
DATE: Sunday, July 20, 1997                 TAG: 9707180274

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 28   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

BLUES BABE, MARGIE BEALES, BRINGS HER BAND TO THE BEACH

Margie Beales has one sound in mind when she considers songs for her band, Dimestore Lovers.

``We like the old authentic blues,'' says Beales, the band's lead singer and keyboard player. ``We look for the raw, nasty, foot-stomping blues.''

The 40-year-old Currituck native recently returned to the nightclub circuit after taking a one-year sabbatical. Beales spent the year refurbishing a farmhouse in Coinjock, where she is now happily settled.

``It was time-consuming,'' Beales says. ``But I never lost sight of playing music.''

About a year ago, Beales began putting together what she says is the best band of her 20-year career. She recruited lead guitarist/vocalist Scott Morese, drummer/vocalist Parker Townsend and bassist/vocalist Jeff Crawford.

``All of us sing,'' Beales says. ``Our sound is so natural. We play off each other well.''

The fire-breathing Beales and her boys blast out tunes by Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Magic Slim and John Lee Hooker. Also at Beales' disposal are a half-dozen original tunes. The band keeps the sound loose and dirty around the edges.

``Whatever we play,'' Beales says, ``is never the same way twice.''

Beales says although she's sung everything from Judas Priest to Pat Benatar during her 20-year career, the blues come directly from her heart.

``It's the natural thing that comes out of me,'' Beales says. ``I don't think about it.''

In addition to her work with Dimestore Lovers, Beales (known as the ``Blues Babe``) hosts a two-hour Sunday night blues show on WVOD-99.1 in Manteo.

Beales, who called her last band Beales Street in honor of the famous birthplace of blues in Memphis, says the current band's name also has a logical explanation.

``We all love bargains,'' Beales says. ``The first thing we do in a new town is hit the thrift stores.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE

Margie Beales, 40, of Coinjock, will perform her blues act at the

Barrier Island Inn on July 26. Beales, a Currituck native recently

returned to the nightclub circuit after taking a one-year

sabbatical. Beales spent the year refurbishing a farmhouse in

Coinjock, where she is now happily settled.

HOW TO HEAR HER

Who: Margie Beale's Dimestore Lovers

When and Where: Saturday, July 26 at Barrier Island Inn in Duck,

Sunday, July 27 at Froggy Dog in Avon

Cost: No cover charge at either venue

Call: Barrier Island, 261-8700; Froggy Dog, 995-4106