Milwaukee

While living in Dallas, Chambers worked for a while as a waiter at a blues club where he also acted as emcee and developed an engaging stage presence. Later, he appeared regularly at blues clubs in many Midwestern cities. His day job was a bus driver but whenever the opportunity arose he would be on stage, singing, occasionally playing drums, and introducing other acts with considerable panache. Although he lived in several other cities, he eventually settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. There, he led his own band, the Blue Birds, and also worked with a band led by Harmonica Tom Schafer. In 1991 he recorded the single, "Mean And Evil Woman", which became a local hit, as did the b-side, "Cleo". These tracks appeared on his sole album, which was completed not long before his death. A cassette was prepared for a launch, which Milwaukee Slim was able to attend even though he was failing in health. The album itself was released two years later…

Asia are an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1981. The most commercially successful lineup was its original, which consisted of four members of different progressive rock bands who had enjoyed great success in the 1970s: lead vocalist and bassist John Wetton (King Crimson, Uriah Heep and U.K.), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes), keyboardist Geoff Downes (Yes and the Buggles) and drummer Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer). Their debut album, Asia, released in 1982, remains their best-selling album and went to number one in several countries. Billboard listed it as the top album in the U.S. in 1982. The lead single from the album, "Heat of the Moment", remains their top charting and best-known song, reaching the top 40 in over a dozen markets. It peaked at #4 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

There are some gigs where, to borrow a phrase, “when it all comes together it is as if the angels descend from heaven on their silver clouds and play their golden trumpets”, and there are others where such heavenly ambitions remain elusively out of reach. The band sound tired and irritable on the 12th date of their last tour together.