Butch Wise

Published: Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.

Fresh off of last Sunday’s performance at the North Central Florida Blues Society’s First Annual Blues Challenge, The Used Blues Band will take the stage on Saturday at Backstage Lounge armed with a new set of blues songs ready to get people movin’ and shakin.’

This is a band that continually impresses me with their varied and delicate interpretations of blues dialects, and it all stems from bassist Butch Wises’ motto of the blues. When I spoke to him Sunday night he told me he lives by Willie Dixon’s quote, “The blues is the root and everything else is the fruit.” Used Blues is not trying to be a cover band, although at one point they were. They are trying to take what they’ve learned from their heroes Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Bo Diddley, and adapt it to a sound that is built for a modern audience and that goal finally came to fruition with their latest studio recording “Deep Down in Florida.”

Early in the album, guitarist Alan Yeatter shows that he can write hooky, mid-tempo blues songs in the style of a Robert Cray with tracks like “Fix Me Up” and “Don’t You Go.” These songs including “That’s How Much” venture far from the 12-bar blues shuffle and give each member in the band a chance to throw an ingredient into the boiling pot whether it’s a sparse lick from Yeatter, a dash of harmonica from Gus Almos or a metronomic hi-hat rhythm from Richard Wagner.

The album has a nice flow to it, never getting too rowdy but never getting boring either. It’s not an album born from the juke joint, although the members have certainly been there once or twice, instead it’s a collection of songs from the heads of a some devout blues fans trying to make a difference in local blues music. The Used Blues Band plays with a pious, almost idyllic reverence for the blues of yore, but they won’t be chained to it. Joining them Saturday night will be Satellite District and Coming Undone. - By Dante Lima - Gainesville Sun

2/5/09 - They play every style of blues you could want (Delta, Texas, Piedmont, Chicago) and strive to make standards their own with alternating vocals, tempo changes and call and response techniques. Spontaneity is always the mark of artists who are aware, not just awake on stage. Used Blues Band impressed me with their range of blues selections, but blues buff or not, they are enjoyable and worth a listen. - Gainesville Sun - Dante Lima

4/29/03 - When playing cover tunes Used Blues will make a song their very own. - Gainesville Sun - Stephen Feller

Gainesville's Used Blues band, an Ocala nightlife staple, captured the Best Blues Song award at the ninth annual Independent Music Awards this week.

The band won for its song “Palm Reader Blues” from its CD “Deep Down in Florida,” released last year and recorded at Gainesville's Taylor Made Music.

Thousands of musicians from around the world sent in entries for 50 IMA categories, including album, song, music video and design categories. Judges included Tom Waits, The Black Keys, Ricky Skaggs, Pete Wentz, Mark Hoppus, Aimee Mann, The Apples in Stereo, David Garrett, Suzanne Vega, Judy Collins, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward.

This was the first time the band had entered the IMA contest, said guitarist Alan Yeatter, who lives in Marion County.

“The IMAs celebrate artists who follow their own muse and the true music fans who support them,” noted Martin Folkman, IMA executive director.

Used Blues band — or UBb, as they also are known — is scheduled to perform at Tin Cup's Tavern in downtown Ocala on Feb. 11.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100129/articles/100129373&tc=yahoo - Gainesville Sun/NewYork Times