Too Cool Local Group Joins Forces With Salgado For Sandpoint Jam Fest

One year ago banner blues singer Curtis Salgado showed up unannounced at the Fort Spokane Brewery in Spokane to sit in with Too Slim and the Taildraggers.

Neither the Spokane band nor Salgado had so much as rehearsed together. They just played and that’s why it was one of the best shows at a bar.

It was spontaneous. Salgado was uninhibited, free to growl, bark and wail with his time-toughened vocals and to huff and puff on the harmonica whenever he saw fit.

Too Slim and the Taildraggers gave a splendid raucous tumult, while showing some restraint to give Salgado the spotlight.

The two - Salgado and Too Slim and the Taildraggers - go at it again tonight at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint.

“As far as the blues go, Curtis is probably one of the best singers in the country,” notes guitarist-vocalist Tim “Too Slim” Langford over pizza earlier this week with the rest of the band: drummer John “Midnight” Cage and bassist Tom “The Stomp” Brimm. “But I don’t think he’s been spotlighted in a proper way.

“The last few records that he’s done, I don’t think they showcased his best talents. He’s a great harmonica player and a killer singer of blues.”

Langford believes the Portland thrives best when he’s belting out straightahead, no-frills blues. Which, according to Langford, is the point of his new album.

“I think that’s what he’s needed to do for a long time.

“I’d love to do something with Curtis that’s low-down and stinky. That’s kind of why we do this,” Langford says. “I like playing that kind of stuff. I think it’s a chance to showcase Curtis for what he can really do. Plus, I don’t have to work as hard.”

Too Slim and the Taildraggers could use a break. After all, the band has to work their tails off (excuse the pun) on some 300 nights a year, including 50 weekends, playing blues joints from Seattle to Chicago.

Luckily for their sanity, the band doesn’t have to embark on any Midwest tours for a while. They’ll be playing regional dates for the next couple of weeks.

But the trio won’t be slacking off. They’ve got a busy year ahead. In April, they will enter a Portland studio to record their sixth album and follow up to the shimmering 1995 album “Swamp Opera.” Soon after, the band will shove off to Europe for a two-week whirlwind tour. And this summer, the troupe is already scheduled to appear at eight festivals.

Right now, Too Slim and the Taildraggers is just thinking about recording a good album. Band members say they’ll be expanding the boundaries of the blues just like the last album.

“We’re continuing in that direction,” says Cage. “The new one’s gonna confuse everybody.”

Fans can expect to hear a little Western swing, good ol’ roots rock and perhaps some instrumental surf music, one of many genres the band is adept at writing and playing.

“We have plenty of material for an instrumental record,” says Tim. “I like writing instrumentals. A long time ago, when I first started playing, I didn’t sing, and I’d jam with my friends and play instrumentals.”

Too Slim and the Taildraggers will produce the new record themselves. The band had hoped to ask roots rocker Dave Alvin or Roy Rogers (known for his work with John Lee Hooker) to turn the knobs. Because the band’s label is a small independent, they can only work with a paltry recording budget.

“We’ve thought about guys that it would be cool to do it with. We asked Roy Rogers once if he would be interested and he goes, ‘Oh, you couldn’t afford me,’ ” Langford chuckles.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Curtis Salgado performs with Too Slim and the Taildraggers at 8 tonight at the Panida Theater in Sandpoint. Tickets are $10, available at Java Adagio in Sandpoint and at the box office.