Slidin' Clyde Roulette Band
Slidin' Clyde Roulette Band
Genres: rhythm and blues, blues
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About Slidin' Clyde Roulette Band
Clyde Roulette's roots are in Manitoba where he was first inspired to play music. He is an Ojibway Indian and when asked where he's from he describes himself as being from the Sandy Bay and Long Plain Indian Reserves, where he honors his Mother's and Father's origins. He was born on May 1, 1956 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and grew up in Winnipeg. Clyde has also lived in Toronto, Saskatoon, Vancouver and Memphis Tennessee and has played professionally for the past 36 years. Around Winnipeg he is known as "Slidin Clyde", a name given to him by local bluesman Big Dave McLean. He started out as a drummer in a rock group from St. James called Hatches Mill led by two brothers; singer Les and percussionist Wayne Marlow. He switched from drums to guitar "there was too much to carry and with the guitar it was just amp and guitar and away you go". His first gig as a guitar player he said to himself "if my first solo goes well I won't have any problems and if it goes bad, well..." Well, he's still here! The seventies and eighties saw Clyde develop his ability to cross cultural and musical boundaries starting as a blues guitarist and crossing paths with Winnipeg's finest forming a trio with harmonica great Gord Kidder and upright bass player Barry Dunford (pre Houndog). He also performed with local guitar greats Brent Parkin, Colin James and Terry Barnett. Clyde was also in a band called Black Betty with Gary Preston and Big Dave McLean. At age seventeen he performed with Willie Mabon who wrote I Don't Know which was recorded by The Blues Brothers and James Cotton. Later he would perform and jam with Lazy Bill Lucas (who played piano for Little Walter and Howling Wolf), Carey Bell (harmonica player for Muddy Waters), Gene Taylor (piano player for The Thunderbirds) Frank Frost (learned to play harp from Sonny Boy Williamson), Ken Hamm (Canada's Bluesman), Donnie Walsh "Mr. Downchild" and also with Gary Preston opening for Otis Rush and again with Gary Preston on the same bill with Dickie Betts and Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Beaver Dam Festival in 1986. Clyde also has an equally impressive country resume. He joined a country rock band (Cage) with some friends and with ticket in hand, he was about to leave for Vancouver when he bumped into old friend and guitarist Hank Bossat at the bus depot. Hank invited him to sit in with the band before he left and catch the last bus. That was his introduction to Main Street and the Savoy Hotel at the corner of Main and Higgins. It rocked! He didn't leave and he was in that house band for two years. He met every aboriginal and non aboriginal musician such as Percy Tuesday and his brother Martin, guitarist Billy Joe Green was also in the group at one point and many others. Then the phone rang one day and Errol (C-Weed) Ranville said "we need someone who can play blues and southern blues". Having already established himself as a blues guitarist Clyde grew up also listening to blue grass and country music so he said "I'm your man!" For four years Clyde traveled practically every province and covered the rest with other groups. He met, played and jammed with originators of Canadian country music like Dick Damron, Dallas Harms, Orville Prophet, bluegrass banjo great Gene Bretecher, fiddle great Stan Winistock, former Lenny Breau bass player, studio great and steel guitar whiz Ronnie Halderson, Terry O'Reilly and his band Harvest. He also played with Buddy Knox, local country singers Len Henry, Al Desjarlis, Ernest Monias, Donna Henry, Rhonda Hart, Robbie Brass and Red Wine, Billy Simard, and The Contraband with Jimmy Blease. Clyde recorded with bass player Jim Kale (The Guess Who) on Evangeline and appeared with singer guitarist Donnie McDougall (The Guess Who) and Rocking Horse on the Jimmy King Show. He also played guitar with Jeff Cook from the group Alabama in Brandon, Manitoba. Then with Local Manitoba boys The Mike Malcolm Band opened for Doug Sham and the Texas Tornados and Amos Garret in Beauvall Saskatchewan, and met every musician and played every bar, club, arena and party in those years. Clyde also lived and played with a talented aboriginal group called Rainbow Rider from Saskatoon again traveling the provinces meeting more musicians. He had already developed a reputation as a fiery guitarist and Alvin Musqaw founder of Rainbow Rider said "the best guitar trade off I've seen was with Clyde and Red Volgar (Merle Haggard guitarist)." Clyde has jammed with Matt Guitar Murphy (The Blues Brothers and James Cotton) at the old King Eddy in Calgary where Matt dubbed him "Brother Roulette". Rainbow Rider was then joined by Vern Cheechoo and the group traveled more and more until they eventually went their separate ways. After another short stint in Winnipeg it was off to Toronto where Clyde played Grossman's Tavern, The Black Swan on Danforth and Chicago's on Queens with groups like Steven C and the Red Rockets and a mohawk cat named Ernest Lee. Later he sat in at Jeff Healy's club, Harbourfront Festival and other aboriginal festivals north and south of the border and appeared with other aboriginal artists such as Buffy St. Marie. When people ask Clyde who the best harmonica player he's ever heard Clyde will say, "well I grew up with him, it's my older brother Maurice, and I've played with some great ones; Gord Kidder, Carey Bell, Mel Reimer, Murray Porter, Pappy John Band, John Trudell, Redbone, Keith Secola, Floyd Westerman, Charlie Hill, Gary Farmer, Williams and Reye in Hartford Conneticet, Millwaukee, Wisconsin and many others." By the end of the 1980's, Clyde moved west to Vancouver, his first appearance was at the Yale Hotel as part of the "blues new artist series". That year, Clyde was awarded "Best Blues Guitarist of 1990", then played The Yale Hotel, "Home of the Blues in Vancouver" as a featured artist in his own right. While in Vancouver, Clyde played with Tom and Jack Lavin from Powder Blues, Russell Jackson (former bass player for B.B. King), sax player Joe Houston, Jim Burns, from Waco Texas, singer Frankie Lee (sang for Albert Collins), Michael Coleman (guitarist for James Cotton), King Ernest from Los Angelos and the Helen Dugauy Band. Clyde has also had the cream of the crop as band mates. Drummers such as Matt Frenette (Loverboy, Kim Mitchell, Streetheart, etc.), Darrel Maze (Colin James, John Baldry) Jerry Adolph (Chilliwack); keyboards Mike Kalanj (Chris Isaac, Jim Burns, Powder Blues). He has recorded with Kenny" Blues Boss" Wayne (Blues Boss Boogie), where the Clyde Roulette Band backed Shuggie Otis, which was also Juno nominated and again met every musician in those parts. Since then he has covered the continent from Los Angeles, to Inuvik, Florida, to Sept-Ilse, Quebec and all points in between. By the late 1990's Clyde and brother Gary moved south to Memphis, Tennessee where they played on world famous Beale Street but also played some country when they first arrived. They were living just outside of Memphis in a beautiful town called Millington, Tennessee, where Clyde got a gig in the house band in the Strand Theater with Billy Owen and his All American Band. Clyde and Gary had grown up playing the blues, so they headed for Beale Street and got a house gig at Willie Mitchell's Legends. They played B.B. Kings, as the Roulette Brothers, then joined The Bluesmasters who Clyde played the Memphis Pyramid with backing Stacie Marino, opening for Bobby Womack. The Roulette Brothers also had a house gig in W.C. Handy's Blues Hall on Beale Street. Clyde also had house gigs with the Hollywood Allstars and Mr. guitar Ben Wilson in Wild Bill's and other clubs and was one of original members of the Bluesmasters Band which included on vocals the one and only Miss Nicki, one of Memphis' finest vocalists and live performers Mr. Chris McDaniels, on keyboards Mr. Jessie Dodson (played for Albert King, Al Green, Shirley Brown, Little Milton), sax player Charles Campbell (played for Albert King and the incredible Johnnie Taylor). With the original Bluesmasters, on guitar and vocals Mr. James Bonner (one half of the Bonner Brothers with his brother Harold), on drums Mr. Ralo Brown Sr. (he delivers the goods), on guitar and vocals Clyde and finally founder and good friend on bass guitar Mr. Johnny Causly. Also on guitar Kenny Ray (played guitar on Dorothy Moores Misty Blue) and Lawrence (played guitar with Shirley Brown and many other Groups). The Bluesmasters were also the house band in The Hard Luck Cafe on Third and Mclemore. Third being blues Highway he misses his good friends. Other groups were Miss Brown Sugar in W C. Handy Park also backed Mack Rice (wrote Mustang Sally) there. He played with Mr. Bill "Dr. Thrill Good" Coday, a smokin' soul and blues singer named "Bugga Blues" Brown and another dynamic blues singer named The Preacher Man. Truly one of Stax Records' last biggest artists and true Memphis royalty singer Mr J. Blackfoot, a real honor Leroy Hodge (Al Green's bass player). Clyde also played Jackson Tennessee with Big Joe Turner (bass player for B.B. King Albert King and Little Milton) another honor and singer Marino Choice and Little Howling Wolf (son of Howling Wolf), and he just dug Wordy and the Fieldstones one of Memphis Tennesse's original blues bands and so many others and like the other places met every musician! What can you say he loves it!! Seabird Island Jazz Festival states, "Clyde stands on his own as a Blues artist and accomplished guitarist, an Aboriginal combination of Muddy Waters and Chet Atkins". He can play the most moving Delta Blues, the Funkiest Memphis groove, flat pick the Orange Blossom Special, then ride the slide guitar, "all" Clyde Roulette style. He is the driving force behind all his projects, whether it be television, radio, band leader or session musician. For example, recording one session with musicians Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne and Shuggie Otis, son of Johnny Otis of "Willy and the Hand Jive" fame, Clyde's history is one of dedication and hard work and takes pride in being true to the art form.
Taken from Last.fm
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