Utah Blues

Charlie Boy’s Pit BBQ
By Brother Chunky

The idea of sitting down and playing some down-home blues at a Southern BBQ joint has always appealed to me, but I figured I wouldn’t get to do that, since Utah technically isn’t in the South. But then I heard a rumor that the owner of Charlie Boy’s Pit BBQ (88 West Main, Lehi, Utah) was looking for some musicians to come play on his porch. So I called Charlie Boy to find out more. He said, “stop on by and introduce yourself and have some BBQ, we can talk about it.” I was thinking that his place would be one of those “rustic, yet fancy” looking places with air conditioning and a nice stage, but I was wrong. Charlie Boy’s Pit BBQ is a little shack and some picnic tables (as in the out-doors). You show up, place your order and wait for your name to be called. Charlie Boy is busy cooking the meat and walking around visiting with folks. So, my first visit involved sampling some of the food, chatting with Charlie Boy and enjoying some tunes from a bluegrass group. I told Charlie, “I’d like to play here some time, I’ll call you and set something up.” He said, “how about next Saturday?” I agreed to that before I realized, “uh, I don’t know if I can play for 2-3 hours and I don’t have a PA!”

So, after a week of trying to remember every song I have ever played and trying to figure out a way to amplify my voice and guitar, I headed to Lehi on Saturday night (June 21). I was a bit late (traffic) and we had to locate a 100 feet of extension cord. I ran the vocals and guitar through my old Bogen PA head and a 4×12 speaker cabinet. There is a laid-back vibe there and I felt very comfortable as I started to play. Charlie Boy was doing some brisk business that night and most people seemed to enjoy the tunes. Some children danced around and a few older folks chuckled at a few silly lyrics and comments. I had a great time playing the music I love and eating some TASTY BBQ ribs (my payment). Charlie was happy and invited me back.

I would recommend taking a trip to Charlie Boy’s Pit BBQ to sample his delicious menu. He serves pork ribs (his specialty) on Friday and Saturday nights. For you musician types, Charlie is looking to have live music every night, so if you are interested, go to: www.charlieboyspitbbq.com for more info. When you go, make sure you save room for his homemade “14% butter fat” ice cream- WOW!!