Thursday, January 10, 2008

Kidney Stew Is Fine


There wasn't even a stage. Legendary jump blues man Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and vocalist Priscilla Bowman were joined by a drummer and bassist on the floor of the Grand Emporium. It was my first time inside the joint, and I was certain my scrawny underage hide would be kicked out. But in the early '80s the Grand Emporium was still known as a skid row bar for day drunks, and none of the dozen people in the smoky room gave me a second glance. The things I heard and witnessed that night changed my life.

2 comments:

bgo said...

Funny I do not remember seeing you there, but hell, I did not really know you all those years ago.

I got to hang out with Eddie some that night. Drove him to the gig in fact.

That was a great show.

Happy In Bag said...

I barely weighed 130 back then, BGO.

And man, until your comment I didn't realize that this was a formal "show." It just seemed kind of improvised; at least that's the way I remember it.