[Harp-L] Re: Is Live Blues Dying?

[Riccardo Grosso <rick.grosso82@xxxxxxxxx>]

That's a good question. From what you say I could answer "yes". And it's sad.

Why?  I  think,  speaking  for  MY  PERSONAL ITALIAN experience (even if I lived in New Orleans for 3 months), I can say
there's  a lot of guilt in blues musicians. I do love blues, I play it for living and I know I'm lucky to be a full time
musician,  but  honestly  I  don't  go  to listen to a lot of musicians' concert because I really tired to hear the same
version of "Hootchie Cootchie Man", if you know what I mean.

We   should   push   ourselves  forward  and  try  to play something "different" from the overused stuff. Of course it's
generally speaking.

If  95  bands  on  100 out there keep on playing the same old stuff we heard too much, they are gonna kill the scene and
kill  musicians  who are not playing GOT MY MOJO WORKING but are trying to move in different directions. No need to be a
modern harmonica player and no need to be an old-school one. I will not play "My babe", but you can't bet I'm gonna play
"Jockey Full Of Bourbon", for example.

What  I'm  seeing  here  is that people (and there's a lot young people too and that's amazing!) are getting back to the
Blues  after  years of U2/Pearl Jam/Oasis/You Name It tribute bands (they even dress like the famous ones!!!), so that's
positive. When I was in New Orleans they kept on telling me: "THIS IS NOT A BLUES TOWN!" and I was like "cool, so wtf am
I doing here?". But even there I could still have some gigs. So...I think we should not let the live blues die.

That's my two cent...

-- 
Riccardo Grosso
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