Good news for a new year

Click that photo above to see the Enquirer's "B.Z. Buzz" photo gallery of New Year's Eve celebrations at Planet Rock, my home away from home.

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Now, on to other good news.

Got a call today from Gary Fields, former owner of the now-shuttered legendary Gary Fields Comedy Club, who told me the blues jam he hosted Tuesday nights at the club are back on in a new location. They're now being held from 7 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays at the Ball Joint on Beckley Road. Click here for the story.

A while back, I wrote a column about the painful disappointments of the ups and downs of the music biz in our little burg. Gary's closure meant no more blues for Battle Creek, essentially, because there was no other venue here hosting blues music on a regular basis, the way Gary did.

And Gary's blues were special: they were jams, the ways the blues were intended to be played. Any musician with enough guts and even a little talent was welcomed on stage with the Gary Fields Comedy Club Band to jam to any number of covers or originals or tunes created right there, on the spot.

And Battle Creek's music scene was built on the blues. As the genre was being born in Detroit and Chicago after the turn of the last century, Battle Creek found itself an almost exact midway point for artists traveling between the two cities. And they stopped in the Cereal City for a rest between gigs and to throw little shows to make a few extra bucks. That's how people like Del Shannon got connected with record executives.

So it was a sad thing to see the blues leave, and it's a great thing to see them back. It's important to hold on to our heritage. I've always believed that if we lose sight of where we began, we'll lose sight of where we can go.

Plus, Gary's bringing his signature wings to the blues nights at the Ball Joint. And if that's wrong, I don't want to be right.

Comments

[lol]

SIGNATURE WINGS... u mean from frezers at GFS...lol