by Chick Cavallero

I can’t think of a time I was following blues in Colorado without Dan Treanor being a huge part of the focus. Dan Treanor has had as eventful a career as anyone could imagine. He is one of the true Colorado blues legends and belongs on any list of the “Founders of Blues in Colorado”. His start on the blues harp was interesting to say the least. He enlisted in the Army during   the Viet Nam War and while serving as an infantryman in the Mekong Delta of ’Nam, he was taught to play the harp by a fellow soldier and musician, Bernie Willer. So at least one good thing came outta Vietnam, and shows the blues can grow from almost anywhere.

That was in 1969 and Dan never put that harp down. "Bernie showed me how to blow that harp and it's been stuck inside me ever since". To read that fascinating story click this link.  Dan has been documenting his time in ‘Nam “Crazyland- A Grunts Memoirs”.  https://highplainsbluessociety.org/files/1280712/misery-whistle-how-the-harmonica-found-me.pdf   

This is just Chapter XVII  and details his introduction to the harmonica. For some fascinating reading check out the rest of Dan’s “Crazyland- A Grunts Memoirs” on Dan’s Facebook page. It’s Dan’s Vietnam years and it’s still a work in progress. Facebook

Returning to the States, he began a lifelong quest to master the art and soul of American Blues. He used his GI Bill to earn a Masters in American History, where he unraveled the truth behind the evolution of the blues - from Africa to America, developing his interest in many of the African instruments that were at the beginning of the music that blues sprang from. 

Dan is considered one of the top harp players in the business. And not just a harp player- Dan has played harp, guitar and dobro on hundreds of 45s, LPs, CDs and even motion picture sound tracks (you can hear his harp in the background on “Dancing With Wolves”). His career has been a sampling of Colorado blues history, playing with every Colorado musician you can think of, as well as national performers like Son Seals, Frankie Lee, Corey Harris, and Bob Margolin to name a few, including a rising young bluesman named Nic Clark who Dan mentored from the beginning as a 12-year-old and has grown into a BMA nominee. He has performed in the IBCs in Memphis making it to the Finals stage in 2013 and taking home 3rd place with “Dan Treanor and Afrosippi featuring Erica Brown”. In 2012 he received the KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE award as an Educator from the Blues Foundation for his work in “Blues In the Schools” (BITS), making Dan one of the few to take home hardware in the IBC and as a KBA recipient. Dan started the CBS BITS program and has reached over 100,000 kids over the years. He also started the Grand County and Austin, Texas BITS programs. Heck, he’s even made a couple 1950s style sci-fi monster movies!!!

How to classify Dan? Bandleader, musician, harp master, songwriter, solo artist, blues educator, producer, African instrument maker…bottom line? He is a BLUESMAN! And you won’t find  better anywhere.

Here’s a few cool videos of a Blues Master in action:

https://youtu.be/EiNFnLlgTG0?si=X1m-TZ9K-GSfZyZG

https://youtu.be/cLp1TPxURiU  with longtime friend musician w/Randall Dubis

https://youtu.be/H5D-WYKurQg    at the 2013 IBC Finals in Memphis

Story and all photos by Tim Van Schmidt

It all started in 1959, when producer Berry Gordy Jr. formed Tamala Records - the first major African American owned record label. In short order, it became Motown Record Corporation and so began a tsunami of irresistible hits that dominated the record charts for years afterwards.

Stop in the Name of Love -Front Line- Phil Donaldson, Carlton Pride, Peaches Embry and Audree Dillard

Flash forward to March 6, 2024 and the power of Motown would turn the Fort Collins Senior Center into a happy dance hall thanks to a super group of Colorado musicians calling themselves the FoCo Motown Revue. 

The event was a musical celebration as part of the extensive five-day Founded in FoCo conference focusing on local entrepreneurship. Honestly, I hadn't even heard of Founded in FoCo, but I saw a poster for the FoCo Motown Revue's show in a local coffee shop and I knew that this would be fun. Not just fun, VERY fun.  

John Magnie on the keys

"Shotgun," "Dancing in the Streets," "Tears of a Clown," "Superstition" and so many other great tunes just kept blasting from the stage at the Senior Center, with a little bit of history thrown in for good measure. And, well, I just couldn't keep my seat. Neither could the rest of the crowd, who were easily coerced into forming a "Soul Train line" and otherwise absorbed the upbeat vibes from the stage.

Laying the beat-Jeff Finlin on the drums and Ian Anderson on Bass while Craig Brunner is blowing some soul 

I recently saw an online article that wondered if the music of rock artists like Joni Mitchell and The Eagles would ever hold a place in the "American Songbook" like the standard tunes of previous generations. I don't know about those artists in particular, but the Motown hits the FoCo Motown Revue cranked out have and will stand the test of time.

The talent was endless-Craig Satterfield bending some string, Hugh Ragin and his horn

All you had to do is look around the room. If attendees weren't dancing, they were singing along as though the music was just a part of their DNA. That's proof positive that Motown music is not just a case of nostalgia, it remains a creative engine that makes the heart pump and the feet move. Thanks to the FoCo Motown Revue for that!

Editors note: Thanks, Tim, for sharing! The Motown Revue is something this group of talented players do extremely well. Last year I caught them at the Juneteenth Celebration in Fort Collins. I am hoping they repeat it this June. if they do be sure to catch it, you will be in for a treat!