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>> LOCAL FAVORITES AND BLUES PIONEERS SAFFIRE-THE UPPITY BLUES WOMEN HAVE THEIR FINAL PERFORMANCE AT UMW

October 22, 2009 12:35 am

BY ZACK SMITH

FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR

After 25 years of hard-knockin', no-holds-barred, sassy and unabashedly feminist acoustic-blues performances, Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women soon will be bringing down the curtain on their award-winning career.

The end was actually hinted at several years ago (insert Brett Favre joke here), but Saffire's final performances will be Oct. 30 and 31 playing The Barns at Wolf Trap, and Nov. 7 with a farewell show at the University of Mary Washington's Dodd Auditorium.

The group has been touring relentlessly since the January release of their 10th and final recording, "Havin' The Last Word," a video documenting their career titled "Hot Flash" and the release of their soon-to-be-viral video, "Bald Headed Blues," on YouTube.

As twilight begins to fall on Saffire's musical odyssey, now seems to be a good a time to take a moment and have these soulful sisters of blues reflect on where they have been and where they will be going.

One of the rewards of a music career is a treasure trove of special moments and memories. The best, said singer/guitarist Gaye Adegbalola, speaking from her home in Fredericksburg recently: "I gotta say that among my top memories--and there are a lot of them--would be the first time that we played at the Chicago Blues Festival, which is the world's largest free blues festival. People were as far as the eye could see. We were singing 'Wang Dang Doodle,' and the writer of the song, the inimitable Willie Dixon, joined us onstage. For anyone who is into the blues, Willie Dixon is probably the greatest songwriter ever--it was such an honor."

Andra Faye, bassist and string player for the group, also relished one of the many tours from the last two decades: "I just think of us having a great time in Barcelona, Spain, as my favorite memory. That's at the top of the list of all the great places we have been able to travel--and we've been all over this darn world!"

Some of those memories are not so great. "We were driving through Cleveland and there was a lake-effect ice storm," recalled Ann Rabson, resident barrelhouse pianist. "We skidded off the road--I was sure that we were going to be killed. A semi-truck jackknifed right in front of us."

In fact, all three agreed that one thing they won't miss after the last show is the travel. "It's exhausting," exclaimed Adegbalola. "I have fibromyalgia, and it just really torques my body to travel so much. The other thing I really hate about the road is packing. I never know from day to day what I want to wear."

But despite the difficulties of the touring lifestyle, the band has kept its trademark sense of humor intact.

"We like to joke that we get paid to travel and sleep in crappy hotels and eat crappy food," said Faye.

"We play for free--that's the icing on the cake. You are really getting paid for all the lousy stuff leading up to the gig."

Adegbalola said she'll miss all the laughter once the lights go dark. "When we travel I am with three of the funniest people on earth--Ann, Andra and our road manager, Chris Jones. It's kind of perpetual laughter and I know that I'll miss that, even though we'll be seeing each other around and sharing time with each other."

And there is a lot more that the trio is going to miss. Said Rabson: "I am going to miss the impact we can have on our audiences, the healing that we can do. We recently had a woman in the audience whose husband is very ill with cancer. She was able to get a sitter and come out that night and have a good time. Every show that we do we have people come up to us to tell how we have gotten them through cancer--or death, the loss of a loved one."

While Saffire is hanging things up, the individual members will continue with their various pursuits. Adegbalola said she plans to start with some R&R.

"For a couple of months, I am going to rest. I am going to give my mom more quality time--she's 96. I also plan to have a bit more of a social life. This past year I lost my 18-year relationship, so I want to start dating! I plan to play music, I plan to write music, I am hoping we can do more with Miss A and the Freedom Band, and I have several new songs in the pipeline that need to come out. But virtually, I don't have a clue."

Rabson's plan includes a few solo projects and workshops. "I'm currently working on an instructional video on how to play barrelhouse piano. I've got some 'Blues in the Schools' programs coming up--all kinds of interesting stuff," she said.

Faye doesn't plan on slowing down either. "I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing, which is making music. I also have a side gig teaching music, which is really fun [at Apple Music in Fredericksburg]. I love doing that. I'm going to keep playing--I have a band called Andra Faye and the Mighty Good Men--and I'll also play music with my husband, Chris Jones."

And what will be Saffire's lasting legacy? "Our music," said Adegbalola.

"You can talk about how we are an inspiration to women of a certain age or you can talk about how we have shown people that you can pursue your passion or that you can change careers in mid-path. But I think that ultimately the music is going to speak for us."

Fans are urged to get tickets in advance as all shows are likely to sell out.

Zack Smith is a local freelance writer, musician and educator. Reach him at
Email: barzac@aol.com.