Killer Blues began as a portable Blues CD & memorabilia store, owned and operated by Steve Salter (aka: The Killer). For over a decade, Steve has built an exceptional reputation as a regular vendor at blues festivals and shows throughout Michigan and Indiana, selling CD's in all genres of blues, as well as blues and rock n' roll prints and posters. Since his childhood in the 60's, Steve has been collecting recordings, meticulously listening to each one, and sharing his knowledge with music fans and friends. I first met Steve nearly 15 years ago through a mutual friend. At that time I had recently decided to discontinue my college education in favor of having a career as a recording musican-A BLUES musican at that! Within our first few meetings, I knew I had just formed a special and enduring friendship with him, and his wife and family. Many of the artists who have influenced my own blues playing have come to me straight out of Steve's vault. I can't tell you how many disks and tapes are in my collection that were handed to me by Steve, and most remain at the top of the heap. As a non-musician, Steve truly knows his music, and I believe he has a unique gift of helping folks find their way to good music-the kind of music created from passion, experience, and which has depth and enduring meaning in our lives. I have seen him work this magic with countless customers who have visited his table at blues shows, and returned again to thank him for the music he recommended on their last visit-and asking for more every time they come back!

For as long as I have known him,  every Spring, Steve plots his course for the Mississppi Delta and travels through old blues towns from Helena to Clarksdale, Greenville, Memphis, and more. On his trips he also visits the graves of  blues musicians, and pays his respects before moving on to the next town to see the next old boarded up juke joint or to find the son-in-law of Robert Johnson. When he finds a blues musician who has no grave marker on their plot, he puts them on his list of "to do's", and begins making plans to raise money to acquire one. I have accompanied him on some of these trips, and I can say first hand, he doesn't jive around! Steve was instrumental in getting Otis Spann's headstone, as well as Hound Dog Taylor, who until just a few years ago, lie in an unmarked grave in Chicago. Thanks to Steve, I have visited the graves of Frank Frost, Albert King, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and so many more. I have sat on the steps of the greasiest and best fried chicken joints in the South, where my eyes watered from smoke from the hot oil, which filled the room. He has taken me to juke joints like "Lee's Unleaded Blues"  in the South side of Chicago to hear Johnny Drummer & The Starlighters do their nightly gig while Shemekia Copeland was chilling incognito at the table nearby, before she jumped on a table with a microphone as patrons handed her dollar bills. We've walked down the dusty streets of Helena, past the old juke where Robert Johnson had a house gig, as we headed into The Bollocks Cafe' to eat real Southern Food at the same table Frank Frost used to sit at.  These are just a few of the musical memories I can thank Steve for giving to me over the years. When he asked me to do this website, I assure you he did not request that I write anything about him in particular. He would prefer it if I stuck to what he considers the important stuff, like finding headstones for deceased blues artists. But I think that Steve is one of the rare people in this world who has real passion, not only for the Music, but for the musicians who have created it through their lives they have lived, and the songs they have left for us to enjoy, and for sharing that music with the rest of us. And because I believe in his vision, I want you to believe in it too.

These days, due to the state of the economy and low record sales in blues music, Steve has decided to take a break from his portable CD business and devote his energy to promoting the Buried in The Blues Calendar, original blues art, and promoting local shows to raise funds for purchasing headstones for the artists on his growing list. Please order your copy of Buried in The Blues, and the original art print by Melissa Morrow, "The Blues in Me", and help Steve help us all to remember and honor the lives of the creators of this great music.

-Vincent Hayes (The Vincent Hayes Project)