watermelon slim (Page 1 of 2)

Hi Steve,

I'm happy to tell you that we just caught a bit of Watermelon Slim at the recent Doheny Blues Festival.  Regrettably, I was only able to hear one song, as I was otherwise occupied, but, my husband Steve, saw him perform about five songs.  He says that you should definitely go see him if you have the chance.  "He's different.  He does his own thing.  He has really unusual lyrics"......etc.  Pretty entertaining....... also, for what it's worth, "he has received 12 blues music award nominations in the past two years - more than any other artist".  He's won a few too.

By the way - Doheny was FANTASTIC.  I'm including the link from their performers bio page, which will take you to his website, myspace page, etc.

http://omegaevents.com/dohenyblues/perf … rmersId=66

If you want to read any other snippets about Doheny - I did finally post my very long winded story about the ENTIRE EXPERIENCE, which you can find on this link:    (it's post # 36 on pg. 3 of the Doheny Show Review/Set List thread)

http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtop … 68&p=3

How expensive are the tickets to the show near you, Steve?  Let us know what you think about Watermelon if you do decide to go.  He is QUITE the CHARACTER!!!!

  Libby 

hi libby thanks for all that.i,ve been on you tube and watched some videos of him,like you say he is different.think i,ll go and see him it,s only £12 a ticket once again thanks steve

I've seen Slim a couple times, once at a festival and once in a club. I enjoyed him both times. He's got a very good band and puts on a solid, well-rehearsed show. He's very approachable. He can also be a little opinionated - OK, maybe more than just a little - and I don't think he's necessarily a big fan of Joe's style of blues, but I don't hold it against him.

I didn't know that.  Fascinating.

Hi Angela. I browsed Watermelon Slim's song titles, but did not find any with the word Chicken. The nearest I found was Check Writing Woman! I wonder which song it was...

While searching Watermelon Sim and chicken I did foind this interesting article, which I thought I'd share with y'all (i'm sure it must be the first link on here to a trucking magazine) :

Watermelon Slim
By Truckers News Staff

Blues performer Watermelon Slim quit driving a truck in 2004 to pursue music full time with his band, The Workers.
Aspiring musicians in the trucking industry are common, but the guys who actually make it are lucky and few.

Blues man Bill “Watermelon Slim” Homans, who most people just call “Slim,” is both a new and old voice on the blues scene. His new album, Watermelon Slim and the Workers, is his third album in four years, following the success of the 2003 release Up Close and Personal. At 56 years old, Slim is experiencing late success in his musical career with critically acclaimed albums, a rockin’ band, The Workers, and a past full of stories from Vietnam, truck driving, and the marriage of a slide guitar and a gravelly voice.

“I’m thankful to have my musical career, as late in life as it is,” Slim says.

Born in North Carolina, Slim remembers the family maid singing old John Lee Hooker songs, especially “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.” But it was only many years later when he realized that the music he had grown up with was actually blues, a passion that, along with truck driving, fueled his desire to make his music known to the world.

In 1969, Slim began truck-driving training for the military, but he didn’t receive his commercial license until 1980. In an Army hospital in Vietnam, Slim taught himself how to play the left-handed slide guitar. He released his first album in 1973, an underground album to protest the Vietnam War, but then turned to truck driving for a living.

He hauled produce until 1984, and a short stint in watermelon farming gave Slim the name that granted him entry into the club of nicknamed bluegrass and blues pickers. He attended the University of Oregon for a degree in journalism and history, but in 1987 he was back on the road, working for a moving company in Boston after his music career failed in Europe. Then he got married to a woman he calls “the best spoons player in Massachusetts,” and in 1992 while he was driving for Werner, his daughter was born.

Slim earned a master’s degree at Oklahoma State University in 2000 and continued to work on his music with top names in blues like Chicago harp player “Earring George” Mayweather, Bonnie Raitt and John Lee Hooker.

A heart attack in 2002 only slowed Slim down for a little while.

After recovering, he got back to driving a truck and making music. He released the album Big Shoes to Fill and traveled all over the country, performing and gaining fans.

In 2004 Slim gave up trucking to focus on his music, and in 2005 he won the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist Debut, and his album Up Close and Personal was named the No. 1 Southern Blues CD of the Year. Decades of hard work have paid off, and with the release of his new album, Slim is looking forward to future success.

So far, his favorite stop on tour has been England in 2004. After years of college between trucking, he can enjoy putting his knowledge to good use as a tourist.

“I’m a big Shakespeare buff, and I got to reach out and touch his bed [while I was in England],” Slim says. “My book of Shakespeare is broke down in the bindings.”

Despite Slim’s highbrow taste in literature, the twang of his guitar and lyrics like, “If you got nine speeds forward, you better grab for number 10/ Cause I’m hammer down and high-ballin’, you might never see my face again,” in his song “Mack Truck,” remind fans of his trucking roots.

“This is the music that they can identify with,” Slim says.

Slim lives in Oklahoma now, but for New Year’s Eve 2006, a company of chicken haulers asked him to drive a “tricked out Peterbilt” around the block as a promotion for a gig at Knucklehead’s in Kansas City.

“It was so cool, man,” he says. “I loved it.”

He then went in and joined the band for a late-night jam.

As his musical career heats up, Slim is quick to remind fans that the highway is one of the greatest influences of his music.

“Working has taught me more about life than anything else,” he says. “But I’ve always thought of trucking as a public service. I retain a great deal of pride about it.

“I always keep my CDL current.”

http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=54177

Although I do enjoy his musicality, he seems a big boor sometimes, gets boring sometimes, and I don't think he's the greatest thing since sliced watermelon...

Rock On & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! "
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”

A little goes a long way. I saw him in clubs around here 9 or 10 years ago. The only one more surprised by his success than me is him. I view him as more of a novelty than a must see. Quite a character. He plays the local jams when he is in town. He is a very likeable guy though. The only problem I have with him is he isn't a Joe fan.

Slim is a blues purist. He doesn't care for Joe's style. He has a right to his opinion. I just hold it against him. Both Slim and Michael Burks played the club I booked. We had conversations about Joe. Needless to say there was quite a bit of Joe memorbilia on the walls of the club. Both expressed their opinions to me. I didn't ask they volunteered. I would always tell them the next time they see Joe to thank him. Because if it wasn't for him they wouldn't be standing there now.