that festival summer - august 25, 2005
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Hello Old and New Friends,
It has been a busy summer for my band. We have had a good time introducing our music to new folks along the festival route. This summer we played some interesting dates in Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and a bunch of festivals, large and small, in Indiana. The largest fest locally was the Indy Jazz Fest which was headlined by Tony Bennett, The Commodores and Manhattan Transfer. Smaller neighborhood and regional festivals promoted my group as the biggest draw. So we really did have quite a variety of engagements. It all has been made big fun by the very interesting personalities we have brushed up against in the process.
For instance, in Westmont , Illinois, I shared a bill with a great Muddy Waters tribute band. It turns out that in the last years of Muddy's life he lived in Westmont and so this year the town held a blues festival to commemorate the connection and also renamed a street in the town after Muddy. Several members of Muddy's family, including Marva Morgenfield, Muddy's widow, were in attendance at a nice ceremony on the bandstand that evening. Legendary blues agent to the stars, Scott Cameron (Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters) made an appearance. At the festival I had a chance to blow harp with some veterans of one incarnation of the Muddy Waters Blues Band: guitarists Rick Kreher and John Primer. The band was anchored by the effortless and always soulful drumming of my old buddy and recording partner Jon Hiller (Jon played on both my CDs for Delmark Records). Also present at the performance were Chicago legends Little Arthur Duncan and Little Smokey Smothers.
John Primer: pure blues music untarnished by a rock approach
Ultimately, it was John Primer who schooled the entire stage and audience with tremendously powerful renditions of songs associated with Muddy Waters. Primer, it seems, has hidden reservoirs of power in his guitar playing and singing. He really remains one of the finest and most complete blues artists you will find playing anywhere from sea to shining sea. A soft-spoken and humble cat off the bandstand Primer exploded on stage with a perfromance characterized by a virtuosic command of his material and axe and a persona with a magnetism that would have made Muddy proud; it appears that a great deal of Muddy's lessons have been passed on directly to Primer who has in turn come up with his own brand of gritty, Chicago blues. I guess the thing that impressed me the most about John's music was that it is one of the few examples of a pure blues that has not been tarnished by a rock approach one iota. And yet his playing and singing is as explosive as anything you will hear on the circuit, a circuit which has been over run by heavy handed rock-blues players who think loud is better. John Primer is the REAL DEAL.
We played on a bill in Cleveland with Tab Benoit and then a show with Tommy Castro in South Bend. These cats have really worked hard on their shows and are reaping the benefits of a bit higher status on the circuit. What really drives that point home to me is the transportation situation. Benoit had a really long truck with 6 doors, connected to a trailer-type attachement in the back. Large enough for the entire band, equipment and luggage and plenty of leg room. Castro on the other hand showed up in a very impressive and huge bus. It is clearly time for me to step up to the plate and get some serious wheels to take this to the next level! Anyone have a good deal on a bus?
Upcoming: sessions at Severn studios
Next thing for my group, besides getting a comfy vehicle for the road, is a date in the studio at Severn Records. We will be cutting a follow-up to my latest disc for Severn, Did You Ever Wonder?, which came out in '04. David Earl, president of Severn, has scheduled session time for us in the Maryland-based studio for the fall or early winter at latest. I have about 10 songs ready to go which I have co-written with several different writers, plus some covers that I am excited about. In the meantime, we will be working the new material into our live show to see how it goes over in the clubs.
I hope you will be there for a sample at one of our stops.
peace,
Tad Robinson
