Michael John Baswoski, or Michael John for short, has been a leading light on the Southern California blues music scene for several decades – first, fronting his own band, Michael John and the Bottom Line; then, for the last thirteen years, along with his wife Cathy Basowski, presenting the yearly Ventura County Blues Festival, Southern California’s longest-running yearly big blues event.
BEN: Since its inception in 2005, what are the biggest challenges you face each year with regards to growing the Festival?
MJ: There are several challenges we face being a festival that is also a charity event. The biggest hurdle is sponsorship’s, the sponsors we have had are pulling back due to reduced budgets for donations and trying to seek out others is a very difficult task. Anyone who has a contact for sponsorship’s or would like to become a sponsor please contact me directly michaeljohn@venturacountybluessociety.org Also, costs involved in putting on a festival like this, without the big budget but still being able to deliver a great show year after year has its challenges.
BEN: Let’s discuss this year’s lineup. What can attendees expect in the way of the headlining performers?
MICHAEL JOHN WITH DYLAN
MJ: Every year our focus has been to make sure we have a full day of great live music, all thrillers no fillers and we delivered again this year. We have two regional acts that are truly hidden gems here in Southern California and looking forward to providing them with the exposure they so well deserve. Sandy Scott and Blues to the Bone are opening the show, Sandy is Powerhouse her vocals are amazing and with a very tight band. Following Sandy is the Alan Wright Band, Alan is not only a great guitar player and vocalist, but an excellent song writer. Then comes Deb Ryder, she has toured the world and has been the recipient of multiple awards, her and her band bring it every time they hit the stage. Following Deb is Mr. John Nemeth all the way from Memphis, he and his band have toured the world multiple times, received multiple awards and is a festival favorite. Then finally for the very first time, a rare performance by the talented Mr. Earl Thomas, Earl spends most of his time touring out of the country filling venues with thousands of people in sell out shows everywhere he performs. His seven-piece band with horns is explosive entertainment. We have been working on getting Earl for our festival the last three years and finally it’s going to happen this year. Closing the show will be an All-Star jam for our brother Mickey Jones, this will be an amazing performance from several musicians Mickey has shared the stage with throughout his life, we cannot mention names at this time, but I can tell you this will be an epic way to close out our festival and will certainly make Mickey smile down upon us.
BEN: The V.I.P. section is relatively new to the Festival. What do attendees who purchase these tickets get in V.I.P.?
MJ: The VIP section is a nice intimate way to enjoy the festival with a limited number of seats, you get a private shaded seating area with tables and chairs, early entry to the festival 9:30 am, Catered Lunch, Private Bar, Private Restrooms, 2 Drink Tickets, 1 Event T-shirt, 1 Event Poster and Complimentary Bottled Water for $125 with no added fees is the best bang for the buck while doing something positive for the community. VIP is only available online. Get yours before they sell out.
BEN: The late Mickey Jones was a dear friend to the Ventura County Blues Festival for many years. How has his loss impacted the Blues community in general and you in particular?
MJ: Mickey Jones was larger than life, those of you who did not know him, just type his name online to see the resume of this great man. Mickey Jones along with his wife Phyllis, his Mother Frances and his Father Fred attended our very first festival which was in our back yard in 2004. This was actually a summer party with many musician friends which we had live music all day long. This gave me the idea about putting a festival on to raise money to give back to our community. When I first approach Mickey about this to be the Emcee he said “Yes” without any hesitation. He was there from the beginning and was the icing on the cake for our festival. Mickey helped with promoting, he, my son Mikey Mo and I had performed on the Frosty, Heidi and Frank Show on KLOS 95.5FM multiple times along with many other radio and TV shows, he just made things happen. More importantly, Mickey and I became very close friends with a lot of common interests. The love of family, Friends and helping others brought us together in a tight bond with he and his wife Phyllis, my wife Cathy and I.
On Tuesday February 20th we laid Micky to rest, this was a celebration of his life with lots of laughs and tears, I am going to miss him dearly. This year we are closing the show with a dedication all-star jam for our brother Mickey Jones.
BEN: Any other parting thoughts about the Ventura County Blues Festival to share with our readers?
MICHAEL JOHN JOHNNY RIVERS AND THE LATE MICKEY JONES
MJ: As I mentioned previously this will be an amazing performance from several musicians Mickey has shared the stage with throughout his life. I can tell you this will be an epic way to close out our festival and will certainly make Mickey smile down upon us. Support live music folks, if there was ever a time to come to our festival, it is this year. Come share the day of family, love and friendship as we honor Mickey.
Festival links/additional info: www.venturacountyblues.com; https://www.facebook.com/VenturaCountyBluesFestival
