Joe Louis Walker

Bay Area guitarist Joe Louis Walker, winner of three W.C. Handy Awards, will headline a rare blues gig Saturday at Nicholby's in Ventura, a venue generally known for alternative rock and swing dancing. Opening will be local R & B legends the Bombers, who used to rule the dance floor in this here Poinsettia City but haven't played in years. Born on Christmas Day, 1949, Walker began playing guitar when he was 14.

* Solomon Burke, "Don't Give Up on Me," Fat Possum. Burke, one of the all-time great soul singers, had been off the pop radar screen for a few decades until last year, when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This collection of songs written for Burke also includes contributions by such respected writers as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello.

Bluesman Joe Louis Walker can stir up quite a ruckus when the spirit moves him. The pinnacle of the electrified, Chicago brand of soul- and gospel-tinged blues he's played since his 1986 debut album may well have been "Mile-Hi Club" from his 1997 "Great Guitars" album, which featured solos by no fewer than five of today's top blues and rock guitarists.

Bluesman Joe Louis Walker can stir up quite a ruckus when the spirit moves him. The pinnacle of the electrified, Chicago brand of soul- and gospel-tinged blues he's played since his 1986 debut album may well have been "Mile-Hi Club" from his 1997 "Great Guitars" album, which featured solos by no fewer than five of today's top blues and rock guitarists.

If you're famished for some first-rate blues, then tonight's your night because award-winning blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker will be at Nicholby's in Ventura as part of a thinly veiled attempt to drum up support for "Blues of the Month Club," his new release due out shortly. The 45-year-old Walker has been playing since he was 12, and as one might suppose, he has that blues thing figured out.

When you get up past age 30 in rock 'n' roll, you're just about ready for discounted movie tickets and bus passes. Rock always has been a young person's game; a few gray hairs or extra inches around the waist can spell imminent irrelevance in the grand scheme. Oddly enough, the reverse holds true in the blues.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but don't tell that to Joe Louis Walker. Since signing with Verve Records in 1991, Walker, who plays tonight at the Coach House, has grown beyond the standard three-chord blues that characterized his early work and produced three albums in which he has hit his creative stride. His latest effort, "Blues of the Month Club," will hit stores next month.

* Solomon Burke, "Don't Give Up on Me," Fat Possum. Burke, one of the all-time great soul singers, had been off the pop radar screen for a few decades until last year, when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This collection of songs written for Burke also includes contributions by such respected writers as Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello.

The Bay Area guitarist is joined by six-string guests ranging from Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy to Taj Mahal and rockabilly legend Scotty Moore. But it's Walker's high-pitched vocals and his versatile songwriting that dominate "Great Guitars." Walker, who appears Friday at the Ash Grove, isn't flashy, but he's matured into a top-flight bluesman. Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

Mammoth Mountain Aug. 4-5: Mammoth's Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza enters its 11th year with more than 50 American microbreweries and a concert schedule headlined by the Robben Ford Band and Joe Louis Walker & the Bosstalkers. On Aug. 4, Bluesapalooza begins with the Shane Dwight Blues Band playing the free Kick Off the Blues show at the Plaza Stage in the Village at Mammoth. That night, Joe Louis Walker and Alvin Youngblood Hart tear up the Blues BBQ at Sam's Wood Site. Aug.

Bay Area guitarist Joe Louis Walker, winner of three W.C. Handy Awards, will headline a rare blues gig Saturday at Nicholby's in Ventura, a venue generally known for alternative rock and swing dancing. Opening will be local R & B legends the Bombers, who used to rule the dance floor in this here Poinsettia City but haven't played in years. Born on Christmas Day, 1949, Walker began playing guitar when he was 14.

The Bay Area guitarist is joined by six-string guests ranging from Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy to Taj Mahal and rockabilly legend Scotty Moore. But it's Walker's high-pitched vocals and his versatile songwriting that dominate "Great Guitars." Walker, who appears Friday at the Ash Grove, isn't flashy, but he's matured into a top-flight bluesman. Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

If you're famished for some first-rate blues, then tonight's your night because award-winning blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker will be at Nicholby's in Ventura as part of a thinly veiled attempt to drum up support for "Blues of the Month Club," his new release due out shortly. The 45-year-old Walker has been playing since he was 12, and as one might suppose, he has that blues thing figured out.

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but don't tell that to Joe Louis Walker. Since signing with Verve Records in 1991, Walker, who plays tonight at the Coach House, has grown beyond the standard three-chord blues that characterized his early work and produced three albums in which he has hit his creative stride. His latest effort, "Blues of the Month Club," will hit stores next month.

When you get up past age 30 in rock 'n' roll, you're just about ready for discounted movie tickets and bus passes. Rock always has been a young person's game; a few gray hairs or extra inches around the waist can spell imminent irrelevance in the grand scheme. Oddly enough, the reverse holds true in the blues.

Band: Joe Louis Walker & the Boss Talkers. Personnel: Walker, guitar and vocals; Kevin Zuffi, keyboards; Henry Oden, bass; Steve Griffith, drums. History: Joe Louis Walker, 37, like Robert Cray, is a contemporary blues artist uncovered by Hightone Records. The San Francisco native took up guitar in his early teens and gravitated toward the blues side of the psychedelic rock scene in the mid-'60s.

Before blues festivals began appearing in Southern California like dandelions in summer, there was the Long Beach Blues Festival, born 13 years ago out of a KLON radio show called "Nothin' but the Blues." About 600 people turned out for the first festival. This year, 30,000 are expected for the new and improved festival Saturday and Sunday at a new location: Long Beach's Shoreline Aquatic Park. The definition of blues is loosening a little this year too.