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Post by TRK on Jun 17, 2007 17:10:58 GMT -5
OK, I know there's at least a couple of Blues fans on this forum, and face it, Texas *practically* invented the Blues So here's your place to hang out, have a couple of cold ones, and swap info and lies about one of America's greatest homegrown musical forms. In my dinky little town, population less than 6,000, we had a real national treasure come and play a concert last Saturday. Guy Davis. He's the son of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, who were two national treasures in their own right. Guy has been working doubletime for years helping keep the Blues a living, breathing artform. He's Manhattan born and bred, but has a voice (deep and raspy), manner, and confident stage presence that would make you think he just hopped off a freight train from the Mississippi Delta. For three hours he summoned the ghosts of Mississippi Fred McDowell, Sleepy John Estes, and Charley Patton, plus played a bunch of songs of his own composition. And talk about charisma. He can blow a harp like the greats, and did one song about a hobo riding the rails through farm country where he was making pig, cow, chicken, and sheep sounds in between harp notes. Guy brought an ace band with him, including Professor Louie (of the Crowmatix) on keyboards and accordion, and Roth Patterson, an up-an-coming guitarist. If you get a chance to see Guy Davis, catch the first thing smoking; you'll be glad you did. Now, excuse me while I cue up some Joe Hill Louis....
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 18, 2007 14:37:26 GMT -5
I was working in Chicago a couple of months back and made a pilgimage to Chess recording studios. I was the only visitor, and spent a couple of hours just basking in the mojo; there was plenty to spare. The site is now owned by Wille Dixon's widow, and is open to the public. Call first though, the hours are pretty loose. Now if I can just get to Motown and Sun... Jim
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Post by TRK on Jun 18, 2007 16:14:58 GMT -5
Jim, I didn't realize the Chess studios were open to visitors. What's the layout in there; is there anything that looks like vintage recording equipment? Is it a pretty compact space (like Sun in Memphis), or is there elbow room?
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 18, 2007 16:29:54 GMT -5
It's pretty small, long and narrow, linoleum floors. The control room is at one end overlooking the main room. The studio area was in an upstairs space, offices and the warehouse for shipping out records were below. It was quite an operation back in the day. There was no recording gear to speak of other than a few pieces in an exhibit space. The studio had been vacated and had fallen into disprepair before the Dixon's purchased the property. Surprisingly, during it's heyday the same stretch of street also housed the offices and studios of VeeJay, and Delmark (among others), where Willie Dixon also produced. Jim
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Post by TRK on Jun 18, 2007 16:44:36 GMT -5
Delmark was a cool sleeper of a label with some amazing artists: the great Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Sun Ra...
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jun 19, 2007 2:21:07 GMT -5
OK, I know there's at least a couple of Blues fans on this forum, and face it, Texas *practically* invented the Blues So here's your place to hang out, have a couple of cold ones, and swap info and lies about one of America's greatest homegrown musical forms. I loves me some Blues, but don't think any one southern state invented the distinctive sound. Louisianna and Mississippi may have an earlier tradition with this music form being that most of the great bluesmen come out of these 2 states. Of course the earliest recognized Blues song was recorded in 1909 by the so-called Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy and he was born in Alabama. Texas can take pride in being the birth place of legends T-Bone Walker, Blind Willie Johnson, Lightning Hopkins and Blind Lemon Jefferson if not the actual Blues genre. What the hell would the Blues be like if some smart fellas in the cities of San Antonio and Dallas had not recorded the wonderful and haunting songs of a visiting Robert Johnson???
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 19, 2007 7:36:04 GMT -5
Delmark was a cool sleeper of a label with some amazing artists: the great Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Junior Wells, Sun Ra... That first Junior Wells album on Delmark is a killer, and was cut live in the studio according to everything I've read. They just got the guys set up and let 'em blow. Amazing. Magic Sam and Otis Rush are unjustly ignored today, IMO. Those Cobra sides that Rush recorded are smokin'. Likewise the Magic Sam "West Side Soul" album. Essential listening. Another artist I've been listening to a lot lately, though not Chicago blues, is O.V. Wright, a great and under-rated soul singer from the '60's. One listen to him and you'll recognize where Robert Cray copped a lot of his sound. Jim
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Post by TRK on Jun 19, 2007 8:11:52 GMT -5
RangerRod: Mustn't forget a few other Texas Blues imagineers: Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray, the Rev. Billy F. Gibbons...and too many more to recall.
Jim, Magic Sam's "West Side Soul" and "Black Magic" are two albums that are always by or in my cd player. WSS was a monster album in terms of execution and influence. The guitar has a real distinctive sound: over-the-top spring reverb, it sounds like to me. Jimi Hendrix was a big fan Magic Sam. Like Jimi, Sam was yet another of the blues guys who died way before his time: a bad heart was the cause.
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jun 19, 2007 10:33:51 GMT -5
RangerRod: Mustn't forget a few other Texas Blues imagineers: Freddie King, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray, the Rev. Billy F. Gibbons...and too many more to recall. I didn't forget those guys, but they're the later generation of great Texas bluesmen. I even met Albert Collins once.
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 19, 2007 10:45:36 GMT -5
Let's not forget Florida's contributions to the blues, Blind Blake and Tampa Red. Blake's songs are knuckle-busters. It took me a long time to even approximate "Diddy Wah Diddy" on acoustic, and even now my version is nowhere near as complex as Blake's.
Speaking of playing, I know Tom and Bill C are players too. How about you, RR?
I play primarily acoustic any more, although I have a few electrics (Strat, Tele, Les Paul). I mainly pick a Martin 00028EC and a cheap Regal Reso.
Jim
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jun 19, 2007 11:52:05 GMT -5
Speaking of playing, I know Tom and Bill C are players too. How about you, RR? Music is in my family's background, but it's more Bluegrass, than Blues. My father played with two of the biggest Blue- grass bands of the 70s and 80s before he passed away. I played guitar briefly in school before I got into art and cartooning. My brother is the real musical talent in the family and can play several instruments. He plays lead guitar in the rock band Sancho and played recently at the Home of the Blues (Antone's) among other Austin clubs. We both like Blues, but I'm more into the real old stuff.
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 19, 2007 12:04:46 GMT -5
My favorite stuff is the pre-war material. I really like the songster tradition (Henry Thomas, Mississippi John Hurt, et al), and I'm especially fond of songs that bridge the gap between musical genres, like "Sitting On Top of the World", which you can find recorded by country and blues musicians. I also like artists that tend to cross that bridge, The Singing Brakeman, for example.I've read that Robert Johnson's performance repertoire was extremely varied as well. He'd play his own tunes, but also throw in popular songs, country tunes, standards, etc. Whatever would get the crowd dancing or tipping. I love Charley Patton, who's really the grandaddy of them all, and must have been a formidable performer. Jim
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Post by TRK on Jun 19, 2007 14:36:01 GMT -5
How do you like that Regal resonator, Jim? Do you play bottleneck, or standard? I'd like to find a good, steel-bodied reso for bottleneck. I've heard good stuff about the Beard/Gold Tone GRS, at about a quarter the cost of a new National.
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jun 19, 2007 15:38:03 GMT -5
The metal bodied Regal is just fine for me, I couldn't see throwing down big bucks for a National when I'm not playing out. A friend of mine bought a National, and I don't think it sounds $1000 better. I bought the Regal used for $185. It's a round neck, not a square. I fool around with slide out of open D or G. Anything fingerpicked I use standard tuning. Jim
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Post by sloanrodgers on Jun 19, 2007 23:48:57 GMT -5
I pretty much like all of the pre-war Bluesmen, but love the music of Robert Johnson, Jimmy Reed, Howlin Wolf, Charlie Patton and James Cotton. Hurt's Stack O' Lee Blues is the most haunting and beautiful song about a killer I ever heard. I own a Robert Johnson cd collection with every song he recorded. I also have a great Reed collection.
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