Aemmer / Clarke Bring The Blues CD

While collaborating on The Cathouse Blues Band’s CD, Take It Downtown, Kurt Aemmer and Adrian Clarke discovered that they had a huge shared love of acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, and styles of music beyond the blues. Aemmer, who had written all of the songs for the Take It Downtown CD, and several of the songs on the Cathouse Blues Band’s first CD, It seemed like a good idea at the time…, also discovered that besides being a world-class guitarist, Clarke is also a terrific singer and songwriter!The two of them decided to meet weekly to play acoustic guitars and sing harmonies on whatever songs in whatever musical styles they fancied. They were playing the music just for fun, including material from Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney, Django Reinhardt, not to mention songs they had written alone or together. Soon, word began to spread throughout Western Washington State that these two were doing some special things acoustically. No electric guitars… just two guys with complimentary voices and acoustic guitar styles. As the two had been primarily known for their performances within the context of The Cathouse Blues Band, regional blues venues began featuring their acoustic duo act, and asking them to open for the out-of-town known acts who came to Bellingham. In the summer of 2006 they opened shows for R&B notables Norton Buffalo & The Knockouts, Lydia Pense & Cold Blood, Larry McCray, and Roy Rogers. Though their live shows feature a full range of musical styles and genres, Aemmer & Clarke decided to produce their first CD together comprised of their favorite blues tunes from their acoustic act.The result was Bring the Blues!Kurt Aemmer & Adrian Clarke are slated to perform at the Mt. Baker Blues Festival in August 2007, both as an acoustic duo, and as part of The Cathouse Blues Band.