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 Viale Venezia 33 31015 – Conegliano (TV) Cell: +39 320.1913530 Skype: riccardogrosso Be sure to visit all the myspace profiles: The Surfbirds: www.myspace.com/thesurfbirds RGBand: www.myspace.com/rgbanditaly Riccardo Grosso: www.myspace.com/rickgrosso Seydel Harmonica’s Endorser