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tta James calls her “Little Spike,” and
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everyone else calls her the "white Etta
James.” No matter what you call her, don’t
miss her act. Margo Tufo and her fabulous
hand appear every Monday night at Portland’s
Candlelight Café, and she also appears June 15
on the Unity Stage at Portland Pride.
Bom and raised in San Francisco in the
middle of the Haight-Ashbury, Tufo has fond
memories of “laying in the park listening to
Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane” and other rock
’n’ roll greats of the era.
She had begun singing in the church choir,
but, even as a young girl, she had a booming
voice that was considered too low for tradition
al soprano and alto ranges. They wanted her to
sing in a smaller, higher voice to fit in with the
rest of the girls.
Tufo came to believe her natural voice just
wasn’t acceptable. She learned the guitar and
sang a hit, but the real turning point came
when the then-14-year-old went to hear the
Paul Butterfield hand. As she listened, there
came this miraculous sound. A woman’s
voice— low, growling, full and singing the hell
out of the blues. Big Mama Thornton (who
was known for dressing in men’s clothing) let
her know everything was gonna be all right.
So Tufo got herself an electric guitar and
put together a hand.
sufo has always had very eclectic musical
taste. Early on she sang Baez and Dylan hut
was influenced by blues, jazz and R & B.
She did the folk circuit thing for a while
and— it being San Francisco in the early 70s—
played many of the same clubs as Cris
Williamson, Teresa Trull and Linda Tillary.
Around the age of 20 Tufo says she “mar-
One hell of a show
Margo Tufo is back to the business of music
by
L ynn T homas
ried a high school pal and had a kid” while
continuing to play. A little later she gave it all
up for a “34-year-old femme from St. Louis.”
Being a young mother and working clubs until
4 a.m. doesn’t always jibe, so Tufo eased out of
music for a while. She got a job with a phone
company and became the “first female installer
on the planet.”
But the musician’s muse kept knocking, and
she eventually hooked up with Terry Baum,
one of the creators of Dos Lesbos. The pair put
together a musical comedy act called “Baum &
Tufo” and hit the Midwest. They toured for
quite a while on the comedy circuit before end
ing up in Portland.
Tufo loved the area and in 1985 created
the ill-fated Blues Sisters. It was a “lose-lose
situation,” she confides. “Lesbians didn’t want
to hear the blues, and blues clubs didn’t want
lesbians.”
She decided to expand her horizons and re
create her sound by putting together the best
musicians she could find, she says, “regardless
of gender or sexuality.”
Although, she smiles, there’s no mistaking
the fact that she’s a “big oP hutch dyke,” she
believes “music is the melting pot of every
thing. It’s about coming together, not about
separatism.” But, make no mistake, she injects
her songs with the pronouns that are appropri
ate to her life. When she sings a love song, you
know it’s being sung to a woman.
In 1993, while on tour in England with her
all-guy band, the male driver of their van devel
oped a major crush on Tufo. He kept wanting
to get naked. “What part of ‘No thanks, I’m a
lesbian’ don’t you understand F she laughs.
f
T
ufo deliberately hires band players from dif
ferent genres, noting she likes the sound
the meshing of styles creates. They’re
“heavily R & B," she states, “with jazz and
blues on either side.”
The 1993 C D Live at the Candlelight is a
tribute to this decision. A must-have for blues
fans, the recording of Tufo and her complete
ensemble includes a full horn section and was
nominated for the Muddy Waters Award for
Best Blues Album.
Her 1991 album Still Crazy was also nomi
nated for that prestigious award, and the band
was nominated four times in the Best Blues
Band category. Tufo herself was the first recipi
ent of the Muddy Waters Award for Outstand
Margo Tufo belts the blues June 15
ing Female Blues Vocalist in 1991.
at
Portland Pride
The blues dyke contributed to the Portland-
The M argo T upo B and performs at 7.05 p.m.
area music scene for 10 years before burnout
June 15 on the Unity Stage at Portland Pride. It will
sent her packing back to San Francisco. She’s
also he part of the July 4 Waterfront Blues Festival.
just returned to the Rose City after six years
The band appears 9 p.m. to 1 a.m . every Monday
off, which she spent in the Internet industry
at the Candlelight Café, 2052 S.W. Fifth Ave.
and caring for her dying mother.
Now, reunited with some of her old band
LYNN T homas is a Portland-area musician and
members, Tufo is back at the Candlelight where,
free-lance writer.
she says, you can find one “hell of a show.” J H
m
m
r u r
Productions
Present
W in liL i
* - ^ *
PRIDE
THE BEST DANCE
I N TOWN
Saturday, June 15,2002
8pm-1am
21 & Over
Full No-Host Bar & Snacks
$10 Tickets on Sale
@
Bella Casa Realty, Inc.
1523 SE Ankeny~503-231-7355
&
Touchstone Coffeeouse & It’s My Pleasure