Lamenting the future of the blues

[honeyboy]

Interesting article about the future of the blues in the WSJ recently.

"In early May, I traveled to Memphis to attend the Blues Foundation's 31st annual two-day gala, which included its Hall of Fame induction ceremony and awards banquet. Buddy Guy received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Pinetop Perkins, now 96 years old, turned up, as did 80-year-old Bobby "Blue" Bland and 78-year-old Hubert Sumlin.

I heard folk blues, country blues, jump blues, Chicago blues, Delta blues, Texas blues, fast blues, slow blues, good blues and bad blues. What I didn't hear was new blues, and I flew back home no less relieved of my own blues over the genre's troubling future."

Click to read the rest of the article here..

His conclusion, in a nutshell is as follows:

"The blues establishment seems to have little interest in reaching out to other musical communities.

Perhaps in turn, blues musicians aren't invited to participate in most major rock festivals: There were no traditional blues artists at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, nor will there be any at the Glastonbury Festival in Britain later this month.

For the blues to have a future in which daring artists bring in new listeners, the establishment needs to share the blues with people who have a different idea of what it is.

The future can be built on new modes of expression if musicians and fans remember the blues isn't merely a form. It's a feeling. Capture it, as so many artists did in decades past in so many ways, and you're playing the blues, whether it's with a bottleneck, a big band or a studio full of digital effects."

[Michael Messer]

A subject that is very close to my heart and I have to say I agree with Jim Fusilli.

It is not an easy area for me to look at objectively as most of my recording career has been built around my modern and different approach to playing this music.

There are people trying to push the blues forward, but in most cases the establishment does not recognise them. (that is not a personal gripe as my music has been recognised and I am known for making records that take the music forward).

I believe that as a recording artist & touring musician it is not right for me to write about and be critical of other musicians' work. I leave that to the journalists.

The problems I have seen with many of the people who the media promote as 'new blues' artists is that in most cases they are not playing the blues, and in other cases, playing it badly becomes the 'new' and cool approach.

I refuse to be drawn into quoting any names, but I do have strong views on this subject.

Perhaps we could invite Jim Fusilli to join our forum and comment on this discussion?

Shine On,
Michael.

[Steverb]

Interesting views.

Michael, it's obvious that you have very heartfelt views on this subject. When you say that " in most cases they are not playing the blues, and in other cases, playing it badly becomes the 'new' and cool approach", do you mean that they are literally not playing blues (ie, as in familiar 8, 12, 16 bar sequences that we all recognise) or are you taking issue with the way that they play it (eg, as in absence of the right feel etc). I realise that it may be difficult to expand without naming names but I'm intrigued to know more about what you mean.

Steve

[Michael Messer]

Hi Steve,

This is an area of discussion that is not easy for me to have on a public forum, but I did join in.

In so many cases I hear artists that are supposedly pushing the music forward turning the blues into something that is IMO no longer the blues. (This of course promotes another never-ending discussion about what is and what isn't the blues). In other cases what I hear are people playing new style blues that are picking up on the sound of modern Mississippi juke joint music and what they play is just not very good. Thrashing & wailing out of tune IMO does not push the music forward.

It is not an age thing, I never did like that approach to playing music.

Shine On
Michael.

[garrysmith]

Certainly, British Blues audiences, and promoters, are incredibly conservative. When I see the people who are busy on the circuit, I find the whole thing rather depressing. By and large, rhythmically dull (whumpty - bumpty shuffles predominate), rooted firmly in the past and apparently, guitarists are being paid on a notes per minute basis. Oh, and don't even think about singing unless you smoke 50 Marlborough a day and gargle nails. And don't start me on hats. Lewis has an amusing acronym for them, which I can't remember.

There is also, as with Folk Music and Country, an image problem with the public at large. Blues, to them, is sad, depressing music consisting of whingeing interspersed with endless guitar noodling.

Opportunities for The Great British Public to be "accidentally" exposed to Roots music generally are diminishing as broadcasters are increasingly becoming "narrowcasters". John Peel and Charlie Gillett with their eclectic tastes are no longer with us and Blues Folk and Country are all neatly sorted into their own distinct boxes. Jools Holland, who in his early series regularly presented touring roots musicians seems more and more in the thrall of the record companies and the product they wish to push.

Rant over. Enjoy the rest of your day.

[Michael Messer]

A similar thing has happened to country/old time/Americana (whatever you call it) since the release of the 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou' movie.

Shine On
Michael.

[honeyboy]

Surely the core issue is lack of youth involvement.

People under 30 just aren't listening/aware of/participating in blues anymore in any significant numbers. It is not seen as 'fashionable' or 'cool'

Our culture resembles a small, isolated town where hardly any residents are under 50 and no one ever comes to visit. That is not a recipe for a dynamic future...

Where individuals have made the effort to connect, then things have successfully broken through to a wider contemporary audience.

Three examples spring to my mind (although there will obviously be more I am unaware of).



Keith LeBlancs - Chess Moves: Remixed - (click red link for preview) acquired a large youth audience when it was first released a couple of years ago.


Pablos Blues by Gare Du Nord was a huge hit, especially in Europe, based around a heavily reworked Robert Johnson sample from 'Come On In My Kitchen'


And to a lesser extent, Play by Moby is another older example..

[lewiscohen]

Jun 18, 2010 9:32:26 GMT garrysmith said:

And don't start me on hats. Lewis has an amusing acronym for them, which I can't remember.

That would be CHIMPs - Convinced Hat Improves Musical Performance

As someone who's has had pretentions of trying to get some recognition by the british blues establishment, all I can say is that it's a sweet and liberating feeling to wake up one day and no longer care.

I think a pivotal moment for me was having a discussion with the editor of a blues magazine and being told "yes....now I've heard of Robert Nighthawk but I can't recall actually hearing anything by him. For me, it all started when I saw Clapton at the Albert Hall......"

Another was being told by a certain high profile blues venue that they never book solo acoustic acts, despite having murals of Charley Patton and Mance Lipscomb dawbed all over the walls.

Whatever may govern the future health of blues music, it certainly won't be anything that comes from this establishment!

Oh and while I'm generally being grumpy and bitter, it wouldn't hurt ol' Seasick Steve to make a few more references to the people who's music he's channeling. I don't think I've ever heard him say something like "this song's inspired by Fred McDowell". Come to think of it, I don't think I've heard him refer to it as blues. It's all "dog house music" or "three string trance boogie" or "post-retro dungaree punk"etc. Ok, I made that last one up but you know what I mean. If the problem is people not thinking blues music is cool, half of it is down to people not thinking cool music is blues......

[Deleted]

Jack White intoduced raw blues to a young audience. Not to everyone's taste but i love it

[Deleted]

Well, I've always rather enjoyed this harmonica toting one-man-band
sonofdave.com/home/video
Not sure whether he's 'really' blues, but not that bothered!

LR

[garrysmith]

For my money, more really Blues than all the overdriven, behatted SRV wannabes out there.

[slidenpickit]

I actually think image is important; I'm a behatted and shades wearing whatever. I think you should dress up to play the Blues instead of just wearing a T shirt and jeans. The audience deserves it. It's not always all about the music, I think people also go for the whole package which creates the right vibe. I've actually had people complain when I don't wear them. Blues is a very personal thing. I agree with Michael about out of tune Delta post punk rockabilly influenced shouty out of tune crap (but some of these people appear to be working regularly) I get a fair few youngsters approaching me at gigs mainly asking if I do any Seasick Steve because they recognise the style. I do believe he's at Glastonbury this year. I think he's gone a very long way to help popularise Blues (depite what he calls it) with the younger generation. When I first heard him I thought........hmm but when you really listen. Anyway, if you are earning a living at this and are not just trying to sound like something from 1930 all the time then any help from wherever it comes is always welcome in furthering the cause of promoting and popularising Blues music (and Artists).

[marshcat]

So, Lewis, does that mean you're ditching the wig?



Seriously, though, I'm glad there's still some space out there for those of us like Lewis & me 'trying to sound like 1930' and there are still audiences, of all ages, ready to listen and be won over to this wonderful music...

Marshcat
www.lemonrock.com/nationalsteel

[blueshome]

I aim for the sound of the 20's, so there!

The best way to show respect to an audience is to give them your best every time you perform.

Just cos it's new doesn't make any good. I just dread it when I read an "artist' is taking the blues forward to a new place. That place is usually the rubbish tip.

[slidenpickit]

And you achieve it Phil! I do 20s too, just not all night. No matter what we play, hopefully a bit of uniqueness will always come through.

Hey Marshcat, if that's you .....love the hat!