Blues fans have long been well aware of vocalist and lead guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn as the leaders of their own band, the Blue Four, as well as for their stellar work with a dazzling array of blues legends. Gonna Boogie Anyway, their second album for the Earwig label following their Blues Music Award-nominated 2008 set Stop And Think About It, triumphantly marks the latest chapter for the San Diego-based duo, whose high-energy approach remains deeply rooted in traditional electric blues from Chicago to all points south.
Chris’ dazzling guitar work is featured even more prominently than on its acclaimed predecessor, and for the first time on disc, the pair performs four unplugged selections, James’ vocals ringing with extraordinary force over rollicking grooves anchored by Patrick’s rock-steady bass. Original material dominates; the album’s four covers include two Bo Diddley gems (“Little Girl” and “Dearest Darling”). Piano legends Henry Gray and David Maxwell and veteran Chicago drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes are all on board, as is their harp-blowing cohort Rob Stone. Chris and Patrick return the favor on Rob’s new Earwig CD, Back Around Here.
Stop And Think About It spread the names of Chris James and Patrick Rynn far and wide. The CD was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best debut recording and won a Blues Blast Award as best artist debut. “Mister Coffee,” a standout original from the album, was nominated for a BBA and a third place finisher in the Independent Music Awards, where Chris and Patrick were nominated for a People’s Choice Award. And in 2010, Patrick was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best bassist, adding another impressive honor to their shared trophy case.
The San Diego-based bluesmen inaugurated their musical partnership in 1990 when both were in Chicago for the first time. The sartorially splendiferous duo has been inseparable ever since, their telepathic onstage interplay always in evidence whether they’re digging deep into classic postwar blues or dishing up the meaty, satisfying originals prominently featured on their new CD. By the time of that fateful first meeting, Chris, once a teenaged musical prodigy, had logged plenty of gigging miles, fronting bands long before he ever visited the Windy City.
Born in North Carolina but raised in the warm and sunny climes of San Diego, Chris was thoroughly hooked on blues as a child. “My stepdad got me hooked on blues, and I started playing blues piano by the time I was 11. Chuck Berry was the first guy that was really a big influence on me,” he says. “When they were interviewing him, he talked about the same four guys all the time. He talked about Muddy Waters and Little Walter, Elmore James, and Charlie Christian.”
Chris tracked down a BBC radio documentary on Berry to investigate the Duck Walker’s major influences first-hand. “The very first thing they played was Muddy and Walter: ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You,’” he says. “That was the song that I heard that I just said, ‘This is what I want to do!’” Also on the tape was pianist Jay McShann’s “Confessin’ The Blues,” featuring singer Walter Brown. “That was basically one of the very first blues songs I remember learning the words to. That’s why it was important for me to put on our very first CD.”
Transfixed by anything having to do with blues, Chris snagged a gofer job at a local blues festival where he met legendary shouter Roy Brown, received an impromptu guitar lesson from Lowell Fulson, and talked to Texas-bred guitarist Tomcat Courtney, San Diego’s top bluesman then and now. “I just saw him, and I really liked Tomcat,” says Chris, already skilled enough on harp at the tender age of 13 to join Courtney’s band shortly thereafter their first encounter.
“I only played harmonica with him for maybe six months or something like that, and then the bass player quit. And then Tom just gave me a bass and said, ‘Okay, boy, here’s the bass. The bass player’s quit. I need you to learn this by next week!’” laughs Chris, who followed orders. Soon he was alternating between bass and guitar with Courtney before switching over to guitar altogether. Tomcat’s main haunt was the Texas Teahouse, where the Texas-born guitarist headlined Thursdays. “The place was packed to the rafters, like a sardine can, with college kids,” says Chris. “There were times the place was so packed in the summertime that we couldn’t even get off the stage to take our break. We just stayed up onstage.”
Although blues remained Chris’ primary passion, it wasn’t his only idiomatic interest. “When I was 17, I stopped playing blues for a year because I wanted to get myself a music education,” he says. Veteran jazz saxists Gene Porter and Jimmie Noone, Jr. provided it. “I started hanging out with these guys, because other than having a natural ability to play, I wanted to know what I was playing.” After absorbing their combined wisdom, it was back to Tomcat and the blues for another extended stretch. Chris made his recording debut at 17, playing harp, piano and guitar on Italian country blues guitarist Roger Belloni’s The Lemon Grove Tapes.
In 1990, Chris made his first pilgrimage to Chicago, where he heard dazzling blues piano emanating from the Underground Wonder Bar one evening, courtesy of local 88s ace Detroit Junior. “I was so excited meeting Detroit Junior that I asked him if I could sit in,” says Chris, who proceeded to do so on a borrowed guitar. “I ended up playing the whole second set with him. So then the break came and I said, ‘I appreciate you letting me sit in!’ And I was going to be on merry way. And Detroit stopped me. He goes, ‘Do you want to play the third set with me?’ I said, ‘I have nothing better to do, man. I’d love to!’ So I stayed and played the third set. I finished out the night with him. I finally said goodbye, and I was walking out the door, and he hollered, he said, ‘Hey, one more thing–what are you doing tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m playing here again. You’re hired!’”
show less
Chris’ dazzling guitar work is featured even more prominently than on its acclaimed predecessor, and for the first time on disc, the pair performs four unplugged selections, James’ vocals ringing with extraordinary force over rollicking grooves anchored by Patrick’s rock-steady bass. Original material dominates; the album’s four covers include two Bo Diddley gems (“Little Girl” and “Dearest Darling”). Piano legends Henry Gray and David Maxwell and veteran Chicago drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes are all on board, as is their harp-blowing cohort Rob Stone. Chris and Patrick return the favor on Rob’s new Earwig CD, Back Around Here.
Stop And Think About It spread the names of Chris James and Patrick Rynn far and wide. The CD was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best debut recording and won a Blues Blast Award as best artist debut. “Mister Coffee,” a standout original from the album, was nominated for a BBA and a third place finisher in the Independent Music Awards, where Chris and Patrick were nominated for a People’s Choice Award. And in 2010, Patrick was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best bassist, adding another impressive honor to their shared trophy case.
The San Diego-based bluesmen inaugurated their musical partnership in 1990 when both were in Chicago for the first time. The sartorially splendiferous duo has been inseparable ever since, their telepathic onstage interplay always in evidence whether they’re digging deep into classic postwar blues or dishing up the meaty, satisfying originals prominently featured on their new CD. By the time of that fateful first meeting, Chris, once a teenaged musical prodigy, had logged plenty of gigging miles, fronting bands long before he ever visited the Windy City.
Born in North Carolina but raised in the warm and sunny climes of San Diego, Chris was thoroughly hooked on blues as a child. “My stepdad got me hooked on blues, and I started playing blues piano by the time I was 11. Chuck Berry was the first guy that was really a big influence on me,” he says. “When they were interviewing him, he talked about the same four guys all the time. He talked about Muddy Waters and Little Walter, Elmore James, and Charlie Christian.”
Chris tracked down a BBC radio documentary on Berry to investigate the Duck Walker’s major influences first-hand. “The very first thing they played was Muddy and Walter: ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You,’” he says. “That was the song that I heard that I just said, ‘This is what I want to do!’” Also on the tape was pianist Jay McShann’s “Confessin’ The Blues,” featuring singer Walter Brown. “That was basically one of the very first blues songs I remember learning the words to. That’s why it was important for me to put on our very first CD.”
Transfixed by anything having to do with blues, Chris snagged a gofer job at a local blues festival where he met legendary shouter Roy Brown, received an impromptu guitar lesson from Lowell Fulson, and talked to Texas-bred guitarist Tomcat Courtney, San Diego’s top bluesman then and now. “I just saw him, and I really liked Tomcat,” says Chris, already skilled enough on harp at the tender age of 13 to join Courtney’s band shortly thereafter their first encounter.
“I only played harmonica with him for maybe six months or something like that, and then the bass player quit. And then Tom just gave me a bass and said, ‘Okay, boy, here’s the bass. The bass player’s quit. I need you to learn this by next week!’” laughs Chris, who followed orders. Soon he was alternating between bass and guitar with Courtney before switching over to guitar altogether. Tomcat’s main haunt was the Texas Teahouse, where the Texas-born guitarist headlined Thursdays. “The place was packed to the rafters, like a sardine can, with college kids,” says Chris. “There were times the place was so packed in the summertime that we couldn’t even get off the stage to take our break. We just stayed up onstage.”
Although blues remained Chris’ primary passion, it wasn’t his only idiomatic interest. “When I was 17, I stopped playing blues for a year because I wanted to get myself a music education,” he says. Veteran jazz saxists Gene Porter and Jimmie Noone, Jr. provided it. “I started hanging out with these guys, because other than having a natural ability to play, I wanted to know what I was playing.” After absorbing their combined wisdom, it was back to Tomcat and the blues for another extended stretch. Chris made his recording debut at 17, playing harp, piano and guitar on Italian country blues guitarist Roger Belloni’s The Lemon Grove Tapes.
In 1990, Chris made his first pilgrimage to Chicago, where he heard dazzling blues piano emanating from the Underground Wonder Bar one evening, courtesy of local 88s ace Detroit Junior. “I was so excited meeting Detroit Junior that I asked him if I could sit in,” says Chris, who proceeded to do so on a borrowed guitar. “I ended up playing the whole second set with him. So then the break came and I said, ‘I appreciate you letting me sit in!’ And I was going to be on merry way. And Detroit stopped me. He goes, ‘Do you want to play the third set with me?’ I said, ‘I have nothing better to do, man. I’d love to!’ So I stayed and played the third set. I finished out the night with him. I finally said goodbye, and I was walking out the door, and he hollered, he said, ‘Hey, one more thing–what are you doing tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m playing here again. You’re hired!’”
Blues fans have long been well aware of vocalist and lead guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn as the leaders of their own band, the Blue Four, as well as for their stellar work with a dazzling array of blues legends. Gonna Boogie Anyway, their second album for the Earwig label following their Blues Music Award-nominated 2008 set Stop And Think About It, triumphantly marks the latest chapter for the San Diego-based duo, whose high-energy approach remains deeply rooted in traditional electric blues from Chicago to all points south.
Chris’ dazzling guitar work is featured even more prominently than on its acclaimed predecessor, and for the first time on disc, the pair performs four unplugged selections, James’ vocals ringing with extraordinary force over rollicking grooves anchored by Patrick’s rock-steady bass. Original material dominates; the album’s four covers include two Bo Diddley gems (“Little Girl” and “Dearest Darling”). Piano legends Henry Gray and David Maxwell and veteran Chicago drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes are all on board, as is their harp-blowing cohort Rob Stone. Chris and Patrick return the favor on Rob’s new Earwig CD, Back Around Here.
Stop And Think About It spread the names of Chris James and Patrick Rynn far and wide. The CD was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best debut recording and won a Blues Blast Award as best artist debut. “Mister Coffee,” a standout original from the album, was nominated for a BBA and a third place finisher in the Independent Music Awards, where Chris and Patrick were nominated for a People’s Choice Award. And in 2010, Patrick was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best bassist, adding another impressive honor to their shared trophy case.
The San Diego-based bluesmen inaugurated their musical partnership in 1990 when both were in Chicago for the first time. The sartorially splendiferous duo has been inseparable ever since, their telepathic onstage interplay always in evidence whether they’re digging deep into classic postwar blues or dishing up the meaty, satisfying originals prominently featured on their new CD. By the time of that fateful first meeting, Chris, once a teenaged musical prodigy, had logged plenty of gigging miles, fronting bands long before he ever visited the Windy City.
Born in North Carolina but raised in the warm and sunny climes of San Diego, Chris was thoroughly hooked on blues as a child. “My stepdad got me hooked on blues, and I started playing blues piano by the time I was 11. Chuck Berry was the first guy that was really a big influence on me,” he says. “When they were interviewing him, he talked about the same four guys all the time. He talked about Muddy Waters and Little Walter, Elmore James, and Charlie Christian.”
Chris tracked down a BBC radio documentary on Berry to investigate the Duck Walker’s major influences first-hand. “The very first thing they played was Muddy and Walter: ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You,’” he says. “That was the song that I heard that I just said, ‘This is what I want to do!’” Also on the tape was pianist Jay McShann’s “Confessin’ The Blues,” featuring singer Walter Brown. “That was basically one of the very first blues songs I remember learning the words to. That’s why it was important for me to put on our very first CD.”
Transfixed by anything having to do with blues, Chris snagged a gofer job at a local blues festival where he met legendary shouter Roy Brown, received an impromptu guitar lesson from Lowell Fulson, and talked to Texas-bred guitarist Tomcat Courtney, San Diego’s top bluesman then and now. “I just saw him, and I really liked Tomcat,” says Chris, already skilled enough on harp at the tender age of 13 to join Courtney’s band shortly thereafter their first encounter.
“I only played harmonica with him for maybe six months or something like that, and then the bass player quit. And then Tom just gave me a bass and said, ‘Okay, boy, here’s the bass. The bass player’s quit. I need you to learn this by next week!’” laughs Chris, who followed orders. Soon he was alternating between bass and guitar with Courtney before switching over to guitar altogether. Tomcat’s main haunt was the Texas Teahouse, where the Texas-born guitarist headlined Thursdays. “The place was packed to the rafters, like a sardine can, with college kids,” says Chris. “There were times the place was so packed in the summertime that we couldn’t even get off the stage to take our break. We just stayed up onstage.”
Although blues remained Chris’ primary passion, it wasn’t his only idiomatic interest. “When I was 17, I stopped playing blues for a year because I wanted to get myself a music education,” he says. Veteran jazz saxists Gene Porter and Jimmie Noone, Jr. provided it. “I started hanging out with these guys, because other than having a natural ability to play, I wanted to know what I was playing.” After absorbing their combined wisdom, it was back to Tomcat and the blues for another extended stretch. Chris made his recording debut at 17, playing harp, piano and guitar on Italian country blues guitarist Roger Belloni’s The Lemon Grove Tapes.
In 1990, Chris made his first pilgrimage to Chicago, where he heard dazzling blues piano emanating from the Underground Wonder Bar one evening, courtesy of local 88s ace Detroit Junior. “I was so excited meeting Detroit Junior that I asked him if I could sit in,” says Chris, who proceeded to do so on a borrowed guitar. “I ended up playing the whole second set with him. So then the break came and I said, ‘I appreciate you letting me sit in!’ And I was going to be on merry way. And Detroit stopped me. He goes, ‘Do you want to play the third set with me?’ I said, ‘I have nothing better to do, man. I’d love to!’ So I stayed and played the third set. I finished out the night with him. I finally said goodbye, and I was walking out the door, and he hollered, he said, ‘Hey, one more thing–what are you doing tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m playing here again. You’re hired!’”
read more
Chris’ dazzling guitar work is featured even more prominently than on its acclaimed predecessor, and for the first time on disc, the pair performs four unplugged selections, James’ vocals ringing with extraordinary force over rollicking grooves anchored by Patrick’s rock-steady bass. Original material dominates; the album’s four covers include two Bo Diddley gems (“Little Girl” and “Dearest Darling”). Piano legends Henry Gray and David Maxwell and veteran Chicago drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes are all on board, as is their harp-blowing cohort Rob Stone. Chris and Patrick return the favor on Rob’s new Earwig CD, Back Around Here.
Stop And Think About It spread the names of Chris James and Patrick Rynn far and wide. The CD was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best debut recording and won a Blues Blast Award as best artist debut. “Mister Coffee,” a standout original from the album, was nominated for a BBA and a third place finisher in the Independent Music Awards, where Chris and Patrick were nominated for a People’s Choice Award. And in 2010, Patrick was nominated for a Blues Music Award as best bassist, adding another impressive honor to their shared trophy case.
The San Diego-based bluesmen inaugurated their musical partnership in 1990 when both were in Chicago for the first time. The sartorially splendiferous duo has been inseparable ever since, their telepathic onstage interplay always in evidence whether they’re digging deep into classic postwar blues or dishing up the meaty, satisfying originals prominently featured on their new CD. By the time of that fateful first meeting, Chris, once a teenaged musical prodigy, had logged plenty of gigging miles, fronting bands long before he ever visited the Windy City.
Born in North Carolina but raised in the warm and sunny climes of San Diego, Chris was thoroughly hooked on blues as a child. “My stepdad got me hooked on blues, and I started playing blues piano by the time I was 11. Chuck Berry was the first guy that was really a big influence on me,” he says. “When they were interviewing him, he talked about the same four guys all the time. He talked about Muddy Waters and Little Walter, Elmore James, and Charlie Christian.”
Chris tracked down a BBC radio documentary on Berry to investigate the Duck Walker’s major influences first-hand. “The very first thing they played was Muddy and Walter: ‘I Just Want To Make Love To You,’” he says. “That was the song that I heard that I just said, ‘This is what I want to do!’” Also on the tape was pianist Jay McShann’s “Confessin’ The Blues,” featuring singer Walter Brown. “That was basically one of the very first blues songs I remember learning the words to. That’s why it was important for me to put on our very first CD.”
Transfixed by anything having to do with blues, Chris snagged a gofer job at a local blues festival where he met legendary shouter Roy Brown, received an impromptu guitar lesson from Lowell Fulson, and talked to Texas-bred guitarist Tomcat Courtney, San Diego’s top bluesman then and now. “I just saw him, and I really liked Tomcat,” says Chris, already skilled enough on harp at the tender age of 13 to join Courtney’s band shortly thereafter their first encounter.
“I only played harmonica with him for maybe six months or something like that, and then the bass player quit. And then Tom just gave me a bass and said, ‘Okay, boy, here’s the bass. The bass player’s quit. I need you to learn this by next week!’” laughs Chris, who followed orders. Soon he was alternating between bass and guitar with Courtney before switching over to guitar altogether. Tomcat’s main haunt was the Texas Teahouse, where the Texas-born guitarist headlined Thursdays. “The place was packed to the rafters, like a sardine can, with college kids,” says Chris. “There were times the place was so packed in the summertime that we couldn’t even get off the stage to take our break. We just stayed up onstage.”
Although blues remained Chris’ primary passion, it wasn’t his only idiomatic interest. “When I was 17, I stopped playing blues for a year because I wanted to get myself a music education,” he says. Veteran jazz saxists Gene Porter and Jimmie Noone, Jr. provided it. “I started hanging out with these guys, because other than having a natural ability to play, I wanted to know what I was playing.” After absorbing their combined wisdom, it was back to Tomcat and the blues for another extended stretch. Chris made his recording debut at 17, playing harp, piano and guitar on Italian country blues guitarist Roger Belloni’s The Lemon Grove Tapes.
In 1990, Chris made his first pilgrimage to Chicago, where he heard dazzling blues piano emanating from the Underground Wonder Bar one evening, courtesy of local 88s ace Detroit Junior. “I was so excited meeting Detroit Junior that I asked him if I could sit in,” says Chris, who proceeded to do so on a borrowed guitar. “I ended up playing the whole second set with him. So then the break came and I said, ‘I appreciate you letting me sit in!’ And I was going to be on merry way. And Detroit stopped me. He goes, ‘Do you want to play the third set with me?’ I said, ‘I have nothing better to do, man. I’d love to!’ So I stayed and played the third set. I finished out the night with him. I finally said goodbye, and I was walking out the door, and he hollered, he said, ‘Hey, one more thing–what are you doing tomorrow?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ He goes, ‘Well, I’m playing here again. You’re hired!’”
show less
Date/Times:
401 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.