2007-2008 Blues Caravan

The Pumpers

February 19, 2007
Chappy's Safari Lounge
229 16th Ave. SW
Cedar Rapids, IA
319-364-9817

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The Blues Caravan is a roving juke joint exploring the roots of the American music, the Blues. The Blues Caravan is hosted by KCCK's Bobby DeForest.

Also, really cool Caravan buttons are available! They'll look just like the Caravan logo below. We just couldn't help ourselves. Ask David Andrews, our LCBS Merchandise Maven, about these cool, Caravan buttons!
See you at the Blues Caravan!

Who are the Pumpers?

Perry Welsh - harp and vocals: Perry's love of the blues started at an early age in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where he was born. As a young man working at Iowa Steel and Iron Works in the day time and played the blues joints at night. His earliest influences include Jimmy Reed, Bobby Blue Bland, Freddie King, Fats Domino and most importantly Ray Charles. After a few years of this, Perry moved to San Francisco with fellow blues man Stephen Miller of Linn County fame. After moving to San Francisco, he met Elvin Bishop and became his road manager. He eventually worked his way into the group as a background vocalist and harp player. Perry recorded with Elvin on several albums and a single called "So Fine" with The Pointer Sisters. They played the Fillmore Auditorium many times and were on the bill for the Last Days of Fillmore, later made into a 3 disc album and film. After a few years with Elvin, he and Stephen Miller went back to the Midwest to form the new Linn County band. Miller eventually left for Florida and was replaced on keyboards by Tom T-bone Giblin. Linn County attracted quite a following for years in the Midwest. Eventually Perry moved back to San Francisco and started his own group, Perry and the Pumpers who played the SF club scene for years. Perry and the Pumpers was like a blues school for Bay Area musicians including Phil Aaberg, Michael "Fly" Brooks, Johnny "V" Vernazza and many others. Perry played with or shared the stage with every blues and rock n roll musician in the Bay Area including Boz Scaggs, Big Joe Turner, Albert Collins, Mary Wells and the list goes on. Perry moved to Nashville in 1994 and assembled piece by piece, the right blend of musicians to back his soulful vocals and tough harmonic style where he brought his rendering of blues classics and originals to the forefront of the Nashville music scene. His band, "The Mighty Johnsons" were nominated for Nashville's best blues band after the release of the CD "She's Got that Stuff" (Super 88 record label). Perry eventually semi-retired from the music scene until coaxed back to the Iowa for a reunion concert of the Linn County band. At the point, he reunited with his "blues son", T-Bone Giblin and together with Dave Bader, Bryce Janey and the Chief, formed this new version of the Pumpers. Perry was inducted in the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Tom "T-Bone" Giblin-keyboards: T-Bone formed his first band with neighborhood and school friends in his freshman year of high school in Cedar Rapids, IA. One night, he was approached by two "older guys." They liked his style of playing organ so much they invited him to sit in with them on their weekend show at The Mirror Lounge. Those two "older guys" were local favorites Dennis "Daddy-O" McMurrin and Ron DeWitte and their group was called Mercy. He stayed with that for about a year and a half. While still in high school, Tom played with a couple more popular local bands, American Legend and Steamboat Willie, which gave him more exposure in the local bar and club scene. Shortly after high school, Iowa's own favorite son of the Blues, keyboardist Steve Miller, left the very successful and popular Blues band, The Linn County Band to join the Southern-rock group Grinderswitch. Creating a vacancy on the keys, Tom was invited to fill it. "That was the first Blues band I played with," Tom says and it was where he also Perry Welsh. He stayed with that band close to two and a half years. During that time, Tom experienced several personal and musical changes. Tom was in his early 20s and had never been away from Cedar Rapids. He was getting antsy and was ready for a change. January of '78 found Tom moving to San Francisco. While out there, I got a call from Milwaukee Bluesman Bryan Lee. He got my number somehow through the grapevine and invited me to play with him. I said, 'Sure!' It would bring me closer to home for one thing." Playing with the likes of Freddie King and other rockin' Blues bands, this was something Tom could identify with for awhile. Then one day, he got a phone call from Blues legend Mighty Joe Young of Chicago. "He got my number from the old sax player with The Linn County Band and asked me if I wanted to move to Chicago and play the Blues. I said, 'Sure,' and off I went," says Gibby. "I played with Joe for about a year and a half, and boy, did I do a lot! I took my first trip to Europe, had a cameo shot in the movie Thief starring James Caan and Tuesday Weld [also Willie Nelson and James Belushi]. The Mighty Joe Young band played in a bar scene in the movie. I played with Joe at one of the very first Chicago Blues Music Fests. It was great!" Time ran its course with that gig and it was time once again to try something new. Tom looked up friend Bryan Lee from Milwaukee again, and played Midwestern gigs for about 6 months, but kept his residence in Chicago. Gibby moved back to San Francisco when he got a call from his buddy Walter Shufflesworth, the old drummer for The Linn County Band. He'd been working with Charlie Musselwhite as his back-up band, The Dynatones. The band was going on their own and Walter wanted to know if Gibby wanted to join up. This was right up Tom's alley, and during the period Tom played with the great Motown/R&B/Soul band, things were going their way. Tom remembers, "It was about a year and a half later when I got a call from one of my old Chicago buddies, Lonnie Brooks. Back when I lived in Chicago and played with Mighty Joe Young, Lonnie and I hit it off pretty well. We'd hang out and shoot pool together and we became pretty good friends. When Lonnie had an opening come up for a keyboardist in his band, he offered me the gig and I couldn't refuse. I played with Lonnie from January of '84 till November of '97, and what a ride it was!" Over a 35 year professional career, Tom has a long and storied career as side man to many blues men and women including Elvin Bishop, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks, Bo Diddely, Jimmy Rogers, Luther Allison, Big Joe Turner, AC Reed, The Dynatones, Bryan Lee, Kenny Neal, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Mary Wells, Koko Taylor and has done over 20 European Tours, played in Brazil, Japan, Australia and been on tours with BB King, Buddy Guy, George Thorougood and many others. He's appeared in 5 films and recorded on over 20 CDs. T-Bone was inducted in the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and Iowa Blues Hall of Fame in 2005.

Bryce Janey - guitarand vocals: Bryce Janey began his career in his hometown of Marion, IA at the age of 13 in a blues-rock trio called The Janey's. With his mother on drums and his father BillyLee on guitar, The Janey's played regionally and nationally from Chicago to Los Angeles. They shared the stage with over 50 national acts, including Buddy Guy, Delbert McClinton, Blues Traveler, Johnny Winter and Koko Taylor. While still in The Janey's, Bryce began a solo career and released his first CD, Practice What You Preach, in 1996 on an Indi label in Iowa called Hot Fudge Music. This release was later picked up by an independent label Cold Wind Records in Minneapolis, MN where Bryce began to showcase in local clubs like Whiskey Junction and BrewBakers in St. Paul. Two more CDs were released, Live at Checker's Tavern and Sweet Baby Jane. These early CDs have gained national attention and five stars from Blues Access magazine (1998) and great reviews from Blues Revue and Living Blues, among others. In 1999, Bryce signed with San Diego music attorney, Rod Underhill and became the number one artist on mp3.com later that year. In 2001, Bryce released his next CD, Bare Wire, and began touring again with his own band and with Iowa's own The Blue Band. Bryce played festivals and successful venues like B.B. King's in Memphis and Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago. The Blue Band also played venues in Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, Denver and Keystone. In early 2003, Bryce released Live At JM O'Malley's. That same year, he also released The Janey's with his father, Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, BillyLee Janey. He performed with The Janey's father/son team-up, as well as with his own band. Bryce's influences include many artists ranging from Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix, Cream and The Band, in addition to many blues artists-Chicago style to Old Delta Robert Johnson. He also has a great love for country and folk music and tries to combine these into a melting pot genre of his own version of rock 'n' roll, county, and blues with a touch of acoustic ballads and R&B. His voice likens Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and his guitar playing has been compared with Robert Cray and Buddy Guy. The last two years Bryce has been living, writing and performing in eastern Iowa. His new songs were recorded at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls, Iowa with gold record producer of Stone Sour, Tom Tatman. Heal the Night is quite simply his best work. All the years of performing, traveling and hard times come out at you! With a soulful voice and passionate lyrics, this reveals the truth of Bryce Janey as a singer, songwriter and musician-an Artist! As they said in Blues Revue, "all the elements that could make Bryce Janey a major blues star are in place!" Bryce was inducted into the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 for his work with the Blue Band.

Steve "The Chief" Hayes - drums and percussion: "The Chief" has been eastern Iowa's first call drummer for over 25 years. Born in Cedar Rapids, Hayes started playing professionally at age 16 with Leo and the Hilltoppers. He has been a long time side man with Patrick Hazell's Mother Blues Band, The Blue Band, Bo Ramsey and can be heard on records by Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, Kevin Gordon, Dave Moore, The Blue Band, Bryce Janey and a host of other "Who's Who" midwest musicians. Steve was inducted in the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame TWICE in 2007 for his work in The Blue Band and The Mother Blues Band!

Dave Bader - bass and vocals: Dave Bader grew up in a musical family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and during his teen years did some roadie work with a local band that included T-Bone Giblin. Soon after high school and college he relocated to San Francisco where he joined his first band, The Spliff Kings which included his brother Robert "Hans" Bader. After several years in California, he returned home to Iowa to raise a family and after years of low activity he joined up with others in Iowa to form the Shed Heads which evolved into Flat Cat. Flat Cat had a good ten year run as a fun time party band with a wide repertoire including many originals written by Dave Bader. It was during the Flat Cat years that Bader hooked back up with T-Bone Giblin which included the release of Flat Cat's "Bring A Friend" and "The Original Flat Cat" CDs and the release of T-Bone's solo CD "Choice Cuts". Bader has also been part of several other bands including Flying Carp, Mid Wife Crises, Trailer Park Romeos, Pawned Scum and The Bader Brothers Band, which consists of brothers Dave, Mike, Tom and Robert "Hans" Bader. He recorded with and did several tours with his brother Montana Bluesman Mike Bader. Over the years he has played behind and with a wide variety of local and national names including Ron DeWitte, Dennis McMurrin, Kevin BF Burt, Craig Erickson, Charlie Morgan, Merrill J Miller, Carole King, Bryce Janey, Michael Hill, Perry Welsh and many others. Dave has been deeply influenced by Howlin Wolf, Memphis Soul, New Orleans back beat, Old School Country and the San Francisco music scene.