2009 king of the blues winner (Page 2 of 4)

For sure Jim. A great player. You just can't beat a great slide player. They're not a dime a dozen.

I think I'll just go watch my videos of James Patrick of Page...

See, I really liked that performance a LOT better.  Maybe his voice has something to do with it?  I guess he was really trying to go for it playing-wise on the KOTB competition.  I never said he wasn't the blues, but the thing that I love about my favorite blues artists is the soul that is poured into every note.  I guess I was too hard on the guy (one of our own) and am slightly embarassed.  "Can't judge a book by its cover" I imagine applies here.  He's a great musician and I wish the best for him.

In regards to the state of the blues, I agree it's not the most popular music as far as mainstream appreciation.  But I assure you, at least half of the kids picking up the guitar will learn some blues before they are done.  Every guitar player I know, regardless of style, loves BB King, SRV, Hendrix, Clapton, etc.

Joe is the ambassador of the modern day blues, no doubt in my mind.  If Joe's steadily increasing success is any guage of things, I have a feeling that Blues is going to be OK.  I remember seeing Joe at Hard Rock in '07...it was really sad because there were plenty of seats empty.  HE ROCKED THE ROOF OFF THE PLACE!!!  2 years later he comes back to Orlando and sells an even bigger venue out.

Wow.  That really is a whole lot different now, isn't it?  That's bluesy as hell, along the lines of the John Hammond, I mentioned earlier.  Who saw that before the judging?

Once again, I contend that guitar center still should not call it KOB if the first video I saw was what won it for him.  I'm really not trying to be "blusier than thou."  I feel the same way about idiots saying that Joe is the next SRV.  I think it's akin to somebody who's never been in the projects telling me about what goes on in my old neighborhood on Saturday night.

Simply not qualified. 

AND Jim, point taken about the lousy shape of blues as a business in your town.  I'm sorry.  What i've done here is put out demo CDs.  Because by now you say blues band and promoters rool their eyes.  So they listen and say Whoa is that you guys?  Yep. 

Truth in advertising goes a long way.  If I book a blues band and they play screaming metal rock and roll at volume 10 with maximum distortion, there's a good chance they will not go on for their second set, let alone get paid.  But I'm the dumbass who booked 'em.

Anyway Kirby is a talent and thank you for patiently posting that second clip.  I feel all better now.

See I do have a problem with people thinking that this is just "guitar music for guitar people." It shouldn't just be about the guitar. It should be about the songs. John Mayer once said about Stevie Ray that if Stevie didn't have the songs or his voice that his guitar ability would've been quickly looked at and then forgotten or he would've been popular only amongst guitar players. But that his voice and songs combined with his guitar work made him popular among what Mayer called 'the housewife contingency." I don't care about the guitarists, although I am one. I'm trying to reach folks that wouldn't know a guitar from a fiddle, that just dig on music. And it's in my musical tastes too. I love Gnarls Barkley, a group that a lot of people here would go WTF. But tell me you don't hear the blues when Cee-Lo sings a song like Crazy.

As a matter of fact, I'm trying to get folks out of thinking that the blues is just "guitar music." It wasn't guitar music when Muddy and Wolf were ruling the world at Chess. Blues was an ensemble music, where the singers were the bandleaders and the guitar was in the background.

In the end, it's not all about the guitar. It doesn't stop at the guitar. I do not think it is a coincidence that Joe's rise in popularity has a little bit to do with the fact that while still playing kicking guitar, he focused more on his voice and songwriting (or choice of songs to cover) and made it about more than just the guitar. This is what the blues must do to survive. Joe was correct when he talked about Stop being the rare blues song that has a catchy chorus in it. Honestly, the first two albums notwithstanding, it wasn't until Sloe Gin that I thought Joe was making music that had a shot to be on the radio. Not that he was making pop music or that he was selling out. But with Sloe Gin, and The Ballad Of John Henry as well, he's making music that is at its heart blues music. It retains its edge and its heart, and makes no compromises. But at the same time, it's music that is a lot more accessible to people outside of the blues realm. There's something about songs like Stop, Ball Peen Hammer, Dirt In My Pocket, Happier Times, and Lonesome Road Blues that is just so very catchy.

Aw come on, let's fight just for fun...   and I have a life.   Most of the blues standards from the old school were written and sung by a bass player.  Do you know his name? 

What about the piano player?  Mr Brown?  Pinetop?  Otis?

OOPS!

I agree it's an age old question with no answer, which is why I would avoid stating an opinion as fact.

MuchLove
FDOL

Exactly stratpaulguy. B.B. King was known by his black audiences in the 50s as a blues singer. Heck, most didn't even know he played guitar until they saw him live. Buddy Guy, same thing, such a wonderful voice. But who are guys like Albert King without such wonderful tracks like Born Under A Bad Sign or The Hunter, which don't even feature his playing that much because they were singles recorded for radio?

Actually I've never been a fan of the blues in general, I've always been a rocker through and through. I'd always liked Gary Moore, but kinda went off him when he went all bluesy. That said, that was a long time ago, and when I heard Joe for the first time earlier this year it was 'Feeling Good' and it was Joe's vocal that really stood out for me on that track, it was only when I bought John Henry that I realised what an accomplished guitar player he really is. John Henry cost me a lot of money, because as soon as the CD was finished I went back to my local record store and bought every Joe album they had lol. Anyway since then I have now added Walter Trout, Robin Trower, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Healey and Smokin Joe Kubeck (and Bnois King) to name but a few, to my record collection, and I've started listening to Gary Moore's later stuff too, and appreciating it for what it is, pure musicianship, and lets face it, Gary Moore is not one of the world's greatest vocalists, but boy can he play a guitar. Now I'm all about guitar players, be it Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh and of course JB, and I don't care what genre it is I'm listening to, all I care about is what I'm listening to, it's the music that matters. Labels just tend to pigeonhole artists, and if you start doing that, there will be people who don't like certain kinds of music that will never listen to certain artists because of the genre their pigeonholed into. That is a great shame.

Just putting my 2 pence (cents) worth in lol, it's my opinion is all.

Jono

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