I'm an avid blues fan but have a problem finding other fans. I tried the blues forums but most there want to split hairs and argue whether artist A is more pure than artist B and it gets old. I just like the music and don't want to debate whether or not Stevie Ray Vaughn is authentic enough to be called blues.

Right now my interest is the 78 RPM period, something about those old scratchy records tugs at me. I have quite a few cd reissues and some really great compilations that I listen to constantly. One thing that slays me is how dirty some of those old tunes were; both the male and female practitioners had dirty minds. Funny how in these PC times even a hint of sexual insinuation has people running to the nearest lawyer to file an assault or harassment complaint and guys like Bo Carter thought nothing of composing entire songs about oral sex more than 70 years ago.

I also play guitar, have for a long time, but only recently started learning the older blues stuff. I get a kick out of sitting on the porch and busting out some old tune from the 20's or 30's. If people in my neighborhood didn't think I was weird before they surely do now. I'm currently looking for jam buddies and blues fans in my area too but I'm a little leery of going as far as to place a listing on craigslist in fear that some thief posing as a music fan will try and rip me off. Even though my somewhat valuable guitar collection is insured I don't want to part with it.

Every year Chicago has a blues festival that's superb...

Chicago Festival Guide - ChicagoFests.com - Music festivals and all other kinds of fun in and around Chicago, Illinois. The most comprehensive Chicago festival resource is produced by CenterstageChicago.com and the Chicago Music Commission.

BB King, it was announced last month, will be closing the festival this year..now that will be something to see...

I love the blues -


Jeff healey, Zeppelin, Thorogood, SRV, Hendrix, Clapton thru out his career, Aerosmith (they released a bluesish cd that was fantastic), jeff Beck and so many others...great guitar sounds that clearly have their roots in the blues...

Spend some time on GarageBand.com : GarageBand.com -for the uninitiated, it's a site that has mostly free legal downloads of mostly unsigned artists that probably should be signed some day... there's a lot of really good stuff out there that should be heard... that's not the american idol pop crap that seems to be taking over...

Yeah BB rules, I have tix for his show in Denver next month. Just saw Johnny Winter last Fri and that was a great show. True that there are many great unsigned artists out there, blues and every other style. Several are right here in Denver and I see them play around town all the time.

LinzeeBinzee, there really isn't a perfect place to start getting into blues but if I had to recommend a place to start I'd keep it simple and start with the 50's guys like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and work your way forward and backwards from there. Both guys kind of had one foot in the older blues styles via their direct connection to older Mississippi Delta area musicians and both helped jump start what became a more modern blues sound. One of my favorite blues albums ever is Howlin' Wolf-London Sessions, he's backed by Eric Clapton and other famous Brits and the album kicks major butt. I pretty much worked backwards from the Rolling Stones, it was their early period albums full of blues covers that first grabbed my attention, thats also a pretty good place to start.

Blue's puts me in a good mood. Johnson, Clapton, Hendrix, I love them all. Ever since he bounced me on his lap, my father had me listen to it. There's something soothing and tranquil about it.

I know Dave Matthews isn't considered Blue's music, but his Some Devil is at the top of my CD stack. I love lying on my bedroom floor and blaring "Stay or Leave" and "Some Devil" through my subwoofer. It's SO calming.