I remember being 5 years old and being impressed by the powerful aura of Memo Gonzalez.
Erkan Özdemir, Kai Strauss and their group „The Bluescasters“ brought him over from Dallas, TX, where he had made a name for himself as a singer, harmonica player and entertainer, in the early 90s to play a 3 week tour all over Europe. A live recording they had cut on the second night was released on bear family and had a great impact in Europe wich prompted more tours and more albums. Memo found a permanent home in Osnabrück becoming an integral part of the local Music-Scene my brother and I grew up in.
Fast forward to around 2013. „The Bluescasters“ had gone through several line-ups, released multiple live and studio albums and had ended with Kais departure from the band. The conclusion to the Bands career came on a high note with the final person tho hold the throne behind the drums being Boyd Small from Portland, Oregon, USA, who also took on some producing duties on the final album „Dynamite“. Around that time Levent and I had started to play our instruments in a semi-serious fashion and got a first taste of touring when we released an EP with local vocal prodigy Alegra Weng als „Alegra & The Özdemirs“. So it wasn’t too far fetched for Erkan to consider a certain synergy by getting Levent and I to join forces with Memo and him. Thomas Feldmann, from the earliest incarnation of „The Bluescasters“ came back for some of these early shows to do some heavy lifting in terms of solos, as I was undoubtedly not ready to carry a high energy show like Memos.
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Over the last few years we had some real good times together. We might have started out as a Bluescasters-cover outfit but swiftly found our own raw and rocking sound. We travelled from Norway to Spain to the Netherlands to Poland. Memo turned from a hero of mine to one of my closest friends. He is a real powerhouse on stage and a sweet but nasty, funny man off stage. I’m blessed, honoured and privileged to have learned my craft from such an intuitive performer and perverted partyanimal!
