It was a simple concept. A drummer (who sings) and a bass player, holding down the rhythm to blues or blues-formatted songs, while everyone else blow people’s minds with unrelenting solos after solos after solos. And it worked!
A brief history. When word got out that I was moving to Athens, GA in February 2005, Park Bench Trio drummer Rick Williams contacted me about this unique blues concept he wanted to try out with me on keys. With fellow bassist Stephen Simmons on board, he picked up John “Wayne” Tuggle and Scott Low on guitars. One night at Nowhere Bar in Athens, GA, and the Blues Olympics was born. The second night, we had Tishamingo guitarist Cameron Williams, and Jason Isbell (yes him!) partake in the Olympic competition! Good times!
I mentioned before that there are some gigs that for whatever reason, you remember. Even years later, you can remember the feeling, the sound, the environement of that show. One of my favorite gigs happened with the Blues Olympics in September 2005. It was a Wednesday during an off week at the Georgia Theatre when the venue was testing out the new lighting system. We had more people back- and on-stage than we had in the crowd that night, but it was a fantastic show for anyone who was there. Playing Papa Was a Rolling Stone with a full light show going on was unbelievable. It was an absolute blast, and we all left with smiles!
Both Rick and I moved to Atlanta in 2006. Rick hooked the Blues Olympics up with a Wednesday night gig at the legendary Atlanta blues club Blind Willie’s. The BO would only do 5 total gigs there over the course of a calendar year, but they were some of most intense gigs we ever did. We even sold out one of the nights there (they had to turn people away at the door!). The energy in that room each time we played was incredible! Who would have thought that blues would grab that kind of reaction from the under 30 crowd that was there for each show?!
Rick is one of my favorite people that I know, and I’m very happy that my Friday Factor machine popped one of his Blues Olympics shows for me to work on. This particular show is a great example of the kind of shows we had at Blind Willie’s, and it also features former Bluestring saxophonist Brad Thomas (brother of keyboardist Kevin Thomas) as a special guest. So if you love to hear great players trying to out-riff each other while dishing out some hard-edged blues, this is the show for you! So kick back, and check out today’s Friday Factor of Rick Williams’ Blues Olympics live at Blind Willie’s in Atlanta, GA on May 16, 2007!