Hey bluesbob,

Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you like the site. I hope people start showing up and sharing their experiences here. I should probably take the lead… I have not yet posted my ‘write-up’ of the Vancouver, WA show in March. I’ll do that soon.

Yes, Chris is totally approachable. I have not done so, because I never know what to say. Ok, I admit I did once, and I was so stupid with beer that I just slurred, “I love your music!!” and walked away sheepishly.

I’ll write about the Vancouver show soon. If you have any ideas for the site, let me know.

Looking forward to seeing your pics.

Thanks again for visiting!
Ken

I recently watched Chris Cain at the Thunderbird Cafe located in Pittsburgh, PA.  Knowing that he rarely performs that close to my home….(I live 3 hours south of Pittsburgh in West Virginia)...I decided to go for it. When I first saw him, he was in the bar just standing around talking to the other band members.  When he glanced at me, I took the opportunity to approach him.  I explained that my guitar was outside in my van, and wondered if he’d be willing to sign it.  He simply said, “I’d be honored.”  We then talked about other signatures I’ve obtained over the years (Hubert Sumlin and John Mayall). I couldn’t help being impressed with his humble personality.  He truly is a monster talent that deserves to be a household name.  After the show, he came over to me and told me how much he appreciated my driving several hours to see him play. He then hugged me, gave me his guitar pick and posed for several pictures. I couldn’t believe someone who has been playing that long, and accomplished so very much would take the time to make a lesser musician feel special.  I was an inspiring night that will linger for many years to come.  I wish him nothing but success….If anyone deserves it, it’s him.

That description is perfect. Here’s the way it’s been for us the last couple times. The band shows up and starts setting up. It takes about 15 minutes, I’m guessing. Chris takes about a minute, and then he gets a Corona and hangs out with fans while the rest of the band sets up. Once they’re ready, they just go. No sound check, that I can see, and maybe 10 seconds of tuning, if that.

After reading bo’s last post it reminds me of the night i took a guitar strap that that i have had signed by about 15 blues players. When i gave it to Chris he took the time to read all the signatures and comented on how many of the players he knew. He made fun of Tommy Castro’s autoghaph because it was kind of mesy but i told him there were a whole bunch of people around that night and i had to hold it out in the air to get it signed. once again another example of his humble self in action.

This is a great site!  I am a huge Chris Cain fan.  My dad introduced me to his music when I was 15 years old.  I was very fortunate to play bass for Chris for about 2 1/2 years, from Jan ‘99 through Sep ‘01.  What an experience!  He blew all our minds every night!  Since 2001 I have only seen the band 2 or 3 times, but remain a big fan.  It’s been a while since I’ve heard the band but I plan to go see Chris when he’s in the Monterey area, on July 23.  Thanks for the great site where all us Cain Fans can vent!

Mark,

I can’t tell you how cool it is to have a former bandmate of Chris’s visiting this site! Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words about the site. I hope you’ll come back often and share your experiences.

Ken

Hey Cain Fans!

Let me start with a HUGE Thank You to Ken for your efforts in putting this forum together!  It’s of no surprise that this time has come; the only surprise is that we’ve taken so long to get here.  I’ve been a Christopher Cain fan for about 18 years now (wooo…makes me feel old).  I first saw Chris on the advise an old school blues man and friend of mine who knew his stuff and saw that I was a big blues fan in the making.  He saw that I was staying in my “little box” while following a friend of mine, Byrant Mills, playing drums with his blues band.  He insisted that I get out and experience more blues while encouraging me to see Chris Cain as a start and experience some blues at festivals and in Chicago as well.  I took his advise and saw Chris at the Stevens Creek JJ’s in San Jose, CA and became an instant fan.  Chris became and continues to be my #1 bluesman to this day!  Needless to say, I’ve gotten out of my “blues box” and have seen a lot of blues in 18 years, but can’t find it in me to push Chris aside from the #1 spot.  My whole appreciation of the blues seems to be linked to Chris in some way and I hope all the world can experience that feeling as he becomes more and more of a household name.  As a matter of fact, I just got back from the ‘06 Chicago Blues Festival last week and was sooooo excited to have three groups of blues fans ask me with a familiar zest if I knew of Chris Cain after hearing that I come from his home town in San Jose, CA.  One group was from Canada….right on Chris!!!  Another was a group of musicians hanging out at Buddy Guy’s Legends including Lonnie Brooks himself who have played with bluemen such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and so on!!!  Damn…..I felt so proud and happy for Chris.  He IS becoming a household name folks!  I’m so excited to know that others will have the chance to get out of the box and experience such a genious musician.  At the same time I wish only the best for Chris and his loved ones as he leaves his mark as a blues legend himself! 

I’ll be keeping in touch for sure….see you all at the next gig (August 20th at San Jose Jazz Fest for me). 

Sheila…Forgive me, no time to check my spelling….a true blues fan shouldn’t give a damn!

Hey Sheila! Thanks for stopping by. I’m from San Jose, too. I live in the Portland, OR area now (Vancouver, across the river from Portland, actually), but we’re moving back to California (Placerville), hopefully this summer, and I will be traveling to the Bay Area if I can’t find any shows closer to home.

Will you tell us how the San Jose show goes?

My next show, amazingly, is in August, again right here by my house. I can’t believe he’s playing regularly this close to home, and I’m having to leave!!

Hey Ken, fellow San Hoser!

Well, as I’m sure you’ve already noticed, it looks like we may have less and less opportunity to see Chris on a regular basis as his popularity grows and he continues to tour elsewhere.  But that’s what we’re hoping for, right?!  I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunity to see him once back in CA….how can he turn on his home town?!  Funny, I envision myself doing the opposite and retiring one day in Oregon.  Do me a favor and keep him happy so that he’ll be around if I make the move.  What a life that would be….mountains, quiet, rivers, fly fishing galour, less cell phones, and some down home blues by none other than Chris Cain! 
I assume you’ll be seeing Chris August 12th at the Joseph Oregon Blues Fest.  Should be a good show with two Caly boys: Chris and Coco.  I was going to try to get out for that Fest. and some fishing as well, but want to see Walter Trout and Angela Strehli at Sonora on the same day.  Life is just full of too many good times to choose from! 
I’ll let you know about the San Jose Jazz Fest and look foward to the same from you in Oregon.  Good luck with your move!

I won’t be at the Joseph show.. that’s a few hundred miles to the east of where I am. I’ll be at the show right before that, at Cascades in Vancouver, WA.

Did you happen to see this announcement on the official Chris Cain website:

This is the last of the US tours for Chris Cain. It no longer makes sense to go out on the road for weeks at a time so this will be the last haul for Chris and his band. Chris will be back to play festivals and some club dates in 2007.

I’m not sure if this sucks or if it means we’ll be seeing a new CD soon. I live CD would be great (or a live double CD).

If anybody finds anything out about his plans after this tour, let us all know, and I’ll do the same.

Ken

Ken, I seached all over the Chris Cain website looking for the quote about not touring. Where is it? Good Lord I hope that isn’t true. I’ve only seen CC one time and have listened to his CDs for years. Since I live in West Virginia, it’s tough to see good blues acts. I have to drive to Pittsburgh,PA. to see anyone worth mentioning. There are a few good ones around here. but not many.

It’s actually gone now. They actually modified it once, then removed it completely. The second version, before they deleted it, actually calmed me down a little… he’s still playing live, I guess he’s just going to slow down and play locally and festivals. At least that’s my guess…. sorry to create probably unnecessary alarm!

Please, God, let him record something live soon!