Like a true bluesman, Johnny Winter went out still doing what he loved.
Sad to say that we heard today great Texas guitar slinger Johnny Winter died at the age of 70 while on tour in Zurich Switzerland, the blues music world will take moment to pause and surely celebrate the life and music of this man dedicated to the blues for decades.
As many blues acts do, Johnny was on a European summer tour following the highly successful 2011 release “Roots”. Another album was in the works “Step Back”, that will unfortunately be a posthumous release in the Fall.
Johnny stood out, both physically as an albino with his brother Edgar Winter, but more because of his high energy, fast, Texas-styled blues guitar sound. Honing his chops with the likes of Muddy Waters (having produced albums for Muddy later in Muddy’s life), he also came into his own during the blues renaissance in Austin led by WC Clark, the Vaughan Brothers and a veritable who’s who in the blues guitar world attracted by clubs that included Antone’s.
Johnny had battled personal demons and health issues for many years, but was at his most creative in the last few years as he experienced some renewal in his career as he seemed to have gotten his life together and had leveled out his health issues.
I will recall fondly the times I was able to catch Johnny’s powerful, raw and emotional playing…rest in peace Johnny – join Freddie, Muddy, the Albert’s…thanks for the great times and music. More news on this topic
Filed under Blues Legends by on Jul 17th, 2014. Comment. 
New video of “Different Shades of Blue” from blues guitar great Joe Bonamassa – what do you guys think?
Nice to see him play a Fender Strat, usually he’s a Gibson, Marshall guy. The cutting, clean edge of the strat brings out a new urgency and bite to his soloing doesn’t it?
I personally find this more melodic (dare I say mainstream) than much of Joe’s stuff….nice change, still has the same killer guitar solo. I wouldn’t want to hear too much from Joe in this vein, but totally see it fitting in with his various other influences and genres.
What do you think?
Filed under Joe Bonamassa, New Blues by on Jul 15th, 2014. Comment.
If you are anywhere NEAR Chicago on July 30th then pick yourself up some Buddy Guy Birthday Bash tickets as Buddy Guy’s Legends Blues Club celebrates his birthday in style.
You can pickup tickets here…hopefully they’re not gone by the time you click on this…
I’ve been to BG’s Legends a couple of times, try and fit in a visit each time I make it to Chicago, great club and you will have a blast – guaranteed!
Buddy’s career as a Blues Guitar Player is as varied as the blues itself. Starting out in the shadow of Muddy Waters alongside Junior Wells – his ascent as a solo artist was challenged given that Buddy’s incredible, raw, live performances scared off record execs – so recording was a challenge.
With the resurgence of blues guitar in the 1980’s and 1990’s led by Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, true innovators, pioneers and raw talent of Buddy Guy along with Albert and Freddie King finally began to receive the attention they deserved decades before.
If you will be heading to Legends for Buddy’s birthday bash, leave a comment and let us know…we’ll live vicariously through you 🙂
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Jul 15th, 2014. Comment.
Saw Jimmie and his band on a plane from Toronto heading to London last Sunday – couldn’t believed when I was boarding the plane, looked up and there was Jimmy Vaughan and his terrific band.
Unfortunately, I had to return to Canada prior to this gig in London at “Under The Bridge”. You can still catch him in Europe at the Blues Express in Differdange, Luxembourg and BOSPOP Festival in Weert, Netherlands (Who are no doubt lamenting their World Cup Semi-Final Loss) or shows in Germany and France as well – you can keep up to date with his rigorous schedule on his Facebook page here. Leave a comment if you have been to a Jimmie Vaughan show lately. I’ll get another chance to see him when he plays back up in the Ottawa area in August.
Here is a quick video of one song from his recent European Tour – Jimmy Vaughan and the Tilt-A-Whirl-Band — Oh, and just for good measure, this is followed by a video of a younger Jimmie with Kim Wilson in the Fabulous ThunderBird days – on non other than Johnny Carson!
And on the Johnny Carson Show…
Filed under jimmie vaughan, texas blues by on Jul 11th, 2014. Comment.
The first of its kind brings back bitter-sweet memories for us fans and no doubt for Stevie Ray Vaughan’s loved ones.
Just listen to Jimmy’s words…”I want to thanks Bob for coming in and talking to me about this (the idea of the exhibit), you know I have all of Stevie’s stuff and I don’t really know what to do with it, you know, I go and look at it sometimes and then there’s also the part about he’s my little brother and I, you know, I’m supposed to protect my little brother so I never really know what to do with a lot of his stuff emotionally – you know…”
Couldn’t have put it better Jimmy, you have been a good, honest steward of your little brother’s things and legacy…good job JLV!
Filed under jimmie vaughan, stevie ray vaughan by on Jul 7th, 2014. Comment.
Funny post by Joe Bonamassa on Twitter today showing the crazy life a rock star (or in this case, guitar GOD) must live…reinforces the notion that you better as hell love what you do…
Clay and Eric did a little number crunching this morning for our entire tour from March through the end of this week. pic.twitter.com/utMmorDqTX
— JOE BONAMASSA (@JBONAMASSA) June 23, 2014
Filed under blues guitar, Joe Bonamassa by on Jun 26th, 2014. Comment.
As we approach 24-years since the great blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan left this earth (have to think he’s up there jammin with Hendrix, Albert King, Hubert Sumlin, and Albert Collins), I still enjoy seeing material released today, especially material post-rehab where we see the true spirit, mind and soul of SRV unhindered by drugs and alcohol.
Came across this cool tour bus spot I hadn’t seen before – love the line “I was sleeping on pool tables, but probably this was the happiest time of my life because I was doing what I wanted to do, playing what I wanted to play”
How many of us could apply this simple principle to our lives? SRV had the guts to go after what he wanted, let’s all try to apply that to our lives moving forward.
Filed under stevie ray vaughan, texas blues by on Jun 23rd, 2014. Comment.
Buddy Guy is one of the few remaining early blues greats that came up with Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, BB King – a true legend that is still firing on all creative cylinders.
Watch this incredibly sincere by this legend of the Blues:
This entire interview is GOLD for blues fans, but there are two quotes that especially stood out for me…
1. 4:58 “You gotta put a lot of time into it man, I’ve been foolin with it for a long time and there is s still a lot I don’t know about the guitar” – you can’t expect to just pick it up and know it, or make an impact. Great to hear someone who has been playing the guitar for more than 50-years is still learning.
2. Watch the pure PASSION and LOVE for blues music after 50 – years as Buddy answers the question “What keeps you going, what do you still get out of performing blues music this far into your career” His lips quiver as he humbly shares the joy in just being able to share his craft with the world – that they think enough of him and his music to want to hear him around the world. To watch a guy that is so influential, so iconic and so successful still be happy to be invited to the next gig tells you all you need to know about why people love Buddy Guy – it’s his 100% dedication to pleasing his audiences
Filed under Blues Legends by on Jun 20th, 2014. Comment.
Gary Clark Jr. posted this to his Instagram account – pretty sweet setup, have you guys ever tried a Fender Vibro King?
Filed under New Blues, texas blues by on Jun 17th, 2014. Comment.
Jack White is perhaps the most unique and vibrantly creative artist active today…it just so happens his roots are in the Blues no matter how far his creative puruits take him.
That’s the way it should be, start with internalizing the foundation of music (the Blues) and build out from there.
Same formula as Jimi Hendrix, Gary Clarke Jr., Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, The Black Keys…should I go on?
What do they get from the Blues?
- Learn to dig deep and find the emotional ’10’ that sits behind music that connects
- Simple before complex…instead of striking out to be complex, you start with the simple lessons of the Blues (less is more, space means as much as notes, rhythm, etc…) and then build out from there
- Music first…before anything else, staying true to the music is the first priority
- Always learn and improve
- Pay your respects to those who came before…keeps your ego in check
All of that said, when you come at Jack White, his versatility is incredible – you could just as easily hear him playing Bluegrass as something approaching maniacal punk rock. So, if you haven’t followed him and don’t have some background in Blues music you may be forgiven for passing right over – but guaranteed you will be pulled in again.
I’ve picked up a copy of his latest critically acclaimed (and yes – very highly recommended) Lazaretto – a rich, sometimes eclectic, but always rooted piece of creative mastery.
If you fancy yourself a music fan, then you MUST have Lazaretto in your portfolio as it will go down as one of the more important creative endeavors this decade – of that I am sure.
What’s your take?
Here’s one of the lead tunes – just to give you a sample – but go and get the full CD, you won’t be disappointed:
Filed under New Blues, rock and roll by on Jun 11th, 2014. Comment.
