March 24, 2018: We’re having a live music fundraiser party to celebrate Blue Note’s 2nd Anniversary, featuring San Diego representatives to the 2018 International Blues Challenge, Fuzzy Rankins and the Blues Band, with proceeds benefiting Team San Diego Basketball via the Stephen Pierce Foundation!
Always 100% FREE for blues musicians, in order to promote a better understanding of the history and culture of the blues amongst dancers. All ages welcome.
Tickets
Presale is open until Friday, March 16th. Optionally, add on the 1-hour lesson for $5. Save $5 by buying your tickets early!
Buy Tickets
($1 credit card fee included)
Tell your friends – tell everybody!
Don’t want to pay credit card fees?
- You can pay Elizabeth or Chris in cash at any Blue Note event from now till March 16th, or
- Venmo to https://venmo.com/theophila with your name(s) (first and last) and the ticket you’re purchasing (lesson + dance or dance-only)
Details
- Date: March 24, 2018
- Lesson: 8:00pm till 9:00pm • $5
- Dancing: 9:00pm till midnight • $20 regular / $15 presale or full-time students (with valid ID)
- Location: Party Fitness Studio • 4659 Mission Gorge Pl, San Diego, CA 92120
- Cash preferred at the door. $1 fee (per person) for credit cards.
- Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/682639235458010/
If you enjoy dancing the blues or would like to learn more about it, please join us! Or, if you’re simply a lover of good music, come out!
Band Break DJ
Elizabeth Kilrain
Food / Beverages
Tables are unreserved.
Light appetizers (veggies, dip, cheeses, meats) and water will be provided, and sodas will be available for sale as well as limited beer and wine.
Lessons
A 1-hour lesson will be offered at 8pm, before the live music begins. Lesson topics are always all-levels and feature rotating topics that introduce not just the movements but help you understand the music and the context as well.
Please invite your friends and join us at 8pm! Each month we will tie the lesson topics for First Monday Blues Lab and Blue Note together, so it is in your best interest to attend them all, though drop-ins are always welcome.
Volunteering
Volunteering opportunities are always posted for each event and will allow you get to know the community in a low-pressure way. Work an hour and get into the event free.
About Fuzzy Rankins
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Lenny “Fuzzy” Rankins spent the majority of his childhood in Wilmington, Delaware, where, through his church, he was first introduced to singing and playing musical instruments. He has the opportunity to play with gospel groups, such as the Gospel Ambassadors and the Shield Brothers. Fuzzy moved to York, Pennsylvania, and continued playing at the church and touring with gospel groups. At the age of 16, he performed in shows with Shirley Caesar, Al Green, Five Blind Boys, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Gospel Keynotes, James Cleveland and others.
At the age of 19, Fuzzy formed his own gospel group called God’s Angels based in York Pennsylvania, recording, traveling and performing on the East Coast. He expanded his music and organized an R&B group called the 14 Karat Band that toured and performed with major R&B artists, such as Tone Tone, Roy Clark, Basic Black, Patty Labelle and Gerald Levert.
Fuzzy moved to California in 1990 to further pursue his musical career. He met blues and jazz performer Fro Brigham (formerly associated with Louis Armstrong). Fuzzy began playing guitar with Fro’s group and discovered the diversity of the blues. In 1992, he formed his own blues band, Fuzzy and the Bluesmen, which became very popular in the Southern California area. In 1993, Fuzzy and the Bluesmen was presented with the Jim Croce Blues Award. That same year, they received the “Best Blues” music award. Fuzzy and the Bluesmen made several television appearances, including the Jerry Lewis Telethon show. The group has been featured at the Orange County/Newport Beach Blues Festival (1996), and many other blues festivals, and performed with blues legends B.B. King, Etta James, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown as well as artists Luther Ingraham, Bobby Womack, Zapp and Roger – and the list goes on.
Fuzzy’s first blues CD, Not Gonna Work This Time, was released in 1993. Good Lovin’ followed and, like his first CD, several tracks received airplay on San Diego radio stations (KIFM “Smooth Jazz“ 98.1, KSDS 88.3, KUPR and “Jammin’ Z90″. 16 of the 17 songs on the CD were written, produced and arranged by Fuzzy, who is adept at playing not only the guitar but also bass, keyboards and drums. The band provided backup on 7 tracks.
Fuzzy was the featured artist at a special dedication to T-Bone Walker by renowned international artist John DeMarco. In 1999, Fuzzy was lead guitarist and a stand-in for three of the male lead roles in the award-winning musical production It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues written and produced by the late actor/vocalist Ron Taylor. The play debuted at the Lyceum Theatre (San Diego Repertory Theatre) and was broadcast on television stations throughout Southern California. Ultimately, the cast played to audiences in playhouses across the U.S., including on Broadway and in Europe.
Fuzzy has studied and listened to all styles of music, but the style and music of jazz artists George Benson, Earl Klugh, Lee Rittenauer and Al DiMeola were especially influential. Jazz CD Stirring Up TheMix was released under his given name, Lenny Rankins, and featured 10 original compositions written and produced by him. The music was in airplay rotation on KIFM “Smooth Jazz” 98.1, Jazz 88.3, KJJZ and others. Shortly after release, Stirring Up The Mix was nominated in the Best Jazz Album category at the San Diego Music Awards. Lenny and his band performed various songs from Stirring Up The Mix at 4th & B when he opened for saxophonist Alfonso Blackwell at his concert appearance in San Diego. Lenny, a frequent featured performer at KIFM events, was a featured artist at many of the KIFM Smooth Jazz Festivals.
Fuzzy has played backup guitar and helped many artists throughout his career, such as Ike Turner, Jeanette Harris, Mindy Abair, Wayne Holmes (George Duke’s engineer), saxophonist George Howard, pop artist Jewel and gospel artist Tonex. Fuzzy continues to do session work with various artists in the studio. Fuzzy also did session work with producer David Kershenbaum for the Color Me Badd album featuring Peabo Bryson, Al Green, Montel Jordan and others.
In Spring 2007, Fuzzy was featured and received Grammy recognition on Ike Turner’s Grammy award winning Best Traditional Blues recording Risin’ With The Blues. Fuzzy plays lead guitar on the track Ike named JazzyFuzzy.
Fuzzy is also a talented producer. He has played guitar, done voiceover work, provided sound effects and composed and produced music on video games, such as Ready to Rumble, Spy Hunter, Fireblade, Freaky Flyers, Hydro Thunder and Gravity Games.
Lenny has been an endorsed artist of Connolly and Co., a leading U.S. distributor and partner of Thomastik-Infeld, since April 2002. Connolly exclusively imports and distributes Thomastik-Infeld’s highly acclaimed line of strings and accessories for bowed and fretted instruments (www.connollyandco.com). The company has expanded its website to include professional information in support of its endorsed artists.
In 2002, Lenny expanded his production company and formed MoonCook Productions with his business manager, Cheryl Peters. 10 artists (R&B, jazz, blues, hip-hop, rap and gospel) were under contract and worked on their individual solo projects, all produced by Fuzzy. A compilation CD featuring all 10 artists was showcased and released in December 2003. In addition to composing and producing their albums, Fuzzy produced music videos for each of the artists that were aired nationwide on Rhythms music video show.
Lenny “Fuzzy” Rankins is a dynamic stage presence who captures audiences of all ages. His musical talent has gained him the recognition and respect of fellow musicians and his fans.
About The Fundraiser
We reached out to Stephen Pierce of the Stephen Pierce Foundation because we wanted the funds to make an impact here in San Diego. Steve connected us with Coach Joey Garcia of Team San Diego Basketball, who will be the beneficiary of this fundraiser.
As we sat down with Joey at Grant’s Marketplace in South Park, he told us of his motivations and why his basketball program is the best in San Diego.
Team San Diego trains kids as young as 8 years old and as old as 13. Every athlete in Team San Diego is talented. However, talent is not enough to succeed in the program. All youth are coached by high school level coaches and at high school level standards, with expectations adjusted not for age but only for physical limitations. In addition, the kids compete at a level above their age group to provide a consistent challenge and to keep the focus on hard work and fundamentals, rather than wins or losses.
Where other programs might spend extra money – when there is any – on frivolous things, Joey says, this program focuses on the essentials. The kids get a backpack, a home jersey, an away jersey, and a hoodie for outdoor practices on chillier days. They get enough to show pride in the team but not so much that the items become distractions.
Some of the kids lack structure at home because they come from broken families, their parents work multiple jobs, or technology provides plenty of distractions. Team San Diego provides consistency and challenges the young athletes to keep their minds engaged and to develop a strong work ethic that carries beyond the court. The youth show respect to their coaches, but their coaches expect them to show the same respect to their parents and their teachers.
Speaking from experience, Joey states that the danger for talented youth is not a lack of opportunities but that, left unchallenged and unguided, boredom can lead them to choose the wrong opportunities and ultimately waste their talent. Joey Garcia believes in surrounding kids with other kids that can challenge each other in various ways. They can learn to hustle on the court and later take that focus into their education, professional sports, business, or whatever they choose, or they can take their hustle to the streets.
“TSD is personal for me. I’ve conquered many obstacles in my life. I want to make sure these kids have the right atmosphere to make the right choices. I didn’t have that,” Joey says. “The world is changing, but our work ethics should not. I want my players to be the best they can be on and off court.” The program gives them the foundation to make an informed choice.
Location
Party Fitness Studio (4659 Mission Gorge Pl, San Diego, CA 92120) is located just minutes from the I-8 freeway and San Diego State University.
As usual, we ask that you respect the space. Please make sure your shoes are non-marking and CLEAN so that you do not bring in debris from outside and mark the lovely floors! No spiked/narrow heels, please.
Etiquette / Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct / Grievance Policy
In order to ensure that this event is safe, comfortable, and fun for everybody, please take a moment to read our etiquette page. By attending any Blue Note event, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to abide by our Code of Conduct / Grievance Policy.
Help Out
Staffing, DJing, and volunteering opportunities are available. All staff and DJs will be paid, as we believe that you should be compensated for your work. All volunteers will receive free admission to the dance with one hour of work. For more information, please visit our volunteering page and email (staff/volunteers) or apply after reading the requirements.
Terms & Conditions
Full Terms & Conditions.
Because of the size and nature of the event, we will not be able to refund registration fees if you are unable to attend. If you pay and are unable to make the event, you may transfer your registration to someone else.