Named after the Rufus Thomas song, Blues in the Basement was an acoustic blues and R&B revue staged at The Substation from 1998 to mid-1999. It wasn't exactly Johnny Otis, but it did establish an alternative blues platform in Singapore. With Blues in the Basement, we wanted to get back to the fundamentals of the music by using an acoustic format; it was a chance to stretch out beyond the usual blues standards and pay tribute to guys like Rice Miller, Reverend Gary Davis, and Tampa Red -- musicians whose work has been long overlooked by Singaporean blues players.

As the revue progressed, it became closely associated with two very talented musicians: Singaporean harmonica player Kelvin "Smokey" Ng (who performed in every show) and Malaysian Piedmont guitarist Gerry Nelson. Kelvin's versatile harp work was a constant Basement highlight, and we eventually lifted our "acoustic only" restriction so that he could give the crowd a taste of that fat, (Big and Little) Walter-inspired, amplified harp tone. (Singaporeans don't get to hear much blues harp in the first place, so I don't regret selling out to electricity.) But Kelvin can also kick back and play the traditional Delta stuff; he's a faithful disciple of both Sonny Boy Williamsons, and probably nothing ever topped his solo acoustic performance (just harp and vocals) of Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying" at Blues in the Basement 6.

Gerry Nelson represents possibly the only living practitioner of Piedmont blues in Singapore. After picking up the rudiments of fingerstyle blues from a busker in Oxford (that's what grad school is for), Gerry moved to Singapore and was lured to play a solo slot in BIB 4. (He opened his set with Scott Joplin's "Entertainer" arranged for solo guitar). Gerry dutifully stuck around for two more shows, and over that time earned the nickname "Blind Man Gerry" for his habit of dipping into the repertoires of Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Gary Davis, and Blind Blake.

Blues in the Basement ventured into R&B territory when we landed our first diva, American vocalist Vanessa "Lemon" Lemonides, for the second show. Backed by Skunk Jive, Ms. Lemon dusted off classics like "Today I Sing the Blues," "Gimme a Pig Foot," and "Chain of Fools." The diva chair later passed to Raquel "Roxie" Milhouse (who offered takes on songs by Diana Krall and Nina Simone) and finally Usha Jeyarajah (who sang hits by Etta James and Dinah Washington at BIB 6). Rearranging a big-band R&B ballad for two acoustic guitars and harp was a long and bizarre process, and that necessity to reinvent the material was a key element of the revue's character. Nobody wanted to pull off just another cover tune.

The last Blues in Basement show (July 18, 1999) was an "oldies" tribute to Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Dinah Washington. You can't wrap it up any better than Smokey Ng singing Sonny Boy's "Bring It One Home," so that's what we did.

Many thanks to The Substation for opening the door. The art-house blues scene will never be the same.