When the esteemed International Blues Challenge took place in Memphis late last month, one local band got an opportunity to go for blues immortality. Namely, the Valley's Paul CruiZe Blues Crew, which represented Arizona at the annual competition and made it all the way into the semifinal round before bowing out.

Although Cruize says the experience of competing at the IBC was great, the vocalist and guitarist for the local three-piece -- which also features Royce Murray on the Hammond organ and Tim Robinson -- had a few issues with how the world-renowned blues battle went down.