Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition! Do you have what it Takes?

Do you have the blues? The Telluride Blues and Brews Festival presents the 11^th annual Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition to take place Saturday morning at the 18^th annual Telluride Blues and Brews Festival. We are calling unsigned talented blues artists to come play raw, solo, and acoustic in beautiful Telluride, Colorado. Top six artists will be invited to play at the "Blues for Breakfast," at the Elks Lodge in downtown Telluride in front of blues fans and judges looking for the most outstanding blues performance.  Competitors will be judged on overall live performance, presentation, and use of instruments, vocals. 

Competition Director Valerie Brazis presents
2006 winner David Mowry with the grand prize -
a Gibson acoustic guitar. Photo: Dino Perrucci

You think you have what it takes? Submit a clean recording of you and only you playing one or two songs, either by CD, tape, or electronically online at www.sonicbids.com. Send your CD’s and tapes, with a $10 entry fee to:

Telluride Acoustic Blues Competition

 P.O. Box 2966

Telluride, CO 81435 

Make sure to include your name, a short bio about your-self and your contact information!

What’s in for you? Top six finalists will receive a Telluride Blues & Brews Festival T-Shirt, a 3-Day Pass to the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, and a $25 gift certificate to Telluride Music Company. The winner will receive a chance to play on the legendary Town Park main stage that has housed performances from legends like Buddy Guy and BB King.

Blues and Brews Festival attendees make sure to stop by the Acoustic Blues Competition to be held during the Blues for Breakfast Saturday morning at the Elks Lodge for great breakfast, exciting competition, and of course phenomenal blues music. This is not a competition to be missed.

Artists dust of your guitar, get out your recorders and get ready for the blues competition. Everyone else start your Saturday off right with "Blues for Breakfast," and the Acoustic Blues Competition. For more information about the Acoustic Blues Competition check out the Acoustic Blues Competition page on the Telluride Blues and Brews website.See you in September!

Brewery Profile: Home of the Brave Beverage Company

Home of the Brave is not your typical microbrewery. Located thousands of miles away from Telluride in the beautiful city of Honolulu, Hawaii and a mission to serve men and women in the United States Military, this new venture is as unique as the beer they brew. Recently a member of the Blues and Brews staff got to talk with Home of the Brave president and founder Glen Tomlinson about the Home of the Brave Beverage Company  and their beer. This is what he found out.

 In 1991 Glen Tomlinson started Home of Brave Company in conjunction with the 50 year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The company was started to educate the military, island visitors, schools, and veterans by conducting tours and historical educational programs in Honolulu, Hawaii. Tomlinson’s family owns the Home of the Brave historical WWII museum that features one of the largest and most unique collections of WWII memorabilia in the pacific. After 20 years of working with the United States Military, Tomlinson decided to start a beer company.

Tomlinson explains “My two sons moved from the islands to Colorado to go to college.  Duke went to school in Ft. Collins and Baron went to Ft. Lewis in Durango, CO.  Both boys fell in love with craft beer and started home brewing with their friends. Prior to graduation, they were determined to get into the craft beer business and proposed that we create quality beverages for the U.S. Military.”

As the Home of the Brave Beverage Company was born, so was their first beer Pilot Pale Ale. Pilot Pale ale was created by O’Dell brewer Jeff Doyle and brewed in collaboration with Maui Brewing Company. Tomlinson says “We couldn’t have done it without the help of Garrett Marerro, president of Maui Brewing Co. who took us under his wing and in the true spirit of craft brewing, helped us get started”.  Garrett continues to support Home of the Brave Beverage Company, brewing their draft beer at the award winning Maui Brewing Co.

Tomlinson describes Pilot Pale ale as “craft-brewed with bread like malt character so as to avoid sweetness, while still maintaining just enough body to balance out a delicate dry bitterness, fermented with an American ale yeast strain. You can taste the natural fruity esters from fermentation that harmonize with a generous aroma hop addition of spicy citrus floral American hops.  It has a light crisp dry finish that leaves just a breath of bitter bouquet.”

In addition to Pilot Pale Ale, Home of the Brave, also brews Landing Zone Lager and is working on a dark lager scheduled to release in December, to commemorate the 70^th year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Home of the Brave brews are currently being served at military bases to support the troops and restaurants on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Keep an eye out for Home of the Brave brews as Sprecher’s Brewing in Wisconsin is now producing Home of the Brave  bottled beer and sodas for continental US distribution. Check out the unique Home of the Brave Beverage Company more at their website here.

Also, make sure to attend the grand tasting on Saturday September 17^th at the Telluride Blues and Blues festival. Enjoy great music, try some Home of the Brave brews strait from Hawaii and ice cold craft beer from 55 other microbreweries.  As Glen Tomlinson says in Hawaii “Aloha!!!  We’re very excited to be a part of the exciting Telluride Blues & Brews festival!  Mahalo Nui Loa.”

Artist Profile-Artist Profile Fitz and the Tantrums

Dapper suits, vintage organs and a fresh, modern view on soul music. Have you heard Fitz and the Tantrums yet? If you haven’t joined  the crowd,  you will soon. In the past few months Fitz and the Tantrums have gone from a relatively unknown LA band, to a band in the global spot light with their debut album Pickin Up the Pieces . A few weeks ago Pickin' Up the Pieces exploded to number one on the new artist album charts, and 18^th on the Indy charts. This week Pickin’ Up the Pieces is ranked 41^st on the Indy charts, and 7^th on the new artists charts. Pickin' Up the Pieces also received a rave review of three and half out of four stars by Rolling Stone Magazine.

So what is all the hype about? Fitz and the Tantrums are making a unique sound that is bringing soul back into new music. Instead of using a guitar as the center piece of their music, they use saxophone and an organ. Their music can be described as a soulful, hand clapping, foot stomping, energetic explosion. When listening to songs like “MoneyGrabber” and “Breakin the Chains of Love” you can’t help, but want to dance.  Add soul tingling live shows it is no surprise this band is picking up new fans every day.

The birth of this soulful explosion happened when band member Fitz got an organ. Only seven hours after receiving this organ Fitz wrote a soul anthem “Braking the Chains of love.” The lead singer Fitz explains “I’ve always been a singer,” but with so much music, I felt that I was trying to push a square peg through a round hole. I was being not true to myself, and it never felt right until I wrote that song, and I sang like that. I thought, this feels so real, so natural.”

Fitz and the Tantrums

After that, Fitz and the Tantrums recorded a full album in Fitz’s living room, was personally invited to tour with pop-artists Maroon 5, open for Flogging Molly, played in front of thousands at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, and is now selling out stops all over the country.

Check out their website and listen to their debut album Pickin Up the Pieces today, available on iTunes and record stores all over the country. Also, get ready to stomp your feet and clap your hands, as Fitz and the Tantrums will be playing the 2011 Telluride Blues & Brews festival. Catch them on the main stage Friday September 16^th at 3:50PM and later that night for their Juke Joint show at 10:00 PM the Sheridan Opera House.