Best Local Blues Act

Charley Dee

I figured it would it would be a close race between Worcester and Tritown in this year's blues category but the land of the Worm would squeak out on top -- bestowing the title upon either the wunderkind Troy Gonyea or newcomers the Houserockers. As it turned out, the North County gang -- the same crowd that's been filling venues such as Partners and Slattery's every weekend -- turned out in heavy numbers and put Charley Dee on top again.

But then, hell, who's to say Dee isn't deserving of two consecutive wins, anyway? He's been paying his fair share ever since he picked up an axe some 20 years ago (an old copy of John Lee Hooker's "Crawling Kingsnake" provided initial inspiration). Since, he's done more gigs than he can remember -- many where empty tables and chairs were the audience. There have also been more than a few pro bono opening-act jobs: in recent years, he's shared stages with blues heavies such as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Ronnie Earl, and Taj Mahal and rockers like John Cafferty and Detroit Wheelman Mitch Ryder. Not all of these inspire warm and fuzzy recollections either. He recalls one particular night, years back, when Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson invited him on stage. "I was really scared, and I hadn't had time to tune up to everyone else," he says. "I was all out of tune, and it sounded pretty weird. Luther ended up looking at me and yelling, `Hey, man, can you play or what?'"

Oh, but he can. Following up last year's Rollin' & Tumblin' Blues, the Fitchburg native recently released Bloodshot Blue Eyes (Recycled Sounds). Recorded live during a radio performance, the disc captures Dee ripping through 10 numbers that lean heavily toward Texaboogie, both in style and energy. "I think it sounds a little more spontaneous than the last one," he says, adding, "the studio environment seemed a little too sterile to me." The cover features him fretting his Les Paul while the neck is on fire -- an image that, while impressive, came at the expense of some potentially serious physical harm. "I was playing slide with a lighter, and the fluid came out," he recalls. "Someone had a camera and took the picture as it burned." He doesn't recall how it ignited, only that, "thankfully, I wasn't seriously hurt."

-- Mark Edmonds