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Until recently 1971’s LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND has been considered the definitive officially released live document of the albino blues-rocker in his prime. With material taken from two 1970 performances (Fillmore East, NY & Pirate’s World, FL), LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND unfortunately clocks in at a mere forty minutes and focuses heavily on the rock side of Winter’s 1970 repertoire. Luckily over the past decade, fans have been sporadically treated to previously-unreleased live recordings featuring Winter during the early stages of his now 40+ year career. Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield’s FILLMORE EAST: THE LOST CONCERT TAPES 12/13/68, The Allman Brothers’ LIVE AT THE ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL: JULY 3 & 5, 1970, JOHNNY WINTER: THE WOODSTOCK EXPERIENCE and Winter’s LIVE BOOTLEG SERIES, VOL. 1 all help paint a much more detailed picture of the guitar-slinger as an artist and collaborator during the late-60s and early-70s.
Now, thanks to Sony and Collectors’ Choice Music, fans can revel in a Johnny Winter live experience that arguably surpasses all of his other previously released early live recordings. Released in May of 2010, LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST 10/3/1970 captures the “Johnny Winter And” group (featuring Rick Derringer) live, just weeks before the performances that would eventually make up LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND. Though the two live collections highlight different performances of some of the same material, as a whole, the October 3rd Fillmore East recording focuses slightly more on the blues than its predecessor and miraculously runs a whopping twenty-seven minutes longer; while only upping the track count from six to seven. With LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST 10/3/1970, Winter classics like “It’s My Own Fault” (22:25) and “Mean Town Blues” (18:08) run significantly longer than the versions featured on LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND and surpass those previous versions with not only length, but energy and musicianship.
That is not to say that the 1971 live album is flawed. On the contrary, LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND is a wonderful collection of performances, but with this newly released Fillmore show, the bar for live Winter recordings has been set higher than ever before. The interplay between Winter and Derringer is what really sets this recording apart. The two guitar-titans push each other to a new standard of six-string blues excellence and in the process, drag the rhythm section along with them; making for an incredibly energetic blues-fueled performance.
In addition to “It’s My Own Fault” and “Mean Town Blues”, “Good Morning Little School Girl” pulses with the “head cutting” energy of Winter and Derringer’s dueling guitars, while renditions of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” and Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” showcase Winter’s classic “throw caution to the wind” slide playing-style. Blistering versions of Winter’s original blues-rock composition “Guess I’ll Go Away” and the Derringer penned “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” round out the performance’s set list; making for a thoroughly satisfying blues-rock listening experience.
LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST 10/3/1970, is easily one of the best blues oriented releases of 2010 so far. 1970 was an exciting time for rock and blues music and that excitement is captured in spades on this recording. LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST 10/3/1970 is a treasure from the annals of blues-rock history. Like all live recordings, it captures a specific moment in time and luckily for us, that moment was captured beautifully. This live album is an absolute “must have” for all Johnny Winter fans and any fan of blues guitar…or guitar in general.
Mr. Johnny Winter is more than a man with a guitar. He has a lot to talk about. He has a book that is due to be released on May 1 entitled, “Raisin’ Cain: The Wild and Raucous Story of Johnny Winter“. Johnny is joining Megaforce records, and will be working on a long awaited studio release. And the word, nonstop, describes Johnny’s tour schedule AND his love of blues music.
When I asked to chat with Mr. Winter, I was told that I could ask him about anything that I wanted. The thoughts of Mr. Winter were mine to tap into. Though he doesn’t appear to be the most talkative person, he is open to any and all questions. And, he is truly one of those great southern gentlemen!
Maureen, who typically photographs the interviews with me, has told me that in communication you want to be heard; and, more importantly, you wish to be understood. We hear the music of these artists time after time. They are heard. It is my mission to help get their message out there. What do they wish for us to understand of their life and music?
I think the only thing anyone needs to understand of Mr. Winter is his true love for blues music. It is who he is, since the first time he picked up a guitar. His parents understood that blues music was critical to Johnny. And during a time of racial tension, supported him in frequenting black clubs, which was the only place that Johnny’s hunger for the best in blues could be satisfied, as he lived in a tiny Texas town. It is his love of blues music that joined him with the likes of Muddy Waters. It was important to Johnny to resurrect a genre that the great Muddy help create. And, he included his blues hero, Muddy, in that venture. When I asked Johnny if music was a curse or a blessing, he said with authority, a blessing! Yes, it is a blessing for all of us that Mr. Winter has the blues. And, that can’t make anyone sad.
Monica: Hello Mr. Johnny Winter, how are you today?
Johnny: Fine.
M: That’s good. You are such a busy man. I am from American Blues News and I am honored to be meeting with you today, and I truly appreciate your time. Thank you.
J: Ah. Sure.
M: Johnny I understand that your mother and father really backed you in your music. I understand that you lived in a time of racial tension, and it is my understanding that you learned a lot from going to black blues clubs.
J: Oh yeah.
M: What I haven’t seen written is how did your mother and father feel about you taking that trek and learning from those musicians? Was that piece of your history accepted by your family or not?
J: Oh yeah. They didn’t mind at all. The first person I actually learned from was a DJ and a guitar player named, Clarence Garlow, that ran Beaumont‘s first black radio station, KJET.
M: And, why did you feel you could learn more from black musicians at the time than white musicians? Why did you want to be there more than anywhere else?
J: They were the ones that played blues! That's what I wanted to learn!
M: You went to the root of it all, right?
J: Oh Yeah.
M: Did you ever find music to be challenging or was it always just there for you?
J: It was always fun. I always loved it.
M: Was it ever difficult? Did you ever struggle at all? Or, do you think this was a gift for you?
J: Why I think it was…definitely… a gift.
M: Whenever you did the clubs, was this considered the Chitlin’ Circuit?
J: I guess it was. They didn’t really call it that. But, I guess it was.
M: They didn’t call it that then?
J: No, I never heard Chitlin’ Circuit.
M: Didn’t you? When I interviewed Bobby Rush I learned of the Chitlin’ Circuit. I’m trying to learn about it.
J: The first blues I played was in Beaumont, in my home town.
M: A little town that seemed like a good place to grow up! The music market today is difficult, and it’s my understanding that you don’t appreciate the modern music out there. On your Ipod you have a lot of old songs?
J: Oh yeah. I don’t care about modern music.
M: Do you have to reinvent your music to be up to date or not? To hold an audience?
J: I don’t try to make it up to date. I just play what I like. I hope other people like it too!
M: Whenever you make a new CD, according to a lot of artists that I have talked to, they tell me that the fans don’t want to hear the new things. They want to hear the old. Do you find that to be true too?
J: Oh Yeah.
M: Does that sadden you as an artist that they don’t want to hear your new work?
J: Yeah.
M: Johnny, I know that you had a friend in Muddy Waters.
J: Oh yeah, a very good friend.
M: I know at the time of the 70’s and 80’s, a lot of rock stars brought the older blues artists back into fame, as you did with Muddy. And, Foghat brought Willie Dixon to the forefront. Was that intentional for artists in the 70’s or 80’s? Or, how did this come about for you? Do you feel that you were responsible for bringing Muddy back into the limelight for rock fans?
J: I wanted to try to make Muddy like he was back in the fifties. I knew he did some stuff like "Electric Mud" that I just hated, and I knew he was a great artist. I just wanted to make him the way that he used to be.
M: I read that when you were producing him, you knew how you wanted him to sound. You wanted him to sound like he did back then. Why? Why did you want to embrace that sound, and hold it true and present it to new listeners?
J: It was the kind of music that I love. I knew that Muddy was great, and he could get there again.
M: Do you think if you would not have met up with Muddy Waters…would your sound be where it is today?
J: Probably not.
M: What do you think you would have sounded like?
J: I’m sure I would be playing the same kind of stuff. But, playing with Muddy definitely helped.
M: What was the best piece of advice Muddy Waters ever gave you?
J: We really didn’t talk to much about….he never really gave me any advice. I pretty much knew all about his music, from just listening to all of his records. No, he really didn’t give me any advice.
M: No? What is your fondest memory of him?
J: I think when I would go over to his house and he would cook me gumbo.
M: Cookin' you gumbo?
J: Yeah. That is was a great memory.
M: Do you have the recipe?
J: No I don’t.
M: I read the story about BB King at the Beaumont Club. He wasn’t crazy about giving you the guitar to play. But when you got up there, it was a wonderful experience.
J: BB didn’t know who I was. I was a seventeen year old kid. And, we were the only white people in the club. I really wanted to get up there and play, and it was irritating me! (He laughed). All right then, he asked to see my union card. So, I showed him that. I said that, “I listened to all of your records“…I said. He thought we were from the IRS to get taxes or something! (We laughed)
M: Really?
J: He didn’t want to let me play, since he never heard me.
M: IRS? You didn’t have the long hair back then?
J: No no.
M: Does he remember that story?
J: It’s in his book.
M: That’s great that you two have a relationship built from that one moment. That’s fabulous.
J: Oh Yeah. It was great!
M: Obviously BB King touched you that night. I want to share a story of a man I talked to named, Harry Manx. This year Harry is the Canadian Maple Awards Acoustic Act of the Year. I asked him what launched his blues career, and he attributed it to you. He said that when he was thirteen he want to a record store, and he saw this great album cover with this shiny guitar on the front.
Johnny laughs.
M: He thought it was amazing, and had to have the album. And you were his introduction to the blues!
J: That’s great! Who is that?
M: His name is Harry Manx. Have you heard of him?
J: I think I have.
M: So my question to you is, as BB King helped give you your start, are you aware of anyone else you have touched in the industry?
J: A lot of people have said that I influenced them. That’s a reeeal good feeling!
M: Let’s talk about your songwriting. I know that many talk to you about your guitar work, but never about your songwriting. How do you tackle a song when you begin to create?
J: I usually write the lyrics first, and then put the music to it.
M: Do you keep a notebook with ideas?
J: Oh.. yeah sure…Yes definitely!
M: Do you write on the road much?
J: No. I haven’t written anything in a while. A few years.
M: A few years? It just isn’t there right now?
J: Yeah. I’m not feeling very creative in a writing way. But, I’m going to get back to it.
M: That would be great news when we hear your new songs. Let’s move on to your guitar stuff. I’m curious. Do you have that first guitar?
J: Not my first guitar. No. That was a looong time ago.
M: How many guitars do you think you own?
J: I got about seven Firebirds, and five or six Level National Guitars, three or four Lazers.
M: Is the Firebird your favorite?
J: The Lazer is. My Firebird is my favorite for playing slide.
M: Johnny, when you are on stage playing, what do you think about? The finger work, the feel of the song, what do you think about?
J: Just what I’m doing.
M: More technique?
J: Just WHAT I’m PLAYING.
M: I read that you constantly change your set list. What inspires you or what rules do you have in putting a set list together?
J: We change a few songs to the set list..usually three or four songs.
M: Are you still playing with how the guitar sounds with amps and the guitar itself? Or, are you done with that? Do you still experiment guitar wise?
J: No, I’m not really into experimenting. I pretty much know what I want.
M: If you could, who would be in your dream band today?
J: Today?
M: Yes, today.
J: Derrick Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Watermelon Slim, and Magic Slim and the Teardrops.
M: That would sound awesome!
M: What do you think of the Texas music scene today?
J: I don’t care much for it.
M: You don’t?
J: No. I really don’t.
M: Why is that?
J: There are still some good people around. But on the whole I’m not real happy with it.
M: Where do you wish it would be? What do you think needs to happen?
J: I’d put more blues back into the music! (He chuckled)
M: So you don’t care for the famous Texas blues right now?
J: Well I hate rap. I hate hip hop. I just hate that kind of stuff.
M: Do you look back at earlier works and say I wish I would have done something better or differently?
J: Oh yeah.
M: What troubles you the most or what do you like the most?
J: There’s some pretty good ones of mine. I like ‘Dallas’ a lot. I like ‘Stranger‘. I like ‘TV Mama‘.
M: I like them too. I see you have a DVD for teaching guitar.
J: I sure do!
M: If you could offer some advice for those readers that are trying to do what you do, what would be the key advice you would offer them?
J: Listen to as much music as you can, and play as much as you can.
M: Blues music right?
J: Yeah definitely.
M: Let’s talk about your book you have coming out in the next couple of weeks.
J: Oh. OK sure.
M: Was this a painful or uplifting experience to go through?
J: I enjoy talking about myself.
M: Do you? (We laughed)
J: Yeah. I really do. I had a good time doing the book.
M: And, how do you feel the book turned out?
J: I love the book. It turned out great! I’m very happy with it.
M: I did go out and listen to a couple of things before I met up with you. I read that you weren’t feeling the best about things..and that was one of the reasons for your addiction problems. I was wondering..and you said you realized that things weren’t right…and it sounded as if things were just horrible for you. But what one moment happened in your life…that you went...I have to do something! What triggered you to get help and rehab?
J: As soon as I realized that I couldn’t function without it...I wanted the stuff bad. As long as I felt that I was just using it, it was all right. But, when I knew it was using me, I wanted to stop.
M: Congratulations on overcoming that.
J: Well, thank you.
M: Congratulations. I don’t want to leave you on a negative. What one moment in your life made you realize that you are really good with guitar, and yes I can do a living with this. What was your “aha” moment, that said this is what I am supposed to be doing?
J: I think playing with Muddy. It was my most fun.
M: What about your connection with Janis Joplin? I know when I read about the book, it was very specific on your connection with Janis. What can you tell me about Janis?
J: She asked me to go with her to the last movie Mae West made. And, I said sure. We went to the movie. We came in and people were clapping. We thought they were clapping for us, and we found out later we walked in at the same time as Mae West! (We laughed)
M: Music has taken you to the highest highs and it seems like the lowest lows. So do you think music has been a blessing or a curse in your life?
J: It will always be in my life. A blessing. No doubt about it. A blessing. Definitely a blessing!
M: And, what do you attribute to your success?
J: Hardwork and just being good!
M: Do you feel that the business side of the music industry is just as important as having talent and drive? Do you think that?
J: I don’t like the business side. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that. I have a good manager to do that for me.
M: How did you meet you new manager?
J: I was doing a record, and Paul was at the same studio. We got to know each other there. (On the picture left Paul is on Johnny's right side.)
M: That’s Paul Nelson right? I was reading he acted in a film.
J: No. He’s not an actor.
M: I thought I read he was in a Bette Midler movie. I guess bad info out there…One last question, who would you thank for your career? Your parents, Muddy, your wife? Who would it be?
J: Probably my great grandfather. He started me out. He bought me my first guitar. He had me do songs, and he was a big help.
M: Did he ever see you perform professionally?
J: No. He died before that. He was 96 when he died.
M: I’m sorry, Johnny…Is there anything you want to tell me before we go?
J: I don’t believe so, I think you did a very good job.
M: Thank you. I really enjoyed talking to you. I wish you the best in your career moving forward. Thank you for your music and guitar playing.
J: Well, Thank You!
M: Take care and I appreciate your time. Have a good day.
J: Bye.
As he was hanging up, I heard him chuckle and do the band mate rub of, “She thinks you’re some kind of movie star….”
That’s OK. A man who has so much of the blues should laugh sometimes. Even, if it is at my expense!
If you would like to see more pictures of Johnny, please click here.
Welcome to another edition of How Blue Are We? February is a short month. But, we haven't been short on ideas to write about! The team is already planning some outings for the year to offer you the best coverage in the blues world. We are always interested what our readers have to say. So, American Blues News now has a Facebook presence, please feel free to drop us a line anytime and let us know what you want to read! We'll do our best to give you the best in Blues News!
Let's take a look at some of the things we talked about for February.
I know that it's winter but those blues festivals are just around the corner. One of our newest writers, Jim Stick, who hails from Colorado, is offering the upcoming events for Colorado during the year 2010. Take a read on Jim's first offering, Colorado Blues Festivals, which is our featured photo of the month, Telluride.
The biggest news for February was the announcement for the 2010 Blues Foundation Hall of Fame awardees. This event will be covered in May with the Blues Music Awards. Go take a read and see what great artists and contributions will be inducted into the blues hall of fame. For those of you that are my friends on Facebook, I also gently reminded you to cast your vote for the Music Award Nominees. Your vote Counts! Be sure to read us in May to see if your vote helped bring a winner to the podium!
I love our picture scrapbooks! This month we covered many artists in a pictorial view courtesy of Nelson and Gatorman. A picture tells a thousand words, so take a few minutes and see what the photos have to say. The artists and events we covered were: Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Lucky Peterson, John Mayall, Al Kooper,
There were, once again, a few tributes to our blues artists that have passed on. Maureen, another new writer for us, offered a tribute to Warren King. Warren was a Pittsburgh icon and had ties in the Florida community as a session guitar player. Warren has his place in music history, having played in the Silencers where the band's video for the medley "Peter Gunn/Remote Control/Illegal" aired on MTV the day the network debuted in 1981. RIP Mr. Warren King.
I don't have to tell you that interviews are my favorite thing to do. By doing these interviews this month, I have been humbled. I watched Leon Russell on the Grammy's this year amd there on Mr. Russell's page is MY name to let you know to take a read about the Interview with Chris Simmons. Chris is Leon's lead guitarist. I thought it was so cool that I was a name on a page of someone that performed at the Grammy's. Humbled, I am.
In the spirit of the olympics held in Canada, I shared interviews with a few of our Canadian Blues Artists. The first being an electric blues artist, Shawn Kellerman. The second being an acoustic blues artist by the name of Harry Manx. Please look for another Canadian artist next week, Ms. Sue Foley!
Our guest columnist, Bob Corritore, kept us up to date with some of the latest news. Thank you so much, Mr. Corritore.
Abby our resident Texan shared her discussion with Mark May. Please take a read on the Texas scene.
What's life without a little fun? I guess Jason Ricci has quite a sense of humor. Catch the writing and video on Jason's latest escapade! I don't know. Did he have you fooled?
And our resident musician shared his times at the zebra ranch. I have to swing back around and ask what it was like to see a black panther in the wild? I would love to see one of those! What an experience. Go read what Nighthawk had to say about his recording sessions with his writing of Reba Russell Band records at Zebra Ranch and More from the Zebra Ranch.
I hope you have enjoyed our coverage of February. In March look for the Sue Foley interview and we will touch base with some more acoustic blues artists such as Ernie Hawkins, who studied with the Rev. Gary Davis and the international blues artist, Eric Bibb.
Until next month, have a great life!
Monica
If you want to read January's summary, click here!
Patrons walking into New York City’s B.B. King’s Bar & Grill on Thursday night (September 17, 2009) found the venue packed wall to wall with enthusiastic blues fans eager to see Texas blues legend Johnny Winter.
The evening’s festivities began around 8pm, with blues veteran, guitar goddess and former member of Albert Collins’ band The Icebreakers, Debbie Davies. She and her trio entertained the rowdy audience with 45 minutes of blues standards, well-written originals and swinging instrumentals. Her display of guitar skill and the command she held over her sunburst Stratocaster was most impressive and certainly comparable to her more iconic male counterparts (i.e. players like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan). Her vocals were clean and their delivery seemed authentic and informed, like they were coming from a woman that knew what she was singing about. Her rhythm section was tight and Davies’ performance was one of the highlights of the night and an act that I will definitely check out again.
Just after 9pm, Johnny Winter’s band took the stage with a hard-driving instrumental that worked the crowd up into a frenzy. As their opening number came to an end, the 65 year-old/ailing albino guitar legend was helped to a seat at center stage. With big black cowboy-hat in place and his custom Erlewine Lazer guitar in hand, Johnny Winter and band set the pace for the evening by launching into a blistering rendition of Freddie King’s instrumental masterpiece, Hideaway. High octane blues shuffle after shuffle followed, with so little change in feel and tempo from song to song that in hindsight, they all seem to blur together into one extended jam; only broken up by sloppy slow blues renditions of Ray Charles’ Black Jack (featuring NYC blues regular John Paris on harmonica) and Jimi Hendrix’s Red House.
Though the crowd was thoroughly entertained and excited by the night’s performance (especially the encore of Highway 61 Revisited), I can’t say that I found it all that impressive. I am a long time fan of Johnny Winter. His first few albums are about as good as the blues gets in my opinion and his work with Muddy Waters is near perfection. I’m aware that he’s been battling all kinds of medical issues over the years, including extreme sight loss that has left him near blind, but unlike most fans, I refuse to excuse an aging artist’s mediocre performance because of their past accomplishments. Winter overcomes a lot to take the stage almost nightly year round and for a guy that can barely see, he plays amazingly well, but let’s face it…he is so far past his prime that seeing him perform today is almost sad. His vocals are often unintelligible. His phased out guitar tone went out of fashion in the 1980’s and his playing, though still technically proficient (when he’s in key) lacks any kind of real feeling or passion. He’s going through the motions and when you take all those factors into account and combine them with the fact that he is backed by a high volume/overly distorted glorified bar band, it makes for a night of music, that more often then not, seems more like noise than blues.
I’m sorry to say that Johnny Winter is not an artist I will be making an effort to see again and by writing this review, my intention is not to negate any of the accomplishments of his long and well-respected career. He’s an icon, a legend and arguably one of the best blues rockers to ever pick up a guitar, but there is something to be said for “going out on the top of your game” and unfortunately Winter is decades past the top of his.
He was born John Dawson Winter III on February 23, 1944 in Beaumont, Texas, but the world knows him as a guitarist named Johnny, who throughout his now 40+ year career as a recording artist, has proven time and time again that even the “whitest” of white guys can play the Blues. He was born cross-eyed and albino and as a boy dreamt that one day he would play alongside Muddy Waters. His career in music began at the age of 11 when he and his younger brother Edgar played as an Everly Brothers-style duo. His first official band, The Jammers (also featuring Edgar), scored a Houston record deal when he was just 15 years-old and the pale gangling guitarist has never looked back.
Sadly it seems that these days he is not doing well, having to be helped to a chair on stage in order to perform. In the words of Howlin’ Wolf his “health is failing and he’s going down slow”, but he keeps trucking along with a jam-packed touring schedule, performing all over the country almost nightly…and unfortunately often leaving his audiences unsatisfied with extremely short sets and often less than inspired guitar playing. Though I personally have not seen a solo Johnny Winter show in quite sometime, I can vouch that when he sat in with The Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater in NYC on 3/10/09, he seemed to be completely oblivious of the surrounding band and frequently played out of key. With that said he is an American Blues treasure who unfortunately, like most of our living Blues icons, is way past his prime.
On an anecdotal note, I can still remember purchasing my first Johnny Winter CD. I was in college, a blues lover and an aspiring guitarist. At the time many of my friends were into Progressive Rock bands like E.L.P. and Yes and I was at the beginning of a long lasting love affair with an Italian Prog. Band called Goblin. In what I thought was a stroke of genius I decided I was going to form a “Progressive Blues Band”, but the problem was that I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. Then one day I was flipping through the Blues CD section at Borders and stumbled on to an album titled THE PROGRESSIVE BLUES EXPERIMENT by Johnny Winter. Deciding that my coming across this CD was obviously a sign of fate, I purchased it. Of course at the time I knew who Johnny Winter was and had even heard his music before, but I didn’t own any of his work and was extremely excited by the notion of finally finding out what a “Progressive Blues Band” would sound like. So I hurried back to my dorm room and slid the disc into my roommate’s CD player. I have to admit that upon my first listen, I was disappointed with the album. I was hoping for something “new”, something that took Blues to places I never heard it go before, something that fused styles and pushed the Blues’ technical and compositional boundaries while still remaining anchored in the roots music of artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. I instead found myself listening to what I considered to be a very good, but pretty standard Blues CD. I now realize that the most "progressive" that the Blues ever got was probably with albums like ELECTRIC MUD and THE HOWLIN' WOLF ALBUM (which I wrote about in detail last week) or possibly with Blues-based Rock bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath who are now considered the forerunners of Heavy Metal.
Though I still do not understand the title THE PROGRESSIVE BLUES EXPERIMENTand to this day find it misleading, I have come to love this album. It is an amazing collection of Winter originals and classic Blues standards. His voice could never compare to Blues icons like Muddy Waters and Freddie King, but on this album his vocals are passionate and his playing is driven, inspired and at times even breathtaking. For a guy without a drop of pigment in his skin, in his prime he could certainly play the Blues with the best of them and though he is now only a shell of his former self, we as Blues fans are lucky to still have the opportunity to see him play live and will always be fortunate have a legacy of amazing albums, like THE PROGRESSIVE BLUES EXPERIMENT, to turn to in a time of need.
What makes American Blues News unique is our coverage across America. Here is our lineup:
Mon: Memphis Correspondent - Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms
Nighthawk is our resident globetrotter and man behind the scenes, as he tours with the Reba Russell Band.
Tues: New York Correspondent - J. Blake Blake is the American Blues News review and interview guru. You may catch him out and about in NY playing the blues.
Wed: National Correspondent - Monica Yasher Monica is our executive director and artist interview specialist. You can catch Monica singing the blues around Pittsburgh or working on some country music songs in Nashville.
Thurs: Washington, DC Correspondent - Virginiabluesman
Geraldo offers inteviews and reviews. You may have seen him at an Ana Popovic concert or conversed with him on her websites, as he offers administrative support with her music.
Fri: Northeast Photographer - Nelson Onofre Nelson offers a Friday column of blues photography and pictorial support for the interviews covered by the team.
Jim Stick in Colorado
Jim will be focusing on the Blues Festivals in the beautiful state of Colorado, and the artists that live and visit there.
Maureen Elizabeth, our resident art correspondent, will be focusing on blues art as she explores the creation of CD covers, or speaking with artists who also have a love of creating pictorial art in addition to their music! She may also feature some of her good friends in the Pittsburgh area. In her love of art, you may find Maureen's photography accompanying writer's articles on our pages. Maureen is also our marketing director.
Pittsburgh correspondent and photographer, CR Bennett, will share the Pittsburgh scene with all of you. You may also see CR's pictures accompanying other writer's articles.
We head to the big state of Texas! Abby Owen, our Texas correspondent.
Another big area to cover, the West Coast with Casey Reagan, Casey will feature many artists and events on this ocean's shores.
Lastly, we have our roving blues entertainment writer,
Chef Jimi.
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