CAT HEAD...

CAT HEAD...
blues CDs, DVDs, videos & vinyl
folk, outsider & blues art ? photography
books on all things Southern

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"LIVE" BLUES THIS WEEK (and beyond)...

Our "Live Music" page has just been updated:
http://www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html
Includes directions to the Otha Turner family picnic!

1. DELTA BLUES MUSEUM NEEDS YOUR HELP...

- The Delta Blues Museum needs to raise several thousand dollars to properly catalog its ever-growing collection. This cataloging effort is important to help track, preserve and ultimately make available to the public its holdings. If you are interested in making a donation, please contact the Delta Blues Museum, c/o Director Shelley Ritter, #1 Blues Alley, P.O. Box 459, Clarksdale, MS 38614 (phone: 662.627.6820).

2. CAT HEAD DELTA BLUES & FOLK ART...

- New CDs: "Rough Guide to Chicago Blues", Willie Foster "My Inspiration", Rev. Gary Davis "Heroes of the Blues... Best of", Sister Rosetta Tharpe "Spirituals in Rhythm", "Martin Scorsese Presents the Best of the Blues", Putumayo's new "American Blues", Chris Thomas King/Blind MS Morris (w/Morris recorded at 2001 Sunflower River Blues Fest in C'dale) "Along the Blues Highway" and more. Email for prices.

- New DVDs: "American Folk Blues Festival 1962-66" Vol. I & II (includes
footage of complete songs by Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Lonnie Johnson, Otis Rush and many others!). Email for prices.

- Other new stuff: We've restocked on King Biscuit Blues Tees, hats, stickers and flour sacks. Get 'em now before the festival craziness starts! Email for prices.

- Tour groups: Please note that Cat Head also regularly arranges "live" blues music and/or educational programs in store. Just drop me an email, and we'll find something to fit your interests and budget. (roger@cathead.biz)

3. OTHER LOCAL MUSIC/ARTS NEWS...

From Clarksdale Press Register:

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* Blues festival organizers look to improve event
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The 16th annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival has come and gone, and organizers said they were pleased with the event. (By EMILY Le COZ - Staff Writer)
NOTE: When it says "photos" are not permitted, they meant to just say "video". Still photos/pictures are allowed.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10054734&BRD=2038&PAG
=461&dept_id= 230617

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* Tourism groups told to partner together
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Tommy Polk, co-owner of the Shack-up Inn, is making an effort to bring the local tourism community together. Polk hosted a tourism discussion group Friday at the old Greyhound Bus Station.
(By JAMES JENNINGS - Staff Writer)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10060711&BRD=2038&PAG
=461&dept_id= 230617

4. ODDS AND ENDS...

- Two interesting gigs at Ground Zero Blues Club last week... On Wednesday night the Mississippi Blues/R&B family act The Perry's hosted Bill Perry's birthday party with tons of special guests like Lee Shot Williams, Robert Tillman, Pat Brown and others. Very nice. Then, on Thursday, "Affrissippi Blues" was featured with Guelel Kumba of Senegal, Burnside Exploration and John Sinclair. (I couldn't make that show but heard it was great.)

- WROX blues radio is several steps closer to returning to downtown Clarksdale. They've got new paint on the walls, new carpet on the floor and a temporary sign in the window. Hopefully, they'll have it up and running sometime in September. Any record labels or musicians who are interested in possible airplay for their product should send demos to: WROX Radio, c/o Gen. Mgr. Steve Ladd, 330 Sunflower Ave. Clarksdale, MS 38614

- Just a heads up that former Squirrel Nut Zipper, present bluesman Jimbo Mathus has moved his recording studio to Clarksdale. More to come on this interesting and very cool development.

- After King Biscuit Blues Fest weekend in nearby Helena, enjoy a delicious Sunday Brunch at Madidi in Clarksdale. Sun., 10/12 from 11am to 2 pm. Call 662-624-7770 for reservations. Madidi is a fine restaurant co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman and attorney Bill Luckett and located on Delta Avenue.

- Also after the big King Biscuit, enjoy a free Mini Blues Fest at Cat Head from 10 and to 3 pm (details to come) PLUS the annual Pinetop Perkins Homecoming out at Hopson Commissary starting around 3 pm that same Sunday, 10/12.

- Check out www.blueswax.com and keep current on today's blues scene.

- Finally, don't forget... Martin Scorsese's multi-part documentary "The Blues" will premiere September 28 through October 4 on your local PBS station. To get an idea of what it's all about, check out the web site at: www.pbs.org/theblues/index.html (Through the site, you can preview some of the segments. In particular, there are great little clips of Skip James, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Otha Turner and Bobby Rush.) Also, look for information on a Clarksdale big screen screening in a future Cat Head Update. It's in the works...

5. GREENVILLE BLUES WALK 2003 HONOREES...

Per Butch Ruth:
"Again this year the Greenville Blues Walk Association will be installing memorial stones on Walnut St. honoring local musicians. I am proud to announce that Eugene Powell is one of the honorees picked. The letter is to ask for donations to help pay for this memorial stone in Eugene's honor. The stone completed before installation runs about $500 and will depict a likeness of Eugene from a photograph picked by the GBWA with brief info about him. If more than the needed amount is raised than the money will go towards other honorees which this year include James"Son"Thomas, Charley Paton and the Mississippi Shieks. If you had rather designate your donation to one of the others that is fine. The dedication ceremony will be September 12, 2003 at 7pm at the Walnut Street Blues Bar in Greenville, Ms. with a program honoring these great musicians followed with live music . The GBWA is a non-profit group and your donation is tax deductable and can be made out to the Greenville Blues Walk Association."

Send donations to:
Greenville Blues Walk Association
P.O.Box 68
Greenville,MS.
38702-0068

(Cat Head strongly supports this effort to memorialize the Delta's past and living blues artists. Please help if you can. Thx.)

6. "AN EVENING W/THE DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS"...

Per Betsie Brown:
"An Evening with the Dixie Hummingbirds" is being presented by Strawberry Plains Audubon Center & Holly Springs Tourism Office Date: Friday, September 5, 2003
Time: Promptly at 7 pm
Location: Holly Springs First Presbyterian Church, 164 South Memphis Street (corner of Memphis and Gholson), Holly Springs, Mississippi Ticket: $15 Advance, Holly Springs Tourism Office (8 am ­ 5 pm Mon-Fri), 104 E. Gholson Street, Holly Springs, Mississippi, 662.252.2515 Beneficiary: Youth in Science scholarship fund This benefit concert is being presented as part of the 4th Annual Hummingbird Migration celebration. For more information contact the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center at 662.252.1155. The Dixie Hummingbirds are celebrating their 75th anniversary with a new release "Diamond Jubilation."

7. FORMER MISSISSIPPIAN WANTS TO COME HOME...

Last but not least, here's a photographer and blues lover currently based in Florida who is looking for opportunities to come back to his roots in Mississippi. If you or anyone you know is looking for a very artistic, high-end approach to wedding or other photography, check out his web site at: www.davidhenrywilliams.com (He's also photographed guys like Sam Chatmon and Boogaloo Ames, so look for a couple of those shots on his site as well...)

8. A MESSAGE FROM ST. LOUIS, MO...

From Dawne "Blind Lemon" Massey:
Brainstorming cocktail gathering to discuss a possible "St. Louis Blues Museum": Wed., Sept. 10, 5:30-7:30pm at the Trainwreck Saloon on Laclede's Landing, St. Louis, MO. Please RSVP at BALIGATO@aol.com.

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THANKS!