Re: [Harp-L] "Race, Gender, & the Blues"

[Boogieman Peeps <boogiemanpeeps@xxxxxxxxx>]

certainly can't disagree with the assertion that black blues artists are
overlooked.  at the same time you have to notice that (A) the blues
audience has changed over the last 60 years + (B) the blues of today for
the black audience is now somewhat hip hop & rap.  where is the new
creative outflow coming from?  who is new and fresh?  the outcome changes
traditions.  is this a good thing? nope, but the masses have made their
decisions.  and don't flame me either.  my blood pressure needs to stay
reasonably stable.  i'm an old man now.  I want to go back to the days of
John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters coming out with new music all
the time, but with a large audience to play to like the C&W groups get.  a
TV network set aside for blues only would work for me.  and yes, black
artists would all like to play nothing but blues for my entertainment and
no, none of that is happening.

On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:31 AM, Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>   Interesting article on the annual blues conference held at Dominican
> University over the weekend just outside of Chicago.  This year's topic was
> a hot-button one for sure: "Race, Gender & the Blues".  Normally I wouldn't
> post it except that most of the people quoted in the piece are harmonica
> players of some renown: Sugar Blue, Billy Branch, and Matthew Skoller.  And
> the harmonica in the picture looks interesting; I can't identify it or
> figure out what use it would have in a blues band.  Anyway, worth a peek
> unless you are easily agitated by discussions of politics or race in
> music.  Then, simply skip it.  I'm not interested in elevating anyone's
> blood pressure.
>
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-0521-blues-conference-20120521-7,0,4082594.column
> .
>
> Mick Zaklan
>