On Oct 4, 2007, at 12:21 AM, Bob Laughlin wrote:
George Carlin,,good stuff.
"I'll tell you a little secret about the blues, it's not enough to know which notes to play, but why they need to be played."
I wasn't going to comment on this but I am reminded of something my old dear friend Earring George Mayweather used to say, "Everyone get the blues sometime. Even the President." Blues, in my opinion, encompasses a body of work, a specific form, and the telling deep personal truths. What Mr. Carlin is no doubt responding to are the guys who forget the "deep personal truths" part of the equation.
My guiding principal for writing and choosing songs is "do I feel (at least) a little embarrassed and exposed when I perform it?" When I'm in that space, I know I'm playing with authenticity. That is typically when I get the best reactions from audiences. There is one notable exception which is "Got My Mojo Working." No I don't believe in JuJu. But even with that song, there's a basic emotional hook which resonates deeply in my soul. "Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you." In other words, I'm doing everything in my power to get what I want but it's not working.
The most powerful lesson I learned from Earring George is that singing a performing the blues has nothing to do with color. It's about forging personal connections with your audience, one at a time. This is done by finding the shared truth in the words and music. I think that's why blues doesn't really translate to large venues except for the Stevie Ray Vaughn stuff where audiences are wowed with the technical virtuosity first.
That's my two cents.
Bob
Bob Cohen Principal, MojoTools Web Design Blues Harmonica Lessons Web : www.mojotools.com _______________________________________________ Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l