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Battle of the Blues Bands crowns champion
By Franklin Hayes Splash! Magazine
 | | Tin Feet band members from left to right: John Fountain, bass, Raul Maysonete, guitar, Daniel "Slim" Richardson, vocals/harmonica and Travis Jackson, drums |
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A crowd composed of all ages swayed, rocked and grooved to the sounds of 11 of the area's best blues acts during the "Battle of the Blues Bands" at the Gutter Lounge in Pensacola on Oct. 7. The medium sized venue was filled to the brim with blues fans clamoring to see who would win the right to travel to Memphis, Tenn. and represent the Blues Society of Northwest Florida (BSNF) in the International Blues Challenge in February 2007.
"I knew that the turnout would be large, but I didn't know it would be huge," said BSNF director Reese Howard, who was dressed to fill in for Jake or Elwood Blues, complete with a black sports coat, tie and fedora. "The audience got to see a collection of bands from this area that you don't get to see anywhere else."
Local favorite Tin Feet emerged victorious after judges evaluated more than eight hours of premiere blues acts.
"There was a lot of good talent here and to say that we came out on top is a great honor," said Tin Feet front man Daniel "Slim" Richardson.
Tin Feet host a blues night every Monday at the Gutter Lounge, located at 3200 North Palafox Street in Pensacola, and are apart of a grass roots effort to bring back some of the luster to the Pensacola music scene.
"You never know who's going to walk through that door and say 'You mind if I sit in?'"
Richardson said their Monday Night Blues effort acts as a conduit for great performers to play in the Pensacola area including: "The Creole Man" Bobby Purify, Jony James (who will headline there Nov. 7), and Earnest "Stan the blues man" Stanberry Jr.
"My goal is to close the musical gap in Pensacola," Richardson said. "My thing is to prove that people will come out and support live music here."
They certainly supported the battle of the blues bands, as several hundred passed through the doors of The Gutter Lounge that night. The Darren J Trio took second place in the competition, Liquid Alibi came in third and "Memphis" Annie grabbed top honors as best solo act.
"If you play the blues, all roads lead back to Memphis," said Annie, who will also represent BSNF at the international competition. In 2006, over 130 acts performed at the festival, representing 140 blues affiliates. For more information check out www.blues.org. To hear samples of Tin Feet visit www.soundclick.com/tinfeet.
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