Hubert Sumlin (partially obscured) Sammy Fender, Lavelle White, Steve Arvey, Chico Chism, Curtis Obeda & Foots Berry
1982

This was not an unusual night at the Kingston Mines. Often when I played with Hubert old friends of his would stop down to sit in with us, people who normally didn't even play out anymore. Fred Below showed up one night with Louis Myers. Another night across the street at B.L.U.E.S. Floyd Jones came down to play some of the really spooky old tunes like "Dark Road" and "Hard Times." Smokey Smothers would come almost anytime we'd go get him and promise to get him home. Taildragger seemed to show up and sing "My Head Is Bald" at almost everyshow played.

Brewer Phillips (Phillips to everyone) was supposed to be down early on one of Hubert's gigs to talk to a promoter but he didn't show up until the midway through the last set, long after the promoter had left. Blood on his slacks and his knuckles all raw it was obvious he had been in a scuffle of some kind. He stopped at the bar long enough to make a shot disappear and when he reached for my guitar and realized it was strung left-handed I thought he was going to hit me. Hubert offered up his guitar and the band took off following Phillips for the rest of the set. Somebody scared up another right handed guitar and Hubert joined us dragging along Detroit Junior.

Guys always hung around the Mines, drinking free/reduced price cocktails in exchange for sitting in on a few numbers. It was always a loose party with some serious head-cutting lurking just below the surface. The Mines has a late license and is the place many musicians end up after playing their own gig. Miss Lavelle, who performed in between sets every night on the "other side," could usually be counted on to sing with anybody who could play and it was not uncommon during the last two hours of the night that the billed attraction would be supplanted by names like Jr. Wells, Sugar Blue or Lefty Dizz.