So what's going on with the site?  RBS is rebuilding your favorite Blues Web site to make it into something really exciting.  We are restructuring the site so that the RBS team can contribute articles and other content directly on the site.  This means lots of in depth information from the people who know the music, play the music, and write the music that you love.  For lovers of the Blues like you this is really great news.

Mark your calendars for the annual RBS Membership Dance Party, this Saturday, May 10th, at the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino. This year the party will feature the Delta Wires with their funky brand of Bay Area blues. But don't delay.  Things heat up early with high-energy Blues of The Jason King Band.  Doors open at 7:00 pm, music starts at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are $15 in advance ($20 at the door) and may be purchased at Recycled Records (south), The Melting Pot, The Bead Store (Carson City), Prism Magic, and the Agape Love Chapel and Florist (in the Sands Regency). 

When you come please help out the Evelyn Mount Outreach by bringing a donation of non-perishable food items with you. 

This will be a great evening to party with your fellow RBS members. What? Not a member? NO PROBLEM! Come on down and see what makes the Reno BLUES Society and our local Blues scene so much fun!  You don't have to join, but by the end of the night you might just want to! 

The monthly RBS general membership meetings are held at venues around town. O'Skis has long been a stronghold for Blues music in the area and it's the location of our next general membership meeting. Come on down and see what's going on with your Blues society, or just enjoy some good company. The meeting will be held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 13th. See you there!

     I have read a lot of blues books in my time but the one that i am reading now is certainly one of the best. It is written by Paul Oliver, and is titled "The Story of the Blues". It is copyright 1969 by Chilton Book Company, so I don't know if it is still in print. As the back cover says "this is perhaps the most exciting and complete book on the blues to be published in many years". They are not kidding. The photographs alone are worth the price of admission. all of the old juke joints, all of the old performers, all of the rich texture of where the blues was born and grew up is in this book. And the text literally brought tears to my eyes because of the harsh conditions and sad stories that make the blues the story of life. It was written in 1969 so you won't find the North Mississippi All-Stars, or even Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the book is a very valuable piece of evidence for anyone building a case for the blues. If you can't find it at your bookstore check your library. And check their cd section while you are there.    

--Roger Slugg, host of "Take Names Later Blues" on kunr-fm (and kunr.org) Saturdays from 8pm to midnight

p.s. On checking the Blues Foundation's website at blues.org I see that Paul Oliver is to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame this year.