I count myself among the small group of people who can’t help but feel blues music spiritually.
http://www.wowogallery.com/yt1zqfkwdr I don’t mean people who take their interest in blues as far as the Rolling Stones or the Black Keys – I am talking about those of us who may have been exposed initially through a mainstream rock band but who quickly discovered a nugget of Gold in the rhythm, power and raw emotion produced in the Blues.
Order Alprazolam Online India Those of you who know what I’m talking about, you have all had that “Ah- Ha!” moment where you finally put it all together and said, it is the Blues at the root of the music I know I like that is responsible.
This leads us to pay more attention to the songs, where they came from, past performances, and finally the legends, stories and homage that are paid toward history to this fabulous tradition of roots blues music.
Order Fake Xanax At that point, you go back to Robert Johnson, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, Lightning Hopkins, Hubert Sumlin, Muddy Waters, the Wolf, Pinetop Perkins, John Lee Hooker and discover the rich history of emotionally-charged, message laden, simple yet deadly blues music that essentially built the foundation for rock and everything that has come since from pop to punk, rap to hip-hop.
https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/r7aj6ng4 At the root of the blues is the feelings and meaning they provide for you…what does blues music mean to you?
- Authenticity – in an era of falsehoods, there is no mistaking the authenticity in blues music – you can tell when the blues is coming from somewhere real within a performer and performance versus being faked
- Escape – when many people listen to blues their brain can finally let go of stress, fatigue and anxiety allowing what many will call a “cleansing” experience
- Sensuality – hard to argue that blues is some of the most fundamentally sensual and raw music ever produced
- Community – if you have ever been to a blues festival you have experienced the community feeling with both the crowd and the performers – that just doesn’t happen in rock and most other forms of music (traditional country and bluegrass are pretty good for this too)
- Good – despite them being called the “blues”, may people actually feel better after listening
- Sad – nothing wrong with working through hard times with the support of some great blues music, hitting rock bottom can be the start of amazing recoveries in people’s lives…often the blues accompanies us and helps us through
https://serenityspaonline.com/ua0dpmcmv What about you, how does your favorite blues music make you feel? What does it mean to you?
Filed under Blues Festival, Blues Legends by on May 30th, 2014. Comment. 
https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/v7kttxcs69 It’s only fitting that the inagural year of creating the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame would see Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble join Texas giant Willie Nelson as the first inductees on April 26th
https://fireheartmusic.com/19jcfv2zkeb Great to see that Tommy Shannon made it out with the boys for performances with (of course) Buddy Guy, Kenny Wayne Shephard, Doyle Bramhall II (who’s father SRV had an amazing writing relationship with), Robert Randolph, and others to accept and celebrate this great honor.
https://www.ngoc.org.uk/uncategorized/future-events/ws2nblm3c Hopefully this builds the case for SRV and DT to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside greats like BB King and Jimi Hendrix…
https://mmopage.com/news/l6rvq90i5 Here’s the story as it appears over at SRV’s official website
Filed under stevie ray vaughan, texas blues by on Apr 29th, 2014. Comment.
https://modaypadel.com/4u83bytau What more could you want than the spot-on blues guitar playing of Jimmie Vaughan with the Joplin-like vocals of Susan Tedeschi belting a BB King tune (Let the good times roll) backed by the #1 blues backup band in the world – Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton of Double Trouble – Stevie Ray Vaughan’s former band)
Listen for the incredible timing, soul and jump that this song holds from a line-up that respects the tradition of pure blues.
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on Dec 27th, 2013. Comment.
I really like these “behind the scenes” views into the recording process musicians use on their songs.
This video shares such a view (albeit still officially produced) into the recording studio during a recording of the song “Stop” from Joe Bonamassa’s 2010 CD “John Henry”.
Notice a few things:
- How several overdubs of vocals and guitar solo is done
- How Joe switches guitars on the solo – starting with a very clean “Lucille” model Gibson into a much dirtier Les Paul for the latter half of the solo
- How Bonomassa even switches from sitting to standing on different parts of the vocal (honestly I don’t know how anyone can record sitting down)
Anything else you notice of note in the video?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends, Joe Bonamassa by on Dec 26th, 2013. Comment.
Each time you see the late, great blues guitar great Albert King (thanks to the power of technology) appear, it reinforces the masterful and powerful influence he had over his guitar and music in general.
As musicians, we each strive to find those real feelings, emotions and “places” that will allow us to put something extra into our playing…I know that when I find it, my playing sounds so much better than when I am going through the motions – anyone relate?
Can you tell when you reach down deep and find that extra “gear” you can draw on to give you extra power, creativity, or tone?
Watch this great rendition of Stormy Monday by Albert King with the amazing John Mayall Band and tell me that Albert King had ANY trouble reaching deep down on every note…that’s what allows him to totally control the stage and his audience leaving them only wanting to hear more.
Now that, my friends, is music…no wonder Albert King was perhaps THE single biggest influence on future guitar players (Stevie Ray Vaughan to Kenny Wayne Shepherd) beyond Jimi Hendrix
Filed under albert king, Blues Legends by on Nov 12th, 2013. Comment.
One of the things I truly love about blues music is how each generation shows such respect and passes down stories, techniques and songs from the generation before.
These are real stories, real emotions and incredible passion and love for the music and for the legacy of those who started and brought the blues to new audiences over the years.
With few of the 2cnd generation of blues legends left (Buddy Guy and BB King would fall into that camp), it’s more important than ever that their professionalism, passion, techniques and respect for blues guitar is passed on to the next generation.
So when I see a video like this of Buddy “hands-on” mentoring a talent like 12-year old Hayden Fogle, I have faith that the blues will endure.
There are dozens of “little” lessons in being a blues musician and performer wrapped into this short clip:
1. To start low and slow and build, then reset taking your audience on an emotional journey of peaks and valleys
2. To give others the spotlight and then to volley back and forth to give the audience an ever-changing show
3. To be a band leader (watch as Hayden, gives glances to the drummer to change the tempo or accent a beat) and not just a passenger up there
4. To be in the spotlight and learn to play to your audience
5. To put on a show as well as play music
6. To not focus too much on playing a perfect note, but to go outside the box and do some bizarre Buddy bends making it a fascinating, unpredictable show for the audience (Buddy is especially good at this which is at least in part, why he has stayed relevant all these years)
7. By example, teaching young Hayden to be as generous with his talent, time and audience to show and share with other musicians in the age-old blues tradition
Anything else you picked up that I didn’t?
Jeff
Filed under Blues Legends, New Blues by on Aug 14th, 2013. Comment.
What do you guys think of this one?
Slowly getting my voice into shape and looking forward to putting out some more powerful blues guitar songs for you to listen to…
[mc id=”242″ type=”audio”]leave-me-do[/mc]
Filed under blues guitar, Jeff Smith by on Jul 10th, 2013. Comment.
Absolutely love the key of B and nothing beats a slow blues in Bm – there’s something about it being peaceful and soothing at the same time as powerful and uplifting.
Here’s a track I cut this afternoon that I have called “Slow Burn Blues” because it sizzles along to this solid backing track.
[mc id=”239″ type=”audio”]slow-burn-in-bm[/mc]
Oh yes, stuck a couple of lines of voice in there too…off the top of my head, will have to sit down and put something meaningful together for the next rendition.
Filed under blues guitar, Jeff Smith by on Jul 4th, 2013. Comment.
Nothing feels as natural to me as playing along with a blues shuffle, here’s some playing from earlier today…enjoy!
[mc id=”235″ type=”audio”]jeff’s-shuffle-A[/mc]
Always enjoy hearing your feedback, so leave me a comment.
Jeff
Filed under blues guitar, Jeff Smith, texas blues by on Jul 1st, 2013. Comment.
I’ve been sifting through the finest of the fine from this year’s Eric Clapton’s Crossroads festival held a few weeks back in New York City this year.
One standout is this version of “I Just Got To Know” where Robert Cray shows us the passionate, raw blues guitar that I wish he would show more often. Don’t get me wrong, I like the fact that Robert straddles soul, rhythm and blues – I just wish he would up the quantity of what I think he does best – raw, low-down and dirty blues.
Watch this rendition of the Jimmy McCracklin song (made famous by Magic Sam) and you tell me would you like to hear more Robert Cray like this?
Just so we always remember there is a rich history from which these songs were written and, in this case, adapted with passion – here is the Magic Sam version. Isn’t it wild how close this is with Mr Cray’s rendition?
Filed under blues guitar, Blues Legends by on May 2nd, 2013. Comment.
