My trip to Memphis for the 2005 IBC  
A warm February day was waking up as I joined the morning throng on my way to Melbourne Airport.
But even after the 20 odd hours of travelling, landing in Atlanta, Georgia after an ice storm had passed was a bizarre difference!
I was excited and a little nervous about the road ahead, although on another level I was already way ahead. Winning the MBAS Blues Performer of the Year title and being 'sent' to Memphis was a win-win situation for me, no matter the outcome from here!
'Queen of the Blues', Fiona Boyes was flying out of Atlanta within an hour of my flight, so she and Steve Clarke met me at the airport. Some of the Melbourne blues fraternity have spent time in Atlanta, and we now have friends in the Atlanta Blues Society, so Steve and I had accom for the night. We went down to local club 'Darwins' for a drink and a jam with local boy Mike Lowery. Great young guitar player.
Memphis is about a six hour drive from Atlanta, and Steve and I caught a ride up there, you get to see the 'South' up close while driving, and stopping in Alabama at the Waffle Hut, I got to see and hear the locals.
We arrived in Memphis just in time to check in and to go to orientation, there is a huge crowd at orientation and Steve has his own duties to attend, so I am on my own now. Every one is excited about being in Memphis, and it ain't hard to make friends when you're from Australia. People are still intrigued by our laid back attitude.
There is no time between orientation and the start of the IBC, Beale Street is buzzing, every venue is hosting band or solo/duo heats. I am playing at the 'Pig on Beale' and I arrive way ahead of time to check in and get a seat.
There are five venues hosting the solo/duo section with about nine acts appearing at each venue. I am on third this particular night, so I can't even get a solid gauge of what to expect before I play.
I get up and do my thing, actually it is a little quiet for my show, but I realise that all the acts from the USA have brought their own cheer squad, and I am a bit of a maverick. I have no real idea what reaction I got until the second night. I appear later, and ten minutes before I begin, people start flooding into the already busy venue. it seems there is a lot of street talk during the day, and I have made a strong impression.
The second night is noisy, I have newly aquainted friends in the audience and they get right on board with me. I play all blues (the new set times are 30 minutes in the heats now) and end with my T-Bone thang. I finish the song and drop into a split. it is a show stopper and the crowd is into it!
I sell a bunch of CD's, even to the judges, which makes me quietly confident. I head out to party on with my new buddy Mikey Junior, a fantastic harmonica player from Jersey who looks splendid in his zoot suit, me in my pin stripes. He and I have a pocket full of business cards and we hand them out freely to the crowd at BB King's place.
Being a two pot screamer I stay out late watching 'Bruiser & The Virtues' a band after my own heart doing T-Bone and Louis Jordan stuff. I miss the fact that I won my heat until I stumble into the hotel.
The final is the following afternoon, a much bigger crowd at the Centre for Southern Folklore on Main Street. The first act up is a New Orleans piano stylist named Scott Miller. Scott is good, real good, and the acts that follow are all of a high standard. I remind myself to relax and breath before I step onto the stage, I do my thing and receive a huge reaction, but the judges have their own criteria and who know what they are looking for.
Before the end of the finals, people want to chat with me, and all previous MBAS competitors are remembered with high praise. One guy tells me he never buys CD's but when he saw Ash play he just had to have one. Naturally they all know Fiona and Collards and Achison, I realise the MBAS has quite the reputation in Memphis!
Jay Sieleman from the Blues Foundation gets up for a closing speech and to announce the winner. It's a weird thing to hope to win but not want to feel selfish at the same time. Jay announces ... "the winner of the 2005 International Blues Challenge is ... Jimi Hocking". The place erupts into applause.
With strange disbelief I take to the stage to accept the honour, I feel I have really reached a milestone and if it were not for the fact that I am a chatter box I may have been speechless. I wasn't though!
Heading back to the hotel, people want to have their picture taken with me in the street I am instantly a minor celebrity. Later that night, I sit in with ex-Muddy Waters sideman Bob Margolin and his band at the Rum Boogie café. People are impressed that I can play acoustic AND electric guitar ... Woah!!
When the festival finishes Memphis returns to its quiet self, I hang around a few more days to check out Sun Studios and Stax, and the Gibson factory. I even bought a red pin stripe suit.
After a stop off in Clarkesdale where I caught a ride with another new buddy Cedric Burnside, I wind up back in Atlanta where I do some shows and play with local legends 'Delta Moon'. Really a favorite of mine, great people, twin slide guitars, rhythm section and spunky singer.
Finally, before I leave the USA, I sit in with 'King Johnson' who play complicated arrangements in a funky Jazz Blues vein. Suddenly, I'm glad I did some practise when I was younger, and I get a big nod of approval from the band afterwards. Their agent Nancy admits that it's pretty rare for someone to be game enough to sit in!
I had such a great trip, and wish sincerely to thank Sonia and all the gang at the MBAS for making it possible for me. Big thanks to PBS FM and to my support network here in Australia, Black Market Music, Hugo T Armstrong and all the folks who sent me email and good vibes.

Thanks also to the folks in the USA who helped out also ... Nancy & Rob, Chelsea & Suzanne, Mark and the Atlanta Blues Society.
My sister picked me up from Tullamarine, and we headed over to Dad's who had a banner made for my return - 'Jimi Hocking. King of the Blues'!
www.mikeloweryband.com
www.mikeyjunior.com
www.bruiserandthevirtues.com
www.scottiemiller.com
www.deltamoon.com
© Jimi Hocking 2005