On the Road--Yet Again

Robert Cray, one of the most successful bluesmen still under a million years old, is back on the road in support of his 11th album, “Take Your Shoes Off.”

The Grammy-winning singer and guitarist, along with his veteran band, will be playing tonight at the Ventura Theatre. Opening is local blues singer Mitch Kashmar, longtime front man for that band named for a misspelled car, the Pontiax.

No stranger to traveling, Cray, the son of a career soldier, has been on an endless road trip since 1974. Cray got a big break when he became one of the few blues artists to get a major label deal when he signed with Mercury in 1986. “Strong Persuader,” released that same year, was his breakthrough album.

Cray’s laid-back style and rigorous touring schedule struck a chord with blues fans the world over, resulting in a string of hit albums. He has won five Grammys out of 11 nominations. And along the way, Cray has played with everyone who’s anyone in rock and blues, including Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy and many more.

Last year, after 13 years with Mercury, Cray went shopping and landed with independent Rykodisc. There have been other changes in Cray’s life as well. After starting his career in Seattle, then living in the Bay Area for many years, Cray has relocated to Los Angeles. A gig at the Ventura Theatre should be almost a home game for the man who loves his job.

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“Take Your Shoes Off” is your 11th album--that’s a lot since most bands don’t last longer than one album.

Yeah, that is a lot of albums. We just got out in the beginning and started building up our fan base.

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How did “Strong Persuader” change your life?

In a lot of ways. It introduced us to a lot more people. We were already touring a lot, but it allowed us to become known in other countries. It expanded our fan base, and a lot more people came to know our music.

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Your went from a big label, Mercury, to a smaller label, Rykodisc. Is that a good thing?

It worked out really good for us. When our contract was up with Mercury, we opted out even before the labels’ reorganizations. We were looking for someone who would pay more attention to us. We went shopping and ended up on Rykodisc, a label which is run by music people.

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Has winning a bunch of Grammys changed things for you?

I think for ourselves it means that people in the industry--our peers--are looking at us, plus it allowed us to take our music all over the world.

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What’s it like at that moment on stage when the audience is groovin’ and the band is jammin’?

What’s going on onstage is us just trying to have a good time. To tell you the truth, when we’re playing, I don’t even notice the crowd, but only after the song is over. Right now, things are going pretty good and the crowds have really been over the top lately. A lot of people standing up--it’s been really good.

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How would you describe your music?

Ours is a combination of different things. There’s R & B, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, blues and some jazz mixed up in there.

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What particular problems did you face in the beginning?

There was a whole different set of things. When [the band] started, we were 19 or 20 years old playing B.B. King songs, because that’s what we liked. We were happy if we got a gig in a club. Then we started getting more club gigs, touring more and more, and then someone asked us if we wanted to do a record. We were just always moving. I think it would be a lot harder to start at an older age because of all the obstacles.

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Why did you end up as a guitar player?

I dunno. I just picked up a guitar when I was 12 and never put it down. Back in junior high school, I thought I wanted to be an architect, but I have no idea what I’d be doing now if not for this.

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What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

I think you have to play from your heart, because you love the music. This is a business, but if you treat it like that, you’ll never have any fun.

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What’s the most misunderstood thing about a musician’s lifestyle?

I guess that we sleep all day. I don’t. I get up every morning at 7:30. The best part of the day is actually playing. The rest of the time, we spend traveling to the gig or waiting to play.

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You’ve been a Bay Area guy for a long time, but now you live in L.A. When the Giants come to town, whose side are you on?

Neither. I’m a Mariners fan. I lived in Seattle for a long time, and I like all the teams up there--the Mariners, the Seahawks and the Supersonics.

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So you play the blues, but you clearly ain’t got them.

I love my job.

DETAILS

The Robert Cray Band and the Mitch Kashmar Band at the Ventura Theatre tonight, 8. COST: $30. Call: 653-0721.

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The longest-running beach party in Ventura, the 16th annual Bombay Bar & Grill Beach Party, is a three-day epic that begins tonight and will feature more than a dozen local bands at the popular hangout located just a block from the ocean. And unlike the beach, parking is free at the Bombay.

Bombay has come a long way from the days when the building used to house the Edison Co., then an arcade and then a head shop called the Loading Zone. With a clientele that ranges from ages 21 to 60, the Bombay these days has become one of the premiere venues for local bands, many of whom got this gig in an unusual manner.

“Actually, we met a lot of the band members through karaoke,” said Dominka Pilic, one of the three sisters who run the place. “Members of 8Stops7, Psycho Cafe and Colyzion have all been to karaoke, which we have Monday through Wednesday nights. Plus, all the members in all of the bands know each other. We still love the Ska Daddyz, but people want to see some new music, too. Krave has a great crowd. Colyzion does well, and so does Big Dictator.”

Bombay is large enough to have three different areas for bands--in front, in back and outside on the patio. The three-day wingding starts tonight with regulars Hindsight playing dance music in the front bar and ends Sunday night with Kitty Kat Stew in the back. One of the highlights of the weekend is an appearance tonight at midnight of 8Stops7, who are signed to Reprise Records. They will doubtlessly play tunes from their latest, “In Moderation.”

The lineup looks like this tonight:

9 p.m.: Hindsight

9:15 p.m.: Army of Freshmen

10:15 p.m.: Krave

Midnight: 8Stops7

Saturday:

2 p.m.: Cynthia Manley

4 p.m.: Island Tropic Band & Dancers

7 p.m.: Sun Child

7:30 p.m.: Nosedive

9 p.m.: Hindsight

9 p.m.: Psycho Cafe

10:30 p.m.: Colyzion

Midnight: Big Dictator

Sunday:

1:30 p.m.: Hindsight

2:15 p.m.: Euphoria

4 p.m.: Island Tropic Band & Dancers

6 p.m.: Raw Silk

7 p.m.: This & That

11 p.m.: Kitty Kat Stew

“We sort of inherited the Beach Party when we took over the place, and we expanded it and added more bands so now it’s a big deal,” said Pilic. “We get calls in January asking about the Beach Party. It’s a great chance to see a whole lot of bands.”

While unrelated to this event, but definitely beach-related, the Sick Flick 2000 Tour will debut three new surf videos at Bombay on Wednesday night with some of the proceeds going to the Surfrider Foundation. The videos are “Trinity,” “Digital Daze” and “Envy This.” Loadstar and the Silver Strand-based Ska Daddyz will play. The show costs $8 or $5 with a flyer.

DETAILS

16th annual Bombay Beach Party at the Bombay Bar & Grill, 143 California St., Ventura, tonight through Sunday. Cost: $3 to $7. Call: 643-4404.

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Earth, Wind & Fire will play Tuesday evening at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks. The band has nearly 30 years of material to choose from, which has earned them six Grammys, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and album sales of more than 25 million. Tickets are selling fast, and only single seats are still left.

Early in its career, the band had an outrageous stage show, designed by magician Doug Henning and his then-unknown assistant, David Copperfield. The band members would levitate and disappear from elaborate sets, including Egyptian pyramids and spaceships. These days, the members of Earth, Wind & Fire remain masters of amazingly athletic choreography, but don’t expect any spaceships.

Founding member Maurice White, after three decades on the road, stopped touring with the group in 1994 but still produces and sings on the band’s albums. The other key members, White’s younger brother Verdine, as well as Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson, are still going strong. The older White puts the band in perspective in a quote from the band’s current bio.

“Although we were basically jazz musicians, we played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music, which somehow ended up becoming pop. I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. We were coming out of a decade of experimentation, mind expansion and cosmic awareness, and I wanted our music to convey messages of universal love and harmony without force-feeding listeners spiritual content.”

DETAILS

Earth, Wind & Fire at the Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, Tue., 8 p.m. Cost: $62, $52 or $42. Call: 449-2787.

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Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net.