Northsider's Create Their Own Bluesfest

By Daniel Shy
As published in The North Central Ohio Blues Association newsletter Blues Views (Winter 2003)

It's been almost a year since I first visited the North Side Grill on North Main Street in Akron, seeing the now-disbanded Barnburners (aka The Black Keys). That was a pivotal experience that launched my interest in the local blues seen. It was blues guru Jim Hudson who admonished me to see that act, and who now succeeded in getting me and Dean to see the group of musicians who evolved from that group, gathering on Thursday evenings to produce a unique blend of standard and country blues.

Guitarist Mike Lenz, Drummer Jason Edwards, and Bassist Kip Amore colloquially call themselves 'The Northsiders', but only on Thursdays, as they all have other things going on throughout the week. On this particular night, Kip subcontracted the bass role to Lenny Fatigati. (Kip is gigging at the Carousel in the 'Always, Patsy Cline' show, but managed to make a cameo appearance late in the night, playing what he referred to as Self-Indulging Jazz).

Armed with a vintage butterscotch Telecaster (possibly a '52 reissue), Mike's singing and finger picking style allowed for fast tempo renditions of Muddy Waters standards to Johnny Cash classics. The Tele was equipped with a lever system to quickly switch from standard to open chord tuning for slide. The single coil pickups transformed Mike's vibrato slide motion into the crisp Fender blues sound. The fluid movement of Mike's fretting fingers over the length of the neck revealed that he has indeed solved the mystery of the guitar fretboard. The night was well balanced between sliding and fretting, between finger and conventional picking, between covering and innovation. To add dimension to the performance, Mike occasionally donned a harmonica headset, producing sweet blows and bending draws to compliment his guitar virtuosity. It has been reported that Mike knows over 400 songs. Jim had advertised Mike as a 'do-not miss' guitarist, and now I know why. Mike's area venues can be found on his website www.mikelenz.com.

Jason was his reliable, stoic self. When a drummer is that good, the percussion becomes interwoven with the guitars, and as a listener it's easy to miss the artisanship. But for our benefit, Jason was given opportunity to solo. And for those of you who can only picture a drum solo as wild pummeling of drum heads and cymbals, let me tell you that Jason maintains the integrity of the drum set as a musical instrument.

Lenny wielded a giant 6-string bass, occasionally receiving chord change call-outs from Mike. But if I didn't see and hear Mike vocally transmit an occasional off-mic "A!", I would have thought that all the songs were pulled from Lenny's repertoire - he was that good. In the past, I've always thought, "How many strings does a bass player really need?". But Lenny utilized the full length and width of his 6-string fret board, even playing high-end chords simultaneously with the baseline. And singing - Lenny also provided vocals, including covers of B.B. King and Eric Clapton. This hired-gun earned his pay.

Giving consideration to the mystical nature of live music, my words fall short of doing justice to the Northsider's production. Just go see them for yourselves: Thursday's 9:30-12:30 at the North Side Grill 111 N. Main St in Akron.

(Daniel Shy is a freelance writer and can be reached at dshy@neo.rr.com)

Note: The Northsiders no longer play Thursdays at Northside as of May 1st. Thanks to everyone who supported us and all the folks at Northside for a great gig!