Gay Times February 2015

US R&B/rock & roll band (1974-1986) fronted by Willy DeVille. Passed away august 6 2009 .Though starting out in San Francisco playing gay leatherbars as "Billy de Sade and the Marquis" (Billy being Billy Borsey, Willy DeVille's original name), the band changed its name To Mink DeVille (and Borsey became Willy DeVille) in 1975 and became one of the housebands in the famous NY club CBGB. CBGB was the epicenter of NY punk - and other house bands such as Blondie, Television and Talking Heads got Mink DeVille categorized as part of the punk/new Wave underground to which they never belonged musically…

Blues guitarist Travis Haddix was born on November 26, 1938. A native of Walnut, MS, Haddix was inspired in his early years by B.B. King's broadcasts on WDIA out of Memphis. In Cleveland, OH, where he has lived since 1959, Haddix developed into a fine modern bluesman and songwriter with an original and soulful touch. While he had been developing his chops in front of rowdy audiences at juke joints and blues festivals throughout the '70s, he didn't begin his recording career in earnest until he signed with the Ichiban label in 1988. His stylish and poppy albums Wrong Side Out (1988), Winners Never Quit (1991), and What I Know Right Now (1992), were, incredibly, released while Haddix continued his job as a postal worker in Ohio. As his popularity continued to grow, he began traveling to Europe several times a year and won numerous blues awards in both Europe and the States…