Sunday, June 7 – Maxwell Street Blues Series

The blues continues with a neighborhood celebration at the legendary market on Maxwell Street, between South Halsted Street and South Union Avenue, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Schedule

• 10-11 a.m. – DJ James Porter
• 11 a.m. – Noon – Studebaker John’s Maxwell Street Kings
• Noon – 12:30 p.m. – DJ James Porter
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. – John Primer & Steve Bell
• 1:30-2:00 p.m. – DJ James Porter
• 2-3 p.m. – Harmonica Hinds Duo

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s. The band name referenced the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks. John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. “…Hound Dog started playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar.”

As a songwriter and musician, Studebaker John has emerged as a major creative force in the world of the blues today. Ahead of the pack, with vision and foresight, creating a new standard and landscape for this music’s future… with John at the wheel, the future is now!

http://www.studebakerjohn.com/

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s. The band name referenced the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks. John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. “…Hound Dog started playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar.”

As a songwriter and musician, Studebaker John has emerged as a major creative force in the world of the blues today. Ahead of the pack, with vision and foresight, creating a new standard and landscape for this music’s future… with John at the wheel, the future is now!

Studebaker John’s Maxwell Street Kings – Kingsville Jukin’

Studebaker John’s Maxwell Street Kings – Kingsville Jukin’
Delmark DE 830 (2013)
Compact Disc

As a teenager, John Grimaldi worked in the family plumbing business that sometimes took him to Chicago’s Maxwell Street open-air market. There he saw musicians playing raw, amplified blues. After seeing Hound Dog Taylor perform, John knew he had to play slide guitar. Under the spell of these music experiences he started performing as Studebaker John in the `70s. Almost forty years and a dozen albums later, Studebaker John is still creating new songs, (Kingsville Jukin’ is over an hour of all new originals) still rockin’ the blues the way they did on Maxwell Street. The band also features Rick Kreher, guitar; Bob Halaj, bass and Steve Cushing, drums. In a review of the first Maxwell Street Kings CD, That’s The Way You Do, (Delmark 810), Steven Jones wrote: “I’ve listened to a lot of Studebaker John Grimaldi’s recordings over the years, and this new release may just blow the rest of them all away! His harp is greasy and hot, his slide cuts like a knife and his vocals are truly inspired.” –