2017 Earned Media Placements

By Mark Zaretsky mzaretsky@nhregister.com @markzar on Twitter OLDSAYBROOK» The far- ther along blues time rolls, the taller and taller stands veteran Chicago bluesman Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater. Born in Macon, Mis- sissippi, on Jan. 10, 1935, Clearwater, 82, is one of the last of the Mississippi blues frontmen still play- ing to have hoofed it up to Chicago after World War II to electrify and transform the Delta blues into what we know today as Chicago Blues. A flamboyant, engag- ing and dynamic per- former — who has been known to wear a col- orful Native American headdress onstage as well as a guitar — Clear- water came out of the same West Side crucible as Magic Sam, Freddie King and Otis Rush, al- though his soulful, funky, rocked-up blues owes just as much stylistically to Chuck Berry, among oth- ers. Born Edward Har- rington, Clearwater — a lefty and a member of the Blues Hall of Fame — also is a cousin of the late Chicago blues har- monica great (and fellow Hall of Famer) Carey Bell Harrington. He is playing exactly two East Coast venues on his current mini-swing out this way. One of them will be tonight at The Katharine Hepburn Cul- tural Arts Center (300 Main St., Old Saybrook). Showtime is 8 p.m. Tick- ets are $32 and $36, available in advance at thekate.org or by calling 877-503-1286. (The other is Satur- day night at the Bull Run Restaurant and Concert Hall in Shirley, Massa- chusetts). Clearwater will be ac- companied by a solid band of Chicago blues professionals who know how to grind out Chi- cago blues the way it’s meant to be played — one of whom, guitarist Tom Crivellone, actually splits his time between Chi- cago, where he was born, and Stratford, where his family lives. But it will be hard to take your eyes off the man up front, and if you’re a blues fan who hasn’t seen Clearwater, this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. The man is 82 — and, yes, he may well live for- ever. But nevertheless, you should see him now rather than risk spend- ing the rest of your life talking about how you ALMOST saw Eddy Clearwater that one time... “It’s been a while since I played the East Coast,” Clearwater said on the phone a few days ago from his home in Skokie, Illinois, just north of Chi- cago. He said he’s looking forward to returning. Clearwater is quite aware that many of the people he once shared stages with in Chicago and around the world are no longer living. But he will leave it to others to hash out his place in the overall scheme of things. “Most of the old-timers are gone — like Elmore James and Freddie King, Magic Sam. Most of them are gone,” Clearwater says, estimating that he has been playing pro- fessionally for “probably about 53 or 55” years. But he said he doesn’t feel any particular pres- sure to carry the torch for the music he grew up with. “The only thing I do as part of my contribu- tion is come forward and give it my best effort,” he said. “So as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to keep doing it.” But as for the blues, “it’ll continue,” Clearwa- ter said. “The younger people do spread the word. “I can remember, Ron- nie Baker Brooks and his brother” Wayne Baker Brooks, Clearwater said, making reference to the two grown, blues- men sons of the late Chi- cago blues great Lon- nie Brooks, who died in April. “I used to see them as kids. Now they’re all grown up. “The next generation — that’s what’s going to carry us forward,” Clear- water said. He said of the blues: “It’s changing because the younger guys have different ideas ... which is a good thing. That’s how everything advances,” Clearwater said. “At some point, the younger guys, they have ideas that they want to put forward. As long as the foundation of the blues is there, it’s a good thing.” As for where Eddy Clearwater’s contribution fits into the history of the blues, “I’ll leave that up to someone else to de- cide ...” he said. “Whether it’s good or bad, you put forth your ideas, and who knows?” People who come out tonight “can expect the energy of the blues — and just the expression of it,” he said. “I try my best to express myself.” Not one to rest on his laurels, Clearwater has been working on a new album for the past few months, although people will be able to pick up a copy of his 2014 release on his own Cleartone la- bel, “Soul Funky,” which was cut live at SPACE in Evanston, Illinois, in Jan- uary of 2014 with Clear- water’s band and spe- cial guests Ronnie Baker Brooks and harmonica master Billy Branch. While he was born in Mississippi, Eddy Har- rington began play- ing guitar at age 13 af- ter his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, playing his uncle’s right- handed acoustic guitar upside down. “That’s the way I picked it up,” he said in a promotional bio. “I said, ‘Well, if I’m going to do it, I have to do it this way.’ ’Cause at that time, they wasn’t making left- handed guitars.” He began by play- ing gospel in church, and said he initially just played guitar because “I was too shy to sing.” Things took a leap for- ward, however, when the same uncle whose gui- tar he first played, Rev. Houston H. Harrington, relocated to Chicago and bought his nephew an electric guitar axe from Sears after the future Eddy Clearwater arrived in the city in 1950. “He sent me a ticket on the Greyhound bus for $15,” Clearwater said. “I wish I would have kept the ticket!” Rev. Harrington also introduced his nephew to the Chicago blues scene. “He took me around to some clubs. He took me to Sylvio’s to see Muddy Waters; also to see Howlin’ Wolf,” he said. “At that time, Little Wal- ter was still with Muddy. But I didn’t start playing until I was about 17.” Clearwater initially played with Little Mack Simmons before he started leading his own trio, Guitar Eddy & the Cutaways. “I had a cut- away Gibson ES-295 — a gold-colored one,” he said. A few years later, Eddy was driving down Mich- igan Avenue in his Ford and first heard Chuck Berry’s “Oh Baby Doll” on the radio — changing his life forever. “That’s the first re- cord I had ever heard by Chuck,” he said in the bio. “I thought his sound was so unique, I started listening for his mu- sic. And the next thing I heard was ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and ‘Maybellene,’ and I said, ‘Oh, now this guy is really different!’” THE KATHARINE HEPBURN CULTURAL ARTS CENTER Blues great Eddy Clearwater in Old Saybrook CONTRIBUTED Eddy Clearwater By Mark Zaretsky mzaretsky@nhregister.com @markzar on Twitter WESTHAVEN» It’s Savin Rock Festival time! The 36th annual Savin Rock Festival began Thurs- day and will continue through Sunday down on the city’s shorefront. It’s aim: to rekindle the spirit of the old Savin Rock amusement park, stir up some memories and pro- vide good food, family en- tertainment and maybe a thrill ride or two. The four- day festival takes place in Old Grove Park — what used to be The Grove area of Savin Rock. The festival will offer music by headliners El- ements — “the ultimate Earth, Wind & Fire tribute” — and several others, plus a midway of games, rides and music and plenty of tasty food, both of the sea and land varieties. The live music over the four-day festival run will include rhythm and blues, soul, funk, disco pop and rock. The event also will feature its second beer gar- den since the festival began in 1982, the city said in a news release. The festival, sponsored by the University of New Haven, will continue today from 5-10 p.m., and Satur- day and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m. Today’s entertainment includes Turbulence, “Con- necticut’s favorite party band,” performing at 5:15 p.m., followed by the His- tory of Rock & Soul star- ring Pauly and the Goodfel- las at 8:30. On Saturday, the West Haven High School dance team and the Top Hat Dance Academy will per- form at noon and 12:15 p.m., respectively, followed by alternative rock group Clockwork at 1 p.m. and country cover band Boon- docks at 2:30. Rubber City, powered by a horn section in the vein of Chicago and Tower of Power, will go on at 4 p.m., followed by “music that’ll move ya’” by Ball in the House at 5:30 p.m. At 8:30, Elements will recreate the sounds and sensations of Earth, Wind & Fire, in- cluding such hits as “Sep- tember,” “Can’t Hide Love,” “Boogie Wonderland” and “Fantasy.” On Sunday, Simply Dance will perform at noon, followed by clas- sic rock band Stratus at 1 p.m., oldies group Vin- nie Carr at 2:30, pop rock group Sister Funk at 4 and R&B band Nu Groove at 5:30. At 8 p.m., the festival will close with a two-hour concert by The Wayouts. The West Haven High School Band Parents will hold a craft fair today from 4-8 p.m., Saturday from noon to 8 and Sunday from noon to 6. In case of rain, the Pauly and the Goodfellas and El- ements shows only would be moved to the Carrigan Intermediate School audi- torium at 2 Tetlow St. (Thursday’s entertain- ment included Sacred Fire, The RumRunners, open- ing remarks by Mayor Ed O’Brien and the national anthem sung by Caitlin Morrissey.) Marenna Amusements will offer wristbands for unlimited rides for $30, 24 tickets for $24 and 12 tick- ets for $10. Otherwise, tick- ets cost $1 each. A number of civic and fraternal organizations and nonprofit groups will have informational booths set up. The food court will have a row of area vendors, including those serving up the fried seafood, split hot dogs and frozen custard that catapulted old Savin Rock to notoriety. The Savin Rock Festi- val Committee will sell T-shirts and other mer- chandise in the hospital- ity tent. It will also charge nonresidents $10 for park- ing. Organizers said the parking revenue and beer and merchandise sales will support next year’s festival budget. The beer garden, which is cash only, will pour three craft, domestic and imported draft beers, as well as a hard cider and a wine, today from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1-9 p.m. WEST HAVEN Elements headlines 4-day Savin Rock Festival CONTRIBUTED Elements By Joe Amarante jamarante@nhregister.com @Joeammo on Twitter NEWHAVEN» New Haven officials hope the second Music on the Green concert this summer is as successful as the first. Last week’s crowd saw The Stylis- tics entertain a crowded New Haven Green, and the weather cooperated — leading to a positive buzz about the event afterward. This Saturday’s cap- per, which starts at 7:30 p.m. and like last week does not include an open- ing band, will feature the talents of Sheila E., a three-decade drummer, singer and songwriter who employs a variety of styles from Latin to jazz to R&B. Born Sheila Escovedo, she has col- laborated with talents such as Marvin Gaye, Gloria Estefan and Prince. As a child she was inspired and immersed in the music scene of the Bay Area. Her father, Pete Escovedo, was a per- cussionist, she had musical uncles, and her godfather was Tito Puente. She gave her first public perfor- mance at age 5, the story goes, to an audience of 3,000 (with her father). She was also sexually abused at a young age, according to her website, which in part has led to humanitar- ian work with the Elevate Hope Foun- dation that she co-founded. Sheila E.’s album “Icon” was fol- lowed by both U.S. and European tours, as well as the release of her bi- ography, “The Beat of My Own Drum” (Simon and Schuster). For more information on Music on the Green, go to infonewhaven.com/ mog. NEWHAVEN Sheila E. sets the beat on the Green Saturday CONTRIBUTED Sheila E. By Joe Amarante jamarante@nhregister.com @Joeammo on Twitter NEWHAVEN» If it gives you fits to hear the words “President Donald Trump,” consider how conservatives twitched when Al Franken became a U.S. senator. Progressive Franken not only wrote self-referencing skits for “Saturday Night Live” in its wild early years but also the book “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them.” For that, he was un- successfully sued by conservative hero Bill O’Reilly (which helped the book be a best-seller). Franken also wrote “Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot” — titled as an ironic comment on Limbaugh’s ad hominem attacks on Democrats and motivated by the rise of Newt Gingrich, who seemed to use Limbaugh as a mouthpiece. The almost-accidental senator from Minnesota had to endure an eight- month recount saga to join the Senate millionaires’ club, and he’s been a pretty effective senator since — unless you re- ject the idea that Gingrich and Lim- baugh have huge roles in the country’s toxic partisanship (and maybe even Trump’s victory). Either way, the man is a funny writer, as evidenced by excerpts from his new book, “Giant of the Senate,” which Franken will discuss in person at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven at 3 p.m. Sunday with Colin McEnroe, the witty WTIC-AM radio host and writer. Excerpt from the book? OK, here’s one: On Ted Cruz: “Here’s the thing you have to understand about Ted Cruz. I like Ted Cruz more than most of my other colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I hate Ted Cruz.” Sunday’s event, presented by venera- ble R.J. Julia Booksellers, seems to have been organized at the last minute, but it should have no problem attracting a crowd in Democratic New Haven. Tickets are $40, which includes a copy of the book. OK, one more excerpt, about Franken meeting President George W. Bush: “‘Well, (says Bush) you were always my favorite comedian on Saturday Night Live.’ I made a face, clearly indi- cating that I wasn’t buying that for a moment. ‘Okay,’ he said with a big grin. ‘I was lyin’.’ ‘Well,’ I responded, ‘you’re my favorite president.’ He laughed and gave me a big high five. Holy mackerel, I liked him.” For further information, visit rjjulia. com/event or call 203-245-3959. NEWHAVEN Hear the senator, Al Franken, at Shubert Theatre Sunday FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017 NEW HAVEN REGISTER | | 5 | | NEW HAVEN REGISTER FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017 4