Horn of plenty
Blind
Rhino makes the holidays a bit merrier with seventh-annual
fundraiser
By Jake TenPas
The Entertainer, Albany Democrat Herald, 11/29/07
Albany
— Blind Rhino has been such a ubiquitous part of the local blues
scene over the years that it’s easy to take them for granted.
And nothing makes you appreciate something you’d previously
taken for granted than its absence.
After taking last year’s annual “A Little Help for Our Friends”
benefit off, the Albany quartet reunites for this year’s
seventh-annual edition, which starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec.
1, at the Linn County Fairgrounds’ Santiam Building.
The event is a fundraiser for FISH, a local faith-based
nonprofit group that helps those in need to get the food,
clothes and medical help they need. Last year, “A Little Help
for Our Friends” raised nearly $7,000 for the organization.
But Moe Dorsey, Blind Rhino’s bassist, says the band doesn’t
measure the event’s success in dollars alone. “FISH has a big
step van, and we filled that up with toys and clothes and food.
That’s how we gauge our success for the evening, is how full
that gets.”
“Yeah, if we fill that dude up, we know a lot of people are
going to get some help,” adds guitar slinger Roy Barnes. “That’s
what this event is all about, is giving back to the community
and doing what people should do. It’s not about us. We have a
talent, but we use it to do something that’s good. That’s the
way things should be.”
While music tastes are almost entirely subjective, the fact that
Blind Rhino has a talent is almost beyond debate. After playing
up and down the I-5 corridor from Eugene to Vancouver, including
notable dates at the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival, Blind
Rhino won its place as the 2004 representative for the Pacific
Northwest at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tenn.
The group would make it to the finals, earning them a spot as
one of the top nine unsigned blues bands in the world.
Locally, the band has been wowing audiences for years with a
sound and stage act that mix the instrumental acrobatics of
Stevie Ray Vaughan with a healthy respect for the roots of blues
as a working-man’s music. Barnes has earned the nickname
“Rocket” both for the speed of his fingers and the explosive way
he moves around the stage, and in a band full of snappy
dressers, vocalist John Fox manages to dress as well as he
sings.
Barnes also points out that the man is no slouch with a pen.
“That’s the thing about John Fox,” he says while talking about
what sets the band apart, “He’s a master of lyrics.”
For the past couple of years, Fox’s lyrics and vocals, Barnes’
guitar, Dorsey’s “Mighty” bass and “Tom” Tom Hanna’s thundering
drums have been tied up in the recording of their forthcoming
CD. The album might be called “Ain’t Been Crying,” although the
band members seem reticent to commit to anything just yet.
“Approaching an album in the studio is a lot different,” Barnes
says. “Everyone gets that red-light jitters. You see that red
light go on, and it’s tough.
“It’s a lot different than a live venue, it’s hard to get as
excited, but you have to get your mind set there, get into the
zone, and you can,” he adds of the way the experience deviates
from the band’s preferred performance space. “You just have to
play and play and play.”
“Personally, I love it,” Dorsey says. “It’s like a family
gathering for me. Everybody comes in and we bring a cooler full
of food and refreshments. We sit down and knock it out. We’re
kind of different from most bands in that we do a lot of
one-take things.”
“We play it live,” Barnes says. “We don’t do a lot of overdubs.”
This approach is made possible by the group’s tight-knit nature,
which has grown even tighter over all the years and all the
miles on the road together. While Blind Rhino has existed for
nine years, Barnes and Fox have been playing together for
roughly 12.
“The four of us, we truly enjoy playing with each other,” Dorsey
says. “I don’t know what it is, but my wife calls it the magic.”
That magic seems destined to be on display Saturday when the
group plays both songs off the new album and old favorites, as
well. All the group asks the audience members to bring in return
is a nonperishable food item, an unopened toy, clothing or a
cash donation, all of which goes to FISH.
Even if you genuinely don’t have a thing to contribute, the band
still extends an invitation. “Just come on down and enjoy the
music,” Dorsey says.
Check It Out
What: ‘A Little Help for Our Friends,’ the seventh-annual family
musical benefit for FISH
When: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1
Where: The Santiam Building at the Linn County Fairgrounds
Cost: A nonperishable food item, an unopened children’s toy,
clothing or a cash donation
Etc.: Electric blues band Blind Rhino headlines and acoustic
blues solo artist Bill Lanham opens an evening of music. |
Mr. Bill Lanham started the benefit
Some of our wonderful volunteers 
