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Blues Brothers Weekend
Two of the entertainment idols, Charles Schulz and Jim Henson, who I’ve been fanatic about my whole life are gone and my chances of meeting them will not be until I, myself, have kicked that bucket to wander with the angelic rubber chickens on the other side. There was only one other hero in the entertainment industry that I really wanted to meet:
Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues, Ray Stantz-Ghostbuster).
Well, news hit me that The Blues Brothers, Elwood and Brother Zee (Jim Belushi) were performing in Tunica, MS, (Dec 27th) at the Horseshoe Casino “Bluesville” stage, and obviously I went. My best pal Lin went with me! Even to be in his 50’s now, it was a powerful performance by Elwood, and my second time to see Zee perform (once on TV on The Disney Channel late, late, late one night in Blues Brothers and Friends).
Saturday (12/28) morning at 11:30 am at Hard Rock Café on Beale Street here in Memphis, TN, The Blues Brothers were awarded the keys to the city, the date is saved as Blues Brothers Day in Memphis, they received 2 honors from the City, County, and State of Tennessee (however were told they had to stick to the Highway and Traffic Laws of the State), and finally—their reason for being here that day—a brass note to go on the Beale Street Walk of Fame.
They are note #50, an honor from Memphis which began in 1983. Elwood delivered a speech of thanks and dedicated it also to the musical talents of locals Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Matt “Guitar” Murphy (prior 2 were from Memphis Stax/Volt era and performed with the greats like Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, and Booker T. and the MG’s; Matt Murphy is from Sunflower MS and is a great blues performer in his own right having mixed in with Muddy Waters et al).
While there, I was interviewed by Channel 5 and Channel 3 news because I showed up decked out in my own Blues Brothers suit, only CH 5 showed the interview. When the waitress seated us at Hard Rock she put us way in the back, but I walked to the front where I saw 2 women sitting alone and asked could Lin and I sit with them by the stage, and they said yes, so big BIG Kudos to Marty (a choreographer) and Mary (her pal), who call themselves the "M&Ms."
A woman named Charlotte Neal was commenting on my hat and I was telling her to contact me and I’d be glad to go with her to pick out a “Blues Brother Hat” for her, and I’d help customize the band when a guy comes up and says “Come on, and I’ll take you to see the man.” She walks away, and then I realize, “The MAN?! What man?" So I go to talk to her and work it into the conversation that I want to meet Dan Aykroyd, my childhood idol, and we go into a huge conversation about my Blues Brother Suit, she asks if Lin and I do that act often and I say Yes, just not with a live band.
Ms Neal points out a man in a green jacket who is filming the whole day’s affairs and tells me his name is Rene Koopman and that I should talk to him about putting a blues band together because she has hired him to perform for events for her, and if by next year we have a band together she’ll hire Lin and I to perform our “blues” characters Linwood and Soloman DH Blues at the Liberty Bowl for a 1000 person audience!!
THEN, she walks me over to him, introduces me to him, then turns and says, “By the way, Dan and him are really good friends, and Danny hired him to do this filming today!” She turned to him and said, “This is Kevin Williams, and I would LOVE it if you could get him to meet Dan Aykroyd and talk to him about a blues band!” He and I talked after the days' events.
Well, after the speech is given and photos are taken with the brass note for the street, Jim Belushi (Zee) and Dan Aykroyd (Elwood) begin signing autographs and taking photos, and suddenly I’m pushed to standing right beside Elwood, being filmed by Rene, photographed by Lin, and Elwood looking at me saying, “’ey, nice soot, y’know?” And I said something (probably Hominahominahomina…) and he smiles and we get a photo together, then I take one of him and Lin and then Rene films me again freaking out cause I FINALLY got to meet Dan Aykroyd.
They went over to the Gibson Guitar Factory and the Rock n Soul Museum for a tour, and we all went as well. I met Pat Kerr Tigrett, whose husband Isaac founded the Hard Rock Café’s and partnered with Dan Aykroyd for the House of Blues clubs, and Tn. Sen. Steve Cohen who really dug my Blues Brothers suit. We milled around there for a bit, I met several other folks, there were 2 kids there from Ronald McDonald House (you know Muley and I do a LOT of work with RMH).
Come to find out, the 2 kids from RMH (who are being treated at St. Jude for cancer) and their families got to ride over to the museum from Hard Rock in a limousine with the Blues Brothers, and when the event was over Jim Belushi put them all back in the limo and gave each family $100 to buy their meals with!!
Outside, after the motorcade left the museum to go to the Rendezvous restaurant for lunch, I spoke to Rene and he and I are supposed to meet to discuss putting a blues band together…as the Blues Brothers.
Finally, Lin and I swing by a Goodwill store and bought him a full-fledged Blues Brothers suit (it usually has been Ghostbuster and Beetlejuice donning black jackets, shades, and hats in the past because of the venues we played in).
Well, that happens to be my weekend and I just wanted to share!
COOL HUH?!
F
Z/Kev
Two of the entertainment idols, Charles Schulz and Jim Henson, who I’ve been fanatic about my whole life are gone and my chances of meeting them will not be until I, myself, have kicked that bucket to wander with the angelic rubber chickens on the other side. There was only one other hero in the entertainment industry that I really wanted to meet:
Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues, Ray Stantz-Ghostbuster).
Well, news hit me that The Blues Brothers, Elwood and Brother Zee (Jim Belushi) were performing in Tunica, MS, (Dec 27th) at the Horseshoe Casino “Bluesville” stage, and obviously I went. My best pal Lin went with me! Even to be in his 50’s now, it was a powerful performance by Elwood, and my second time to see Zee perform (once on TV on The Disney Channel late, late, late one night in Blues Brothers and Friends).
Saturday (12/28) morning at 11:30 am at Hard Rock Café on Beale Street here in Memphis, TN, The Blues Brothers were awarded the keys to the city, the date is saved as Blues Brothers Day in Memphis, they received 2 honors from the City, County, and State of Tennessee (however were told they had to stick to the Highway and Traffic Laws of the State), and finally—their reason for being here that day—a brass note to go on the Beale Street Walk of Fame.
They are note #50, an honor from Memphis which began in 1983. Elwood delivered a speech of thanks and dedicated it also to the musical talents of locals Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Matt “Guitar” Murphy (prior 2 were from Memphis Stax/Volt era and performed with the greats like Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett, and Booker T. and the MG’s; Matt Murphy is from Sunflower MS and is a great blues performer in his own right having mixed in with Muddy Waters et al).
While there, I was interviewed by Channel 5 and Channel 3 news because I showed up decked out in my own Blues Brothers suit, only CH 5 showed the interview. When the waitress seated us at Hard Rock she put us way in the back, but I walked to the front where I saw 2 women sitting alone and asked could Lin and I sit with them by the stage, and they said yes, so big BIG Kudos to Marty (a choreographer) and Mary (her pal), who call themselves the "M&Ms."
A woman named Charlotte Neal was commenting on my hat and I was telling her to contact me and I’d be glad to go with her to pick out a “Blues Brother Hat” for her, and I’d help customize the band when a guy comes up and says “Come on, and I’ll take you to see the man.” She walks away, and then I realize, “The MAN?! What man?" So I go to talk to her and work it into the conversation that I want to meet Dan Aykroyd, my childhood idol, and we go into a huge conversation about my Blues Brother Suit, she asks if Lin and I do that act often and I say Yes, just not with a live band.
Ms Neal points out a man in a green jacket who is filming the whole day’s affairs and tells me his name is Rene Koopman and that I should talk to him about putting a blues band together because she has hired him to perform for events for her, and if by next year we have a band together she’ll hire Lin and I to perform our “blues” characters Linwood and Soloman DH Blues at the Liberty Bowl for a 1000 person audience!!
THEN, she walks me over to him, introduces me to him, then turns and says, “By the way, Dan and him are really good friends, and Danny hired him to do this filming today!” She turned to him and said, “This is Kevin Williams, and I would LOVE it if you could get him to meet Dan Aykroyd and talk to him about a blues band!” He and I talked after the days' events.
Well, after the speech is given and photos are taken with the brass note for the street, Jim Belushi (Zee) and Dan Aykroyd (Elwood) begin signing autographs and taking photos, and suddenly I’m pushed to standing right beside Elwood, being filmed by Rene, photographed by Lin, and Elwood looking at me saying, “’ey, nice soot, y’know?” And I said something (probably Hominahominahomina…) and he smiles and we get a photo together, then I take one of him and Lin and then Rene films me again freaking out cause I FINALLY got to meet Dan Aykroyd.
They went over to the Gibson Guitar Factory and the Rock n Soul Museum for a tour, and we all went as well. I met Pat Kerr Tigrett, whose husband Isaac founded the Hard Rock Café’s and partnered with Dan Aykroyd for the House of Blues clubs, and Tn. Sen. Steve Cohen who really dug my Blues Brothers suit. We milled around there for a bit, I met several other folks, there were 2 kids there from Ronald McDonald House (you know Muley and I do a LOT of work with RMH).
Come to find out, the 2 kids from RMH (who are being treated at St. Jude for cancer) and their families got to ride over to the museum from Hard Rock in a limousine with the Blues Brothers, and when the event was over Jim Belushi put them all back in the limo and gave each family $100 to buy their meals with!!
Outside, after the motorcade left the museum to go to the Rendezvous restaurant for lunch, I spoke to Rene and he and I are supposed to meet to discuss putting a blues band together…as the Blues Brothers.
Finally, Lin and I swing by a Goodwill store and bought him a full-fledged Blues Brothers suit (it usually has been Ghostbuster and Beetlejuice donning black jackets, shades, and hats in the past because of the venues we played in).
Well, that happens to be my weekend and I just wanted to share!
COOL HUH?!
F
Z/Kev
