By Jack Smeltz
Born to bohemian, Irish parents and raised in Chicago Frank Blinkal (Bang) began playing rock and blues guitar as a youngster in local bands around town.
While his bio says he was in his early 20’s I recall, in conversations over a few bowls of gumbo that Frank said he was underage when he started working at Buddy Guys club, Legends.
I used to make gumbo for the traveling bands that performed in Evl and I’d get to know the guys in the band and learn some interesting stories from the road, a lot which I can’t print.
Frank started sweeping up and eventually worked the door a couple nights a week. During this time Frank started jamming with some of the acts that played at Legends like blues icons, Junior Wells, Otis Rush and Lonnie Brooks absorbing everything he could and working to become a better guitar player.
Eventually Buddy invited him to be his guitar player on the road and he toured with him for five years. During that time, he appeared on stage with the likes of Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton to name a few.
The first time I saw Frank Bang was at Balloons where they’ll be playing, this Saturday, Sept 12 at 1pm. When he whipped out his famous Sawzall cigar box guitar and started playing the slide, I was all in. I used one of those saws for 40 years as a union pipefitter.
Frank has put out four critically acclaimed albums under Frank Bang and the Cook County Kings and Frank Bang and the Secret Stash and has 14 songs in regular rotation on B. B. Kings Bluesville on Sirius radio.
The current iteration of The Secret Stash is Frank on vocals and guitar, Mike Fender on drums and Shaun Oakley on bass. That would be the grandson of Barry Oakley, the original bass player of the Allman Brothers.
This is the caliber of bands that drew me to Evl, in the first place, after I retired. So come on out and grab some lunch and a cocktail and listen to some world class music.