Play Like No One’s Listening
B.L.U.E.S. Etc. (1998-1999)
Chicago, Illinois
When I moved to Chicago in 1998, the Internet was mostly one-page websites with gray backgrounds, blue text links, and stick-figure clip art.
So when I was learning my way around the city, offline sources were key. Plenty of free print publications were stacked next to the newspaper vending machines lining every train station entrance and bus stop.
I grabbed a copy of anything with “Free! Take One” on the cover to read on my bus rides to and from work:
King Biscuit Times Blues Journal
I loved the lengthy interviews with local musicians and reviews of albums beyond the mainstream. These freebies were also how I navigated the city in search of nearby blues clubs. I earmarked one club close to home:
B.L.U.E.S. Etc.
Blues Jam Every Wednesday Night: 9:00 p.m.
Hosted by The Rockin’ Johnny Band
The name of the bar was familiar after going to shows at its shuttered signature club, B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted. I heard Chicago blues stalwarts at both venues such as Willie Kent and The Gents and Big Time Sarah and The BTS Express.
Since the bar was only a 10-minute walk from my apartment, I grabbed a pocketful of harmonicas and hit the pavement for the Wednesday night jam.
The host band was led by guitarist and vocalist, Johnny Burgin. Today, Johnny remains active on the blues scene. At the time, he was cutting his teeth in Chicago recording, playing gigs, and hosting jams like the one that caught my eye.
Johnny took a laid-back, live-in-the-moment approach to hosting the jam. With that easy-going demeanor in unpredictable jam land, you would think he crossed paths with Dr. Longhair at The Cafe for jam-hosting pointers.
That meant I was instantly comfortable on stage with Johnny and friends from the get-go. Whenever I played, Johnny was calm, collected, and supportive. He would share “sounded good, man” as he smiled and nodded, while he slowly tucked stray strands of hair back behind his ears.
Like Dr. Longhair, Johnny’s affirmation did wonders for my confidence and the likelihood I would step foot on that stage - or any other - again.
Besides the host band members, the audience was made up of the usual suspects. Other jammers. The bartenders. The bouncer. The manager who booked bands.
But you never knew who else could be there listening on any random Wednesday night in the city. Blues acts scouting for talent on a night off from gigs. College kids whooping it up on a school night. Curious tourists from the suburbs, other states, or overseas.
Even my amazingly talented friend, Shoji Naito, was likely there at the same time I was. Yet we didn’t officially meet until years later at the Old Town School of Folk Music where we traded fond memories of the B.L.U.E.S. Etc. jam.
Directly behind the stage was a dedicated space for billiards. A dim light, hanging above the pool table’s green felt, drew my eyes every time I passed by en route to the bathroom.
One time passing that pool room would be forever etched in my memory.
Hovering over the pool table - cue in hand pondering his next move - stood a tall man with a thin moustache. He was wearing large tinted sunglasses, a black 10-gallon cowboy hat, and a dark suit over a black turtleneck sweater.
Every subtle sway or gesture he made meant something or it didn’t happen. Just like his music. He was cooler than being cool. I knew exactly who it was:
I thought: how amazing is that? I’m hanging at the same place as a Chicago blues legend!
Then, it hit me: I realized this AFTER I was called to the stage to play on a few songs. My thoughts of thrill shifted to doubt.
Was he in the pool room the whole time I was playing?
Was he listening?
Did he make sense of what he heard?
Or was he wearing ear plugs and didn’t hear a thing?
My internal line of questioning was relentless. It reminds me of an SNL skit with comedian Martin Short’s nerdy high-strung character, Ed Grimley.
Ed frantically debates - out loud, I must say - how he would feel if he ever met his hero, Wheel of Fortune game show host, Pat Sajak:
“Oh wow, what a thrill it would be to meet Otis, I must say! I mean, maybe Mr. Rush would be so happy to meet me, I must say, and talk to me and shake my hand and tell me he liked my playing!
Oh yeah, sure, right. Like that would ever happen. I mean, we’re talking about THE Otis Rush as if he would want anything to do with me!
Or maybe he would?! It’s really hard to tell, I must say!”
Doubtful ego aside, I’ll never know what Otis Rush thought of my playing that night. I didn’t have the nerve to approach him. And that’s okay. It’s more likely what he heard was background music for a night off from an exhausting tour playing around the world.
It’s also likely Otis cut his teeth playing in front of his heroes when he first arrived in Chicago from Philadelphia, Mississippi much like the countless players he influenced. Living legend, Buddy Guy, comes to mind. When Otis passed away in 2018, Buddy mentioned in this interview that Otis invited him on stage early on in Buddy’s career without hearing him play a lick of guitar.
That’s the unconditional lineage and beauty of Chicago blues.
If you love it and embrace it, there’s a place for you.
The Blues Jam Series (Part III) Playlist
Otis Rush Playlist Highlights:
“All Your Love (I Miss Loving)”
“Gambler’s Blues”
“Reap What You Sow”
“So Many Roads, So Many Trains”
“Everything’s Going to Turn Out Alright”
“Keep on Loving Me, Baby”
“I Can’t Quit You Baby”
The Essential Otis Rush: 1956-1958 Cobra Recordings
All Your Love I Miss Loving: Live at The Wise Fools Pub, Chicago (Delmark Records)