Words by Dennis Atkins, photographs supplied by 8 Ball Aitken, Taya Chani and Zed Charles.

While proud and enthusiastic South East Queensland blues ambassadors, 8 Ball Aitken and Taya Chani, were shivering on the streets of Memphis, Tennessee, in the first weeks of this year, they wasted no time warming up for the biggest international contest showcasing the music that started it all. The International Blues Challenge, the annual global battle of the bands and the head-to-head for duo and solo acts, brings together some 150 performers to vie for a spot on the big stage in the Birthplace of the Blues, as Memphis styles itself.

This big stage is at the storied Orpheum Theatre at the intersection of South Main and Beale streets – the same performing palace a young Elvis Presley would look at in the early 1950s, hoping to one day take a walk from the wings to centre stage. Elvis got there in late 1954, as a warm-up act for Canadian country star Hank Snow.

This year, our representatives didn’t make it to the Orpheum, but they left many of the other 150 former participants in their wake, getting through to the finals even if they weren’t among the final 10 performances. It’s a demanding time – getting up in clubs and bars, night-after-night, performing down to the exact second at times, before judges guided by the strictest rules most performers have been up against.

After walking away with first place at the Blues Association of South East Queensland’s Go-to-Memphis gig at Lefty’s in Paddington last August, 8 Ball and his co-performer, Taya Chani, landed in the Tennessee river city as the weather took a dive – some days in the low 20s Celsius before dropping down to minus 7. 8 Ball shook it off, telling the BASEQ newsletter that while the “weather was freezing cold outside, the blues were hot and the musical talent showcased phenomenal”.

His musical collaborator, Taya Chani, was further along the shivering road, saying the place was “ice cold” and that she was glad she came prepared with faux-fur jackets. She added some heat with specially chosen, dazzling outfits to raise the temperature during their performances. 8 Ball gave a frank assessment of the mountain the visiting acts had to climb. “The USA undoubtedly dominates on home soil, but quality acts from Croatia to Canada, France to Finland, Korea to Australia, and many other countries, all strut their stuff at the clubs on Beale Street,” he said.

“Taya Chani, our bandmates, and I wrote new blues music and rehearsed every day in the lead up (to the heats).  We sang and played our absolute best performances nightly, making it through to the semifinals. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to play in Memphis, representing the Blues Association of South East Queensland. It was an experience that I will never forget. We made many new friends and contacts and soaked up every bit of music and Memphis we could.”

8 Ball’s experience is exactly why our Association staged this effort to get behind representatives from our region. Taya Chani backs up 8 Ball’s enthusiastic words. “We met a lot of inspiring and inspired folk from all around the world playing their version of the blues, she said.

“It was a magical experience. The IBC certainly got the place buzzing over that cold winter week. I can’t wait to go back.”

Of course, you can’t go to Memphis and just trudge up and down Beale Street going from club to club. Taya headed out to the fantastic soul music museum at the old Stax Studios site, where Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T Jones, Sam and Dave, Albert King, Carla Thomas laid down some of the world’s greatest recorded songs. Others in the travelling party headed to Sun Records – home of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis – or the most famous home in town, Graceland.

Zed Charles CD Makes the Finals.

Another BASEQ representative, now solo performer Zed Charles (one-time bandmate of a slew of acts and collaborator with everyone from 8 Ball to Frank Sultana, Hat Fitz and Cara, Sonny James and Jesse Redwing) made it to the finals of the self-produced CD category with his hit debut recording, Hear My Word. His record came equal sixth out of a couple of hundred entries from around the world – a gold star outcome for Zed’s first time in any Memphis Blues Challenge line-up.

Hear My Word soared to number 2 on the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay Chart, confirming the popularity among judges in Memphis who backed Zed into the finals, although he missed out on a top-three finish.

Other Australian Successes at Memphis

Overall, Australian acts fared very well with Melbourne Blues Association (MBAS) representative, The Cam Walters Band, making it into the final of the band category putting them in the top 5 of the dozens of bands aiming for big prize. The band members are Cam Walter (guitar & vox), Grant Cummerford (bass) & Tim Burnham (drums). All talented and sought after musicians, Tim also performs in the Lloyd Spiegel trio.

Damon Smith was supported by the Melbourne Blues Association in the solo-act performing traditional blues category, the same contest which also featured Don Morrison from Adelaide.