Rynn, James, Stone brings blues to Maumee
Written by Gail Burkhardt | | news@toledofreepress.comWhile perusing UT’s bookstore before classes years ago, Toledo-native Patrick Rynn happened to pick up a blues tape.
Listening to that tape has greatly influenced Rynn’s life.
“I knew, ‘Wow this is what I’m going to do,’” said Rynn, who has been traveling around the world playing blues music professionally for more than 20 years.
Chris James and Patrick Rynn
Rynn and his band mates will come to the Toledo area Aug. 6 to play a show at Maumee Indoor Theater at 8 p.m. Local blues artist Dan “Mudfoot” Hubbs will open for the group.
Rynn, who graduated from Bowsher High School and UT, normally plays bass alongside guitarist and singer Chris James. Singer and harmonica player Rob Stone will also join them for the Maumee concert.
Stone is based in Chicago while Rynn and James live in San Diego. Stone, Rynn and James all played together with famous blues drummer and singer Sam Lay.
“It’s a special occasion when we all get together … It’s always nice but we don’t get to do it very often, only a couple times a year,” Stone said.
All three featured players have interesting stories on how they got involved in the blues.
After listening to that blues tape in college, Rynn joined the well-known Toledo blues group The Griswolds first playing the harmonica then the bass. Throughout it all, Rynn was studying to enter the health field.
“It ended up turning into a lifestyle or a career. It was not planned not what I was planning on doing,” he said of his music career.
James, on the other hand, knew that he wanted to be a musician at the age of 10 and began playing professionally at 13. Similar to Rynn, James became interested in the blues while listening to a recording.
“My stepdad introduced me to blues music when I was 10 years old. After hearing this music I decided that I wanted to be a musician and this was what I wanted to play,” James said.
James began playing harmonica with a band around his hometown of San Diego. Because he was only 13, his band mates had to look after him, he said.
“The guys I played with had to be my chaperones and guardians, I was playing in bars,” James said.
Stone also became hooked on the blues when he was young. He once snuck into a bar to hear the great harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite and bought his first harmonica the next day, he said.
Still, he went to college in Colorado to study English, and it was in Colorado that his music career began. There, he met Sam Lay and James and Rynn, he said.
All three musicians have traveled around the U.S. — including to Toledo — and the world, playing to a variety of audiences. In blues, the audience size can vary from 200 people to thousands, Stone said.
The Aug. 6 concert in Maumee will have about 500 seats available.
“A small theater is a great place to see blues. It’s going to be pretty intimate and you get the full benefit of the stage show,” Stone said.
Tickets are available at the door or online at chrisjamesandpatrickrynn.com.
Tags: Maumee Indoor Theater
