This review appeared in Sweet Potato in May, 1982.

The Sammy Redmond
Blues Band

VENUE: J. B. Ladds

DATE: May 8

PERFORMANCE: Very Good

When local blues guitar whiz Curt Obeda packed his trunk and headed for Chicago it was not without some trepidation. He'd made a local rep as a solid picker with his band the Mudsharks, in jam sessions with many local luminaries, and gigging with Big Walter Smith. But he realized the move could leave him laboring in obscurity, a small fish in a very big pond. But Obeda felt that he needed to complete his musical education. So he got his butt down where the blues are a way of life, not just an avocation. Got himself enrolled in the West Side School of Blues and Boogie... that is... out on the streets, inside the clubs, greeting the morning with a growl and some down-into-it riffs. Obeda met and played with a lot of folks, learning more about his axe, and even more about an attitude (the blues are serious fun). Somewhere in there he began sittin' in with a black singer/guitarist named Sammy Redmond, a fellow who'd recorded some soul records with A.B.C. Paramount in the mid-'60s. Now Sammy wasn't your standard blues musician. He'd grown up singing in church, covered the soul thing, and dug what the blues were from every angle. For Redmond the blues weren't a static thing; his roots included not only Muddy and B.B., but also Otis Redding, Ray Charles, James Brown and (believe it or not) Charley Pride. So when Obeda came home for Mother's Day (Obeda is a dutiful son with doting blues-fan parents), he lined up a gig at J.B. Ladds, in his old stompin' grounds, St. Paul's north Rice Street; he invited Redmond and Chicago bassist, Westside Steve Arvey, along for the ride. The group's three-night stand at J.B. Ladds was a mixed bag, with local blues players from the Mudsharks, Kingsnakes and the defunct Crazy Legs sitting in during the early sets, leaving the last sets to the Sammy Redmond Blues Band, with local musician Greg Shuck on drums. The old- home-week, reunion atmosphere of the early sets was pleasant enough, although often unfocused and loose. But the music that cut closest to the bone occurred when Sammy, Curt, Steve and Greg took to the stage. Obeda's guitar style has greatly matured: from sweet laid-back-in-the- pocket minor riffs to hard-as-nails blue raves. And Redmond is simply a master vocalist and bitchin' guitarist. His choice of material is eclectic, never concentrating on pure blues. Redmond included everything in his performance, energizing an uptempo "Boogie Chillen," "Rockin' 88" and "Just A Little Bit," as well as a hilarious medley of pop tunes, "Blue Moon," "Earth Angel," "Silhouettes on the Shade" and "Roll Over Beethoven," done with soulful authority. This set also included a raucous 20-minute version of "The Thrill Is Gone," which rates as perhaps the best version of that dusty old standard that I have ever heard. So the local blues whiz kid proved that his gamble was a wise one. With guys like Sammy Redmond in his corner, guitarist Curt Obeda is fast becoming a major contender in that tough arena, the Chicago blues scene.

Curtis Wenzel