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Randy Oxford: A Gifted Horn Player With A Heart Of Gold

Getting Ready To Blow The Roof Off Of Memphis

Randy Oxford is an award winning trombone player from Eatonville whose band ,The Randy Oxford Band , is being sent to represent the South Sound Blues Association at the International Blues Contest Jan 26 - 28 2006 in Memphis, Tennessee. Besides being an out-of-mind horn player with a get off your ass and shake it rockin' blues band, Randy is a modern day good guy with a heart of gold. If you are lucky enough to have heard them ,you won' tever forget it 'cause they are awesome; just ask the fans in Memphis after he blows their socks off. Better yet, if you won' tbe with us in Memphis to witness it, come out and catch their amazing show at Jazzbones Saturday Jan 21st at 9:00pm after our monthly SSBA membership meeting which you are cordially invited to attend. Come out and experience some kind of fun!!

I hope in this interview that you get a glimpse of this gracious, humble, generous and talented person that I am truly blessed to call my friend. OK, so I used a bunch of adjectives ‚ I never was bland or contrite‚ whatever that means.

Did you grow up in a musical family?

"I was born in Seattle. We moved from Ballard to Chicago when I was five and went all the way thru high school there. My parents weren't professional musicians, but they played piano, guitar and sang. They turned me on to all kinds of music when I was a kid."

When did you become a rockin' blues horn player?

"I was classically trained through the school system and played jazz, classical and marching band music from the 6th grade up. Right out of high school, I went into the Army and toured Europe for three years with the US Army Band. That's when I started playing blues and rock n roll."

Who were your early blues/rock musical influences?

"For me it wasn' another trombone player. It was early Led Zeppelin when I first said, "Hey! I like that." It turns out they were influenced by all those major early blues groups from way back when. Maynard Ferguson, a trumpet player mostly known as a jazz player, but he played some blues too. Freddie Hubbard, another trumpet player, and Grover Washington Jr. JJ Johnson, who is not around anymore, was the one trombone player I listened to."

Were big band sounds an early influence for you?

"Oh yeah. We played a lot of that in the Army Band; especially in Europe. A lot of the old Harry James, Stan Kenton and Count Basie charts really got me grooving."

Tell me about the history of the bands you've played with.

"I did another three year hitch in the Army stationed in Monterey, California and I started playing with various bands from there. The Broadway Blues Bands out of Santa Cruz was my weekend gig when I wasn't playing with the Army Band, and we actually played at the 25th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in the early 80s. I was hooked‚ everyone was there‚ B.B. King, you name it. In the meantime, my parents moved back to Seattle so after the Army, I moved back to help with the family printing business. That's when I met Little Bill, 'The Man'."

Were you playing in a band when you met Little Bill?

"A little bit. My first band up here was with Mark Whitman in Dual Glide. We played Larry's Greenfront every Sunday and Monday for a couple of years. We were basically the house band there. It was Mark Whitman who really took me under his wing and taught me basic blues licks. After that I hooked up with Ned Nelder and Jr. Cadillac for awhile and did more classic rock n roll. We opened for Little Richard at the Coliseum and Ricky Skaggs at the Gorge. I did some big gigs with Cadillac in the mid-80s. In about 1989 I was invited to play at Little Bill's 50th birthday party at Prositto's (now Hell's Kitchen) in the north end of Tacoma. Robbie Jordan, one of Little Bill's horn players, called me because they wanted an extended horn section for the event. The next day Little Bill called and invited me to play in his band. I said ‚'me up!!'  I spent the next eight years playing primarily in Little Bill's band with a few Jr. Cadillac gigs mixed in."

What was Little Bill like to work for?

"Amazing. Unbelievable. He's the definition of a real blues man. He lives the blues. He taught me about slow blues which is my favorite‚ just lay back and take your time. The way he sings it, is how I try to play it with my horn. We toured all over the northwest‚ Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Canada a little bit. I recorded four CDs with him."

I've read both of Little Bill's books and he's quite a character, isn' he?

"Oh man, yeah. He's been in the business 45 years plus. He has unbelievable stories. He taught me to appreciate being a musician in every gig you get. Don' complain; just be happy you're playing music and getting paid for it. Little Bill never complained although he's had a lot of challenges in his life. Just read his books. He has a positive outlook and at every gig he plays his heart out. That's a major lesson he taught me‚Äînot only as a musician‚Äîbut as a way of life. He also taught me about the business end of music‚Äîhow to not over or under price yourself, but keep your band working. A lot of bands price themselves out of the market and they don' get gigs. His motto was ‚ 'If you want to keep a good band together, keep them working'."

When did you get into promotion and booking?

"After Little Bill, I started helping with the booking when I worked with Junkyard Jane. After Junkyard Jane, I worked with Nicole Fournier for a year and helped her with bookings as well as another CD. After that the time was right to start my own band."

What advice would you give startup bands to get gigs and keep busy?

"First, you have to do benefits to get your name out there. Ten percent of all my gigs, I believe, should be for a benefit to help somebody and also get my band out there. Get a recording immediately. That's like your business card—send it to everyone you know. Also be willing to travel outside your area. You gotta go to Portland, Bellingham and Spokane because you can' keep working in one or two cities. I know it's tough with your day jobs, but you gotta do it because otherwise fans will get tired of you."

You are a very generous man. You've done countless benefits and helped many musicians. Where does that heart of gold come from?

"My upbringing. My parents were always giving up their time and energy to help others. I have two older sisters who are the same way. I believe in the old saying, 'The more you give, the more you get.' If you have the talent to play music, share it. You can' always be charging money for it. You need to help other musicians out. I tell other bands it's not a competition, we're all in this together."

How much time do you spend on booking and promotion?

"On a typical day after a gig I usually get to bed about 4 am. I get up about 11 am and start hitting the phones, emails and sending out promo packs. I'm constantly calling people until I get a Yes. It's a 30-40 work week just for that part of the business. A lot of the new bands should know that. You can't wait for the clubs to call you.

What about finding the time to rehearse, especially in your band that's so spread out?

"We try to rehearse once a week. But it can be tough, especially if we're busy with gigs. It's important though because you need to come up with fresh stuff."

Your email list of fans is important promo for you. How do you build it?

"I display a sign and try to mention it four or five times during each gig. Over the years, I've gathered over 1,000 email addresses. You can always do better…like approach fans personally with postcards which frankly I haven' done yet. I see this as a great chance to promo the band and mingle with the fans on a personal level which I enjoy."

As a member of Junkyard Jane, you competed in Memphis at the IBC. What sticks out?

"Oh boy. The first memory is that we had to raise almost all the money for the trip ourselves. It was nothing like this time that was completely paid for by a joint effort of the SSBA and our band. With Junkyard Jane we were given $500 and had to raise the rest. We were able to do it because we were fortunate to have lots of gigs and we saved some out. We also got a $2,000 grant from Jack Daniels."

What about the competition itself?

"It was pretty tense once we got there. All of a sudden you're under the microscope. Not just on stage, but they're watching how you dress, interact with people, your involvement with seminars and social events. They're looking at the whole package. They want a band to represent the Blues Foundation all around the country. It was way more than music. You felt like the minute you walked out of your hotel room, you were being watched. When you're on stage, you definitely feel like the national event it is. With Junkyard Jane we made the final eight. That year there were around 70 bands; this year there will be over 130 bands."

What do you think got Junkyard Jane into the final eight?

"We weren't really a hard core blues band, but we were entertaining. We had original material, good effect and overall show. Having fun and timing our set right were also factors. We were unique. I think I was the only trombone player in the competition. Our music was a mix of original tunes and cover music done with our own style. This time we plan on using the same formula‚ some originals and some songs from the early 20th century with our own twist."

Do you know who the judges are? What is their background?

"In the past it has been record executives, festival directors and well-known national musicians."

You've been involved in numerous contests with different scoring criteria. What are the pros and cons?

"You like to win over both the judges and the fans, but you realize that isn't always possible. We're going to play our music because we feel the energy the fans give back to us. But we're working hard to fine tune our set to meet the judge's timing and technical issues that the fans might not be aware of."

So it may be the most technical band and not the most entertaining blues band that wins the IBC. Is that fair?

"Not necessarily, but if that's what you have to do to get out there, where they're going to put you on the national scene, hey, why not? Then you play whatever you want. Nobody's judging you. That's what it's all about as a band leader..constantly reach more people. I owe it to my band to give them the best possible shot at the national spotlight. They are all great musicians and have been playing for 30 plus years and deserve this opportunity. On a final note about this whole Memphis thing, I'm glad the SSBA was formed and they're doing this for all Washington state bands. Our state bands deserve to be recognized on a national level. Whether you win in Memphis or not, the SSBA will be sending kick-ass bands there. That can only help the Washington state blues scene. I have to thank the SSBA for re-energizing the blues scene." (Interviewer's comment: Yeah, we love it too, but there is another side to this‚ We get to party on Beale Street with our band and 130 others from around the world!)

You've seen the blues scene go up and down‚ packed clubs and empty clubs‚ as a member of the SSBA, what can we do to revitalize the blues scene?

"First, I have to say I've never seen an organization come together as fast as the SSBA. It's been five months and I'm totaling amazed at what's been done so far. There is an unbelievable potential here. My thought is to constantly increase the membership, focus on membership drives, make the clubs aware of the bands out there, and make the fans aware of both. It's about promo—connecting bands, fans and clubs—which by the way is the SSBA's mission. Another thing I've noticed that is great about the SSBA is that SSBA members are visible at events and show others how much fun it is to be out listening to live blues. It's a great example."

If getting out to the blues clubs and having kicking up my heels to bands like Randy's is necessary to keeping the blues alive, then like Randy said to Little Bill ‚ "Sign me up!."

Harry the Dancin' Man