Bluesman to cook up concert, food for homeless

Bill 'Sauce Boss' Wharton is known for cooking on stage as he plays. He started the routine to promote his hot sauce in 1990. NOT BLADE PHOTO Enlarge

It is easy to write off Florida swamp-blues guitarist Bill "Sauce Boss" Wharton as a novelty act, a guy who 20 years ago came up with a shtick to sell albums and make a name for himself.

Easy, yes. But unfair.

Two things become obvious when listening to him talk: One, he's as serious about gumbo as he is about the blues. And two, he has a big heart.

Mr. Wharton, whose repertoire of concurrently making music and food was featured in the 1999 Jimmy Buffett song "I Will Play for Gumbo," has an especially soft spot for people displaced from their homes because of the economy, a natural disaster, or some other reason.

He comes close to tears when talking about what he's gotten out of entertaining the homeless, saying people would be better off if they cast aside stereotypes, broke down barriers, looked each other in the eye, and extended a helping hand without judgment.

"I have this feeling of service. I have found a niche where I can do things for people and I can feel really, really good about it. I'm doing my life's work. Anybody who does their life work for those less fortunate knows what I'm talking about," Mr. Wharton said. "It's kind of like tithing at church. It's giving back to the community."

Like athletes, musicians are an at-risk group. Although many are down to earth, some lose sight of their roots and fall victim to egos, arrogance, self-indulgence, and idol-worshipping as they attain success.

Mr. Wharton said he wants none of that. He said he shuns "that whole extravagant rock star lifestyle that a lot of people wish they had."

"I'm wireless. I'm in the audience during my shows," he said, offering it as a sign of how he enjoys mingling with the crowd.

Mr. Wharton has received raves on the Web site CD Baby for the 11 albums he has released. His latest, "Hot 'N Heavy," came out last month.

He is known for cooking on stage as he plays, a routine he started in 1990 while promoting a hot sauce he makes.

Most of his songs revolve around food - hence the Sauce Boss moniker, the chef uniform, the ladle, and the cooking pot.

In the fall of 2002, his act evolved into a routine of cooking 300 meals for homeless residents prior to his gigs.

That's something he'll do from 4 to 5 p.m. today at the Cherry Street Mission's Madison Food Service and Community Building, 1919

Madison Ave., one day before his paid gig at the Wild Hog Saloon, 1260 Alexis Rd. Tickets for the latter at 8 p.m. tomorrow cost $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

His appearances are sponsored by the Toledo-based Black Swamp Blues Society.

The society's president, LaVonne Kujawa, said she learned about Mr. Wharton from his 2009 appearance at the annual blues festival in Monroe sponsored by the Monroe County Library System.

She said she loved his slide guitar, and his showmanship - the humor he injected about his gumbo and the way he occasionally stuck out his tongue.

"It's just nice, clean entertainment," Ms. Kujawa said.

She compared Mr. Wharton to Toledo's own Pat Lewandowski, a local bluesman and survey crew chief for Lewandowski Engineers. Mr. Lewandowski likewise has donated considerable time to the homeless since at least 1990.

Mr. Lewandowski, fittingly, will open Friday night's Sauce Boss show with local bluesman Danny Pratt.

Dan Rogers, Cherry Street's president and chief executive officer, said Mr. Wharton's devotion to the homeless helps humanize the issue.

"Homelessness can be viewed as a topic and not as a human issue. What Sauce Boss does is put a face on it," Mr. Rogers said. "For us, man, it just means the world."

Mr. Wharton's cooking has been more than a conversation piece. Through his nonprofit group, Planet Gumbo, he figures he has served more than 165,000 meals free of charge.

"I've never been a rich person. I've never been without a home. I've always had something to eat. But whenever I've seen people down on their luck, I've never looked down on them," Mr. Wharton said. "I just see so much of this [poverty] in a country that is so wealthy. It just makes me feel we should all do something."

Bill "Sauce Boss" Wharton performs at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Wild Hog Saloon, 1260 Alexis Rd., with special guests Pat Lewandowski and Danny Pratt opening. Tickets are $12 in advance from the Black Swamp Blues Society, and $15 at the door. Mr. Wharton also will serve gumbo to clients of the Cherry Street Mission at a special performance he is giving them at 4 p.m. today.

Information about Planet Gumbo, Mr. Wharton's nonprofit group for feeding the homeless, can be found at planetgumbo.org. His Sauce Boss site is at sauceboss.com.

Contact Tom Henry at:

thenry@theblade.com

or 419-724-6079.