The Hudson Blues Band
The Salmon Bay Eagles Club – Seattle, WA
February 9, 2005

I wandered down to the Eagles Club a couple of weeks ago to see the Hudson Blues Band. I don’t remember the last time I saw the Eagles so full of fans and musicians. This was the first time that I had seen the band with their regular lineup in a while: Mike Wylde (harp/vocals), David Hudson (drums), Guy Quintino (bass), Steve Yonck (guitar) and Eric Daw (guitar).

The Hudson Blues Band

The band was sounding good and they pretty much had the dance floor full for most every tune. I dig this band’s rhythm section; David and Guy are sort of Seattle’s Fred Below and Dave Meyers. Guy was playing electric bass at this gig, but he is also a very good acoustic bass player. I used to kid David about how quiet he used to play, but he has punched up his sound quite a bit lately and he and Guy swing like mad.

Eric Daw (left) joined the band recently and I think that this is a good thing – he is a tasty Telecaster player that adds depth to the band’s sound, and he and Steve are adept at playing parts that are complimentary and never sound the same. That’s how we harp players like it!

Front man Mike Wylde (below) did a great job of entertaining the crowd and was blowing some fine harp through a tower of tone that consisted of old Silvertone and Harmony amps (hey Mike, where can I find one of those electric blue suit coats?).

Mike and the band were very generous about letting people sit in, including me and Dave Prez, plus some of the folks from the Broomdust Band also. I had to leave about 11:30, but I’m sure that more cats probably sat in after I left.

Good stuff! The next time these guys are in your neighborhood, turn off the TV and go see ‘em. And tell them that the Playboy sent you.

The Salmon Bay Eagles (206-783-7791) is located at 5216 20th Avenue in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.