiser or two to support your trip.  Be prepared to also pay at the hotel just to park your car.  Last year, I flew to Memphis and rented a car from somewhere on Union Ave, just a few blocks north of Beale, near my hotel.  I wanted the car so I could do excursions down to Mississippi.  The car rental place let me park the car on their lot when I wasn't using it, saving me $20/day at the hotel.  You'll want to keep your equipment with you at night in your hotel room, so bring a collapsible dolly to schlep your equipment from your hotel to the venue--you'll be walking a few blocks with your stuff.  Be glad you're not a keyboard guy.  Last year we stayed at the designated IBC "host hotel"--the DoubleTree-- where the workshops are held.  I didn't see any real advantage to that.  The lobby of the hotel was used as a dropping-off spot for performers to leave business cards, CD's, promo materials.  But, aside from that, there was nothing happening that made it a necessary place to be.  There was no more networking happening there than happens while hanging out in a bar and talking with people--at least, that was my sense of things.  And my impressions of the workshops held at the host hotel were that they were geared more for promoters and people who run blues societies than the performers themselves--I saw nothing which seemed especially relevant to me.  So I saw no advantage to staying at the DoubleTree, other than the fact it was a nice business-class hotel.  If I stay there again this year it'll only be because I liked my room and the location.

--The talent at the IBC is really over-the-top.  I'm not saying everyone you hear will make your head spin but it was my experience that quite a few acts had that effect on me.  Ironically, it's a little difficult if you keep winning and advancing to the next level, because then you don't have as much chance to go from bar to bar, checking out the various other performers from around the country and around the world (my consolation for washing out after 2 nights, not making it to the semi-finals--we were then free to wander around Beale, hearing a wide variety of performers in the finals rounds).  It's really best (e.g., required) to stay in your bar until after you've done your scheduled set--afterwards you can go roam Beale Street if you like but if you happen to be scheduled late in the line-up on that particular night you may not be able to check out so many of the other acts.  The competition in the various bars up and down Beale--I count almost 20 from last year's program-- can start as early as 5pm and it runs till almost 11:30pm on Wed & Thurs night.  The schedule of all of the solo/duo acts and band acts will be available in your bar and will also be in the program guide available on Beale Street, distributed on Wed afternoon.  One of your first priorities on Wednesday will be getting that schedule--until then you won't know what bar you'll be playing in on Wed & Thurs nights or with whom you've been randomly grouped (although....as I think about it, maybe a flyer with the schedule was available on Tuesday night...keep your eye out).  And you absolutely have to be at the mandatory Wed afternoon meeting--the orientation meeting for participants.  Here's what you'll know for sure when you get there: you'll be in the same bar, with the same group of maybe 8-9 other acts in your category, for two nights (Wed & Thurs).  You'll get to know those performers pretty well.  You'll probably want to stay to hear everyone else playing in your bar on Wed night--they're your competitors-- but, after doing your set on Thurs night, you can leave your venue to wander Beale, checking out as many other venues as as you can, just to take in the range of talent at the IBC.  Your performer badge lets you into any of the other bars without paying a cover.  Maybe four of your group of ten acts in your assigned bar who play on Wed & Thurs nights will advance to the semi-finals on Friday night.  If you're not one of them, don't feel bad: remember, the real prize is just being there.  If you don't have to play on Friday night (because you didn't make it to the semi-finals) use the time on Friday to check out the local blues attractions: the Gibson guitar factory; Sun studios; take a drive to Clarksdale or Helena down Highway 61 (that's what we did--it was great).  Get a book on the blues trail in Mississippi to help you plan what you want to see.  Clarksdale is about an hour away--go have lunch at Ground Zero, stop by the Riverside Hotel, go to the Delta Blues Museum, shoot over to Helena to see the Delta Cultural Center, go visit graves of heroes if time permits.  If you're not playing on Friday night you'll be able to do stuff without feeling rushed to get to your assigned bar for the finals round that night.  You won't be able to do it all, which is why you'll probably want to go again next year.   When on Beale, be sure to stop by A. Schwab--you can buy a bona-fide mojo there!  (reputedly the site where guys from the delta would come up to purchase a mojo in years past).

--In addition to checking out the other musicians who are also competing in the IBC, keep an eye out for other performers brought in by some of the venues to provide entertainment during the afternoons.  I heard some great people on those afternoons--seems to me that the Rum Boogie was a good spot for these events.  I remember a great set by Kirsten Thien on one of those afternoons.  You'll see flyers posted in the bars or maybe there will be info in the program guide.

--If you make it to Memphis by Tuesday afternoon, before the actual start of the IBC, try to get to the New Daisy Theater on Tuesday night to check out the international acts who came to participate.  Since the performer credentials won't yet be issued you have to pay a cover to get in but it's worth it.  It's the only cover charge you'll pay at the IBC--you'll receive your performer badge on Wednesday (more like a credit card-sized thingie you dangle from your neck for the duration of the IBC on a Blues Foundation lanyard, assuming you can find the guy selling the lanyards out on Beale).  Tuesday night is the first chance you'll have to see some of the performers--people in both the solo/duo category and band category who have traveled from another country.  I still have vivid memories of some of the international acts I saw that night--people who I later saw during the IBC and also jammed with--and I'm going to try to make it there again this year to hear them on Tuesday night.  The New Daisy is pretty far down on Beale--you'll find it easily.

--Check the Blues Foundation website regularly as the event approaches.  Eventually, they'll post the names of all of the competitors in all three categories.   Many of them have websites you can check out in advance of the competition, just to see who's coming.  Try not to make yourself crazy scoping out the competition.

--Do plan on attending the finals at the Orpheum (if you actually make it to the finals, you'll be there anyway).  It's the perfect setting for the perfect finish to the whole competition.

Okay...I wrote way too much.  I think I'm writing as much for myself as for you, mentally preparing myself.  It's a great time--hope you enjoy yourself.  Feel free to shoot me an email as the time approaches and maybe we can meet for a beer.

Enjoy & good luck!

John






> From: av1901@xxxxxxx
> Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:34:59 -0400
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Any IBC tips? I'm going to Memphis
> 
> Just selected by Delaware's Diamond State Blues Society as their representative (Blue Cat Blues Band) in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in February. Any tips on where to stay and how to handle the IBC? I am looking forward to networking with my colleagues in the blues, handing out some CDs and maybe picking up some regional gigs moving forward. 
> >From what I can gather from the posted rules, I'm the only one in our 4 piece that can bring his own amp (take *that* guitar players!). Or should I count on a Fender amp provided by the venue and use my Kinder AFB? I used my SJ410 to win last night.....
> I'm hoping to get my Buddha 'C' harp repaired before February....
> Any guidance for this new to IBC guy would be graciously received. Thanks
> Andy Vincent
> 
> Sent from my iPad