Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

Michigan Music History Podcast--Steve McCray: Michigan's First Unk Of Funk

·57 min·3 clips

Steve McRae says Larry McCray already knew music he was still doodling around on.

The episode opens in the Hall of Fame room in downtown Bay City. Steve McRae joins Scott Baker, Dr. J., Sir Fred, and Mr. Mike for a loose sit-down. The talk starts with family and how music took hold early. It stays personal from there. The hosts ask about the Flint and Bay City area, and McRae points to Hamilton Street Pub as a regular stop. He does not paint it as perfect. He calls it fun. He remembers the mid-80s as a wild time for the brothers and the bands around them. The conversation also lands on Bay City's Captain Jake's, now Castaways. Aaron Ellick comes up in that memory, along with the sense that everyone in that scene seemed to know everyone else. From there the focus shifts to tours and road life. McRae talks about the first time he left the country. He was in his mid-20s. London was the landing point. A couple of days later he was on the road with Gary Moore. That run opened up places he never expected to see. The hosts keep pulling on that thread. What did the audiences feel like. How did they respond. McRae says the European crowds were very receptive to the blues. He thinks they may have been even more receptive than American audiences. The comparison is plain and direct. He says Americans often hear blues as a cliché and flatten it into a few familiar licks. The episode keeps its footing in the conversation, with names, places, and old circuits carrying the story. It closes with the usual thank-yous to the museum, the network, and the people behind the show, which keeps the whole thing rooted in local music history.

As heard by us

Michigan venue memories and an overseas Gary Moore tour anchor a loose but vivid account of road life and blues audiences.

This episode moves from Michigan music history to an overseas Gary Moore tour, with Bay City stops like Captain Jake's and the Hamilton Street Pub giving it a rooted, local feel.

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Want Bay City club lore and a first-time-overseas road story?

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