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Still doin’ it right

Tom Lavin’s encyclopedic knowledge of the blues keeps the music true Who: Powder Blues Band Where: Buffalo Bill’s When: May 26 Flip, flop, and fly… the Powder Blues Band hits town.

Tom Lavin’s encyclopedic knowledge of the blues keeps the music true

Who: Powder Blues Band

Where: Buffalo Bill’s

When: May 26

Flip, flop, and fly… the Powder Blues Band hits town.

And with their bluesy-swing vocals on stage this weekend, and Colin James next month, Whistler continues to attract the legends for summer shows.

This time around, the Powder Blues Band revive songs from 1945-1955 on their latest album, Swingin’ the Blues .

"Swing is really a slightly more sophisticated form of the shuffle, that was made popular in top spots like the Savoy in NYC, where bands like Buddy Johnson and others danced the jitterbug with full vigour," says Tom Lavin. The Chicago-raised, Vancouver-based founder of the Powder Blues Band is a walking blues historian, who also handles vocals and guitar for Powder Blues.

Rounding out the lineup is Willie MacCalder on piano, Mike Kalanj on Hammond organ, Billy Hicks on drums, Bill Runge on bass, baritone and alto sax, Paul Baron and Vinne Mai on trumpets, Rod Murray on trombone, and Pat Caird on tenor sax.

Swingin’ the Blues

was recorded at Blue Wave Studios in Vancouver in analog format, giving the album "a softer, warmer sound." Lavin credits good friend and pianist Linton Garner, who "never fails to bring the songs and musicians to life."

Lavin has always included swing, blues, and jazz in his musical treasure chest. The band’s next album will be an extension of this one.

"There will be a more modern sound and more horns from the 1955-65 era," says Lavin, who chats excitedly and calmly all in one about the making of the next album, due for release in September.

Lavin has paid his dues, having played with some of the all-time greats of the blues world.

Growing up in a Chicago neighbourhood, he got to hear the real thing every weekend.

At age 14, when he saw people like Buddy Guy and Junior Wells play he thought "man, that’s the coolest thing ever."

When a funky aunt took Lavin to hear Lefty Dizz, Hound Dog Taylor, as well as counter-culture folk artists at the University of Chicago in the late ’60s, he was exposed to some of the songwriting greats.

"A lot of the guys in Chicago started in the deep south, but then moved north, so when I was a little boy there were guys playing who weren’t well known at the time, like Hound Dog Taylor and Johnny Shine," says Lavin.

South Side Johnny Young was Lavin’s first band. Johnny Young "played a blues mandolin, was short and fat and drove taxi during the day," adds Lavin, who also honed his musical expertise from simply listening.

Sitting on the church-front steps on Sundays, he absorbed new sounds.

"A lot of these guys who go to church would ‘testify,’ but then they began to sing," in the vein of gospel-ish sounding blues.

Many of the low key, now famous blues musicians played at local markets like Chicago’s Maxwell Street Market. (Yes, the one from the Blues Brothers film.)

"It was like this huge farmer’s market in the city, a kind of swap meet, with stolen goods for sale and BBQs going on, and these guys would sit on their stoop and play guitar."

Eventually, he headed to Vancouver to attend the Vancouver School of Art to study film. But when the course became animation-centred, he nixed the idea and returned to music, and the rest is history.

In 1971 Lavin played his first show with B.B. King. Ten years later, the Powder Blues Band won Best New Group at the Canadian Juno Awards, and their 1980 release, Uncut , sold one million records.

Powder Blues were hardly an overnight success, however. The band’s early days were spent playing strip joints in Vancouver’s Gastown, the main venue at that time for blues music.

But with the success of Uncut the Powder Blues Band graduated to album deals, national and European tours, and an array of festival appearances.

Lavin speaks highly of the Montreal Jazz Festival, which is "very groovy, well organized – you can eat, drink, and smoke everywhere."

Lavin also mentions the Montreux Jazz Festival as a major highlight in 1983.

"Its reputation as a world-class festival make it a compliment to perform there," says Lavin, who shared a stage at Montreux with John Lee Hooker.

In homage, the band digitally re-mastered Live at Montreaux , in 1997 and re-released the album world-wide.

Winning the W. C. Handy Award in Memphis in 1986 for Best Foreign Blues Band was another marker along the road to success.

Twelve albums later and armed with their latest release, the band has managed to achieve longevity with a capital L.

"Blues is like a violin, it’s very easy to play it badly and very hard to play it well," says Lavin, who learned to play guitar from a square dance caller where his father worked.

Wearing a few more hats these days, Lavin has also run two public companies in addition to being a consultant for venture capitalists in B.C.

But his advice for new musicians is less business-like, more idealistic in nature.

"If you want longevity, don’t worry about fads or trends – I’m a fan of honesty and sincerity – and someone who can convey those emotions."

Doin’ It Right and Boppin’ with the Blues are some of his own top hits, shaped by the experiences and characters he grew up with.

Upcoming tour plans for Swingin’ the Blues include the Great Northern Blues Explosion, a series of dates with blues legend Long John Baldry and the Down Child Blues Band.

Powder Blues will also tour Europe in 2003 for the first time since the mid-80s.

"I’ve got no huge horrific messages, and it’s wonderful to have a few moments of happiness with music," says Lavin.

"People write to me on e-mail and tell me, ‘when I put (the album) on, I feel happy,’ and that’s great."