Aladdin to welcome Oregon's music stars

If you’ve ever considered playing harmonica, Bill Rhoades recommends just picking one up and making some noise on it.

“I would say start off on a harmonica with a medium pitch, like (one in the key of) C or D,” he says. “When you start learning how to bend notes, you may find these harps a little easier to start with.”

You should take Rhoades’ advice seriously — his own playing, as well as his 35 years of spinning blues records on such radio stations as KBOO and KMHD, have led him to the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, which will induct Rhoades, as well as several others, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.

In addition to Rhoades, the Hall of Fame is inducting Heatmiser, Jerry Joseph, The Neo Boys, Ellen Whyte, Dave Captein, Brian Foxworth, Marc Baker and John Chassaing.

Storm Large has been named Artist of the Year, and The Delines’ “Colfax” earned Album of the Year honors. The evening will also feature the Kingsmen and Friends in a tribute to the late Jack Ely, the vocalist on “Louie Louie,” which became an international hit for the Portland band in 1963.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, and VIP packages are available. For more information, call 503-234-9694 or visit aladdin-theater.com or

omhof.org.

Native son

“I was stunned when I received the news,” Rhoades says of his induction. “I’m a fifth generation Oregonian and have lived here my whole life. So anything having to do with Oregon and our great music scene is very special to me.”

In addition to blowing the Mississippi saxophone and singing — his latest group is called The Party Kings — the multi-award winning Rhoades was instrumental in founding the Cascade Blues Association and has hosted various “Summits” and “Blow-offs” featuring several harp players at such events as the annual Waterfront Blues Festival. Like a lot of teenagers in the 1960s, he got turned onto the blues through such bands as the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, whose lead singers Mick Jagger and Keith Relf, respectively, played harmonica.

“This led to my discovery of the real blues masters of the instrument,” Rhoades says. “My idols are Little Walter Jacobs, Sonny Boy Williamson I and Sonny Boy Williamson II, Big Walter Horton, James Cotton, George Smith, Junior Wells and DeFord Bailey. And also the fantastic Paul deLay,” he adds, referring to the famed Portland player who died in 2007.

Rhoades notes that the blues scene here is relatively healthy, but has definitely fused with rock ‘n’ roll over the years, no surprise since it’s one of the latter’s roots.

“I think the scene is for the most part good, but usually when I go hear bands play what I hear is more blues-rock than anything else,” Rhoades says. “I would like to hear more interpretations of traditional style blues. You can still hear that with Norman Sylvester, Terry Robb, the Sportin’ Lifers, Alan Hager, Johnnie Ward, Michael Osborn and others. But for the most part it’s more rock than blues from most groups. I always wonder, where are the people who go to the Waterfront Blues Festival the rest of the year?”

Livin’ Large

Few artists would likely tell you about their upcoming Christmas show as well as the fact they prefer real sex to sexting over a phone in almost the same sentence. But, then again, few artists are as brassy as Portland’s Storm Large.

Like Rhoades, Large says she was surprised by the Artist of the Year honor, but adds that she was happy to get it since her first gig in Portland was at Music Millennium, owned by Terry Currier, president of the Hall.

“He’s like a curly haired Thomas Lauderdale,” she says with a laugh, referring to the musical director of Pink Martini. Large has been sharing vocal duties with the group’s original female lead, China Forbes, for some time now and can be heard on the group’s “Dream A Little Dream” album, released earlier this year. She jokes that she and Forbes go back a ways.

“China went to Harvard, and I said we were at Harvard at the same time, except I was outside begging for money.”

In addition to coming to national prominence when she competed on the TV show “Rock Star Supernova” in 2006, Large has made a name for herself doing a one-woman show, as well as with her bands The Balls, Her Dirty Mouth and several others. She’s also released “Le Bonheur,” a collection of covers and originals that showcases her wide range and taste — there’s French chanson, jazz standards, heavy metal, lounge and salsa on the record, which includes Cole Porter and Black Sabbath tunes. Calling from an airport on her way to a gig, she sounds like she’s enjoying

herself.

“I am 46 years old, and I am touring like a teenager would if they were a rock star — without all the money and luxury,” she says with a hearty laugh.

Envelope, please

The Oregon Music Hall of Fame will also induct the following artists Saturday:

Heatmiser

The band began in Portland in 1992 and consisted of Elliott Smith, Neil Gust, Tony Lash and Sam Coomes. Over their four years of existence, they recorded three critically acclaimed albums — “Dead Air,” “Cop and Speeder” and “Mic City Sons.” Smith and Gust were the principal songwriters, Smith leaning to the dark side and Gust to the pop side. Just as Heatmiser was about to signed, it disbanded. All four members continued to do other musical projects, with Smith (who died in 2003) going on to a solo career, earning a Grammy award for his song “Between the Bars” in the movie “Good Will Hunting.”

Jerry Joseph

In 1982 singer-songwriter-guitarist Jerry Joseph formed the band Little Women, noted for both its several albums and powerful live shows. Since then, Joseph has released several solo albums and collaborations, 12 albums as Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons, one with the Denmark Veseys and an additional three releases with the Stockholm Syndrome, which includes members of Gov’t Mule and Widespread Panic, the latter having covered a number of his songs.

The Neo-Boys

This all-female rock band was a pivotal group in Portland’s punk world from 1978 to 1983, playing politically charged songs with feminist lyrics. The original lineup consisted of Kim Kincaid (vocals), K.T. Kincaid (bass), Jennifer Lobianco (guitar) and Pat Baum (drums). Carol Steinel replaced Lobianco in 1979 and Meg Hentges replaced Steinel in 1980. The band released two EPs, one self-titled in 1980 and “Crumbling Myths” in 1982. K Records released a two-LP collection titled “Sooner or Later” in 2013, including both EPs, demos and live recordings.

Ellen Whyte

One of the premier blues vocalists in the Northwest, Whyte has sung soul, jazz, rock, funk and even bluegrass. She’s fronted bands for more than 30 years and has received eight Muddy Awards from the Cascade Blues Association, including three for such recordings as “Different Point Of Blue” (1996), “Standing At The Sunrise” (2002) and “Four Way Stop” (2009). Her group was named Best Contemporary Blues Band four times, and Whyte received a Best Female Vocalist award (2000). In 2002, the Cascade Blues Association inducted the Ellen Whyte Band into the Muddy Hall of Fame.

Dave Captein

For more than 35 years, Captein has been one of the most in-demand bass players in Oregon, both for live performances and in the studio. Captein has played with such artists as Nu Shooz, Mel Brown, Rebecca Kilgore and Tom Grant and has appeared with many national jazz legends, including Mose Allison, Joey DeFrancesco, Tal Farlow, Jack Sheldon, Red Holloway and Steve Allen. He’s also appeared on national recordings by Tom Grant and three-time Grammy nominee Jessica Williams.

Brian Foxworth

Known as a go-to drummer, Foxworth is also a talented vocalist, songwriter and arranger. He’s played with many Oregon artists in such genres as rock, gospel, soul, jazz and blues. Currently the drummer for award-winning blues-soul artist Curtis Salgado, Foxworth also plays drums and sings in the Roseland Hunters and What’s Your Pleasure. At this year’s Waterfront Blues Festival, Foxworth was the most active musician at the festival, being called on to play with different local and national artists each day.

Marc Baker

While attending Oregon State University, Baker transformed the campus radio station KBVR-FM into one of the most talked about college radio stations in the country, both as music director and station manager, and host of his show “London Calling.” He also started Alternative Productions, which promoted the first ever Quarterflash show. While at OSU he took the Crazy 8s under his wing as their manager. Baker’s love for music earned him an internship with Warner Brothers Records, but as manager of the 8s, he created a market for the band all across the country and an appearance on “Star Search.” He hosted the KBOO show “Church of NW Music” for 13 years and featured recordings and live performances by many up-and-coming artists, including Everclear, Pink Martini, John Fahey, Kelly Joe Phelps, Chris Newman and Richmond Fontaine.

John Chassaing

At age 12, Chassaing got the music bug and took up drums. At age 18 he became the delivery person for Day Music and later moved to sales and again to store manager. At 29, in 1978, he opened Showcase Music. Beside musical instruments, Showcase was the first in town to specialize in pro-audio and recording equipment. The business also ran a rental division for instruments and sound. In 2014, Chassaing retired and sold the business after close to 50 years, 37 of those years with Showcase Music. During this time, Chassaing helped many up-and-coming musicians who have become household names in Portland as well as nationally and internationally.

In addition to the OMHOF inductions and feting of Storm Large, The Delines will be honored for "Colfax," Album of the Year.

The Delines started as a side project for Willy Vlautin of the Hall of Fame band Richmond Fontaine. The band includes vocalist Amy Boone, who had been a back-up singer for Fontaine, and the group includes Richmond Fontaine drummer Sean Oldman, Jenny Conlee from the Decemberists on keyboards and Tucker Jackson on pedal steel.