Music

Band

Val, Al, and Bob

Valerie Johnson, an earthy lady with unearthly silk and steel vocal cords, who, with brilliant, innovative support from Al B. Blue, makes music that walks right into your heart and shakes hands with your soul. Born in the Bay Area, Valerie spent eight years polishing her voice as she toured Europe with the Bitburg Gospel Messengers and sang gospel and blues in the Far East. She also sang lead for the band that was made famous with Janis Joplin - Big Brother and the Holding Company. Often compared to Etta James and Janis Joplin, Valerie is a genuinely original talent with a direct line into the spirit of the blues. She has also sang with the Award winning Blues/Gospel groups the Holmes Brothers and Boogie Woogie Piano Queen Deanna Bogart.

Al B. Blue dishes up hypnotic, funky, driving rhythms on his guitar. Watch out when he pulls out that dobro with his slide. The wondrous sounds will stop you in your tracks. Al B. Blue also a classically trained pianist, and formed a street corner doo-wop group in Camden, N.J.. He and his buds where crooning on the corner for girls. After coming out to California, he picked up the guitar, paid his dues and then started playing major clubs in Los Angeles. Shortly after, he joined Big Black & the Congregation, an Afro-funk band, then toured the West Coast with Curtis Mayfield. Later, he was offered a position playing with a blues band touring the "Chitlin' Circuit". That's where his blues began and let me tell you - It will never end!!! Yea!!!

Bob Brenman began playing the clarinet when he was 8, and the sax a few years later. He led a dance band in high school, a jazz combo in college, and while living in Eureka, California, played Dixieland Jazz and "oldies" rock and roll for more than 25 years. Since moving to San Luis Obispo 10 years ago, Bob has played jazz with The Nighthawks, and swing with The Viper Six, as well as occasional blues with Valerie Johnson. In order to sustain himself, he is also a physician....on the side.


Dj's

Cat Cooper
San Luis Obispo, CA

Cat began dancing both Lindy Hop and Blues in 2007 and began DJing blues in 2008 as a way to give back to her scene. She loves how dancing provides the chance to express individuality in every movement and enjoys the spirit and energy that often accompanies her favorite music. When she DJ's blues, she constantly looks for music that inspires the dancers to have fun all night long. She was one of the head DJs at the weekly blues venue Drop Dead Blues in San Luis Obispo and has been seen rocking out in San Luis Obispo workshops, the San Luis Obispo Lindy Exchange, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. She looks forward to DJing every chance she gets because she loves discovering new ways to keep the dancers from sitting down (and as a result she is usually dancing in her seat behind her computer, so don't be afraid to ask her to dance!).


Alex Westfall
San Luis Obispo, CA

Alex's enthusiasm for dancing began with Lindy Hop and quickly extended to Blues in San Luis Obispo during his freshman year at Cal Poly. His love for the dancing community brought him into the Cal Poly Swing Club, where he presided as blues officer for three years. Shortly after taking up the position, he cut his teeth at the weekly blues venue, Drop Dead Blues. He has had the good fortune to DJ in several major cities across California. Save him a dance--he'll see you on the floor!




Whitton Frank
Los Angeles, CA

Whitton started dancing at the tender age of eight, when she was enrolled in a ballet class. As the years progressed so did her love of dance. Whitton is originally from breezy San Francisco, where she learned vintage ballroom, but learned to Swing and Blues dance at college in Pittsburgh, PA. She got her start Djing blues at some of the late night house parties in Pittsburgh and then moved onto events like End of the Month Blues and Saturday Late Night Blues. t has been her goal to bring a little bit of the Pittsburgh Dirty Blues to California. She loves both classical and contemporary blues music and artists and tries to reflect that when she DJs. She has also DJed contemporary ballroom music at various venues in San Francisco like Friday Night Waltz. She was invited to be the house DJ at LA's monthly blues venue DoSomethingBlue two years ago. She has spun in cities all over the states including all around LA, Hawaii, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Humboldt, San Diego, Seattle, Denver, Austin, Portland, and Boston. Recent events include, Dance Dance Resolution and The San Francisco Fusion Exchange.



Erik Pebbles
San Francisco, CA

Erika "Pebbles" Schmidt first found social swing dancing in her native Texas in 2005 at Texas A&M University, and quickly became addicted to Lindy and Blues. Combining her love of dance with her love of travel, she's managed (somehow) to dance her way across Scotland, England, Germany, Canada and almost all the States. When she first moved to Scotland in 2009, she experienced the joy of helping encourage others to feel the blues, and began to dj and teach Lindy and Blues with Zoot Swing in Edinburgh. Currently living a double life as a law student in San Francisco, she loves to play music that challenges and excites dancers. Known for her randomly colored hair and propensity to shout "Hot!" when someone is cutting up the dance floor (looking at you, Cat Cooper), she is always looking for that next dance high. Save her a dance!