One of the Portland, Oregon region’s unsung heroes, Cramer has quietly been the magic behind musical greats like Linda Hornbuckle, Swingline Cubs, Curtis Salgado, Mark Hummel harmonica blowout, Scott Pemberton, Lucero, Polyrhythmics and more.
This guy has salacious stories from the road that will put most documentaries to shame. Sit back and reminisce rock n’roll redemption.
Part 2 of the spirited conversation with a true legend is here! The hang that Curtis and I had couldn’t be contained in one episode. I can’t WAIT to get to part 2 of the live chat w/Curtis. Join us to be a part of it!
Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” is revered worldwide for his ability to wring every ounce of soul out of every song he performs. Salgado is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He has been nominated three times for the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year, winning in 2018 for Walk A Mile In My Blues from The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. DownBeat calls his songwriting skills “an impressive gift.” Billboard says Salgado’s music is “inspired and powerful.” Now, after 40 years of recording, performing, touring and songwriting, Salgado is back with Damage Control, his first full band album in four years, and it’s packed with fresh, original material.
“Glorious and memorable… Salgado’s voice is center stage just as it should be. Highly recommended” – Blues & Rhythm UK
“Salgado’s vocals are soulful beauty. Fresh, unexpected, authentic, percolating…perfectly executed… simply delicious” – Living Blues
“Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor” – Blues Music Magazine
Sponsored by Five Star Guitars
Award-winning vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado, the man NPR calls “an icon” with “a huge voice,” is revered worldwide for his ability to wring every ounce of soul out of every song he performs. Salgado is famed not only for his powerhouse live shows and ten previous albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He has been nominated three times for the Blues Music Award for Song Of The Year, winning in 2018 for Walk A Mile In My Blues from The Beautiful Lowdown. In total, he has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year. DownBeat calls his songwriting skills “an impressive gift.” Billboard says Salgado’s music is “inspired and powerful.” Now, after 40 years of recording, performing, touring and songwriting, Salgado is back with Damage Control, his first full band album in four years, and it’s packed with fresh, original material.
With Damage Control, Salgado has created what he calls “a rock ’n’ roll record with lyrics that hit.” The 13 songs—12 originals and a raucous cover of Larry Williams’ Slow Down (famously covered by The Beatles)—will surprise and delight longtime Salgado fans. Salgado has crafted a soul-searching, street-smart collection of vividly detailed, instantly memorable songs. From the defiant opener The Longer That I Live to the bouncy New Orleans crime story You’re Going To Miss My Sorry Ass to the foot-tapping history lesson of Hail Mighty Caesar to the plaintive honesty of Always Say I Love You, Salgado’s vocals weave, bob and soar, at times jabbing with nuance, and then striking with unlimited power. Of the title track, he says, “Life is all about damage control…trouble and then some. It’s about dealing with what gets thrown at you and saying, ‘I ain’t finished yet.’”
Damage Control was produced by Salgado and recorded in three studios with three different groups of musicians, featuring some of the very best players in the business. At Nashville, Tennessee’s Rock House Recording, top notch support included guitarist George Marinelli (Bonnie Raitt), keyboardist Kevin McKendree (Brian Setzer, Delbert McClinton, Tinsley Ellis), singer Wendy Moton (Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton) and special guest Cajun accordionist and vocalist Wayne Toups. At Studio City, California’s Ultratone Studios, guitarist/ bassist Johnny Lee Schell (Otis Rush, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt), pianists Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon) and Jim Pugh (B.B. King, Etta James, Robert Cray), drummer Tony Braunagel (B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt) brought the goods. And at Greaseland in San Jose, California, guitarist/bassist Kid Andersen (Rick Estrin, Charlie Musselwhite), bassist Jerry Jemmott (B.B. King, Aretha Franklin) and drummer Kevin Hays (Robert Cray) added their fuel to the fire.
For all of his successes, Salgado is no stranger to adversity. During his career, he has overcome multiple health challenges, battling back from liver cancer in 2006 and lung cancer in 2008 and 2012. In March 2017 he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s not only come back stronger, he’s become one of the genre’s most prolific songwriters, going from writing a few songs per album to writing full albums of original songs. In 2016, many critics declared The Beautiful Lowdown—featuring 11 original songs—as the best of his career. According to Salgado, Damage Control is even better. He’s excited to bring his new songs to the stage, where the crowd fires him up even more. “I want people to relate to the songs,” he says. “You can dance to it but the words have to carry the weight. I know if a song hits me, it’ll hit others just as hard.” On Damage Control, the hard-hitting songs just keep on coming.
“Glorious and memorable… Salgado’s voice is center stage just as it should be. Highly recommended” –Blues & Rhythm UK
“Salgado’s vocals are soulful beauty. Fresh, unexpected, authentic, percolating…perfectly executed… simply delicious” –Living Blues
“Salgado inspires chills. Upbeat and original…poignant and wise with a great sense of humor” –Blues Music Magazine
Sponsored by Five Star Guitars
Brian is a professional touring drummer, singer, songwriter and arranger. He has countless studio sessions, recording with a variety of artists. Brian frequently tours the US and has played gigs as far as Japan and Poland.
A native of Portland Oregon, Brian is a gold mine of every music style. Synonymous with musical heavyweights he started playing in church with the anointing of music at the age of 5 years old. By the age of 15 he played his first gig with Jazz artist Dennis Springer and from there built a promising career in the music industry that has taken him around the world. Brian is Internationally known, and a highly sought after musician.
Having been brought up in the art of drumming, he credits mentors like Bruce Carter, Mel Brown and Carlton Jackson. Brian gives back to his community by giving drum lesson clinics, and reaching out to local youth by providing positive opportunities as a means to follow dreams and ambitions to help stay away from street life and gangs as it did for himself.
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With nearly 30 years of performing, touring and teaching, bandleader, Brian Harris approaches the keyboards and vocals with a deep emotion and gritty soul.
Before starting his band “The Damn Straight”, Brian toured extensively with Portland, OR soul/r&b legend, Curtis Salgado and is featured on Curtis’ award winning album The Beautiful Lowdown. Prior to that he held down the keyboard chair for world renowned singer/songwriter/bassist, Lisa Mann & Her Really Good Band, and played and sang for local favorites SUMO.
Over the years he has shared the stage with artists such as Kenny Loggins, Carl Anderson, Patrick Lamb, Charles Holt and more…
In addition to his work with TDS, he can be seen around the Pacific Northwest with Soul Vaccination, The Ken DeRouchie Band, Hot Tea Cold and Ants In The Kitchen.
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