Misha Siegfried is living that dream. He was your average Jewish youth group kid from Saint Paul with too much facial hair and a passion for guitar. Little did we know that’s what you need to hit it big – mad guitar skills, and an awesome beard.
For the last three years Misha has been the lead guitarist for the Charles Walker Band, what he calls a “Blues/R&B/Funk hybrid. A little bit of everything, plus the kitchen sink.” Their music is hot. And they’re playing at Famous Dave’s in Uptown Thursday night, May 20th at 8pm (here’s the Facebook invite). I hope you join me and go hear them play. And hells yeah, I’ll be on the dance floor all night.
(Open up another window on your computer with the Charles Walker Band’s website, so you get the streaming blues music while you listen to this piece. It’ll set the mood.)
Because people deserve to have their minds blown. Plus, the ribs are good.
The band is based in Milwaukee but has been playing all over – Memphis, Chicago, St. Louis, etc. They’ve opened for Aaron Neville, BB King, and Earth, Wind & Fire. So I wondered, What was Misha’s favorite musical experience with the Charles Walker Band? His answer?
Almost dying on the side of a mountain because the brakes went out on our 20 year old RV. Oh, wait. You mean MUSICAL experience? Playing at John Lee Hooker’s old club in San Fransisco on my 27th birthday. Now THAT Was awesome… from what I can remember.
So . . . Misha looks Jewish, but I wondered, did his Jewish background inspire or affect his music at all and how so? He told me:
Jews are fundamentally displaced people, and I feel that Jews and African-Americans share this trait, at least in a broad sense. As a Jew, you are always keenly aware of the “us-vs.-them” characteristic in society. We are different and the world likes to remind us of that. Blues, for me at least, is how I process that division.
But here’s the question you’ve all been waiting for… How can you win a copy of the Charles Walker Band’s most recent CD releases, “Used & Defiant” and “The World And Things“?
Get entered in our raffle to win a copy of both CDs by answering this question in the comments below before Monday, May 17th at midnight: What’s your favorite blues song and why? I can’t promise the Charles Walker Band will play it on Thursday, but you never know. We’ll draw our winner’s name randomly with “The Hat.” Misha will autograph your CDs on Thursday if you come to the show.
See you next week at the Charles Walker Band’s concert at Famous Dave’s in Minneapolis!