seattle 1996-2014: The mighty titans of tone and the titans of twang
In 1996 I was offered a cool publishing job by Microsoft and our family moved back to Seattle. I worked at Microsoft for the next fifteen years. It was a demanding gig and with two sons to help raise there was little time for music. I gigged rarely over the next eight years—mostly when people called me, which happened less and less often—and so I couldn’t expect to keep a regular band. But even during that lean period time I had some great musical experiences.
Every year there seemed to be a couple of harmonica showcases in the Pacific Northwest, and I appeared at a lot of those. There was an exceptional one held in the late 90s in Portland, Oregon, with Mark Hummel, Rick Estrin, and the amazing Paul deLay. I had first seen Paul in action in 1975 when I visited Portland and my friend Jeff Fereday insisted that I just had to hear this guy play the harmonica and sing. Jeff was right—Paul was something special. When I moved back to Seattle in ‘96, Paul had finished a stint in prison on a drug charge and had come out of that experience not only clean and sober but with a ton of new original tunes that he had written when he was in stir. At that point, he was in the process of releasing a string of stellar CDs of original material and establishing an international reputation as one of the greatest of the younger bluesmen. Paul played often at the Owl Café and the Jolly Roger Blues Club in Seattle. He had it all—as a singer, a harmonica player, and a songwriter.
Mark Hummel. me, Paul deLay, and Peter Damman
One of my favorite venues in Seattle during those days was the Backstage in Ballard, a nice 300-seater that booked great shows. Their booking agent offered me several choice opening-act gigs, including one with John Lee Hooker. The most memorable Backstage show was the one I did with my hero James Cotton. Cotton was touring with Luther Tucker again—Tucker had been in Cotton’s band when they changed my life that night at Eagles Auditorium when I was 17. I ran into James in dressing room between shows. He was relaxing on the sofa. I had the nerve to interrupt his siesta and ask him for a photo with me. "That's cool," he said, "but I'm not getting up from this sofa." So I got down to his level for this shot.
James Cotton and me at the Backstage
Me and Luther Tucker at the Backstage
I got to see more of Californian Rusty Zinn now that I was back on the West Coast. Rusty was out on the road and in the studio, establishing himself as one of the finest blues guitarists on the planet. He’s especially revered by harmonica players; nobody plays guitar behind the harp better than Rusty. Rusty is also a wonderful, soulful human being. In recent years he’s focused quite a bit on reggae music, a style he’s also mastered. Rusty brought Bob Welsh and Richard Innes up to Seattle for a gig at Larry’s Greenfront that I joined him on. He also asked me to play the Mt. Baker Blues Festival with him, former Muddy Waters drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, and Paris Slim (Franck Goldwasser), a great guitarist who played bass on that show.
Me and Riusty Zinn at Larry’s Greenfront in Seattle
Willie Smith, Frank Goldwasser, me, and Rusty Zinn at the Mt. Baker Blues Festival
In 2007 I was invited to participate in a gig at the Highway 99 Blues Club in Seattle to raise money for Curtis Salgado, who had gone through some major health problems. Tons of players, naturally, participated. I got up to do a few numbers. Backing me up were a couple of young Seattle guitarists, Eric Daw and Steve Yonck, who I only knew slightly as relative newcomers on the scene. As we ran through my numbers, I found myself listening to what Steve and Eric were doing behind me. Eric played a Telecaster and had that great stinging sound, while Steve played a gold to Les Paul and had the famous lyrical tone that that guitar is famous four. Their different playing styles and approaches to tone made for a really nice blend, but the thing that really impressed me was how the two of them gravitated to different parts within a bar or two, playing different rhythms and riffs and gravitating to the part of the guitar neck that the other guy wasn’t using. I had been playing in five-piece bands with one guitar for many years, mostly for economic reasons, but I had grown up on the thrilling, seamless two-guitar blues styles of Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on Muddy’s records, and Robert Jr. Lockwood and Luther Tucker, and when I heard what Steve and Eric were doing that night, I got really excited about music again.
At that time my sons were either in college or headed there, so I saw a window of time I could put behind music for the first time in years. I really missed playing, but I was tired of just throwing together another five-piece band together from the same twenty local guys I had always jammed with to play shuffles and slow blueses at random, rare gigs. Those had become soul-crushing evenings to me; I was better off staying home. If I was going to make a comeback, I decided, I needed to put a damn good, tight band together with some young players who I had never worked with before and rehearse some real material, especially original stuff.
I talked to Eric and Steve about what I had in mind and the rehearsal commitment that at least at first would exceed the actual gigs. They were game. My friend and fellow harp player Mike Lynch told me about a great bass player who had just moved to town named Brady Kish. I went to check him out and he was everything Mike said he was, and a great guy to boot. Billy Spaulding was an excellent Seattle drummer who had a real feel for blues and r&b and who could also sing (I wanted backup vocals in this new band), but he had a reputation for drinking that made some bandleaders leery about him. I did some homework and found out that Billy was six months sober and was really committed to turning himself around. We talked and I agreed to give him a shot.
We rehearsed for three months before we played out first gig, and as The Mighty Titans of Tone we caught fire from the get go. We played regularly at the top Seattle blues room, the Highway 99 Blues Club, we were one of the few Seattle bands to get several showcase gigs at Seattle’s most prestigious club, the Triple Door, and we played the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival. We began working more and more original material into our act, as I wrote the first originals I had come up with since the Slamhound Hunters and Eric Daw also came forward with some great tunes of his own.
By 2009 it was clear that we weren’t going to be able to keep the original lineup together. Eric wanted to focus on his career as a guitar tech and luthier and he was interested in moving back to his home state of Idaho. (He did just that. He is now the preferred guitar tech for many world-class guitarists, is selling lots of his own custom guitars, and he and his wife are raising two boys in Sand Point, Idaho.) Billy Spaulding is a fine keyboardist and singer, and he wanted to realize his dream of fronting his own band.
So I decided to take the Titans into the studio to record an album of my original tunes. We had been performing about seven of my songs and had those pretty well down, but that wasn’t enough for a record. I had to come up with another half dozen songs in a month That was a big challenge for me, but we ended up recording fourteen of my songs and one of Eric’s best tunes and releasing our “Black Diamonds” CD. I remixed those tunes just this year with my friend Al Kaatz.
Several other players came through the band in the next few years, including Al Kaatz and Tom Boyle on guitar, and Eric Bryson on bass. For the past four years the second incarnation of the Mighty Titans of Tone has held steady: the great David Hudson on drums, Tim Sherman on guitar (Tim has won the BB Award for best blues guitar from the Washington State Blues Society five times), original member and phenomenal Fender and standup bass player Brady Kish, and our secret ingredient—Bob Knetzger and his amazing pedal steel guitar. (More on him a little further on.) Every three months or so I host Kim Field’s Big Blue Revue at the Highway 99 Blues Club, and for those shows we use the killer Emerald City Horns—Al Keith on trumpet and Brian Kent on tenor. (Brian also writes our horn charts.)
The Mighty Titans of Tone still plays regularly in the Pacific Northwest. I’m so proud to have been able to play with such fine musicians and great people.
See “The Mighty Titans of Tone” section of this web site for more information about the band, music samples, and a photo gallery. To purchase the new remix of “Black Diamonds,” click HERE.
The original Mighty Titans of Tone lineup: me, Billy Spaulding, Steve Yonck, Brady Daniel Kish, and Eric Daw (photo by Bradley Hanson)
In 2010 I heard about a hard-to-believe weekend of shows in Phoenix, Arizona. Amanda Taylor, who was then married to Kim Wilson, was bringing nearly every top harmonica player to harmonica ace Bob Corritore’s Rhythm Room for several days. My good friend Jeff Fereday and I decided that this was too cool an event to miss, so we headed down to Arizona. Check out this lineup of harmonica stars: Joe Filisko, Dennis Gruenling, Mark Wenner, Dave Waldman, Johnny Sansone, Jerry Portnoy, Scott Dirks, R.J. Mischo, Randy Chortkoff, Lazy Lester, James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Barath Rajakumar, Billy Boy Arnold, James Cotton, James Harman, Paul Oscher, Al Blake, Chef Denis, and Bob Corritore. (!) And these cats were backed by a band of blues all stars that included Billy Flynn and Junior Watson on guitars, Barrelhouse Chuck on piano, Larry Taylor on bass, and Richard Innes on drums. And Kim Wilson brought his T-Birds to back up him and Lazy Lester.
It was a monstrous good time. All the performances were incredible, particularly Paul Oscher’s. It was a real gas to meet up again with so many long-time friends from the blues harp subculture and to meet other idols, like Lazy Lester (“I only drink when I’m alone or with somebody”). For that weekend, Phoenix was definitely the center of the harmonica universe.
Lazy Lester, me, and Paul Oscher at Amanda's Roller Coaster (photo by Jeff Fereday)
Dave Waldman, Paul Oscher, Billy Boy Arnold, and Jerry Portnoy at Amanda's Roller Coaster (photo by Jeff Fereday)
After those early discoveries of Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard when I was in high school, I continued to get deeper into country music. Merle was the perfect entrée; he led me quickly to blue yodeler Jimmie Rodgers, the godfather of country music, honky-tonk originator Lefty Frizzell, and western swing genius Bob Wills and his cosmically talented band. I remember listening constantly to Hank Williams in college. Johnny Cash was a revelation; I still consider him one of America’s greatest folk singers. George Jones made my hair stand on end, but he has that effect on everybody. Willie Nelson’s eccentric singing and stellar songwriting were great. Being a harmonica player, I followed Charlie McCoy closely; his work with Area Code 615 was particularly innovative.
I saw a lot of country shows over the years. I finally saw Merle for the first time in the Felt Forum in New York City when I was in college. He was the young Merle Haggard then, and I saw him many, many times over the years—every show I could get to. I stood in line at the Holiday Inn in Everett, Washington to get Ernest Tubb’s autograph. I saw Marty Robbins open for Merle once; he sang beautifully but was one of the most offensive performers I’ve ever seen. I sat in a booth with Dave Dudley between his sets at the Casino Tavern in Washington. Tiny Moore, who played with Bob Wills, came through Seattle with his fiddle and electric mandolin. I already mentioned seeing Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris on their only tour; when Emmylou brought her Hot Band through Seattle a year later I was in the front row. Waylon Jennings did a killer show at Max’s Kansas City in New York with Ralph Mooney on pedal steel and the amazing Donnie Brooks on harmonica. I was in the audience for a really strong show from Tammy Wynette not long before she died.
I finally got to Nashville in 1977 and caught an Opry show—Hank Snow was still hosting a segment then. After the show I grabbed a bite at a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant. I stood in line at the cashier to pay my bill and realized I was standing behind singer Dottie West and Weldon Myrick, the house pedal steel player on the Opry and with Area Code 615. I introduced myself to Weldon, who seemed astonished that someone had recognized him. Eleven years later I visited the harmonica player Herman Crook in Nashville. Herman was in one of the original five bands chosen for the Opry in 1924, and he still played every Saturday night on the show. Herman got me backstage, where I hung out with Little Jimmy Dickens and watched all the great pedal steel players from the wings.
There were country bands in Seattle like Ranch Romance and Stampede Pass that I sat in with on harmonica on occasion. At home, I was learning some rudimentary guitar and singing Merle Haggard tunes, but professionally I was a blues harp player and singer who dreamed about being in a really good country band. I finally got my opportunity in 2011 thanks to Lisa Theo.
Me and Lisa Theo
Lisa, a supremely talented singer, guitarist, and mandolin player best known for her work with the band Ranch Romance, had come up with a great concept: a band dedicated to paying tribute to the great country and western male/female duet tradition. Lisa assembled a group of the Pacific Northwest's finest country players and for some unknown reason chose me to be her singing partner.
Choosing a repertoire was the easy part. Outstanding vocal teams like Tennessee Ernie Ford and Kay Starr, George Jones and Melba Montgomery, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Pardon, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, and Gram Parson and Emmylou Harris had established a vast catalogue of great recordings--there too many killer tunes to choose from. Dissecting those recordings, recreating those arrangements and harmonies, and rehearsing the new band, on the other hand, took an enormous amount of work, but the band members were dedicated pros and it all came together.
The Titans of Twang lasted a couple of years. The original lineup was Lisa on guitar and vocals; me on guitar, harmonica, and vocals; Al Kaatz on lead guitar; Paul Elliot on fiddle; Bob Knetzger on pedal steel; Greg Glassman on bass; and Peter Barnes on drums. After that group disbanded, Lisa, Bob Knetzger, and I continued on with another killer lineup featuring Terry Kingen on lead guitar, Robin Cady on bass, and Bill Shaw on drums. The Titans of Twang had some great gigs--including a showcase spot at the 2012 Wintergrass International Festival--and attracted a solid following during our relatively brief stint. Personally, I not only got to realize my dream of fronting a country band, but that band ended up being chock full of some of the best musicians I have ever worked with. And I learned a TON from Lisa about duet singing and harmony.
Here are some video clips and photos of the Titans of Twang:
The Titans of Twang’s first gig at the Highway 99 Blues Club: Al Kaatz, Peter Barnes, Greg Glassman, me, Paul Elliott, Lisa Theo
Me and Lisa Theo
Me preparing for a show with drummer Peter Barnes, a man who has dedicated his life to country music
The second Titans of Twang lineup: Robin Cady, Bill Shaw, Bob Knetzger, Terry Kingen, me, and Lisa Theo
As far as my day job was concerned, after I left Microsoft I worked at REI for about three years. Then one day an email showed up in my inbox at work with this in the subject line: “HI, THERE. WANT TO MOVE TO NEW YORK?”