They gather in clusters around tiny tables on soaring stools. You find them belly busting at the bar, shoring walls, and idling in the aisle waysthe people who leave the coziness of their living rooms, and head out into the night in search of music and camaraderie: Rock Fans. Sure they have a plethora of website concerts streaming their desktops, and cable channels of rock, hip-hop, and good ol country, but theyll come out in the rain to be a part of a live scene.

Today its just me up there on stage, looking out into the smoky lights. I know how many silhouettes are out there. Lots of em. Its my charge to elicit a state change in them, or else their journey is for nothing. Ive got play that perfect note, to the perfect rhythm; any sound at all that comes forth from this stage must be true, and come from me and only from me; not a cheep imitation of someone else. They can sense that which is authenticthey may not have properly considered this before, but deep down they know. Oh yes they will know.

Time warps. I see shadows moving in slow motion; no one connected with my production is moving fast enough for me. The sound check makes getting anyones attention that much more difficult. They are all somewhere else right now. My first task is to round em all back up. Where are they? Somewhere between gender tension, and release of inhibitions I suppose. I want them back as an audience though. And I will have that.

First song fires off and I see people glance up. The sound is weird. Its not coming from me as much as it is coming from somewhere off to the side. Thats ok. Caught a fleeting glimpse of some bopping heads, and covert toe-tapping in the darkness. They begin to suspect that everyone in the room is part of something bigger than the sum of its players.

My next shot is going to be deadly accurate. I decide upon a Blues Shuffle. My bass string begins with a heartbeat. Bum-pa-bum-pa-bum-pa-bum. I see them looking up now. Heads begin bopping and several women are swinging their hips. Feet tap out seconds on the clock. Good sign indeed. But wait until I start hammering the six string, and ease that blues harp inyou havent heard anything yet! And then the harp begins wailing its woes. Telling its tragic tale, while the conversation fades into the darkness. I know they are somewhere out there staring like deer in the headlights. Gonna get you now. Some people rise to their feet when I belt out the growley g-man voice. Boom Boom Boom Boom. Mr. John Lee Hooker knew this.

This was his science lab.

The song builds and people begin to gape. They are in the net now, and many are wriggling like salmon on the deck. Sit back, relax, and let the blues carry you down stream.

Copyright (c) 2005 Gary Wesselhoff

Gary Wesselhoff

BIO "g-man Blues" is Gary Wesselhoff, a solo acoustic rocker with a genuine dedication to Chicago Style Blues. Hailing from the Chicago suburbs, he began his musical career in the mid-sixties during the Folk Rock movement. Playing Chicago coffeehouse scene in the early ?70?s, he hit it off with a couple of other folk rockers and began playing under the name Woodlind. Woodlind wrote and performed their own material exclusively?one point boasting a song list of over seventy-five original songs. At the end of his high school years, g-man and Woodlind recorded but never released a double album of songs at Chicagolands famous "Pumpkin Recording Studio" with producer Gary Loizzo (star of the group "The American Breed" who later became renowned for his production of several Styx albums). Over the years the band members eventually drifted apart.

In college g-man met and began playing with two outstanding performers, Bob May, and Ken Zemanek. The three began playing once again under the name of Woodlind. The band grew in size and following. Ken would later progress on to join American English; other band members Scott Bonshire would join Heartsfield, and Jim Williams hooked up with a country band called Crossfyre. Joey Drada currently plays with contemporary Chicago Blues Royalty.

In the interim, g-man dropped out of the business to raise a family.

In 2003 g-man sat in with some friends and immediately decided to return to music. Quotes g-man "When I returned, I discovered something forceful about myself; I found that I had new abilities that were not present when I was a kid?it?s much more than the synergy of practice and focus. I discovered that I could sing more dynamically, play more powerfully, and write better than ever". He began to chase the blues, and worked a blues harp into his act.

In 2005 he launched his Website: gmanblues.com is a successful Website often with hits from countries around the world. It?s at this site that you can sample some of g-man?s music offerings, and see photos of him in action. Currently g-man Blues is writing an album of original songs that has the working title "g-Force", and he is playing around the city. More information can be found at his website.