Re: [Harp-L] Re: Totally bored with the blues genre

[46long Blake <46long@xxxxxxxxx>]

 I've felt this way for years.  I almost NEVER listen to Blues on my own.
Most of it bores me to tears. Yeah, there's the 1-4-5 stuff, but there's
also the lyrical pseudo call and response structure: line, repeat same
line, say something vaguely clever and cliche about that line. Ugh. It's
why I cannot listen to William Clarke. Every song has the same f-ing
pattern. Love his playing, but I'm good for about one song.

That said, as a blues musician, one's contempt for the genre can get one
into trouble with the Blues pursts - who, of course, dominate the local
blues societies. They, of course, judge who gets to go to Memphis, and play
in local Blues festivals. So, say, hypothetically, if you're in a "blues"
duo, and you deliberately avoid 1-4-5 shuffles, and, perhaps, you even
gently mock blues conventions on your website ( We're NOT your usual Blues
duo....No pork pie hats, shades, fringe vests, or any of that "sho-'nuff I
got de Blues" crap. If you want to hear ,"Stormy Monday," "Sweet Home
Chicago," and assorted other 12-bar shuffles,there are plenty of other
bands who will do them for you...")   then you might rub a few
"influential" people the wrong way. Good thing I don't do this for a
living.

Look, I can listen to Buddy Guy do a 1-4-5. James Cotton, sure. Butters,
yes. But give me Robert Cray, or Carlos Del Junco anyday. Hell, give me
Bela Fleck, Derek Trucks, John Abercrombie, Charles Mingus, Beethoven,
Phish (pre-1996), Larry and His Flask, Lake Street Dive, Steelism,
Spoon......

But here's the thing. At the end of the day, people like what they like.
For years I arrogantly and loudly judged other people's taste in music,
but, other than making me sound like a pretentious jerk, it was a foolish
and useless endeavor. The beautiful thing about music is that it brings so
many people an irrational joy. It arouses feelings of unrestrained,
cathartic emotion, and that can be a healing, transformative thing. Who
cares what music a person likes? If listening to Madonna makes my wife
dance around the kitchen at the end of a hard day, let it play. If German
opera makes my teenage daughter sing, let it ring. If my 11 year-old son
spends hours practicing a song by Radiohead, I'm not gonna tell him to go
to bed.

People like the blues. It makes them come out to see us and pay money and
buy drinks which keeps us with gigs to play. That's a good thing.


On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 10:09 AM, Lare Sattler <lmsattler@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> A problem we just had here in Canton Ohio, which I imagine happens many
> places, is a new blues club just opened and suddenly "blues" bands come
> outta the woodwork. Three or four guys who have likely never played
> together before practice a little (maybe), pick a name with blues in it,
> and get booked playing the same tired 1-4-5 blues songs. I was going to the
> place often to support it, but it does get boring and discouraging. One of
> the things my band has always tried to do is stay away from the norm and
> play material that other bands don't. The problem we've had is the
> 'musically challenged" audiences seem to rather hear familiar tunes. I
> personally have never wanted to hear cover bands, or at least when the band
> does covers, they do them in their style, rather than trying to copy
> exactly, so I have trouble getting my head around that mentality. There are
> a lot of great blues and roots rock songs out there, and yet to be written,
> that don't follow the standard 1-4-5 format, thank God, and for that reason
> I personally will continue to love and play the genre, and relish my Sirius
> Radio B.B. King's Bluesville station where I hear both old standards and
> wonderful new songs every day.Lare Sattler    The Little Chicago Band
> Canton Ohio
>



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