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Secret's out: Local blues club is smokin'

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published January 20, 2006

The sound of infectious music thunders into every corner of the club, as only live music can. Drums and bass thump the walls, guitar riffs waft above the smoke and the harmonica fills the crevices.

Ernie and the Rollers have brought their show to the Smoking Dog in Riverview, one of the few places in East Hillsborough where you can hear live blues music.

It's not the slow, simmering blues of pain and misery. No, Ernie explains to the audience, it's nasty, hard-driving, rockin' blues.

They cheer wildly.

He jokes that if they don't show enough appreciation, he'll start playing the Carpenters.

They laugh.

He threatens Helen Reddy. "Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on," Ernie mocks.

He soon launches into a rollicking number called Top Of The World, followed by an even more charged tune called The Hip Shake. A dozen people fill the floor. The song seemingly lasts forever, but the dancers don't miss a beat.

One is a middle-aged woman in jeans and a pullover sweater. Her black curls are wound so tight it almost looks like she has dreadlocks. She's up and dancing to every song, because at a bar like this, there is always one woman who dances to every song.

To the woman's left are two young girls, one baring her midriff and another with a sporty newsboy hat and jeans. They jump around a balding man who is on his knees, writhing and bouncing to every beat as he holds the girls hands. He's struggling to keep up.

To the woman's right is an amorous older couple at a table kissing and cuddling. Either they've been madly in love for years, or they're in serious need of a hotel room.

For now, however, they're thrilled to swing to Ernie's wailing harmonica while the Rollers provide ample backing. Ernie, in faded black jeans and a shimmery gray shirt, gyrates, mingling with the dancers as he cups an old-fashioned microphone to his harmonica and blares away.

"Welcome to the East Side," Ernie bellows after finishing The Hip Shake.

It's hard to say what's better: the music or the people-watching.

And to think, I would have never known about this simple slice of nasty blues if it wasn't for the mechanic at Jiffy Lube.

I pulled in for an oil change about a month ago, and Andrew Gohrman spotted a Motown CD in my car, and asked what I thought about it. I paused, thinking he's too young to know real Motown. Then I explained I bought it so I could have a copy of Junior Walker's Shotgun.

I thought that would be the end of the conversation, but it was just the beginning. Andrew offered a quick dissertation on the history of Motown's backing band, telling me things I never knew like legendary producer Berry Gordy often used three drummers on a single track to produce that unique Motown sound.

I soon learned that he was an aspiring musician, and he often frequented the Smoking Dog on Tuesdays for the club's popular open mike night.

"The Smoking Dog?" I asked. "Where's that? Tampa? St. Pete?"

"No," he said, "It's in Riverview, on U.S. 301 one light south of Bloomingdale at Krycel."

Jim Johnston opened the Smoking Dog in July 2004, not to bring blues to Riverview, but to simply provide another Hillsborough County venue for those who are passionate about the genre. When Johnston traveled the country as an IT consultant, the Chicago native always sought out the blues bars.

"This is an amalgamation of all the places I've been to," Johnston said. "It's definitely catching on. A lot of people out here don't know the blues, so it's almost been kind of educational."

Johnston explains that some folks don't realize that the music of rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones is rooted in the blues. On the current tour, the Stones have been paying homage to the late Ray Charles by covering a few of his tunes.

Johnston may be the dean of this blues school, but what he likes to boast about are the teachers. Local favorites like Sarasota Slim, Jimmy Griswald and Charlie Morris have played the Smoking Dog, and Johnston said most of his bands are on a two-month rotation.

The education extends not only to customers, but to the amateurs. Open mike night draws a healthy crowd every Tuesday. Everyone gets to play with the backup band, and at times there may be as many as 12 people playing together.

One time a violinist showed up and joined in.

The bar is not particularly big, but it's clean, neat and appears to have an easy-going clientele. Johnston said having an effective dress code - no hats - has helped him go trouble-free.

When Ernie and the Rollers finished their second set, I ambled over to the bar to watch the end of an NFL game on one of the two big screens near the entrance. Kerry, a sassy bartender with a maroon blouse and hip-hugging black leather pants and brown hair that hangs down to her waist, quickly hustles over with a beer.

The two guys next to me talk about a relationship gone awry, as only guys can do. A woman steps over with an invite: "You guys are single, right? Come over and meet my friends."

A good blues bar always can provide a little soul.

That's all I'm saying.

Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 19, 2006, 08:52:06]