When Gary Bloom received an inheritance after his
mother died last August, he knew what he wanted to do with it. “Why buy a TV or a bunch of junk?” asks
the big voice of local rockers, the Groove Daddies. “I wanted to do
something that would really honor her.”
Bloom, an integral part of the Springfield music
scene for decades, decided to hire a national music act and throw a
memorial concert for Mom. He made it a benefit as well, planning to donate
the proceeds to ALS research. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as
ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is the terrible, crippling illness that
claimed the life of Mary Bloom-Beams, Bloom’s mother. The Groove
Daddies were all on board to play, but for the headliner he looked to a
blues musician and friend named Tommy Castro. Bloom first met the Blind Pig
recording artist during a cruise featuring blues singer and harmonica
player Delbert McClinton and other musicians. “Tommy was sitting in a hot tub ’cause
his back was hurting,” says Bloom. “I told him how much I liked
his music and said I didn’t want to bother him. He asked me to stay
and talk ’cause everyone was leaving him alone, not wanting to bother
him, so we started talking about music.”
Bloom sang the blues classic “Stormy
Monday” with Castro’s band during the cruise and received one
of the highest praises an artist can get. “He paid me a big compliment when he told me,
‘We don’t do that; we don’t let anyone sit in.’
That swelled my head up so big.”
Benefit plans include a silent auction of a Fender
Stratocaster guitar signed that night by Castro and the sale of food and
beverages. The appeal of the California bluesman seems to be
universal. Bloom has received calls from as far away as Dallas and as close
as most central-Illinois cities inquiring about the specifics of
Castro’s stop in Springfield. But his music also touched someone
else. When Bloom’s mom, who was known to “like a little of
everything,” listened to the Tommy Castro Band play, she recognized
the sound of a kindred spirit. “She heard Tommy once and she said, ‘That
sounds like you guys.’ I said, ‘No, Mom, that’s just
Tommy and the boys.’ ”
The doors open at 6 p.m. for the Mary Bloom-Beams
Memorial ALS Benefit, on Friday, June 16, at the Food-A-Rama Building, on
the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The Groove Daddies kick off the show at 7:
30 p.m., and the Tommy Castro Band continues the jam from 9 p.m.-midnight.
Tickets, $15 in advance and $20 at the door, are available at Recycled
Records (625 E. Adams St., 217-522-5122) or Thirsty’s Playground
(1975 W. Wabash Ave., 217-787-7273) or by calling Dean Wilson at
217-541-6241.
This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2006.
