Janiva Magness an advocate for foster children at risk

By her own admittance, as a teenager, blues singer Janiva Magness was “hell on wheels.”

“There’s no doubt about that,” Magness said in a telephone interview from her Los Angeles home. “It was not uncommon for me to refer to myself as a ‘force to be reckoned with.’ It was not a party.”

JANIVA MAGNESS

Magness, a Michigan native who attended Mount Clemens High School while living with her grandparents, had a traumatic childhood. Her mother committed suicide when Magness was only 13. Her father, who was a Detroit police officer for 15 years, committed suicide when she was 16. 

Magness ran away from home, snuck into nightclubs and generally raised hell. The fourth of five children, Magness had 12 foster care placements in a two-year period. None of her siblings were placed with her.

“The truth is I have all the ‘Jerry Springer’ stories, but I’m not interested in talking about that, unless it inspires people to step forward and help kids at risk.”

With the help of several adults, Magness, who will perform Thursday at Callahan’s Music Hall in Auburn Hills, eventually came through her traumatic period to form a successful musical career.

“I got really, really lucky because I found a good fit. I stumbled and fell into a small handful of really good people who ultimately stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself.”

The list of adults who assisted her on her way to adulthood includes foster parents, a social worker, a probation officer, and an English teacher. A foster mother in Minneapolis was a powerful influence.

“She was a strong and loving adult with boundaries, who was willing to stand up to me and stand up for me,” Magness said. “That was huge. There’s a lot that people can do to try to truly change the life of a foster child. There is a whole menu of things people can do to change a child’s lifetime.”

JANIVA MAGNESS

Magness is doing her part to help today’s troubled youth through her involvement with Foster Care Month and Foster Care Alumni of America. She is a spokesperson for Foster Care Month, which is May, and was named ambassador of foster care alumni by the FCAA. 

“That was a really big deal for me,” Magness said. “There are a half a million of us (foster care alumni), and it turns out there is tremendous strength in numbers.

“What I do, primarily, is to talk about foster care in every interview I do, and I also do a fair amount of public speaking, from judiciaries and social workers and everything in between, to youths still in the system and alumni. There is a tremendous amount of resources available to alumni in our country.”

Magness has a meet-and-greet talk with school children planned in Kalamazoo on Friday.

Her ninth album, “The Devil is an Angel Too” (Alligator Records), is dedicated to all foster youth and alumni. It was named top blues album of 2010 by Living Blues magazine.

“This is a collection of stories that deals with the duality of the human condition. Darkness and Light,” Magness writes in the liner notes. “Turns out we all have some of each -- light and dark on the inside. I know I do.”

Magness recognizes that her lifelong love of music helped save her life.

“I was the little kid putting on every petticoat I had and putting on shows for the cat and dog. I really wanted to play piano, but I couldn’t get my parents to give me lessons. I knew every song on the radio and every TV theme song. I was a complete and total mynah bird.

“It was my respite. My escape hatch was listening to music and studying records and songs.”

She didn’t start performing in public until she was 19.

“I was much too afraid to try. I was a scared, scared puppy. I didn’t think I could sing, but I had one of those moments where I thought, ‘I’m probably going to die young, so I better damn well give it a try.’ Otherwise, I would have died and never gone for it. That (thought) really fucked with my head.”

The emotions she’s experienced through her difficult life have ended up being at least a partial positive for Magness, who was named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation in 2009.

“I think it totally informs my craft. What a lucky thing. Lucky me … I get to do something with all that shit.”

Magness wants to encourage foster children at risk to make the journey from darkness to light.

“I like to quote Winston Churchill: ‘When, you’re going through hell, keep moving.’ That, unfortunately, is not an uncommon foster care experience.”

Janiva Magness performs Thursday at Callahan’s Music Hall, 2105 South Blvd, Auburn Hills. Tickets are $14-$17.50. For information, call (248) or click www.atcallahans.com.

For information on Magness, and links to the Foster Care Alumni of America and Foster Care Month websites, click www.janivamagness.com.

To send info to JB Blues, please email Joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.

Detroit Music Awards winners

Congratulations to the blues artists who were winners at the 20th Detroit Music Awards ceremony at the Fillmore - Detroit.
Singer-guitarists Johnnie Bassett and Motor City Josh each received two awards. Bassett was honored as Outstanding Blues/R&B Instrumentalist and Johnnie Bassett & the Blues Insurgents were named Outstanding Blues Artist/Group. Motor City Josh won Outstanding Blues/R&B Songwriter and Motor City Josh & The Big 3's "It's a Good Life" was tops in the Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording category.
Thornetta Davis was named Outstanding Blues/R&B Vocalist and The Groove Council won in the Outstanding R&B Artist/Group category.
Martin “Tino” Gross, frontman for the Howling Diablos, won three awards. The group was honored for Outstanding Live Performance and Tino won in the Outstanding Record Producer and Outstanding Urban/Funk Songwriter categories for his work at his Funky D Studio.

To contact JB Blues, please e-mail Joe.ballor@dailytribune.com

Blues at the Library with Kenney Mitchell

KENNEY MITCHELL

Like many before him, singer-guitarist Kenney Mitchell took a roundabout path to finding the blues.

“I listened to Jimi Hendrix, mainly, that was my first influence, and The Beatles,” said Mitchell, 52, a Detroit native who will perform live with his band Third Stone From The Sun on Wednesday at the Southfield Public Library. “Jimi led me to Van Halen, Frank Marino (of Mahogany Rush), Robin Trower, and Ernie Isley, people like that. I also liked Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics. I listened to a little bit of everybody.”

Mitchell was exposed to blues, R&B and soul through listening to his parents’ music at home as a kid, but really became interested in the blues after venturing down to John’s Carpet House outdoor jam at St. Aubin and Frederick in Detroit.

“The first time I went there it was Van Halen and Jimi meets the blues,” Mitchell chuckled. “They were impressed for about five minutes.

“I just got into it. My dad always listened to it. I started studying Jimi’s licks and that took me to Otis Rush and Albert King. I said to myself, ‘Dang, that where he got that.’ ”

It was at one of the John’s Carpet House jams that Mitchell’s talent was exposed to Don McGhee, noted blues photographer and producer of the Jazz & Blues at the Library monthly series that is sponsored by the Friends of the Southfield Public Library and the Detroit Blues Society.

“One of the things I like is his passion for the music,” McGhee said. “I did a photo piece for the Detroit Blues Society’s Blues Notes newsletter featuring Kenney, (singer-songwriter and guitarist) Mo Motyka and (guitarist) Carlton Washington. There’s something about their approach to blues music and that they are making a serious attempt to learn and play it.”

McGhee digs the passion Mitchell has for the music.

“I love that style, it’s very moving. Kenney has moved more and more to the blues now and he’s paying attention to the blues masters. He has intensity and a passion for the music. I enjoy the rock licks he brings to it as well.”

Over the years, Mitchell has played with bands in a variety of styles, ranging from R&B to rock and even punk rock. But, now he’s been bitten by the blues bug.

“I love its simplicity, yet its complexity,” said Mitchell, who listens to older blues artists such as John Lee Hooker as well as newer artists like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Gale, and Indiginous. “A lot of people can’t play it and I’m still trying to learn it. I like the emotions that it can convey.

“Put it this way: You can have two guitar players side-by-side, Yngwie Malmsteen and Buddy Guy, or B.B. King. Yngwie can play a thousand notes in one second. B.B. or Buddy will hit one note and you know exactly what they’re talking about. You can feel it. It will hit you. I like music you can feel and that will actually take you somewhere. That’s one of the reasons I like Jimi so much.”

Mitchell will be joined by keyboardist Rico, bassist Mo Hollis and drummer Perez at the library. They’ll perform mostly cover tunes, with selections from The Meters, Freddie King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and, of course, Hendrix.

“I’ve got to include some Jimi,” Mitchell said. “It’s funny, when I first started playing guitar, folks would accuse me of being a Hendrix clone and I tried to get away from it. Now, they say, ‘You’ve gotta play this (Hendrix tune), or you’ve got to play that.’ People love Hendrix, especially if it’s done right.”

Kenney Mitchell and Third Stone From the Sun will perform from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at the Southfield Public Library, in the Southfield Municipal Complex, 26300 Evergreen Road. Admission is $3, with children under age 12 admitted free. For more information, call (248) 796-4224 or click www.southfieldlibrary.org.

To send info to JB Blues, please e-mail Joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.

Doug Deming backs up harmonica greats in 'Blues Heritage Series'

DOUG DEMING

For being a guitar player, Doug Deming is a heck of a fan of blues harmonica.

“I just like the harmonica style in general,” said Deming, 41, a Detroit native who was raised in Warren and now lives in Florida. “I studied the masters and being as into harmonica as much as I am, without being a harmonica player, is somewhat of a rarity. I like the rhythmic textures the band plays behind the harmonica. There’s a stylistic difference between being a band that backs up a harmonica as opposed to a band backing up other instruments.”

Deming has worked with many top harp players, including Kim Wilson, the late Gary Primich, Lazy Lester and Johnny “Yard Dog” Jones.

“It’s understanding the dynamics of support, rather than needing to be on top of the mix all the time,” Deming said. “Sometimes, it’s the subtlety that’s attractive.”

Deming and his band, the Jewel Tones, will back up three outstanding harp players as the Detroit Blues Society, in conjunction with the Scarab Club, presents “The Harmonica Blues” from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday (April 9) at the Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth in Detroit (scarabclub.com). The afternoon of harp blues will feature Dave Morris from the Jewel Tones, Garfield Angove and Harmonica Shah. Other members of the Detroit-version of the Jewel Tones are bassist Bob Conner and drummer Julian Van Slyke.

Morris is perhaps best known for his work with the Ann Arbor-based group Big Dave and the Ultrasonics, which broke up in the late ‘90s. He’s performed with Deming and the Jewel Tones for years.

“I’ve played with guys from one end of the country to the other, the so-called latest and greatest, and Dave’s talent matches just about anybody,” Deming said. “His talent, if he chose to do so, could take him around the world.”

Deming describes Angove as a “Detroit treasure.” The veteran performer toured with the Sam Lay Blues Band in the ‘60s and has performed with Lucille Spann, Koko Taylor, Johnny Young, Mighty Joe Young, Lucky Peterson and Luther Allison.

He helped start the Detroit Blues Band, has kept the Garfield Blues Band going for decades (as well as fronting Kenny Parker’s blues band), and currently fronts the Millionaires, one of Detroit premier jump/swing bands. He won the Detroit Blues Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

“He’s a harmonica player, a wonderful singer, and a historian that’s well respected in the Detroit community for his knowledge and experience,” Deming said.

HARMONICA SHAH

A California native, Harmonica Shah was raised in Texas and moved to the Motor City in 1967. Over the years, Shah has played alongside Bobo Jenkins, Eddie Kirkland, The Butler Twins and Willie D. Warren. He has toured across the United States, as well as in Europe, Russia, Japan and Australia. He won the DBS Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.

“It’s going to be great (at the Scarab Club),” Deming said. “They’re all very good and all very different. That’s why I picked them, specifically. They come from completely different backgrounds and styles. People will really see a lot of variety. They’ll all do their thing, it will be completely different, yet will be a quality performance by all three guys.”

The Scarab Club has hosted the Blues Heritage Series for years.

“There’s always a theme,” Deming said, “a guitar player theme, a Delta blues theme, or a piano and boogie-woogie theme.  We’ve done harmonica-themed events there over the years, too, and I generally get the call to do that because of my association with so many harmonica players.”

Deming moved to Florida with his wife Claudia about a year ago.

“I always did well, music wise, in Florida and the economy was definitely a factor,” he said. “I was looking for greener pastures and better weather. I’m an outside kind of guy, and here I can be outside a lot more.”

Deming, who has his captain’s license, is a self-described “crazed fisherman” and he often fishes for pompano, cobia and other species.

There was another factor involved in the Demings’ decision to move south.

“Our place in Michigan was right off Lake St. Clair, but Burger King bought the property next to us and that was a catalyst for the move, the noise and the smell,” he said. “The drive-through window was 75 feet from our bedroom window.”

It took the better part of a year for him to find Florida musicians who meshed with his musical style. “It was a chore,” he said. “But, I’m done now and it’s going very well.”

SCARY MOMENT: Deming walked away from a rollover accident in Florida Tuesday with only a few scratches.

“I was driving from the West Coast, where I live, to the East Coast in a horrendous rainstorm,” Deming said. “There was new blacktop that had been laid the day before and when it got wet it was like ice. My van started hydroplaning, I went into the ditch and it rolled a couple of times.”

The accident smashed the vehicle’s windows and Deming, who was wearing his seat belt, crawled out the rear window after the accident.

“It was awful. I’m very lucky I wasn’t really hurt. I’ve never had that happen before. It makes you stop and think how quickly things can change for you.”

To send info to JB Blues, please e-mail Joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.

Little Jr. Cannaday ailing

Mike Boulan, president of the Detroit Blues Society, shares the sad news that Detroit blues legend Little Jr. Cannaday has terminal cancer of the brain and is at home in the hospice program. Boulan said doctors have given him four months to live. He would love to hear from his many friends and fans. Send him a card via his address at 5500 McClellan, Apt. 214, Detroit MI 48213. Cannaday first arrived on the Detroit blues scene in the early 1950s and performed at the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival. Recently, Cannaday contributed the fine song "What Did I Do So Bad" to the benefit CD "Blues for Katrina and the McDowell Family" on No Cover Productions that won the Detroit Music Award for best blues/R&B recording of the year in 2007. Cannaday and his wife Lee celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary last month.

To send info to JB Blues, please e-mail Joe.ballor@dailytribune.com.