Live at SPACE Dave Specter

• 1 Rumba & Tonic (Live) 05:56
• 2 Alley Walk (Live) 05:54
• 3 Homework (Live) 05:08
• 4 Blues From The Inside Out (Live) 07:33
• 5 On Your Way Down (Live) 05:46
• 6 March Through The Darkness (Live) 03:56
• 7 Chicago Style (Live) 05:55
• 8 Same Old Blues (Live) 05:13
• 9 The Stinger (Live) 05:27
• 10 Deep Elem Blues (Live) 06:09
• 11 Bluebird Blues (Live) 07:16
• 12 Ponchatoula Way (Live) 06:54
• 13 Ridin' High (Live) 05:22
• Total Runtime 01:16:29

Info for Live at SPACE

Born in Chicago’s Northwest Side, in 1963, guitarist Dave Specter began to learn to play the guitar at the age of eighteen. His teacher was Steve Freund, who taught Specter between the latter’s duties at the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records. Freund ultimately organized a concert tour for Specter alongside Sam Lay and Hubert Sumlin. Contacts made while working at B.L.U.E.S. nightclub secured gigs as a sideman to Johnny Littlejohn, Son Seals, the Legendary Blues Band, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and Robert Lockwood Jr.. Specter appears on over forty albums as guitarist or producer. By 1989 Specter had organized his own backing band, known as the Bluebirds. By 1998 Specter had released six albums on the Delmark imprint, the first being 1991’s “Bluebird Blues”. His influences were T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell.

Specter has twelve previous albums on Delmark including 2004’s “Is What It Is” recorded with Freund and Barrelhouse Chuck; 2008’s CD/DVD “Live In Chicago” recorded with Jimmy Johnson, Tad Robinson, and Sharon Lewis; and 2014’s “Message In Blue” recorded with Otis Clay. His last studio album was 2019’s “Blues From the Inside Out. In 2021 Delmark released “Six String Soul” a thirty year retrospective. The band on this new album “Live At Space” includes Specter, guitar and vocals; Brother John Kattke, organ, piano, and backing vocals; Rodrigo Mantovani, bass; and Marty Binder, drums. Included are seven originals and six selected covers.

A Rhumba beat opens “Rumba & Tonic”, an original instrumental, with some Hammond organ and piano from Kattke, while the rhythm section lays down the strong founation. “Alley Walk” is another instrumental, this time a walkin’ blues with some blistering guitar. On “Homework” was originally recorded by Otis Rush in 1962, “I must be a fool waistin’ my time going to school, I can’t do my homework anymore…oh, baby, what can I do, I’m going around in circles, what can I do…I can’t do my homework any more”.

“Blues From the Inside Out”, with Kattke on piano, “well tough times can fill your heart with doubt, your livin in a trick bag of trouble, you got blues from the inside out, now you don’t have to drink the moonshine, just pay your dues and play these blues from the inside out”. “On Your Way Down” written by Allen Toussaint and recorded in 1972, “since the beginning it hasn’t changed yet…it’s the same friends you meet on the way up, you’ll see on the way down”. Specter states he was inspired by Mavis Staples when he wrote “March Through the Darkness”, “don’t ever slow down, march through the darkness until you see the light, and in our country let your voice be heard, march through the darkness, march, march into the light”.

“Chicago Style” where ever I go, whenever I travel…from Junior Wells to Buddy Guy to Magic Sam…Chicago style is my thing, it’s the blues and the sound…from the West Side to the south…stay awhile and hear the blues, Chicago style”. “Same Old Blues” originally recorded by Freddie King in 1971 “mornin’ rain…as I sit in my room…it’s the strain of the same old blues, I can’t help but thinkin’ that the sun used to shine on my back door, it’s the strain of those same old blues”. “The Stinger” is another infectious instrumental. “Deep Elem Blues” written by brothers Bob and Joe Shelton and recorded in 1946, featured is Kattke on piano, as Specter sings “when you do down to deep elem, put your money in your shoes, oh lord, sweet mama, you got those deep elem blues…oh lord, sweet mama, your daddy’s got them sweet elem blues”. “Bluebird Blues” was originally recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson in 1937, “bluebird, bluebird, please take this letter down south for me, cause I’m stuck in Chicago, and I’m just as blue as I can be”. “Ponchatoula Way”, “well I’m going to the river, Ponchatoula way, well going down to Mississippi, I’m going down to see my baby, she’ll be so happy I came around…yes I’ll be going down to Ponchatoula way, down in Louisiana where my baby used to stay”. The closer is “Ridin’ High” another instrumental written by Sam Maghet a.k.a. Magic Sam, with Kattke on the Hammond organ.

Dave Specter

Dave Specter has earned an international reputation as one of the premier talents on the Chicago music scene. Since 1985 Specter has performed regularly at top venues and festivals throughout the USA and has toured internationally in 19 countries.

Before forming his own band in 1989, Specter toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe behind such blues greats as Son Seals, The Legendary Blues Band, Hubert Sumlin, Sam Lay and Steve Freund. Specter has also performed and/or recorded with such artists as Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, Jimmy Rogers, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Jimmy Johnson, Jack McDuff, Johnny Adams, Snooky Pryor, Kim Wilson, Tad Robinson, John Primer, Johnny Littlejohn, B.B. Odom, Mighty Joe Young, Magic Slim, Lonnie Brooks, Ronnie Earl, Otis Clay, Floyd McDaniel, Pinetop Perkins and Jorma Kaukonen from Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane.

Dave has performed for the President of the United States, the Governor of Illinois and the Mayor of Chicago.

Dave appears on over 50 albums and DVDs as a guitarist, bandleader and/or producer, with 13 albums as a leader or co-leader on Delmark Records. His double album, Six String Soul 30 Years on Delmark was released in 2021 on CD and vinyl. He’s currently working on mixes for a live album recorded at Evanston SPACE in March of 2024.

Specter’s guitar playing is featured on the 2023 Grammy nominated “Into The Little Blue House” by Wendy and DB, nominated for Best Children’s Music Album.

Specter appears on compilation albums with artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, T-Bone Walker, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana and Mike Bloomfield.

Dave was inducted into The Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2018.

Recently featured in Rolling Stone, Dave’s handwritten song lyrics are on display at The Woody Guthrie Center’s Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom exhibit in Tulsa alongside Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics.

Dave is also partner at one of the Chicago area’s most acclaimed music venues, Evanston SPACE and hosts the podcast, Blues From The Inside Out.

This album contains no booklet.