It rained all weekend, but despite the torrential downpour, I jumped in my car Saturday afternoon and headed out on my 1-hour journey to the hills of Calabogie to see Jimmie Vaughan along with his great Tilt-A-Whirl Band headline the Calabogie Blues Festival
Followers of this blog will recognize that I have talked a lot about Jimmie Vaughan being his own man, keeping pure blues guitar alive and sticking true to how he hears the music despite the fact that almost everyone goes to see Jimmie the first time expecting to hear his late brother Stevie.
Do yourself a favor, search out some Fabulous T-Birds stuff from the 80’s and tell me that wasn’t great music. Then listen to the guitar and notice the incredible rhythm and pinpoint lead guitar – THAT my friends, is Jimmie Vaughan.
I had limited room left on my memory card so I could only record a couple of snippets from what was a good show.
Here is the first video as Jimimie opened up the show
And here is a short clip showing why Jimmie is one of the most solid rhythm blues guitarists of this generation (it’s no wonder he provided such a huge back beat to the Fabulous T-Birds in Austin where he made his name )
Be sure to catch Jimmie Vaughan wherever he appears next – it will always be a fun show and education into Texas Blues
Filed under jimmie vaughan by on Aug 18th, 2014. Comment. 
Took in the Paul Deslauriers Band from Montreal, Quebec last evening at the Calabogie blues festival.
This blues-influenced power trio was loud and rockin…from his Gibson Les Paul to the wonderfully sounding double-neck SG with the top being a 12-string model that I swear sounds just like Richie Sambora (guitarist with Bon Jovi).
Paul Deslauriers walked away with best guitarist at the Maple Blues Awards (Canada’s Blues Awards) this year and his rhythm section is ROCK solid – the drummer was incredible.
With a little refinement (tightening up a couple of their numbers and perhaps leaving the bottom 25% of their weakest stuff out of their show, they are teetering on something VERY special).
Definitely worth checking these guys out – have the feeling they will become much more visible through 2015.
Here’s a sampling of their show…
Here’s another sample of that double-necked SG – doesn’t the 12-string neck sound fine?
Filed under blues guitar, New Blues by on Aug 17th, 2014. Comment.
Remarkable video that demonstrates we can do anything if we really put our mind to it…blind from birth, Felix delivers an incredible version of “Everyday I Have The Blues” – the BB King standard.
Watch how he learned to play the guitar on his lap from sound only…don’t ever complain about having to practice again!
Filed under New Blues by on Aug 15th, 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.
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.Â
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.Â
What’s your take?Â
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.
I count myself among the small group of people who can’t help but feel blues music spiritually.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
