I received an e-mail last week from Jacob Shane, better known to central
Illinois music fans as Jake Shane, the young blues picker who represented the
Illinois Central Blues Club at the 2007 International Blues Challenge in
Memphis. Shane won the duo/solo competition in Springfield and performed during
the annual contest, where players from all over the world vie for a prestigious
title and headline concert spot.
The e-mail explained Shane’s latest venture, a band of fellow college freshman-aged musicians from Chatham
and Springfield calling themselves Bluestone looking for a mention before they
performed at their first official gig this Saturday. The guys booked a practice
date at Fat Willy’s in Chatham last Wednesday night to knock out a few tunes for an hour or so in
a performance atmosphere. I missed the actual show, but we sat around and
talked for a while about getting gigs, setting up equipment, future aspirations
and daily dreams. After the band left, once they figured out what I was doing,
the patrons of the bar generously offered comments on the musical performance I
had missed. All opinions were on the positive side of things, ranging from
observations on understanding the difficulty of playing in front of parents and
acquaintances to “that kid wailed on that Hendrix tune” on through personal stories of other first-time experiences that are better
left in the colorful local bar.
I got a copy of the band song list and the only Hendrix-related number was “All Along the Watchtower,” the often-covered, Dylan-penned classic, but I was pleasantly surprised by the
variety of tunes listed, considering Bluestone considers itself a blues band.
Here was Neil Young’s “Motorcycle Mama,” Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” mixed in with blues standards “Malted Milk,” “Key to the Highway” and “I Just Want a Little Bit” and topped off with “Johnny B. Goode” and “Shake Your Money Maker.”
The guys practice as often as their busy schedules allow, using, with
permission, a space in the Chatham Presbyterian Church. My favorite band story
concerns a neighbor of the church calling the Chatham police to report strange
sounds emanating from the usually quiet house of worship. All was square when
the peace officer got the official story, but hey, that’s rock-n-roll when the cops show up at practice, no matter what the reason.
Here are some personal details the band members shared with me. Shane attends
Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., enrolled in the well-respected music
business program with plans to continue playing in the industry. His major
influences are classic blues players like Robert Johnson and Stevie Ray Vaughn
and singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Bassist Aled Fain studies biochemistry at
Loyola University and counts among his music influences Victor Wooten, Stanley
Clarke and Jaco Pastorious. Guitarist Mason Baran attends Southern Illinois
University at Edwardsville, taking classes in jazz performance with the goal of
teaching at a college level and playing music all the time. He admires the work
of Wes Montgomery, Pat Marino and Brad Paisley. Drummer Jordan Holquist goes to
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, focusing on aerospace engineering
while drumming to classic rockers like John Bonham, Keith Moon and Neil Peart.
Holquist aimed the highest of all the bandmates, declaring a desire to “be an astronaut” and currently runs his own painting business during the summer.
The only other date on the books right now is at the Chatham Sweet Corn Festival
during the Illinois Central Blues Club showcase. The guys are hoping to pick up
a few more summer shows, juggling schedules and asking around, but whatever
happens to Bluestone, I think they will always remember the first paying gig.
Join Jake Shane and Bluestone at their debut performance, Saturday, June 13, at
the Alamo in Chatham from 9 to midnight.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2009.
