Music

Blues Traveler to headline Blues on the Green revival downtown

For nearly a decade, Blues on the Green was a staple on the Anchorage music scene, an annual gathering of blues fans at Kincaid Park that featured some of the genre's greats, like Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal.

And now after being dormant for nearly a decade, the blues event is returning, albeit in a different location -- downtown on F Street.

Grammy-winning band Blues Traveler is headlining Saturday's Blues on the Green, which was last held in 2006, according to Frank Dahl, former owner of Blues Central who co-founded the series.

Blues Traveler's combination of catchy tunes and lead singer John Popper's fiery harmonica riffs set it apart from the rest of the pack in the early 1990s, as glam-rock was fading and grunge started its ascent.

The roots of the band started in the mid-1980s in Princeton, New Jersey, where Popper and drummer Brendan Hill met as teenagers at the high school's studio band.

The duo was encouraged to form outside bands by their music teacher, on whom J.K. Simmons' notorious character in the film "Whiplash" was loosely based.

"We were basically just a basement band and we'd sit down there and experiment," Hill said. "(Popper) could pick up any instrument and make it sound good."

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They eventually added bassist Bobby Sheehan and guitarist Chan Kinchla and hit the New York club circuit as Blues Band, the precursor to Blues Traveler.

"We were learning our instruments," Hill said. "It was really just this slow development, sort of trial by fire. We'd perform 20 shows a month at these little clubs."

Blues Traveler achieved a measure of success with their self-titled debut album in 1990, and even more with the release of "Travelers and Thieves" in 1991.

The band landed on the radar of "Late Show" host David Letterman, who was an early advocate of their music.

"David Letterman (supported us) from the very beginning, right after we released the first record," Hill said. "John and Chan sat in (on a gig) with Paul (Shaffer) and he was blown away by John's playing and so was Dave. I think we still hold the title as being the band that's played the most times on David Letterman -- 17 or 18 times -- which is pretty amazing. A friendship with Dave and Paul developed over the years."

Shaffer played a guest spot on the band's 1993 album "Save His Soul" and even appeared in the video for "Hook," one of the hits off 1994 release "four," which went platinum six times over.

And it was in music videos that Blues Traveler might have found its most effective medium, maximizing its blend of creativity and humor. The video for the top 10 hit "Run-Around" shows Popper and company playing behind a curtain while a hip and handsome group lip-syncs the song onstage in front of an enthusiastic crowd in a trendy nightclub.

"We were born in the age of the MTV video," Hill said. "We were raised with the spaceman. 'Friday Night Videos' was on primetime TV. For us, we were thinking of our videos from the very beginning. John (Popper) has a very good sense of humor in his lyrics. He's just a funny individual. We brought all of those elements into the videos, not taking ourselves too seriously. The 'Run-Around' video was a narrative of what was going on. If you were good looking you could make it in the music industry without doing much else. There was something to be said about the band behind the curtain if the music was good and had a tanned, good-looking robot band in front."

Despite peaking in popularity in the mid-'90s, Blues Traveler has continued to record and tour over the last two decades. Their most recent album, "Blow Up The Moon," is a collection of collaborations released in April.

Included in the roster of contributing artists on the album is former Alaskan songstress Jewel on the song "Hearts Are Still Awake."

Hill said Blues Traveler did a short tour of the state during their heyday in the mid-'90s and played a pair of shows at Bear Tooth Theatrepub in late 2007.

Blues on the Green is being revived by the ownership of Humpy's along with Dahl, who is working in a consulting role as Humpy's reincorporates Blues Central into its new Williwaw development downtown. Humpy's purchased the rights to the Blues Central name and liquor license from Dahl when he closed the Midtown Anchorage bar and eatery early last year.

"Even though it's been a long time, people talk about Blues on the Green like it was just yesterday," Dahl said.

Dahl said the late Johnny Winter was one of the artists who played at Blues Central, which spurred the idea of bringing his brother, Edgar, up to play at Blues on the Green.

Also joining the bill for the day are some old favorites from Blues Central. Dahl said The Diamonds, Soulman Sam and Veronica Page may evoke some nostalgia for those who were fond of the old Blues Central. He said the Williwaw venue will likely bring in major blues acts on a quarterly basis, helping fill the void left when Blues Central closed.

"It's sort of a bittersweet situation selling Blues Central," Dahl said. "It had that kind of mojo you just can't match. When I did sell it and close it down I was concerned it would die."

Like the narrator of a good blues tune, it appears that Blues on the Green will continue to ramble.

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"Blues on the Green has been a big part of Anchorage and Alaska," Dahl said. "It's a good thing it's going to keep on keeping on."

Blues Traveler at Blues on the Green

Also: The Edgar Winter Band, Soulman Sam, The Diamonds, Veronica Page

When: 3 p.m. Saturday, May 30

Where: Outside on F Street, downtown Anchorage

Tickets: $50 advance/$60 day of show

Online: etix.com and humpys.com

Chris Bieri

Chris Bieri is the sports and entertainment editor at the Anchorage Daily News.

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