TC & the Roadmasters

TC & the Roadmasters Head to Memphis
by Dennis Massingill

The KVBA held its 9th Annual Blues Challenge on Sunday, September 16th, '07 at the Silver Bullet Bar and this continues to be one of the highlights of the year for blues lovers. Six bands were entered this year to perform in front of five judges and a packed house. As usual, the scoring criteria was identical to that used by the Blues Foundation in Memphis for the International Blues Competition.

This year’s judges included Turk from Wonderful’s; Tim Jacobs, a guitar player from the Plainwell area; Alex Cale from WFAT radio; Chris Janowiak of the Western Michigan music department; and Ray White a former guitarist in the Frank Zappa band and now touring with his son. The judges complained as that afternoon went on that the bands were too good to make clear distinctions between them. But they did their best.

In the end, TC & The Roadmasters prevailed by the closest of scoring margins. There was, in fact, a three-way tie for second! Out of Favor Boys, The Chris Canas Band, and The Marci Linn band were right there behind TC. There is a tiebreaking formula provided by the Blues Foundation for just such an occurrence. (As announced, if the winning band can’t make the trip to Memphis then the runner-up can go.) Although some were disappointed that their favorite band didn’t win, all agreed that it was a great afternoon of music. The crowd also got to hear a band of young bluesmen called Artios that promise to be up and comers in our area.

TC is actually TC DeLisle who owns and operates the BLUEStage Club, a blues venue south of Jackson. TC has been to Memphis before as a member of the WhooDoo band which actually made it to the finals. His new band will attempt to duplicate that feat in this year’s competition which will be held January 31st – February 2nd, '08. The KVBA would like to thank our judges, Dan and Julie of the Silver Bullet Bar, and all those that came out to support live blues music. - KVBA

Restarting the Roadmasters after a 2 year hiatus as a sideman, TC started auditioning various players searching for a viable combo in mid '06.
Several groups of players emerged and did some gigging under various project names before a bright spot occurred in Aug of 07. The group, then consisting of TC, Marty King, bassist Shep and guitarist Crupi hit a sweet spot and reinstated the Roadmaster logo. An unexpected win at the KVBA Blues Challenge led to some scrambling since Shep & Crupi had prohibitive life committments and couldn't go. A fortunate turn of events landed former bandmate, harp wielding Hurricane Rose back in TC's yard and current bassist Chuck Rule was eager & available. Rounding out the unit, Crupi sent his top student Tony Riske to audition and BAM! in just 10 weeks this combo was in Memphis at the IBC. They didn't win their venue or make the finals but it was a hell of a trip. Tony Riske has rotated out and started his college education and Hurricane Rose has opted out to pursue other interests. Guitarist Jim Morris has stepped in and rounded out the current 4 pc lineup.
Catch the current act at a venue near you. See ya at the gig! - self