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"Once I was checking to hotel and a couple saw my ring with 'Blues' 

  on it. They said, 'You play blues. That music is so sad.' I gave them

  tickets to the show, and they came up afterwards and said, 'You

  didn't play one sad song.'"  - Buddy Guy 

 

If I had a dollar for every time someone told me that the the blues was depressing or sad, I'd be cruising ebay right now for expensive vintage guitars and amplifiers.  For this reason, I've decided to create "The Blues Page" - my introduction to the blues for the novice.  On these pages, I will do my best to explain why I love the blues and hopefully in the process convince you to pick up a blues CD or (preferably) catch a live blues performance. 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

Blues FAQ

Chicago Blues Festival

Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise

Chicago Blues Club Listing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Home Page | About Me | The Blues Page | My Music | My Recipes | Rants and Raves  Copyright © 2006 Welcome to Napoleon's Homepage. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2006 Welcome to Napoleon's Homepage. All Rights Reserved.


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The Blues FAQ

 

Q:  What are the Blues
A:  The blues are one of the few great American art forms.  Much of today's music has it's roots in the Blues.  Jazz?  Can't imagine jazz without blues.   Rock & Roll?  Chuck Berry just changed the beat of blues shuffle.  "Hound Dog" was Big Mama Thorton's song before anyone knew who Elvis was.  Jimi Hendrix sounds like Muddy Waters on acid.  Speaking of Muddy, his song "Rolling Stone" was eventually used to name a very popular rock band.  Hip Hop?  Ask Chuck D. - He's on record stating that Muddy's "Electric Mud" album was very influential to alot of Hip Hop guys.  The blues is everywhere, even if you don't realize it.  

 

Q:  Are the Blues sad?

A:  The best definition of the blues I've ever heard came from Willie Dixon.  He said, "The Blues are the facts of life."  Like all great folk music, the best blues songs are stories about everyday life - some sad, some happy.  Some are even party songs.  Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is a description of crazy party while his "Let the Good Times Roll" is a call to arms for party-goers everywhere. 

 

There are many common "sad" themes in the blues: problems in relationships, money issues, or working conditions are all very common themes.  However, in most cases these songs are sad only on the surface.  I once heard that blues is really "Looking up at being down."  In other words making light of a bad situation in order to survive.  Take these B.B. King lyrics from "How Blue Can You Get":

I gave you for a brand new Ford

You said I want a Cadilac

I bought you a ten dollar dinner

You said thanks for the snack

I let you live in my penthouse

You said it was a shack

I gave you seven children

And now you want to give them back.

This is the perfect example - sad on the surface but funny in a tounge in cheek way.  It's laughing in the face of one's own misfortune - the perfect way to get over sadness and get on with your life.  After a long hard week, there is nothing like kicking back and listening to some blues.  The blues are your troubles staring you in the face and you laughing back at them in defiance.

 

Q:  I'm ready to give blues a chance but have no idea which blues artists are good or bad.  Who should I listen to?

A:  It depends on your personal taste.  The way I always make recomendations is to start with selections that are tied to your current tastes.  As mentioned above, most modern music is derived from blues.  Depending on what you listen to now you can select from the various styles of blues.  For example, if you like Hendrix, I would recommend you listen to some Buddy Guy, then some B.B. King, then Muddy Waters, then Robert Johnson, and finally some Son House.  Each of these artists lead to the next stylisticly.  Each one you listen to prepares you for the next.  Eventually, I plan to have a well organized listening list of essential blues on this site.

 

Q:  What are good places to hear live blues?

A:  There are blues clubs all over the country, as well as places that have blues acts every now and then.  Check with your local blues society if you have one.  If you're from Chicago, you can check out the Chicago Reader's blues listing.  Also, since I am from Chicago, here's a list of clubs that reguarly schedule blues with links to their websites.  It is in MS Word format so you can download it your pc.

 

Q:  Now that I am listening to blues what qualities should I be listening for in the music? 
A:  I always answer this one with a story that someone once told me.  She said that the first time she went to a blues club, she asked someone who appeared to be a regular, "How do I know what I'm listening to is good?"  He gave her a big smile and answered, "Little girl, if it makes you feel something, IT'S GOOD."  He then excused himself, picked up a bass, got on stage, and played a set of music.  Ever since I heard that story, that's been my criteria - if it makes you feel something, IT'S GOOD.  I've heard technically brilliant bands that don't make you feel anything.  I've also heard guys playing the crudest sounding music that sends you to Nirvana - ask any fan of Hound Dog Taylor, they'll tell you he'd say, "When I die, they'll say he played like s**t, but he sure made it sound good!"  Now that he's gone, let me be the one to tell you, he played like s**t but he sure made it sound good!      

 

Q:  I went to the record store and saw all kinds of categories of blues - Chicago Blues,  Delta Blues; West Side Blues, Texas Blues, West Coast Swing, etc.  What do these mean?
A:  They are just different way of categorizing styles of blues.  Each style has it's own nuances.  However, categories tend to bleed into each other because there are a number of common influences and experiences shared between performers.  For example, Buddy Guy is always referred to a West Side Chicago blues musician.  However, he started playing in Louisiana, was influenced by B.B. King (Memphis), played as a session man on many "South Side" blues artists (Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, et. al.), and recorded a variety of styles on his singles at Chess records.  A while ago I wrote a description of the "Classic Chicago" blues sound, my favorite type of blues.  You can find that document here.  

 

Do you have other questions about the blues?  Send them to me and I'll post and answer them here if I know the answer.

 

Back to Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Chicago Blues Festival 

 

For four days in June, the City of Chicago throws a gigantic blues party in Grant Park known as the Chicago Blues Festival.  This was my introduction to the blues in 1988 and attending the festival remains a tradition for me each year.  However, with several stages and four days of music planned, this can be a bit of an overload for those new to the genre.  With this in mind several years ago, friends of mine approached me to give them suggestions as to who they should see at the Chicago Blues Festival.  I ended up giving a written description of nearly all of the acts on bill.  This request became a demand the next year and over time a number of people have grown to use this schedule to plan their Blues Festival each year.  This has always been somewhat disturbing to me but over time, I have come to believe this does help people out so I continue to do it. 

 

A couple of disclamers are necessary though.  I have some pretty specific tastes and many people disagree with what I write.  However, I only write from personal experience.  If a band sucked the last time I saw them, that's what I'll write.  I'm not pulling most of this stuff off the internet - these are opinions I've formed by spending time (some say way too much time) listening and reading about the blues.  I also prefer certain genres of blues more than others.  Delta and classic Chicago Blues are my favorites.  I like blues rock but it has to be done really, really, well.  Also, keep in mind that these are my opinions as of the time I write the schedule.  I'll often change my opinon on an artist from year to year.  Some don't share my opinions but that's cool - we all have our opinions and these are just mine.  You're welcome to disagree but please don't complain to me if I dislike your favorite act.  These are my honest opinions based on my tastes.  If you don't like what I've written, write your own schedule.

 

Also, one last note: Just because I say I never heard of someone doesn't mean I think they suck... It means I've never heard of them.  I try to only write about the folks I've heard or heard of.  The more I know, the more I write. 

 

My hope is that this will help you find your way around Grant Park for four days.  Most people say this is helpful so I'll keep doing it.  Here's my take on this year's schedule: 2007 Chicago Blues Festival Schedule and the After the Fest review.  If you need a map of the grounds here's a link to the official map put out by the City of Chicago in 2006 (as of this writing no reference to a 2007 map can be found so if the stages are in a different spot, don't blame me).

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise
 
 
It's 5AM on Sunday morning and the jam session in the Piano Bar is just starting to heat up.  The pretty blond house pianist is laying down a solid blues groove.  A percussionist drives the music forward without any drums, pulling different timbres out of everything he can reach - an ice bucket, the bar, the walls, the ceiling. Not to be outdone, Cajun blues man Tab Beniot holds down the backbeat with a pair of spoons as the bassist from the Phillip Walker Band saunters up with a microphone and begins to sing.  The curtains are drawn in the Piano Bar leaving it in near darkness, not that it matters – the only light outside comes from the reflection of the moon off of the 14 foot swells that are pounding the ships hull.  The audience sways involuntarily not to the rhythm of the music but to waves that would sink all but the largest of vessels.  Regardless of this frightening fact nobody seems to be worried at all because after 7 days, this is normal.  We’re on a 951 foot floating asylum for blues fanatics and loving every second of it.  This is day eight of 2006 Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise - quite possibly the best blues experience you can possibly have in this world or the next.
When people ask me to describe the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise (LRBC), I usually respond with a bunch of annecdotes like the one above because the experience itself is too hard to describe otherwise.  That is my dillema here.  I suppose, I could start with the obvious description:  LRBC is a 7 day cruise (eight if you count the last day when the music finally stops and you stagger off the ship).  During this cruise, there are some 70 planned (and many more unplanned) blues expereinces - some of which many would find hard to believe.  Here's a few random thoughts... 
 
  • You see combinations of musicians that you may never see again.  In most cases, musicians on the road don't have time to talk to each other much less play together.  On the cruise they get to hang out together for seven days so spontanious jamming often occurs.  You may go to see one musician and see two or three other world class musicians join in announced. 
  • You never know who you will see in the audience.  One night I caught Bobby "Blue" Bland and saw almost every musician who wasn't scheduled to play at the same time in the audience... Bob Margolin, Willie Smith, James Cotton, Hubert Sumlin, Billy Branch, Kenny Neal, Ana Popovich, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Lonnie Brooks, John Hammond, and probably some others I don't remember.
  • I've never been accused of being a very outgoing person but people onboard the cruise are so friendly that you just can't help but talk to everyone.  Some wear elaborate costumes, some don't.  Some drink (ok, most drink a lot), some don't drink at all.  All the while, no one really raises a fuss.  I've been to big festivals and concerts and you always seem to have one or two bad apples causing problems or picking fights.  Not so on the cruise.  Maybe its the tropical climate but everyone seems to be completely relaxed.  I probably made more friends on that cruise than I did in the last five years. 
  • The pro jam sessions are almost beyond description.  I live in Chicago and get to see top rank blues talent any night of the week.  You'll often see a musician or two sit in for a few songs on other people's gigs.  On the cruise, there is a jam session every night where you could see 10 or more great players sit in one after another.  The jam session usually starts after 1AM.  They end when the musicians decide to stop - often sometime after 4 AM.  Everyone left standing at the end of the jam session will then wander down to the piano bar to close out the "night" which will end long after the sun comes up. 
  • The Pro/Amatuer jams are great as well.  You never know who you will see on the bandstand.  Rank amatuers may find themselves paired with legends.  I ended up backing Zach Harmon one day and had one of my musical heroes, Tab Beniot, playing drums behind me on another.  It was like being in school (only fun).
  • You would think that some people would be sick of blues after eight days.  I couldn't find one... the lineup booked by LRBC founder Roger Naber is so varied that it is hard not to find some thing you like.  Some also took advantage of the ports of call and other ship ameneties as break from the non-stop music.  I wouldn't know though... I never got off the boat because there is no such thing as too much blues for me.

 

Nothing I wrote above really quite captures what you expereince on the LRBC.  Many Cruisers call it life changing and that is a fact - a good number of people are repeat offenders myself included.  If you want to know more about it check out the Official LRBC Website or drop me a line at nap1@naptabion.net.