Jim R Posted December 20, 2004 Report Posted December 20, 2004 (edited) I'm curious to know how many Cray fans there are around here, and how many of those were aware of him before he got really well-known. I have an older brother who was in some blues bands in Eugene (he went to the U. of Oregon) back in the 70's, and he hipped me to the Cray band, as well as the whole Belushi/Ackroyd "Animal House" connection (Cray was the bassist in Otis Day & The Knights). Of course, I would have known about them anyway, because they were gigging up and down the west coast, and were always a big hit at the SF Blues Festival. The band that really killed me was the quartet with Robert, Curtis Salgado on harps and vocals, Richard Cousins on bass, and Dave Olsen on drums. I only saw them a few times- at the SFBF, and a couple of club gigs, and I also managed to tape a radio broadcast on one occasion. The sound quality is terrible, unfortunately. Aside from the underwhelming studio recording- "Who's Been Talkin'" (Tomato), I used to have an okay various artists LP on P-Vine, but it only had a couple of good Cray/Salgado duet vocal tracks (don't know what ever happened to that record...). After all these years, and with Cray becoming such a big name, I had hoped that some vintage material from that band might have seen the light of day (don't know why Tom Mazzolini never was able to release more material from the SFBF, for example), but if it has, I missed it. I sometimes get an urge to hear that band again. Anybody have any "leads"? B-) Edited December 20, 2004 by Jim R Quote
Quincy Posted December 20, 2004 Report Posted December 20, 2004 Along with myself there are at least 2 other Eugeneans on the O. I arrived in late '86 but the stories of Cray playing the smaller bars and Animal House tales were still being told. I don't know of anything circulating around town, and I've seen nothing of Cray's from this period being passed around at a weekly trader's gathering. There is a show listed on some etree trading lists from late November 1978. It's a FM broadcat with A to A- sound quality. This falls in the period when Curtis was in the band. People who have the show on etree link. Robert Cray Community Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene, OR 11/??/78 FM Intro Hard Times Move On Back Darlin' Losing Hand Where Can A Man Go? Soothe Me In The Night Times Are Gettin Tougher Up & Jumping Time Early One Morning I'm Gonna Cry Don't Lose Your Cool I'll shoot an e-mail over to a local old-timer & trader and see if he knows of anything. I don't hold too much hope, but it's worth a shot. Quote
Jim R Posted December 21, 2004 Author Report Posted December 21, 2004 Quincy, Thanks for that. A couple of those song titles bring back a few memories. I don't do much of this type of trading anymore (don't belong to any "trees"), but I might be able to come up with some bait. B-) Quote
chris olivarez Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 I have one of the Cray Hightones on Vinyl. It would be nice if the Cray/Salgado work saw the light of day. I like Salgado's singing plus he's a damn good harmonica player. Quote
Quincy Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 I got a reply from the local who I thought might be the best shot. He had been wondering about Salgado & Cray recordings recently as well. His reply in part: "Curtis played front man for a band called The Nighthawks in the early 70's with Robert Cray on lead guitar and Richard Cousins on bass. They played Taylors, Duffy's, Murphy's and I seem to remember them playing the Black Forest (although those were some really heavy party days and my memories are pretty muddled). Salgado left the band with the name Nighthawks, and Cray formed the Robert Cray Band. Salgado stayed in Eugene while Cray moved to Portland. They occasionally played gigs together here in Eugene as The Crayhawks..." Several months ago he was talking with a friend about whether any early recordings existed, and it was suggested that he talk to someone in town who has a recording studio and was playing back then. He has yet to get in touch with this person however. I have 2 other possible leads. 1) There is a fellow who sometimes shows up at the trader meetings who played drums with a band that often shared the bill with Curtis. In fact I think he played with Curtis a few times. He has a such a large LP collection that he has to keep it in 3 different U-Storage facilities, and thus can't afford an apartment so he lives in one of his storage units. (This is normal behavior in Eugene.) There is a chance he may have something on tape, although the logistics of him showing up on Tuesday, and showing up sober, and then being able to find such tapes and then having someone else transfer them to CDR seems like about a 1000-1 shot. 2) I think I might be able to get a hold of the recording mentioned in my 1st post. One of the people who has it on etree is a local. I have stuff that seems up his alley, but I've never traded with him before. I'll shoot him an e-mail and see how busy he is 'round this holiday season. It may take a week or so (if he's willing) given the closeness to Christmas. If I do get a copy I'll let you know and send it your way. I'll let you know what happens either way. Quote
DrJ Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) I'm pretty much a late comer to Cray...relatively, meaning I didn't really know him until he got some major radio play in the 80s. I did have a chance to see him play at the Paul Masson Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA back then and must say I did enjoy the show...really fun to watch his guitar work, he has quite a penetrating sound. I'd be interested in hearing some of this earlier work for comparison for sure. Edited December 21, 2004 by DrJ Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 Saw Cray with Curtis several times here in Portland, various incarnations including the one with Warren Rand on Alto and another with a guy whose name I'm forgetting on tenor and keys. Curtis is quite a collector of early blues/jazz soundies, kinescopes, etc. so he might have something himself. On the other hand his personal life was somewhat unsettled in the past, so maybe not. I've read of an early Cray single called "Dog Style" but never seen or heard it so I don't know if Curtis was on it. I've read that Curtis was squeezed out of the band by management, but perhaps it was inevitable that such a two-headed monster couldn't last. Curtis is the best singer I've ever heard in a local band, but I'm considerably cooler on his writing. We are blessed with good and cheap local music here in Oregon. Quote
Quincy Posted December 21, 2004 Report Posted December 21, 2004 Got a reply from the trader, and he's agreed to do a trade for the 11/78 show some time early next year. Holidays and all. Perhaps tomorrow I'll find out if anyone else knows of any local recordings that exist. Regarding this, if I don't post a follow up just assume I didn't hear of anything. But I'll gently remind my friend mentioned earlier not to take too much time in investigating his lead. Quote
Bright Moments Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 i've got this one and dig it! i would love some recommendations for other cray gems! B-) Quote
Guest ariceffron Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 yeah i saw curtis salgodgo once too if you can believe it in portland- he opened up for dave mason and he was ok i guess and his guitarplayer was ok but they overall sucked and im suprised to know he played w/ cray Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 aric, aric, aric Curtis is a great singer, back in the day he pretty much out sang young Bob on a nightly basis... Best local club gig (any genre) I ever saw was Robt Cray w/ Curtis on a dbl bill with Paul DeLay w/ jim Mesi, i.e. the two best singers in town supported by the best harp oplayer and the best guitar. U REALLY SHOULDN'T CAVALIERLY DECLARE THAT SOMEONE SUCKS WHEN YOU'VE JUST SEEN THEM ONCE AND PROBABLY WEREN'T EVEN PAYING ATTENTION IF THEIR WERE ANY HOT CHICKS NEARBY! Dana, 30+ years in Portland Quote
Guest ariceffron Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 yea well that was the 70s this was 30 years later Quote
John L Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 I am from Berkeley, where Cray was based after he left Oregon. I used to hear him in small clubs (particularly Larry Blake's) in Berkeley all the time. Those were the days! Yes, that False Accusations album is the shit. Isn't it? That is still my favorite Cray album by far. The songs are just unbeatable. Two others to pick up are Strong Persuader (the breakthrough album that is usually cited as his strongest) and I Was Warned (a great album that probably has the best recorded examples of his guitar playing). Unfortunately, Cray's level of inspiration seems to have sold him short in recent years. I suspect that he is just not working that hard anymore. Quote
alankin Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 yeah i saw curtis salgodgo once too if you can believe it in portland- he opened up for dave mason and he was ok i guess and his guitarplayer was ok but they overall sucked and im suprised to know he played w/ cray CONGRATULATIONS ARIC ON FINDING THE caps KEY!!! [now if only a certain person could learn how to do posts that aren't completely in BOLD] Quote
Bright Moments Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 Two others to pick up are Strong Persuader (the breakthrough album that is usually cited as his strongest) and I Was Warned (a great album that probably has the best recorded examples of his guitar playing). thanks john, i'll check out these two! B-) Quote
Bright Moments Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 Yes, that False Accusations album is the shit. Isn't it? you betcha!!! Quote
Bright Moments Posted January 12, 2005 Report Posted January 12, 2005 Unfortunately, Cray's level of inspiration seems to have sold him short in recent years. I suspect that he is just not working that hard anymore. too bad! Quote
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