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Chatting with the Doctor:
Dr. John Headlines Frankenmuth Blues Bash on the Cass And Grants a Rare Interview  By Scott Baker The Frankenmuth Blues Bash on the Cass is making its 2nd Annual event the biggest mid-Michigan blues party this summer.
After last year's mass turnout and
excellent success for the inaugural festival and its many musical
highlights, attention is turned to the Bavarian town for another blues
jamboree.
Headlining Friday night, Sept. 2, at 10 p.m., will be the one and only Dr. John, 'The Night Tripper' himself. Kicking off earlier in the day will be Frankenmuth's own Saucecats at 4 p.m., followed by Walter 'Wolfman' Washington at 6 p.m., and Tommy Castro at 8 p.m.
For Saturday, Sept. 3, at 10:30
p.m., Larry McCray will headline to his home crowd, pulling closing
ceremony duty for the late Little Milton who recently passed away
and was scheduled prior.
Five other acts fill out the entire day
with another Frankenmuth musician, Matt Besey, kicking off the
festivities at 3 p.m., followed by former Buddy Guy
guitarist Frank Bang & The Secret Stash, Bernard Allison
(son of Luther), 2004 Grammy Nominee Kenny Neal, and
Carl Weathersby. An All-Star Jam Finale with Larry McCray and friends
will wrap up the show from 11:15 p.m. till close.
The Review was granted a
last minute and extremely rare interview with Mac 'Dr. John'
Rebennack, while the legendary musician was on the road last week
kicking off his current North American tour.
Having witnessed resurgence over the past
five years, Dr. John has never gone out of style with his Mardi
Gras vibe and voodoo piano groove. Recent albums such as Creole Moon
(2001) or N'Awlinz: Dis, Dat or D’Udda (2004), stand out
with the best of his '70s popular output, like Gris Gris, Gumbo,
and In The Right Place. Even more recently, Dr. John has
allowed Hyena Records to begin issuing on CD the best of his
archives, starting with All By Hisself: Live at the Lonestar.
Rebennack just got back a week prior from
a tour overseas, jumped into the studio to wrap up work on his next
album (due early 2006) and now has hit the road in America for his late
summer tour. With a whole lot of history behind him, the gruff-voiced
and golden fingered, laid-back Dr. John was cordial and enthused
to still be playing, which he shared in the interview, with his warm,
yet rough Louisianan drawl.
Review: You'll be in Frankenmuth, Michigan for Labor Day weekend, the night before Detroit. How have things been for you lately Doc? Dr. John: I'm cool ya know. Somewhere in Lowell, Massachusetts right now. We got a date in New York City tomorrow. But I'm looking forward to coming there to Michigan. It's gonna be nice. Review: Have you personally been noticing resurgence at this time in your history, due to your live shows and the great new records you've been putting out? Dr. John: Yeah, I think it's a very cool time. You know one of the things that's really cool right now is that I see a lot of diversified people at the gigs, you know. Review: The last time you were around here was during the B.B. King tour when it stopped last year at Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant. Dr. John: I was just with him down in Biloxi (Mississippi) for his birthday party! For the first time I could actually go to something. I'm usually on the road with him when it's his birthday. But when he's had one and he's invited me, which was like his 75th or whatever, you know the important ones, I always was giggin' somewhere, so this is the first one. This was his 80th and I was pleased to be there for that, you know. Review: I noticed you've been doing a lot of sessions again lately, namely John Scofield's new tribute to Ray Charles, That's What I Say. Dr. John: I haven't got a copy of the record yet, but I like what his idea was. Review: I also heard you were just in the studio to wrap up your next album. Dr. John: Well, we just finished a new record. It'll be out early next year, but it's just that right now we're goin' in to master it when we get some days off. Review: What can we expect--any new material? Dr. John: Actually it's a tribute to Johnny Mercer record. He was just some guy that when I used to hear his songs back in the day, I knew he wasn't like one of them Tin-pan-out kinda guys, so I told it about the South. We did it once - a tribute album - for Duke Ellington (Duke Elegant CD, 2000) and we did one for--I don't know, you know, it's nice stuff to do. Tickets for the 2nd Annual Frankenmuth Blues Bash on the Cass at the newly built Harvey Kern Entertainment Pavilion at Heritage Park are available at both Famous Dave's Pit Bar-B-Que locations (Bay Road, Saginaw and Miller Road in Flint).
You may also call 800-FUN-FEST or
order online at
www.frankenmuthfestivals.com.
General seating tickets cost $25 per day or $40 for a two-day pass. Reserved tickets cost $35 per day or are $60 for the two-day pass. Reserved are only available by calling 800-FUN-FEST. Shows are rain or shine. |
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