Celebration of Vala

A bunch of Vala’s friends and family gathered on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2006, at JJ’s Blues in San Jose to make music, listen to music and remember Vala. Photos from that event at the bottom of this page.

Vala sang at JJ’s many times and her photograph still hangs on the wall there. New owner Johnnie Perkins let us have the place from noon till 9 and it was was a day full of memories and music for many musicians, friends and family of Vala.

By our count, 36 musicians performed that day. Links to some of their web sites are under the list of MP3s. It’s all the links we have. Send a note to drgone@seriouscondition.com if you are one of the musicians who played that day and have a web site or email address you’d like listed here.

Thanks to Johnnie Perkins for the recordings, and thanks to Aki Kumar for converting them to MP3s. All that we have are now posted on this page.

We may have names misspelled, the wrong musicians listed on some songs and titles of songs wrong. Please, if you have a correction, send it to drgone@seriouscondition.com

“Caldonia”
Dr Gone vocal, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Need Your Love So Bad”
Dr Gone vocal, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Black Dress Boogie/La Grange”
Dr Gone vocal, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Dangerous Mood”
Dr Gone vocal, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Pride and Joy”
Dr Gone vocal, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Dr Feelgood”
Melinda Rios-Foley on vocal, Michael Osborn, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Nightmare Blues”
Melinda Rios-Foley vocal, Michael Osborn, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Aki Kumar on mouth harp, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Walkin’ Blues”
Danny D on vocal and mouth harp, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“Bad Boy”
Danny D on vocal and mouth harp, Tony Lacy-Thompson and Dr Gone on guitars, Dave Lewis on bass, Robert Lacy-Thompson on drums.

“My Woman” and “Yellow Moon”
Bundy Browne on vocal and guitar, Kurt Kieffer on Guitar, Tony Johnson on sax, Dennis Harper on bass, Russ St. John on drums.

“Wise Man Blues”
Bundy Browne on vocal and guitar, Kurt Kieffer on Guitar, Tony Johnson on sax, Dennis Harper on bass, Russ St. John on drums.

“The Dance Continues”
Bundy Browne on vocal and guitar, Kurt Kieffer on Guitar, Tony Johnson on sax, Dennis Harper on bass, Russ St. John on drums.

“Georgia”
Bundy Browne on vocal and guitar, Kurt Kieffer on Guitar, Tony Johnson on sax, Dennis Harper on bass, Russ St. John on drums.

“Dance With Me”
Andy Just on vocal and mouth harp, Michael Osborn on guitar, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums

“Teeny Bit of Your Love”
Andy Just on vocal and mouth harp, Brad Kava on mouth harp, Michael Osborn on guitar, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums

Instrumental?
Andy Just on mouth harp, Michael Osborn on guitar, Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums

“You Know It Ain’t Right”
Michael Osborn on vocal and guitar, Andy Just on mouth harp, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums.

“Black Night”
Paul Durkett on vocal, Michael Osborn on guitar, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums.

“Blue Lonesome”
Paul Durkett on vocal and mouth harp, Michael Osborn on guitar, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums.

“Sloppy Drunk”
Paul Durkett on vocal and mouth harp, Michael Osborn on guitar, Bob Boehm on bass, Dennis Dove on drums.

“Jailhouse Blues”
Sheila Thomas on vocal, Michael Osborn on guitar, Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums

“Treat Her Right”
Ron Estrada on vocal and guitar, Michael Osborn on guitar, Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums

“Honeybee”
Guitar Gypsy on guitar and vocal. Sam Varela on guitar. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

“Funky From Now On”
Guitar Gypsy on guitar and vocal. Sam Varela on guitar. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

“You Got Me Doing”
Qwenston Staten on vocal. Guitar Gypsy and Sam Varela on guitars. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

“Funky From Now On”
Guitar Gypsy on guitar and vocal. Sam Varela on guitar. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

Title unknown
Archie Lee Hooker on vocal. Guitar Gypsy and Sam Varela on guitars. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

“Little Dog”
Archie Lee Hooker on vocal. Guitar Gypsy and Sam Varela on guitars. Nancy Wright on sax, Steve Hazlewood on bass, Bowen Brown on drums.

“I Believe”
John Gaar on guitar and vocal, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Charles Lyons on bass, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“Gonna Love You”
John Gaar on guitar and vocal, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Charles Lyons on bass, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“Shaky Ground”
Charles Lyons on bass and vocal,John Gaar on guitar, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“The Thrill is Gone”
John Gaar on guitar and vocal, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Charles Lyons on bass, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“Teeny Bit of Your Love”
John Gaar on guitar and vocal, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Charles Lyons on bass, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“Six Eggs and a Pint of Vodka”
Lisa Cupp on vocal, John Gaar on guitar, Sugar Glenn Robinson on keys, Charles Lyons on bass, Jerome Tinsley on drums

“Evil-Hearted Me”
Lisa Cupp on vocal, Coco Montoya and Tony Lacy-Thompson on guitars.

“Check Your Oil”
Sneaky Pete on vocal, Coco Montoya and Tony Lacy-Thompson on guitars, Dave Lewis on bass, Dennis Dove on drum.

“Whole Lotta Lovin'”
Coco Montoya on vocal and guitar, Tony Lacy-Thompson on guitar.

Musician web sites

Danny D is at www.jumpinjukes.com

John Gaar is at www.johngaar.com

Coco Montoya is at www.cocomontoya.com

Michael Osborn is at checkerboardrecords.com

Dr Gone & Serious Condition are at seriouscondition.com

 

 

Audio recordings

“One Thing on My Mind” 1990 Vala Cupp
Samples from “One Thing on My Mind”
“Six Eggs and a Pint of Vodka”
“Crawlin’ Kingsnake”

“POON twang” 2003 POON

“Cold Hearted Girl” 1990 Michael Osborn

“A Case for the Blues” 1991 Michael Osborn

“Bathtub Gin” 1993 Bathtub Gin

“Still a Pirate” 1998 Terry Dolan

“The Austin Sessions” 1999 Rebecca Koetting

“Sisters” 1999 Mad River

“Road to Freedom” 2000 The Blues Knights

“From Austin With Love, a JLH Tribute” (unreleased to date), various Artists

“Righteous Fool” 2000 Will Dunlap

Video and DVD

“John Lee Hooker: That’s My Story” 2004

“The Newport Jazz Festival” — PBS ongoing broadcast from 1991

“The Montreux Jazz Festival” — PBS ongoing broadcast from 1991