Playing a Blues Gig on Friday OMFG

The first music I really played was blues. My brother was into blues. He was in a blues band. Ergo, I played the blues. BUT I LOVED IT. I loved the rhythm of it, the combination of observable forms with improvisation on top of it. I loved the sassiness, the braggadocio, the vulnerability. Blues is a wildly dynamic music, with all the emotions of life being pulled into the stew. And the lyrics often exude a specificity and accuracy that is only trumped by the specificity and accuracy of hip-hop lyrics. BUT, we don’t have to choose. We can love hip-hop and we can love the blues. So I knew that when I moved on from the Current and started to have my Saturday nights free I’d start to try to get more connected with the blues community. I also knew that would be a good idea for my work at Jazz88. We have 12 Hours of the Blues and we would be well-suited to be more connected to the incredible community of blues players in Minnesota. We have a good scene here, but it is sorely under-celebrated by non-blues enthusiasts. TACK ON TO ALL OF THAT the fact that my friend Erick Anderson, Afrokeys, has been sitting in on the regular jam session over at the Blues Saloon on Tuesdays. TLDR: I’m trying to get into the blues scene here in Minnesota.

To that end, I have the opportunity to play some blues on Friday night over at the Blues Saloon and I’m overjoyed with the opportunity. I’m working with a bunch of great vocalists and players who I didn’t know too well at all before the gig. I have been supportive of Annie Mack’s music in the past, and I’m connected a bit with Bambi Alexander, but other than that, I hadn’t met any of them. That’s a friendly reminder that this scene is full of world class players that you happen to not know. You might be shopping for groceries next to Robert King, the drummer. Robert can bury the kick and snare inside of 16th note hi-hats in this 70s Al Green recordings way that I’ve never played with before. OMFG, it felt great. And Andrew Guerin, the guitar player, monster talent. He did a thing on the Betty Lavette tune where he kept a drone going on every note of his solo. It sounded like a record. (by having your own blog you can basically review your own bands, what an idea). So, come on down and watch me play some blues on Friday, it’s going to be great.