Catching up: Red Devils Pinkpop podcast; Lester Butler in OOR

Before we launch into a busy new year, here are a couple of quick items you might have missed toward the end of 2021.

Photographer Bert Lek’s classic pictures of Lester Butler and Paul Size at Moulin 1993

Photographer Bert Lek shares his classic performance photos of Lester Butler and Paul Size during The Red Devils’ incendiary set at the 1993 Moulin Blues Festival.

King Ernest rides with Lester Butler on 1997’s ‘Black Bag Blues’

Lester Butler contributed the song “Black Bag Blues,” and his distinctive harmonica playing, to California soul singer King Ernest’s 1997 release “King of Hearts.”

Red Devils show ’em in Missouri in 1992

The Red Devils played several shows in Missouri in 1992, including two at The Regency Showcase in Springfield, Mo. Their first date was Aug. 22, 1992, according to an “Early Warning” brief in the Aug. 13, 1992, Springfield News-Leader. The band’s next show at the Regency would be just a month and a half later,Continue reading “Red Devils show ’em in Missouri in 1992”

Red Devils play essential set on ‘2 Meter Sessies’ (1993)

At the top of their game, The Red Devils performed its essential “2 Meter Sessies” set during its European tour in May 1993.

The legend of the Kid Ramos/Lester Butler ‘hard-edge blues unit’ Snake Snake

“My idea was … a raw, hard-edge blues unit,” Kid Ramos tells nofightin.com about 1997’s mythical supergroup Snake Snake, fronted by Lester Butler.

Groanin’ Lester Butler onstage in 1996

If you lived around LA in 1996, there were plenty of chances to catch “Groanin’ Lester Butler” snoozing the blues at Jack’s Sugar Shack, Blue Cafe, the House of Blues, and many other haunts.