Steve Wildsmith

For a while, it seemed as if the blues had hit on hard times around these parts.

Lucille’s is long gone … 4620 Jazz and Blues Club became 4620 Reinvented which later turned into the Velvet Nightclub and Show Bar … Sassy Ann’s House of Blues has become more of a dance venue … and most other venues that offer blues musicians a place to play, like Coyote Joe’s in North Knoxville, make the genre share time with karaoke and bike nights.

Brackins Blues Bar, in downtown Maryville, was the lone holdout. But the economic woes that struck in late 2008 took their toll on owners Mark and Linda Brackins as well, and the long-running Brackins Blues Jam slowly ground to a halt after five-plus years.

“It was very sad,” said Robert Higginbotham, a local guitar teacher and player in such local bands as Avenue C, Kings County Gumbo and One Step Up. “Mark did the best he could, and he hung by us for a long time, but at the end, there we were, playing to an empty room.”

And so Brackins called for a change, and the blues jam was no more. Until Thursday, April 22, that is — Brackins and Higginbotham recently talked about the slow economic recovery around these parts, reminisced about some of the magic made at those old jams and decided to give in another go. Starting every Thursday at 9 p.m. for the next six weeks, the Brackins Blues Jam is back.

“It was a wonderful experience, and I’m looking forward to doing it again,” said Higginbotham, who will return as part of the jam’s host band. “It’s been a year and a half, so there are some new players on the scene and some new cats coming up. I’ve been going out to a jam at Smokey’s (Sports Pub and Grill) in Fountain City, and the question that’s been coming up more lately is, ‘Is the Brackins jam coming back?’”

Members of the host band, in addition to Higginbotham, include the rest of the Avenue C rhythm section: Stan Gibert on bass and vocals and Barry Schwartz on drums. The format is simple — things get started at 9 p.m. with the host band, and prospective jammers must sign up on a sheet to perform. Those who jam do so in the order they sign up, and all they have to bring is their own instrument — bass and guitar amps are provided, as is the Brackins house PA and a drumkit. It’s an electric jam session, but there’s no discrimination — if you play congas or some type of horn, you’re welcome to participate as well, as long as you bring your own instrument.

“I tell mystudents that I learn more by playing with someone for a half hour than I could out of a book in a week,” Higginbotham said.

There’s no cover for the blues jam; you must be 21 or older to patronize Brackins.

It’s been a minute since we caught up with Blount County band Hollowtree — back in 2008, to be exact. Front man Mike McQueen dropped me a line the other day and filled me in with what’s going on:

Just wanted to let you know that we’re playing every Wednesday at Brackins (Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville) and we will be at the Waterfront (Bar and Grill, 404 Greenbelt Drive in Maryville) on Friday, March 5. Also I’m still keeping the Monday Night Acoustic Jam going. My friends from Murfreesboro will be playing at Brackins on Saturday, March 27. They are called The Incredible Heat Machine. We will be opening for them. And our lineup changed a little.

Mike McQueen — guitar, vocals

Javan Schiferl — bass

Adam Knable — guitar

Nick Spagnuolo — drums

Check out Hollowtree online.

Chalk up some glum news for the new year to the economy — Brackins Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville, is cutting back on live music performances starting in 2010.

It’s a mighty blow to live music in Maryville, and to the blues scene in general, but it’s an understandable one. Owner Mark Brackins mentioned it to me a couple of weeks ago, when he graciously allowed his venue to serve as the backdrop for a photo shoot of local band Southbound. When I checked in with him to see if he’d made a firm decision, here’s what he shared:

“I am going to slow down on the shows.  The Monday and Wednesday jams will still go on for a while, but the Friday and Saturday shows will be sporadic.  The only show I have scheduled in January is Blue Mother Tupelo on the 22nd. The reason for this is the slow economy (people are not willing to ante up the cover for quality shows), and I don’t want to fall into a trap of hosting only local acts. I’ve been taking a beating with not only the cost of the band but also hotel rooms, food, advertising, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, but I feel people can see a local show anytime, anywhere and generally for no cover; therefore they get old and you become like any other venue. I will be having national and regional shows, just not as often.

“Brackins was first opened in 2002 by Mark and his wife, Linda. Mark, a New York native, and Linda, who grew up in Oak Ridge, were in East Tennessee when they found the location they were looking for to open a blues and jazz bar.

“We were coming through on our motorcycle about six months ago, and we liked the downtown area, so we decided to stay,” Mark told me in May 2002. “We’d been looking for a place for two years, and we’d been as far west as Colorado. Maryville just looked like a nice, clean little downtown, and the timing was right.”

From the beginning, their goal was to open up a “nice little neighborhood tavern,” as well as an outlet for jazz and blues. At the time, many of the venues considered home to such genres were struggling — Sassy Ann’s House of Blues in North Knoxville eventually retired almost all of its live music shows, and Lucille’s in the Old City has been gone for several years now.

However, Brackins remains a pub of choice for many downtown regulars, and the music will still be played — just not live, or at least not live all of the time. However, from the beginning Brackins stacked the jukebox with many of his personal albums, and it’s usually always cranked up.

For more information, call Brackins at 983-9800. You can catch “Big” Mike Griffin on New Year’s Eve for $10.

You may remember that, about a month ago, we did a big piece on The Drunk Uncles, a group that continues to make waves around these parts. Not only are the Uncles gearing up for an October album release — it’ll be called “Smashed Hits,” according to Uncle Jeff Barbra — there’s also a new standing weekly gig by a couple of the Uncles. (Well … it’s tentatively standing, so go out and support!) Barbra and Uncle Gordy Gilbertson will be playing from 9 p.m. to midnight tonight (Thursday, Sept. 10) at Brackins Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville, and if the crowds come out, it’ll turn into a standing gig.

Be sure and check out the Uncles on Myspace, and mark your calendar for a few upcoming shows by the full band: At noon on Friday, Sept. 25, at The Square Room in downtown Knoxville, where the guys play WDVX-FM’s “Blue Plate Special” with bluegrass phenom Larry Cordle … at 9 p.m. Friday , Oct. 9 at the Waterfront Bar and Grill in Maryville, next door to the new Blount County Public Library … and on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Two Doors Down in downtown Maryville. You can also check out the paired-down version of the band — The 3 Uncles (that would be Barbra, Gilbertson and drummer Eric Keeble) — on Saturday night, Sept. 12 at the Par-T-Pub in Maryville.

… but just couldn’t. My excuse: NASA called this week, and I’ve been spending most of my time attempting to help them retrieve the video footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing that they freakin’ taped over. (That seriously happened. The taping-over, not me lending a hand. That’s a lie.)

As I’ve said in the past, space limitations and the fact that God won’t let me add a couple of extra hours to each day means I just can’t write about/tell you about everything I’d like to. That said, here’s a roundup of what you WOULD have read about in the July 24 of The Daily Times Weekend entertainment section, if I was more than a one-man operation.

K-TOWN COUNTRY CARNIVAL AT CLUB CATALYST: I’ve got to hand it to the talented Trisha Gene Brady — she’s turned these monthly “K-Town Country Carnival” performances at Club Catalyst, 125 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville’s Old City, into true Americana showcases. The next one takes place at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 25 and features: Duke Brown (”opening with his beautifully written songs and strong vocals and guitar work”), Upland South (”consisting of Mike McGill, Trisha Gene Brady, Josh Sidman and the infamous Wade Hill … bringing you some traditional bluegrass with a twist”), The Naughty Knots (”your host band … will swoon you and then get you dancin’ with their sweet serenades”) and The Running Dogs (”featuring members of the Lonesome Coyotes — Steve Horton, Hector Qirko and Brock Henderson — will hit you with some real honky-tonk that’ll keep your feet and your booty movin’”). Admission is $10.

CASPER AND THE COOKIES AT THE PILOT LIGHT: I really wanted to interview this band. The buzz is intriguing in and of itself — one member used to play with Of Montreal, and they’re from Athens, Ga., a hotbed of good music. The press: “Over the course of three albums, (the band) has managed to carve out an aesthetic all their own, a labyrinthine tangle of ear-worm melodies, plot-twist production and the history of popular music. This is good news for those waiting for another XTC or Elvis Costello, ambitious artists that never left their audiences wondering where the catchy songs went.” The show takes place at 10 p.m. Thursday, July 31, at The Pilot Light, 106 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville’s Old City. Also on the bill: Everything, Now! Admission is $5 (we assume). Check out the band online.

BLUE MOTHER TUPELO AT BRACKINS BLUES BAR: Well, it’s not so much that we didn’t get to write about Blue Mother Tupelo — after all, we did a cover story on the band back in May — but we wanted to remind you about that cover story. And the fact that you can see the duo and hear their most excellent new album (“Heaven and Earth”) in all of its live-performance glory at 9 p.m. Saturday at Brackins Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave. in downtown Maryville. Admission is $7.