Music: Seeing the Blues

Crowds at shows are small. Live music venues are disappearing. The Blues scene in Cincinnati needs some serious mojo.

“There is so much great talent in the Blues community of Cincinnati,” says a fuming, frustrated Chuck Land. “There are many local musicians such as Sweet Alice Hoskins, Keith Little, Ricky Nye, Cheryl Renee and a few others that are more respected in Europe than they are in their own city.”

Cincinnati Blues needs a change — of youth, passion and marketing — if it wishes to survive.

Enter Land, a musician, filmmaker, young father, former U.S. Marine and inactive reservist, tireless advocate for local roots music and an unbridled optimist.

“Within a few years, I think that Cincinnati is going to be known as one of the hottest Blues cities in the world,” he says.

It would appear that he is single-handedly trying to make this happen. No one person is doing more to promote the local Blues scene than Land, and he’s appealing not only to the public’s ears but also to their eyes.

Land first emerged on the Cincinnati scene in 2004 as “that young keyboard guy” who kept talking up a documentary called My Passion Project — a Music Lover’s Film, a nonprofit movie that Land funded himself featuring 29 bands from the Cincinnati and Lexington areas.

“I was determined to help those artists get the recognition around the region that they deserved,” he says. “I also wanted to help the venues that support good live music.”

But there was more to it, something that helps to illustrate the heart behind his enthusiasm. Proceeds from the two-DVD set of the film are earmarked to establish the LP Musician’s Relief Fund, which helps uninsured and underinsured local musicians.

“With so many uninsured musicians,” Land says, “I hoped that this fund could eventually be something of great importance to many lives.”

My Passion Project was Land’s first feature documentary. His self-described “obsession” with filmmaking grew out of a period of personal tragedy while he was living in Lexington before moving back to his hometown.

“It was the musical communities of Lexington and Cincinnati that helped me overcome many obstacles through our love of playing music together,” Land says. “This was my way of giving back to them.”

Shortly after returning to Cincinnati, Land witnessed the prolonged illness and passing of one of his lifelong inspirations, Big Joe Duskin. He saw an opportunity to honor Big Joe through film by producing Big Joe Duskin — A Man of Many Worlds.

“Big Joe was a mentor, former policeman, family man, postal worker, decorated World War II veteran as well as an international touring piano player/singer,” Land says. “I want to honor him by doing a film on him and also show the world that you can live your life in many different worlds and still be successful.”

This past June, Land hosted a daylong party at Play by Play Café in Silverton for the biggest names in Cincinnati Blues. The artists took to the stage to be filmed for Land’s latest project, Blues Heroes of Cincinnati.

“By doing a documentary on the Cincinnati Blues scene, I hope to bring world-wide attention to recognizing our past and present Blues greats,” Land says.

Putting his money where his lens is, even though Land is again funding this project with his own capital, the rights to the Blues Heroes documentary are going to be given solely to the Cincy Blues Society to be used as a fundraiser.

But Land is fighting an uphill battle to revive interest in local Blues. He knows this better than anyone.

“When I had the (Passion Project) DVD release party, I only sold one DVD,” he recalls. “Only two DVDs have been sold off my Web site since the film was done over a year ago. I have done everything in my power to market the film and make it a success, but I realized that not everyone is going to be as passionate about what I am.”

Land also laments the lack of high-profile Blues venues in the area.

“There is no centralized place to go to see a variety of different Blues bands without having to drive all over the city,” he says.

Outside of Mansion Hill Tavern, there is not a Blues bar that is deemed as “the place to showcase.” This has not always been the case, but with places like Lucille’s, Fat Fish Blue and others closing their doors, fans have to do their homework and search for where live Blues is being played on a given night.

Chuck Land doesn’t see himself as fighting this battle alone. He’s deeply appreciative of the efforts of the Cincy Blues Society for putting on events such as the Cincy Blues Fest every year. And he appreciates the support from nonprofit radio stations like WNKU and WAIF.

Land does acknowledge, however, that the survival of the local Blues scene is dependent on appealing to a broader and, frankly, younger audience, and he has a plan.

“Videos! Videos! Videos!” he says. “The younger generation are multimedia die-hards. I don’t know of too many young people that will just listen to the Blues on the radio.”

Land also sees lots of room for improvement by the artists themselves: “Bands need better marketing strategies,” he says. “Not many of them have good Web sites featuring videos and audio of their groups. That is the most important thing a band can do to reach out to the younger generation.”

Land continues to wield the torch and camera to “inspire, entertain and educate,” and he will do so as long as he isn’t called up to the Marines — which apparently is a very real possibility.

“I haven’t heard anything recently,” he says, relieved. “I think God has other plans for my life. At least I hope so.”

Crowds at shows are small. Live music venues are disappearing. The Blues scene in Cincinnati needs some serious mojo.

“There is so much great talent in the Blues community of Cincinnati,” says a fuming, frustrated Chuck Land. “There are many local musicians such as Sweet Alice Hoskins, Keith Little, Ricky Nye, Cheryl Renee and a few others that are more respected in Europe than they are in their own city.”

Cincinnati Blues needs a change — of youth, passion and marketing — if it wishes to survive.

Enter Land, a musician, filmmaker, young father, former U.S. Marine and inactive reservist, tireless advocate for local roots music and an unbridled optimist.

“Within a few years, I think that Cincinnati is going to be known as one of the hottest Blues cities in the world,” he says.

It would appear that he is single-handedly trying to make this happen. No one person is doing more to promote the local Blues scene than Land, and he’s appealing not only to the public’s ears but also to their eyes.

Land first emerged on the Cincinnati scene in 2004 as “that young keyboard guy” who kept talking up a documentary called My Passion Project — a Music Lover’s Film, a nonprofit movie that Land funded himself featuring 29 bands from the Cincinnati and Lexington areas.

“I was determined to help those artists get the recognition around the region that they deserved,” he says. “I also wanted to help the venues that support good live music.”

But there was more to it, something that helps to illustrate the heart behind his enthusiasm. Proceeds from the two-DVD set of the film are earmarked to establish the LP Musician’s Relief Fund, which helps uninsured and underinsured local musicians.

“With so many uninsured musicians,” Land says, “I hoped that this fund could eventually be something of great importance to many lives.”

My Passion Project was Land’s first feature documentary. His self-described “obsession” with filmmaking grew out of a period of personal tragedy while he was living in Lexington before moving back to his hometown.

“It was the musical communities of Lexington and Cincinnati that helped me overcome many obstacles through our love of playing music together,” Land says. “This was my way of giving back to them.”

Shortly after returning to Cincinnati, Land witnessed the prolonged illness and passing of one of his lifelong inspirations, Big Joe Duskin. He saw an opportunity to honor Big Joe through film by producing Big Joe Duskin — A Man of Many Worlds.

“Big Joe was a mentor, former policeman, family man, postal worker, decorated World War II veteran as well as an international touring piano player/singer,” Land says. “I want to honor him by doing a film on him and also show the world that you can live your life in many different worlds and still be successful.”

This past June, Land hosted a daylong party at Play by Play Café in Silverton for the biggest names in Cincinnati Blues. The artists took to the stage to be filmed for Land’s latest project, Blues Heroes of Cincinnati.

“By doing a documentary on the Cincinnati Blues scene, I hope to bring world-wide attention to recognizing our past and present Blues greats,” Land says.

Putting his money where his lens is, even though Land is again funding this project with his own capital, the rights to the Blues Heroes documentary are going to be given solely to the Cincy Blues Society to be used as a fundraiser.

But Land is fighting an uphill battle to revive interest in local Blues. He knows this better than anyone.

“When I had the (Passion Project) DVD release party, I only sold one DVD,” he recalls. “Only two DVDs have been sold off my Web site since the film was done over a year ago. I have done everything in my power to market the film and make it a success, but I realized that not everyone is going to be as passionate about what I am.”

Land also laments the lack of high-profile Blues venues in the area.

“There is no centralized place to go to see a variety of different Blues bands without having to drive all over the city,” he says.

Outside of Mansion Hill Tavern, there is not a Blues bar that is deemed as “the place to showcase.” This has not always been the case, but with places like Lucille’s, Fat Fish Blue and others closing their doors, fans have to do their homework and search for where live Blues is being played on a given night.

Chuck Land doesn’t see himself as fighting this battle alone. He’s deeply appreciative of the efforts of the Cincy Blues Society for putting on events such as the Cincy Blues Fest every year. And he appreciates the support from nonprofit radio stations like WNKU and WAIF.

Land does acknowledge, however, that the survival of the local Blues scene is dependent on appealing to a broader and, frankly, younger audience, and he has a plan.

“Videos! Videos! Videos!” he says. “The younger generation are multimedia die-hards. I don’t know of too many young people that will just listen to the Blues on the radio.”

Land also sees lots of room for improvement by the artists themselves: “Bands need better marketing strategies,” he says. “Not many of them have good Web sites featuring videos and audio of their groups. That is the most important thing a band can do to reach out to the younger generation.”

Land continues to wield the torch and camera to “inspire, entertain and educate,” and he will do so as long as he isn’t called up to the Marines — which apparently is a very real possibility.

“I haven’t heard anything recently,” he says, relieved. “I think God has other plans for my life. At least I hope so.”

This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2007.