Since I was a wee lass, I’ve been dancing. My parents weren’t the crazy stage mom types, so I did “creative movement” when I was four rather than a regimented ballet course. This probably was indicative of the rest of my dance life: I would take classes once in awhile, never get too serious, but would always keep the spirit. Dancing itself goes hand in hand with music, and on the cusp of 2007 I started lindy hopping. My level of commitment and involvement has varied over the years, but it was during the first Tucson Lindy Bomb that I was exposed to blues dancing (here is an example).*

The great thing about blues, much like lindy, is the music. MUSIC. Blues is smooth and seductive. It is raw and sultry, but can also be playful. It also has the most basic step ever, so blues is incredibly flexible in terms of its movement. You can sculpt it. So when I heard Tom Walbank play blues for the first time, man I wanted to dance. 



Tom Walbank is a Tucson treasure. No, he’s not actually from here. No, he’s not even from this side of the pond. But you would never know it from listening to his music. You would think that he was a weird reincarnation of Muddy Waters, especially when he does this song. And he’s our reincarnation! At least, has been ours since 2000. Tom Walbank can be found playing in Tucson frequently, and this Friday I had the pleasure of seeing him play one of his weekly gigs at Cafe Passe, another blog-worthy Awesomeness in Tucson establishment that I will eventually get to. Every Friday starting at 7 p.m. he plays, and his prodigious sound fills the place. Oh, did I mention he is a harmonica maniac? Possibly better known as a harmoniac? (I just made that up, that’s how much he inspires me!) Seriously, click on that harmoniac thing, you will not be disappointed. And you will probably want to learn how to play the harmonica after watching that video.

So, who’s in for next Friday? 😉

*Never fear, dear three readers: I’ll write about lindy hop in the near future. It’s pretty sweet.