The History of the name "Deja Blooze"

In the summer of 2007, I was looking to put a blues duo together with a guitar player and singer I had met at a local jam night at the Smilin' Dog Restaurant. We got together a couple of times and played some old blues numbers to get a feel for how we fit together. This fellow was renting a little cabin on the water at Possession Beach on the south end of Whidbey Island, and one night we were just talking about the effect blues music had on us and I commented that the old Delta blues gave me the deja-vu's...kind of like the deja-blues. I immediately liked the sound of the two words together and the play on Deja Vu. There was also the connotation of revisiting something that one may have previously experienced.

Unfortunately, the fellow couldn't find work on the island and he and his wife packed up a week after our last get together and moved back to New England. I had just found a like-minded aficionado of the blues, a guy who could both play and sing the blues and just like that he was gone. I was back where I had started, but the name Deja Blues came out of brief friendship.
It seemed to summarize how I felt about blues music...my deep connection with the basic forms of the music style and the heartfelt experiences captured in the song lyrics of the old blues pioneers from the Mississippi Delta region. The more I sat with the name the more connected I felt to it and then I decided to play further with the name and changed 'blues' to 'blooze'. It made the name unusual yet musically recognizable so that the name identified the style of music I wanted to play. The name stuck with me and I kept it on the back burner until a short while later I found another guitar player to team up with. As soon as that pairing jelled, I brought out the name Deja Blooze and in November of 2007 my original blues duo made its first public appearance at a now defunct coffee shop in Clinton, Washington. The duo became a trio a year later when we added a bass player.

In the Fall of 2009, that original trio dissolved and once again I endeavored to reform the Deja Blooze experience.  After playing several gigs as a solo act, I enlisted an occassional sit-in artist--Dave Gignac on harp--to join me.  We subsequently added Russell on bass and most recently Scott on drums.  Deja Blooze continues today as a "blues experiment" whether I'm working as a solo act or with other configuarations of the band, always exploring the possibilities that this original American genre has to offer.

Hollywood 1976 Re-Visited

That winter 1976 junket to Los Angeles where I spent two days in the company of Tom Waits was a jam-packed week of non-stop celebrity events. My host was a talent agent with whom I had been in contact with in Seattle regarding my reporting work at the UW Daily, and his list of clients was impressive. In addition to Mr. Waits, his talent list included Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, and singer/comedian Gary Mule Deer. I had never heard of Gary but agreed to get together with him and find out more. I don't believe I ever wrote anything on Gary but I do remember that we spent probably an hour together and he was extremely cordial and funny. I have not followed his career over the years but according to other sources he's opened shows for a lot of major acts, performed at corporate gatherings, played Las Vegas and made a ton of TV appearances including Jay Leno and David Letterman. But in 1976, I couldn't connect him with UW students or a Seattle audience so nothing came of our interview though I remember his off-beat humor.

I was staying at a Ramada Inn (long gone) on Sunset Boulevard just up the street from the famous Tower Records store (also long gone) when I got an impromptu call from my local guide. It was his job to fill my week with as much "client contact" as possible. I was asked if I wanted to go to a Frank Zappa press gathering. I was game though I wasn't really a "fan" of Frank's musical endeavors and was taken to a snazzy hotel in Beverly Hills. We took an elevator up to a beautiful suite that was full of people milling around and to this day I have no recollection what the event was for other than it had something to do with a Zappa film project. I didn't receive a press packet or any information but I was immediately upon arrival greeted by the maestro himself; the wild mane of hair and signature soul patch under his lip were unmistakable. We shook hands and he gave us directions to the bar. My guide and I spent about an hour in the suite. We helped ourselves to the liquor and I was introduced to numerous people I was told were industry heavies. I met a couple of writers from Rolling Stone Magazine whose names I knew from various articles I had read but no one was interested in talking to anyone they didn't know. For someone interested in the entertainment world (especially music) this was where the action was...all in one room but it was impossible to penetrate the walls of separation. We soon left as unceremoniously as we had entered. I wanted to go find Tom Waits and get real. Instead I just had my guide take me back to the Ramada. I was reminded of the surprise birthday party for Stevie Wonder on Friday night and that my guide would pick me up and together we would go to the restaurant. What had already been a busy day and evening was still not over; I was about to meet one of the developers of the hologram and discover world traveler Burton Holmes.

My 1976 Tom Waits Interview

For my last two years in the journalism program at the University of Washington, I wrote for the Entertainment Section of UW Daily Newspaper. I had a piece in most every issue from a photo essay, jazz review, rock concert, an interview with a visiting musician to any event with some entertainment value. During my winter break in 1976, I accepted an invitation from an artist's manager in L.A. to visit the southland and spend a week meeting and interviewing some of his clients. His roster of talent included Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa and a rising talent named Tom Waits. Tom's third album Nighthawks at the Diner had recently been released on the heels of The Heart of Saturday Night. I loved both efforts and jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with the singer with the gravelly voice. The result was a long piece in the February issue of The Daily, which I have linked below. I spent time with Mr. Waits on two occasions: he invited me to join him for a taping of his appearance on the Dinah Shore Show and then I met him in a bar on Hollywood Blvd where we just talked one-on-one. No attitude, no entourage, no handlers, no bullshit. Just a breath of fresh air. Enjoy.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44992205/Tom-Waits-Daily-Article-Pt-1

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44992197/Tom-Waits-Daily-Article-Pt-2

The New Deja Line-up

This is the current and future line-up of Deja Blooze. Russell Sparkman [L] on bass, David Gregor [C] lead guitar and vocals and Dave 'Langley Slim' Gignac on guitar, harp and vocals.

Photo courtesy of Russell Sparkman.

First Saturday at Prima

Well, the first Saturday Langley Art Walk with the lively blues of Deja Blooze is upon us once again. The Deja Trio will play at Prima Bistro this coming Saturday evening from 9 to 11 pm. Put on your high-heeled sneakers and bring your mojo into town and join us for another rousing evening of top-tapping blues--Deja style.