We’ve all done it…played the bar-game “What’s your favorite movie of all-time?” or “Who’s the best college quarterback of all-time?” and the inevitable “Who is the best guitar player of all- time?”

Possibilities include: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Eddie VanHalen, Carlos, BB or The Edge--maybe even a Steve Vai, Satriani or God-forbid some technical homer tosses out an Yngwie Malmsteen? But no one could have a top ten that didn’t include Hendrix, and somewhere close by, his devoted-disciple Stevie Ray Vaughn. If right here in your own back yard you had a guy that not only played like SRV note-for-note, but more importantly felt like SRV note-for-note, couldn’t he then be described as one of the best ever? Maybe. What I do know is that Casey James scorches up the fret-board of his Strat most nights of the week playing lead for Voodoo Blue right here in North Texas.

Voodoo Blue formed in 2002 (22 years after Stevie’s tragic death) to pay homage to the greatness that is SRV. They have made a cottage-industry out of being an SRV tribute band without succumbing to the copy-cat cheese factor of other so-called “tribute bands.” These guys bring it: Steve Buckner on Bass, Randy Rodriguez on Vocals, Casey James on Guitar and Travis Montoya on Drums. And you can’t forget that behind Stevie was Double Trouble. In VooDoo Blue, Steve and Travis kick out Double Trouble that I’m sure Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton are proud of (not easy rhythm-shoes to fill). And maybe Randy gets tired of singing the same songs over and over, but you can’t tell when he’s on stage channeling the great one, and he doesn’t take his gift for granted.

Not to be the techno-geek that put Yngwie in his top ten, but watching Voodoo Blue, I am struck by the LACK of equipment on stage. Casey plays most nights through a sweet little Egnater 22-watt combo amp, with variable wattage that he usually sets at TWO. Although he does have a cockpit of about thirty pedals he runs through, so the tone is juuust right. Steve plays his bass only through a direct-box, but closing your eyes, you’d swear he had a double stack of 4x12’s, and a thousand watts behind him….who needs roadies?

Casey and Travis also host an entertaining Blues Jam at Dodie’s in Frisco on some Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. Tolbert’s is always on their calendar, as is Dodie’s, and Sambuca Uptown, but on April 17, you can get out and support these hard working local guys at a great venue: Plano Stages. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/texasvoodoo