Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. It's the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. Hey everybody, it's Ray the roadie and this is Hollywood Mike after a long time being away Yeah, a little bit of a hiatus a little weather issue here at the studio.

Yeah a little bit a little bit You know, I think our listeners No one understand that we tape these episodes way in advance edit them in the way in advance So I think it's safe to say that this is our first podcast interview Post tornado post tornado. Yeah. Yeah, we're gonna have to start talking about everything, you know pre tornado and post tornado That's right.

We did pre kovat and post kovats, right? Yeah Yeah, for those of you who didn't hear for those of you are in other countries in other states The museum did go through a little bit of a habit with first a microburst on one day Yeah, and then the second day a tornado Touched down in downtown Joliet, which tore the roof off of a Joliet Junior College building Sailed to that roof a block and a half away and landed it smack dab on top of the museum That's right. Knocked out a big hole in there Parapet on the top but Gigant are the guitar was good. Gigant are was fine They did take it down though for some just routine maintenance, right? They're doing some routine maintenance are gonna add some lights to it and stuff zone, right? But tornado did not did not damage the man the pictures I mean to see just a roof laying in the middle of the street Yeah and to see that you know the top of the facade and stuff in the museum is I mean If I was here at that time, you know, I'd have to call a code blue You would go with blue.

I mean, I used to be what do we call a code blue? What do we call him? What why don't we call? All right, let's call him. Hey call. Are you here you guys here? There they are We Just get better and better at they don't especially since we've gone for so long my first question Which one of you is the medical person my daughter? She the one that came up with the name.

I came up with it. Okay, you know much to my daughter I was actually thinking I was actually thinking police officers Because because if you go if you go on to college campuses and and if you go down to like the Humboldt Park area and stuff Like that there they've got those The towers with the blue light where if you need help or you're in trouble you can push the button in it Yep, and it calls 9-1-1 there and they all have the the blue light on the top Believe it or not a lot of folks after they're hearing this they ask us if a police officer. Oh, okay Okay, see I went right again.

I ran what right with the medical one, you know code blue is up Somebody had some cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. Oh, yeah, that makes you hear the hospital. Yeah, they're not breathing or whatever They're turning blue or yes.

Yeah, so I was completely off. No, that's all right But Where did it come from though? I mean it was just my daughter was studying to be a nurse and she had to go and be an ER nurse Okay And she was the inspiration for me coming up with code blue because when you're dying to hear the blues you got a call code Blue, you know, yeah, but you know, I've listened to I've watched quite a few of your videos today And you guys really aren't all blues. I mean, I mean, I mean you got your yeah I mean, you always got one foot in the blues, you know, which is we did that come about because it's almost like a necessity now Days, I mean if you if you want to be in an all-blues band You tend not to get booked as often Yeah, I think the band started out as a blues band in it They said when people try to find us on Facebook if you go just put code blue and there's about five other code blue bands around the country that Yeah, there is the you have to go you gotta type in we are code blue band No separation and then then we pop up, okay Okay Well, you know I first got excited because I saw code blue right and there's some punk band from Chicago that was around quite a while ago and apparently they they hit a little bit of fame because I saw videos of them from like different places in The country and all bit and I was like wow this will be interesting because we've never really had a punk band on the show before and then I saw a picture you guys Standing in front of the big Milex sign and I knew I knew exactly Which code blue was gonna be coming in here today because I'm familiar with the Milex sign, of course Yeah, we had a good time at that place Terry Terry did it up, right? Oh, yeah.

Yeah, we're gonna we're going to miss that place I think yes, you know, it was a pretty cool just like impromptu not really a backyard jam But you know and drew a great audience, too Yeah, oh, yeah, very nice people and you know, but he's still around, you know Terry didn't move too far away. In fact, I've seen him about a half dozen times since they officially moved to, Indiana, but You know, they've been around quite a bit. They had a lot of great players come through there.

Oh, yeah, very good players Oh, yeah many that we've had on the podcast It's surprising how many people met at the Milex shop and then put together bands and then ended up on this podcast It was kind of kind of interesting we the night we were there was the last jam that he was doing and in the summertime and His daughter's band antidote had played and I'm like, yeah, they blew us away It was like so fascinating to see the young kids You know playing their hearts out and his daughter's a great bass player The guitarist is great. The whole band was awesome and they they do stuff that we do right currently You know, it's nice to see that they're keeping it alive, you know, right, right, right. I met I well I've met his daughter I've known his daughter for several years, but I actually got to see her play for the first time in about a year I haven't seen her play in a while But I saw her play when she had kind of first started playing bass and I saw her a few months later in a few Months later.

It's been about a year since I've seen her and then she came out to the fundraiser that we had For the museum a couple weeks ago and brought her bass along and got up on stage and played and I was like, holy shit This is a different girl all together. She was really good Everybody wanted to get up and play with her, but she had the but she had to take off So yeah, yeah, and I was really good. So who started the band and when I guess well That would be me I About 15 years ago.

I got back in the music. All right, I had Dropped out for 15 years and I said, you know what? I got I got to put this thing together and we we had different players Before this band and it's state now and we were called a different band We were the full disclosure and at the time why were you called that by the way, because we fully disclosed everything And So we were together for five five years or something like that And then Joel our bass player had left and then Joel had joined the band at that time Then we had a different drummer and we decided one of one of our friends who came to see us at Oak Forest Ball said You know, you guys really do the blues really? Well, he says why don't you make that kind of your your your heart and And You know the main things that you guys play and so we decided all right, let's do that. Let's do blues Let's do stuff that not everybody plays, you know, we do some Walter Trout stuff that you don't hear You know We like to do a little bit of obscure and that was can we do the classics too and the classics and that was the idea When we put this together Let's do stuff that not everybody's gonna play, you know, so we're kind of different in that aspect, you know So what caused your hiatus for 15 years prior to this I got sober it took you 15 years We were forming two bands into one with eight guys Yeah, and I got sober and I said so, you know what I should probably stay away from this.

Oh, gotcha. Okay. All right Left the music industry, but I kept them with my sobriety, right? Right.

Well, that's good 15 years. I'm like Jones and I'm like, I gotta get back into yeah, and that's kind of where it took I'm telling the whole story you realize that music wasn't really the the driving force behind No alcoholism. So it's like we not right so, you know, right and people like you play at bars.

I'm like, yeah I'm there to entertain. I'm not there to drink. So right, you know, right So it's it's easy-peasy right now for us, you know And it was a fluke that I came in around that time because he knew that I had been collecting instruments I I dropped out when I was 18 years old.

I stopped playing all together, right? I own a company I started making a little bit of money So I bought every guitar and every amplifier I ever wanted that I couldn't really afford and it sat in my basement I had walls of stuff and I was at a meeting right and John and I were talking we run into each other occasionally It comes up to me. So say Joel you still got all those guitars and amps and said, yeah, what do you need? I thought he wanted to buy something said I don't want to buy anything. We need a bass player a bass player just quit I said, yeah, it's 29 years.

I haven't played, you know, I look I buy these guitars I play them for a half an hour and I hang them up on the wall and I never So he says well, you know stuff he did in high school he hands me two CDs 42 or three songs He says you probably know everything on here already. I knew two songs that were on the CDs Okay, I never played any of the other I heard him but I never played him before right and that's how I got in after 39 years being away from you. Right, right.

And by the way his first practice with us He just starts doing a bass riff and blues and a key of G and I'm like, yeah, there you go. Right, right So that's kind of how it started with that. I yeah, so what was your business that you were I'm in the jewelry business Oh, nice.

Yeah, nice. Okay small company and I sell to retailers. Yeah, I'm gonna import export business.

Yeah. Yeah Nice So, so how many how many guitars do you have I'm down now I'm down to 14 now, okay How many did you have what was? Probably but maybe 20. Okay.

I had walls full of amplifiers Yeah, whatever you amp that I ever wanted and a wall full of customs rolled and pleated customs. Yeah, sure, right I'm now down to three I think yeah like that. Well, that's not too that's not too bad I thought you were gonna say like a hundred or something.

No, no, because I've got 20 so Yeah, so that's not too bad at all. But but the amps I've never got into collecting amps I've always I've got about five amps, but it's not like I you know I got to have this one because it's famous or popular or something Oh when I was in high school, everybody wanted either fenders and then custom came out from Kansas. I believe it was.

Yeah Yeah, I believe that's old and so that's why I spelled with a K. Yeah Exactly. So that's my thing. I love them, but now I'm too old I'm gonna be 73 years old and I can't help those things run They weigh as much as I do.

So he talked me into getting into some lightweight stuff and now I'm into mark bass So I've got a bunch of mark. Oh, yeah, that's yeah. No mark bass is some some good stuff Actually, it's lightweight and it's I think overpriced but a lot of power, you know, and I get a nice tone out of it So it works out pretty well I actually play a solid state to 10 custom amplifier when we're playing out just because it's so light Yeah, and it sounds great Probably the only lightweight custom out there got a bunch of Marshalls and all the other stuff vendors back at the studio But I'm like, you know, we're hauling this stuff.

We're getting You know, but you know, they're actually making some lighter weight yes all tube stuff now to right, you know I have those little those little micro boxes. I think orange makes one I think what are those guys bad cat makes one now or they're not bigger than like a lunch box They're real small and you can you can plug them into a to a tool to 12 cabinet You know for all for all, you know, you to Marshall JCM. I mean, it's got that kind of power to it.

So yeah Interesting. So you're obviously guitar player your bass player, right? Okay, Kevin here. I'm keys.

Yep, and Really John and Joel are called boot. So they're gonna give you the whole backstory. Okay I'm just new into it by a few years and yeah, you know, I just enjoy The direction they took I play the Hammond organ So they have a lot of a lot where I can add to it with that type of music that they put he plays a Hammond Organ, and you guys are complaining about carrying around a little Gotcha, okay Right, right, right.

I used to rowdy for the house Yeah, 32 flights of stairs that hit baby Huey's we got up to the stage and then we dropped it No damage because it's built like a rock. Yeah. Yeah, but still and I was young and you know, we could do it then But yeah, he's got the sk2.

That's the that's the keyboard version basically of it, right? Yeah. Yeah, that's Yeah, that seems to be a popular alternative and it sounds pretty darn close. It really does get close Yeah, and Roy's got the easy part because drums are hollow.

Yeah Yeah, that's right I've got a lot more stuff to set up to I know and Joel and I actually go back to grade school Okay, and then in high school kind of in high school We started playing with it in in separate bands at first, right? And then after a while we got together and played a band and he quit after that so that I'm went on somewhere else. So I Started playing drums at 12, right? And I taught myself how to play and I got my first set of drums from my aunt Who played drums in a cocktail band, you know, no supper clubs and stuff. Yeah, right Yeah, and she had a set of drums that my grandfather bought him at a garage sale Probably bought him in the 50s and they were old then.

Mm-hmm and the The name on it was WFL William F Ludwig that was before the Ludwig name was Wow thing on the drums That's how old they were still. I hope you still have no they're long gone. Oh, man long gone And then the bass drum it was all the heads were calfskin.

Yeah, right and the bass drum the front head Had the black and white Guernsey hair on it still Every time you would hit the drum, you'd see the hair going like this. Oh, wow. That is an old set.

Holy crap Yes, very old. Yeah old old jazz and like I said ballroom type kind of sure Yeah, and then she bought a Volkswagen and she did she end up having to buy a set of slinger lens that were much smaller So she couldn't all the big ones in her Volkswagen, right? But that's how I got my first set of drums. Yeah, excellent.

Yeah, that's a good story. Well since we're talking stories I'll give you my story how I first start started into this business and I Was after my eighth grade graduation with the money that I collected from the aunts and the uncles and everybody I decided that I wanted to be a bass player So I went to go Blatt's in Hammond and I was going to buy a bass, but they were out of basis They sold out so I ended up buying a six-string TS go sunburst with a little amp, you know with the 5-inch speaker I'm I used to yell at me to turn that down all the time, you know, and that's where it took off I I can play bass a little bit but nothing like this guy All right I'm just I mean just be cautious everybody if you hear anything crashing or whatever because that could be that could be worlds colliding because I think that's the first story I've ever heard about a Guy walking doing a store to buy a base and comes out a guitar player Usually it's the other way Superman to fly around the world and reverse that That's interesting, yeah What was that? What was that guitar you bought? Tisco TS go ice go. However, you pronounce it.

Wow Tisco Tisco. That wasn't the Sears Roebuck. When was it? No, that's here's Robo Silver tones.

Yeah, that's right. They were silver tones over tones. Yeah, and then Paul Oh, was it really? Yeah, okay made by the same factory Yeah And I think Paul Stanley from kiss like like saved their entire business because he started playing them in kiss and everybody saw the name On an actual guitar.

That wasn't something you bought out of a catalog. Yeah We don't close me aways. You see old Dan electros.

Oh, I know redone now Yeah, you see some major players and some of them are some of them are good Some of them are really cheap But some of those are really good some of those Dan electros They're like my handmade the way they were back in the 60s stuff But then you can tell the ones that are cheap because I mean the bodies were plastic and you can almost squeeze them and crack Them but I know a couple of guys that actually went out and bought those They play the Dan electros and in Dan electro also has a line of pedals It's pretty good and a couple years ago harmony came out with a really cool guitar amplifier It's covered in blue leather tolex and everything and you really want the vintage sound These guys are buying playing these Dan electros in these harmony amps and it's they sound really good. I was really surprised at him So yeah, so what was the year that this whole thing started for you guys? I'm not really sure Well, I think about 15 years. I think isn't it? No, I Got back into it 15 years.

So I would say You joined us probably 13 years. Okay, 12, maybe 13 years ago where we started hooking up playing together and Yeah, we've been code blue probably for seven seven eight years now, I think mm-hmm, right So were you the first two members or who were the first who were the original members? Well, John and I were founding members. You guys were playing with his original band Okay, I was I came in after he had the original band called right full disclosure.

Yeah That's how I got back in. That's right. I wanted to go back to that.

What was it you were disclosing? I mean, it was it was a disclosure meaning like he just started stripping naked or was How many guys came up with the band name because it sounded cool, yeah Yeah, I guess so Yeah story that he somebody told me one of the original members told me is that you guys were playing with some guys that thought you're never gonna get it out of the basement and When they found out that you were or Lori was booking the band They got kind of cold feet and from that point on Full disclosure that you were actually gonna go out and play in public rather than in the basement our drummer at the time They didn't think we're ever gonna play out, you know, we started doing open mics they're like, oh, what do you mean? We're gonna go So it's like yeah, we are not just gonna say That's the goal. That's the way it is. All right, and when they found out that they take off or did no They stuck around for a little while and then they ended up getting fired eventually, but right Well, I think it's time we take a little bit of break and let's hear some of their music You know, I was just about to say I I didn't see any instruments.

Are they hiding around? There's one right behind you Oh, well, that's why we take the eyes back of my head aren't working right now Yeah, so we'll be right back. All right, you're listening to the rock and roll Chicago podcast I'm Christy from crime cave podcast I've had a huge interest in true crime since my days of watching marathons of snapped back in the mid 90s I needed an outlet to talk about the cases that have haunted me for a very long time With each episode under 20 minutes. I shine a light on some of the most bizarre cases in the last 50 years Join me in the crime cave Hi, I'm Rick Anthony I'd like to thank my radio brothers Ray the roadie and Hollywood Mike for allowing me to tell you about my podcast The someone you should know podcast we spotlight musicians authors and interesting people and we like to say we're making a difference one Artist at a time the podcast is heard twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays And you could check it out on your favorite streaming platforms and on the web at someone you should know podcast calm That's the someone you should know podcast with me Rick Anthony making a difference one artist at a time and Somebody call the authorities because we got a code blue happening right here everybody My baby She got something much greater than gold I'm crazy about my girl, you know, she's got so much soul She's got Her That she knocks me off my feet have mercy on me cuz she knocks me off my feet My baby when she walks by I know why it's simply cuz my girl she looks so fine If she'd ever leave me I would lose my mind She's got the kind of love That she knocks me off my feet have mercy on me cuz she knocks me off my feet.

Yeah There is no Everybody in the neighborhood Will testify that my girl she looks so good. Well, she's so fine She'd you bring sight to blind eye If she'd ever leave me I would lose my mind She's got the kind of love That she knocks me off my feet have mercy on me cuz she knocks me off my feet. Yeah I Hit the right button, thank you.

Thank you ladies. Thank you. Thank you.

Oh, no just for the band Oh, that's pretty as for the band. Sorry. Yeah, that's right It's never for the base where I Guess what what another band that gives the drummer a mic Well, you know what's very rare that they give the drummer a mic.

Yeah, I wasn't gonna say that. Yeah, that's kind That's kind of scary. Yeah, we're taking a big chance putting a microphone in front of your drum I've been singing my whole life.

Okay, not singing. It's what you'd say in the microphone when you're not singing. That's the reason why we don't The drummers if I couldn't sing I did I wouldn't want to play singing is what I really am into I love playing the drums.

Oh good, but I love to sing. Okay, it's my aunt who played the drum She was a singer too, right, right, right, right Karaoke and all the time. No, do you sing any in the band? Oh, yeah, I sing a lot of stuff.

Oh good Yeah, because I mean I think that impresses the heck out of people when they go and they see the drummer Singing and playing at the same time Came up with a Motown medley for us. Oh, yeah. Yeah the whole thing through 17 minutes, right? nine songs So who who does that song that you guys just played? It was originally written by Joe Zawinul, I'm sure you know who that oh, yeah, okay He wrote that song when he was playing with what's-his-name The sax player The jazz guy which one That's a trumpet player a saxophone player he was playing born Much older.

No. Hmm. I can't think of I'll think of it in a second.

Yeah. No, that was uh, I don't know what was going through my head, but I was thinking like I Was hearing your harmonies and stuff and I was I was even thinking stuff like fifth dimension or something like that It kind of had that groovy sound to it. That was pretty good Interesting interesting.

So is that more of the kind of stuff that you guys play? Are you are you are you more heavily in the into the blues stuff more than that? We do we do start the Willie Dixon stuff. Okay, who's Coco Taylor? Yeah Walter Trout is one that not many people know right, you know, unless you're really into the blues So if people, you know if people were to describe you, you know How do you think they describe you as a blues band or how would they call you? I would think they'd call us a rock and roll band. Yeah.

Yeah, I think so The makeup of the music has changed a lot since I came into the band about a year ago Okay, because I added a whole different dimension of singing to the band that they really didn't have before Mm-hmm. I mean we actually do at this moment Billy Vera Billy Vera and the beaters. Yeah, we do that.

No band does that song? No, no band does that ever except for Billy Vera? Yeah, right, right Is he still around? Oh, yeah Yeah, yeah, we do Stevie Ray Vaughan a lot. Yeah, I've seen that stuff, you know almost rock and roll type blues I've seen I've seen a video with Stevie Ray Vaughan. I've seen you guys.

I saw a video with you guys doing the Grange I don't know There's like four or five of them that came up right in a row and I and I saw them and they were like your basic Standards, you know kind of thing. What's the what what's what are some things that you guys do that? That you wouldn't think are typical You said you like to play stuff that you people don't normally don't hear and you mentioned Walter Trout But what are some of the other things that you know, just just if people want to go on see what you know Who's the pitch guy? Who's the guy that goes out and finds the gigs? Yeah, all right good so give us the 32nd elevator speech We're a local blues player, you know, we're a local bar band basically We do a lot of hard driving blues so everybody can dance for the most part on almost everything that we do I prefer the blues which I got into because of John because I never paid any attention to it I was early 60s type of stuff. Sure.

Sure. That's because I dropped out when I was 18, right? So, okay, we're just going into the 70s at that point and I didn't like what's happening music I didn't even listen to music for a number of years And so when we got you know together with the one John and I got together and we started doing stuff John decided he wanted To go heavily into the blues because I guess he had a good background in it, you know But I you know I think we were forced basically into doing rock and roll Because I went to a lot of bars and say well the blues doesn't really make it here And it was funny because I went out and I started interviewing people just people in general I said, do you like the blues? Do you like rock and roll? What's your you know, what do you think about the blues? I only ran into one person said they didn't like the blues everybody who loves the blues, right, but the bars don't So that's how we evolved into doing other things, you know, right and then you know Roy came up with this thing You know doing some Motown stuff we were doing take me to the river That was the only kind of Motown stuff We did prior to right coming in and he had this idea about putting this montage together And we played it just a few times now and it's going over really well, right? So that took us in a whole different direction altogether, you know, isn't that crazy? You're exactly right whenever you whenever you start talking about the blues with somebody mainly people who aren't musicians themselves You just say you know, what do you think of the blues? Oh, I love the blues. It's so great It's so soulful.

I love the sound of the guitars and they just can't say enough about it. But then you know, hey We're gonna go off Friday night. Well, where are you going? We're going to Place in Naperville that I used to go to it's not even there anymore.

It was used to be called erosio's I used to tell people all the time, you know, hey, we're going to erosio's. They're like, ah, no, that's blues bar Well, didn't we just didn't you just finish telling me? Then you just finish telling that you love the blues. Don't you? I want to go to a blues bar Okay So I never quite understood that, you know, the other thing I run across all the time is people like yeah You know, I don't like the blues.

Oh, they're really well, you know, who do you listen to? Well, you know, I like Pink Floyd and I like Van Halen and I like Leonard Skinner and I said well You like the blues. You just don't realize it Pretty much all the music in the 60s was all based off of what the blues players did that the musicians at the time Redid it in their own style, right? That's that's exactly what it was, you know Even Black Sabbath will tell you that you know They they started off as a blues band and they you know Distorted their guitars and the whole you know, and we we consider them to be the godfathers of metal But they started off just to be a blues band and they wanted to have this dark side to them Yeah, and you know, it's and that's the way that's what he came about Beatles and the stones Yeah, that's their cores right blues. Absolutely When you talk about right when you talk about starting out everybody started out in their garage, right or their basement, right? Oh, and that's and they played Gloria and Louie Louie those kind of songs that everybody knew how to play the three-chord songs anytime that everybody could pick up.

Yep Yeah, I don't know if you were seeing this on the clips But John has this thing where he goes wireless all the time He walks out and he's talking to people while he's doing riffs and stuff like that And I got into this idea because we're doing a lot of jams not John and I but I was doing a lot of jam Sessions at Smokey Joe's and they hit a basket full of stuff, you know noisemakers So I went out and I bought a lot of that stuff and I pass it out to people You know, we try to get the audience to that's all like they're part of it, you know And it goes over well, you know, I seem to really dig it a lot So, you know, that's something I don't see a whole lot of I don't know if other people are doing that, right? But we try to get the audience involved We asked actually asking the audience to sing along on the courses and some songs John had the entire room going a couple weeks ago. We played it across wood at the office. We were doing All night long Willie Dixon Cocoa Taylor's version and then I told the guys I says let's bring it down really really low And then all you could hear was the audience and the refrain of all night long, right? And I wish I would have taped it Yeah, right Cuz it was so cool and it just touched my heart and like the heart of these guys too It was like that's awesome.

And then we tried it at our last job And it didn't go over so well. So what are you gonna do? You know, you know, that's Speak the other guy. Yeah, that's that's always that's always a risk you take when you do something like that, man It feel even though you didn't write the song that always feels good to hear the audience singing it singing it back to you Yeah, no, it's you know Make the audience feel like they're part of the band for the evening.

Not just there to see a show They're there to participate in a party. Yeah, and I've noticed we usually start with mercy mercy mercy and It's amazing to me. I look out in the audience and our audience is a little bit older, you know older than you guys You know and everybody's always singing along with it, you know Which makes me feel good because if we're bringing something back that probably a lot of people probably put away a long time But it's part and parcel of what we do and I get a kick out of that right, right We also do our own version of Gloria Which has like Lee.

Yeah, which has like what seven or eight other songs in there? Okay, and and you Gloria is a two-chord song basically, right? and so it's it's not easy to find other songs that fit into that and What what we do I start out in Gloria and then I go to tired of waiting and then what is the next one? Um, what's the second song? Well, yeah, oh nice, yeah Do some Atlanta of a thousand dances I actually put what this lime lime and the coconuts in that fits in there Wow, and and it's amazing when we do that to see all the people that are out there singing along And I've been doing this like in jam sessions and stuff for quite a while And it and it's I actually have a following of people that come We were here to see we're here to hear Gloria when he gonna play that then we're going home there were yeah Just to hear that then we're out of here. You guys also do your own version of Johnny be good, too Don't you? Yes. Yeah, because one I heard one.

It was like a reggae version almost that's a Peter Tosh's version. Gotcha okay, all right, and actually the Kinsey report Donald Kinsey played the guitar solo and that song for Peter Tosh Okay, and you know, we recently lost on Kinsey Kinsey to like there's nobody left of the Kinsey reports Oh, I didn't know that. Okay.

He's up in heaven jamming with his family. Yeah, right Yeah, but it's a lot of people enjoy that version. They're like man.

I like that. That's that's good Mm-hmm, because yeah, they know the words. It's like oh, that's Jenny.

That's gonna be good. Yeah, right But but but definitely different. Yes.

So you mentioned you guys are a little bit older, right? Maybe maybe you're maybe your demographic is a little bit older Are any of you guys teachers have any of you passed on any of your knowledge as a musician to to the younger generation? I've inspired people to play the drums. I didn't teach him anything. Yeah When I was a young kid I would practice in my my bedroom and I had a Brother that was two years younger than me and him and the next-door neighbor kid were friends and he Would listen to me playing he goes that's really cool.

I want to do that and I don't you may know him Danny McDonald He plays around everywhere. He plays with the what's that one band? He's not dead yet. Well, he plays with not dead Yeah, but he plays with that other band to that Hearts Hartsfield.

Yes. He did play with them for a while. Okay, and he's he's been playing ever since then too Okay, and then my I have a nephew that that got took my old drums and beat him to death and then he actually went To the music school in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Okay, and learned how to play from a professional. He's pretty good at you know He sings too. Oh, that was just my phone.

Somebody dropped their piss my phone We actually met Kevin at a big jam he was playing with some friends of ours in a band called next Tuesday and The host would always get together with all us guitar players He'd call everybody up friends that we've known for years and we go go to his basement and Kevin would show up with his sk2 and You know, it's just fun, you know and people of different bands would come out We just have a blast doing this, you know Yeah, it's certainly not for the money because the money's not there, right? We do it because we love it we enjoy it and that's why our equipment gets lighter and lighter and lighter Yeah, yeah well I'll tell you what if if if I had to give you guys a goal if I had to tell you something that I thought that You guys should do I I would hope that each one of you guys would find somebody younger than you and pass it on to because you know we talk about on this on this podcast all the time about how music has changed so much and You know Some kids don't even recognize what a musical instrument is when they hear it because they're so used to hearing music That's made up of sounds that don't exist in nature You know It's just somebody literally just creating electronic sounds and when you get a young kid that Understands the guitar and understands the drums and understands how to play bass and you know, geez I I know quite a few of them myself I've been fortunate enough to know a few people that have been instructors at the School of Rock So it's so cool to see a 13 year old kid get up on stage and play the saxophone or the trumpet Or the or the drums or just something like that and actually understand that and do that So, you know, and that's one of the things that they're doing here at the museum I'm sure I know Ray showed you downstairs right with the music student with the mute with the classrooms and stuff They're gonna be down there, you know, God, let's please bring back music education again and not computer programming I guess is the best way to put it Well, I tried to give my my kids to play guitar and they took lessons for a while Didn't go anywhere, but now I have a grandson that's only two and a half years old And they they sent me a picture of him strumming what I think was a badminton Wow instrument and so I brought a guitar over to write right and he came to our gig last week, right? I think he's ever seen live music. Oh, wow, and he was just mezzanine. Oh, yeah Oh, yeah, he was out there dancing and carrying on.

Oh sure Tambourine as well. Yeah, you know and don't give up on your kids yet either because I'll tell you I I've tried to teach my kids You know as much as possible, right when my daughter was very young she could sing but she wouldn't you know, right? My son could a little bit but he wouldn't my son could play a little guitar, but he wouldn't right and So about a year and a half ago or actually about two years ago. My son says hey, he's gone He's leaving to go back to college.

He goes. Hey, can I take a guitar and an amplifier with me? Yeah, sure, and he took it to school with him. He came back strumming the guitar and then last Christmas He says, you know, I think I want to play the drums.

So I bought him a cheap little $350 electronic drum set right? He was home for a month Within a month. He was playing local local open jams. I was like he's so he's an he's 22 now He's an idiot savant on the drums Nobody's ever given him lessons, but he plays well enough to sit in on an open jam It's like you shouldn't be doing this, you know with me after playing only just a few months, but it's so funny You know, he he knows what he knows how to play like a rumba or a samba or a shuffle or whatever But he'd be turned around and say hey kid play a shuffle.

He's like, what's that? He goes that thing you were playing two songs ago because he's never taken lessons or anything So who knows, you know, leave him alone and they might pick it up on their own. Yeah, he has the natural talent Yeah, right, right, right, right and my daughter my daughter current came to me and said hey, give me guitar lessons. Okay, great Let's go for it.

Where the hell were you guys 22 years ago? All this talk about music. I'm a Jones in for another song. Yeah, you're Jones in for another one.

Yeah. Yeah, so stay to break Let's do it. You're listening to the rock and roll Chicago podcast Hey everybody, it's Ray the roadie and this is Hollywood Mike of the rock and roll Chicago podcast If you've been joining our weekly program, we have great news for you Just tune in to road to rock radio on Mondays at 7 p.m Central time and you can hear a rebroadcast of one of our past episodes then again on Thursdays at 7 p.m You can hear our most current episode brought to you by the Illinois rock and roll museum on Route 66 So go to road to rock org scroll down and click on radio station That'll bring you to the road to rock radio a station committed entirely to the great music from, Illinois From Chicago blues born on Maxwell Street to today's rock and roll and everything in between 24-7 all music with its roots in, Illinois And for the second time tonight we have code blue doing their version of a Motown classic right here How happy am I with all the powers I possess I believe you're the key to my happiness and I can't get next to you, babe Can't get next to you Can't get next to you, babe Can't get next to you I Can fly like a bird up in the sky Whoa, I can buy anything, you know that I'm to me So desire How happy am I with all the powers I possess I can't believe you're the key to my baby Can't get next to you, babe Can't get next to you Can't get next to you, babe Can't get next to you, babe Can't get next to you You're right, it's live that's exactly what we do don't worry we fix shit Definitely in an original version.

Yeah blue blues here. Yeah. Yeah, what's cool about this when we when we start it feature we What's cool about this version is it's hard to do here But when we're you know as a band We just stop and then one two, three four start singing and that's how we do all our Our breaks in the song for the solos as well.

And it's pretty cool. Yeah No, I can see that. That's definitely blues here.

I could I could See how that would work. Yeah, I had another song going through my head, too As you were playing it because the way you guys are doing that It seems to me like it'd be really easy for you guys to go into come together With the way you're playing that rhythm Yeah That's what I that's what I was hearing there. So yeah what I want to do at the end of our Motown medley is love shack.

Oh Cuz we're in that key. Oh, okay. Yeah.

Yeah, right. Well who's gonna do the crazy chick? So, where do you guys play the most or do you have a place that you considered to be like like home base We we play a lot at Mama Vesuvio's and favorite sites, okay outdoor patio and it's nice because you get you know, our older crowd and we're not terribly loud and So we book there during the you know, four or five times during the summer and play out at Main Street Exchange out in Crete We've got five gigs out there We'll be playing At the office Villagin and Moni and November 23rd weekend of Thanksgiving before Thanksgiving. So just a couple weeks away just a couple weeks away a couple weeks away.

Yeah, and You know, we're doing a we do some private parties every now and then we played at a place called the Optima signature Two February's ago and it was our our first corporate gig No, it was awesome. It was we played for the residences of the building. So we we set up in their their area The community area that was it was that was that the thing where you kind of like had like a big window behind you I saw that video.

Yeah Yeah, that was nice, you know what it was fun It was a blast and everybody loved us and you know, we get complimented wherever we go. So that's nice to hear that People are enjoying what we're doing, you know and places like mama, you know, the the crew there is very good The food is excellent and the people couldn't be nicer than people, you know, a Gino and his wife, right? You know, they're very welcoming. They'll give us a gig anytime We went well, I shouldn't say that because that sounds a little bit and you can play bocce ball.

Yeah It's just a real comfortable atmosphere for everybody. So Happy to talk about your your place every week if you'd like. Yes That'd be a good consideration because I know Gino's into, you know promoting.

So yeah, nice promoting there You have Gino get a hold of me. It's really nice He built a stage, you know in the courtyard dining room if you want to call it that, you know They put a lot of work into it, you know, he seems to like they have local talent coming in You know very welcoming atmosphere nice people, you know, and the crowds are great Really I've been meaning to go and check the place out and I just haven't had the time to go in and see it So I'm gonna have to make up an excuse. I mean, I'll have to go see you guys.

I'll have a band there They've got bands on Saturdays from 6 to 10 and Sundays 5 to 9. Oh, okay. Nice. Well, it's throughout the entire summer and that's and that's the Saturday night gig That's an early gig.

Yeah, that's nice. Yeah, and I actually go there for dinner with my my gal, right? It's not just because you know, we play there but he goes to dinner with his gal and they have a couple cocktails and they go swing dancing That's good, I like that that's good. That's that's a good that's there's a lack of places like that nowadays, you know I used to listen to my grandparents talk about they go out for dinner.

They go dancing, you know I have a couple of drinks and they never leave the Never leave that building you can do it all right there and you don't have that kind of stuff now It's like supper clubs. Yes clubs. Exactly.

I used to love going to Wisconsin going to a supper club for New Year's Eve, right? They were the best places great food. They'd have a band you and it was awesome, right, right? I don't know where that came from, but don't don't anything on the horizons for the band any any plans of doing things maybe new or differently for 2025 which is right around the corner and any aspirations for maybe doing original music or recording an album of Covers anything like that? Well, we we do have some original music that we would like to start promoting it's just You know in order to do that I'm told and I've heard that most original stuff doesn't go well out in the south suburbs You got to go to the north side of Chicago to play that stuff But you have to do a taxi introduce them you do you throw you throw an animal man? No way, this is an original yet Actually, you don't even do that you you do a string of songs in a row without taking a breath, right? You do like three of them, right? And then the last one is your original song and you start moving to the next song and then you say oh, by the way That's song. We just played.

Yeah, you know because because if you say it beforehand you tune everybody out before they listen to it Let them hear it. Let them hear it. Yeah.

Yeah, and if it's blues Most of them won't even realize that it's an original song. They'll just assume it was an old Willie Dixon song or you know Or whatever. Yeah, you just got to sneak a man.

That's all there is to it's my dog. Yes, please So, how can people find you guys if they want to know a little bit more about you? We are code blue band just like that code blue band You got a type in the actual we are code blue band. Oh really hyphens.

No, nothing Oh one no spaces in between the words nothing. We are code blue band on Facebook on Facebook That's where we're at. That's why I couldn't find you on Facebook, but I did find you when I googled you So that was so at least so you can't Google right? You can't you can't Google code blue band You'll be like the third one, right? Yeah, and then there's the punk band and then you guys finally show up so Well, I don't think it's because I don't you know, I don't even know if it's because of that It's it's more like the internet presence because the other guys they had their own websites and all that stuff So if you guys are working through Facebook, which is absolutely nothing wrong with that Facebook is great for bands, you know, you you end up showing up like third or something like that.

Yeah, let's yeah Well, I think that's about wraps it up. I think it does. Yeah, I enjoyed I enjoyed your the songs you guys played especially the first one I loved the harmonies and stuff on that one And I think we need to get some people out to go out there and and see you guys Well, I want to thank you for having a pleasure.

Absolutely really enjoyed. Thanks for coming out and we will be promoting this podcast September November All right Where did they find it at Anywhere, you can get a podcast. Okay, you know It's the rock and roll Chicago podcast.

Okay, rock and roll Chicago podcast Yeah, and they can if you just google that anywhere anywhere that streams podcasts Spotify Pandora Apple music you can you can go to our fan page on Facebook and click the links to the podcast There's a link that will take you to the website the whole bit and you can and you can buy some and you can and You can buy some swag. We sold a t-shirt. We did a shirt on our We officially have a fan base we do Can I buy one tonight? No, you can only buy my line.

We don't have any Museum right now the podcast t-shirt, right? Right. Yeah, the museum t-shirts. Yeah, we can yeah Yeah, we can say anything museum stuff.

It's already guys. Thanks for coming in. It was a lot of fun Thank you for having us.

We go. Thanks. All right All righty.

I've got a code blue. I got a code blue. I got a code blue blues.

I need myself a doctor. Yeah That was a great time with them guys, yeah, they were a lot of fun they were a lot of fun man They're they're they're they're not original original. They put their own spin on sound that beyond this music It's and actually and they actually truly did they did, you know, how many times we have we heard people say? But see we put our own spin on and it sounds exactly like right Yeah, no this these guys actually do they do they put that they put their little bluesy spin in there because they like the blues Yeah, everyone likes the blues Yeah, check them out check out some videos because most of their videos are them playing songs You've heard but not quite the way that you've heard them before.

That's right and go on see him live Yeah, they're playing all over the place. So take a look. They're gonna be out in Mooney in a few weeks So check them out there and we'd like to thank them for coming in Thank you for listening every single week to the rock and roll Chicago podcast where we present you with another Excellent episode every Tuesday.

See you next week The rock and roll Chicago podcast is edited by Paul Martin theme song courtesy of M&R rush The rock and roll Chicago podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the show The music is used to promote the guests that are featured