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CHRISTONE ‘KINGFISH’ INGRAM: BLUESFEST 2020 INTERVIEW 0

Twenty year old blues guitar prodigy Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram is heading to Australia next year to perform at Bluesfest. AM editor Greg Phillips recently caught up with Kingfish on the phone to chat about his career, gear and his trip downunder for Bluesfest.

Although most of the major blues legends like as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, BB King, Howlin Wolf and Robert Johnson have well and truly left the building, the blues is still very much alive and well and living in Mississippi courtesy of young torchbearers such as 20 year old guitarist, singer, songwriter Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram. Kingfish was hitting drums at age six, plucking bass when he was 8 and by the time he reached 11, he was playing guitar at Clarksdale’s famous Ground Zero Club backing his mentor Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry. He even played at the White House in 2014 as part of a delegation of young blues musicians from the Delta Blues Museum. Once the great Bootsy Collins began to share Christone’s fabulous YouTube videos, the world then caught on to this blues prodigy and there’s been no turning back since. He has gone on to share the stage with Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Randolph, Guitar Shorty, Eric Gales and many others and in May 2019 he released his acclaimed debut album ‘Kingfish’ on respected blues label Alligator Records.

In fact, blues is so embedded in Kingfish’s DNA that he resides only a few kilometres from the infamous crossroads on the corner of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarksdale, the location where the legend says blues musician Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. While many global music fans make the pilgrimage to America’s south to pay homage to the pioneering towns that gave birth to the blues, Christone laments a declining interest from many of locals in their own music history. “To be truthful not like they used to but there are still a lot of locals who understand the history of the blues and the town but most people really don’t appreciate it,” he tells me.

A spark that really lit Kingfish’s fire for the blues was seeing BB King perform on the American TV show Sanford and Son. “I remember he was doin’ How Blue Can You Get and man, the sound of his voice and the way he was hittin’ the strings, the vibrato, it was amazing,” he recalls. Christone is grateful that he once got to meet his guitar hero albeit briefly. “I got to meet him one time when I was in 7th grade. I never got a chance to meet him the way I wanted to ‘cos it wasn’t a one on one, it was with a whole bunch of other kids but I was definitely grateful to meet him one time.”

After all of the promise, the kudos and a few more stage miles, Christone finally released his debut album “Kingfish’ this year to much acclaim. The album presents all the facets of Christone’s love of the blues from firebrand electric tunes to heartfelt acoustic ballads. It also features guest appearances from blues icons Buddy Guy and Keb Mo. While the album was an exciting writing and recording opportunity for the young bluesman, it was also a great learning experience.

“It was my first stab at original tunes and they were all about what was going on in my head and my mind at the time. All of them definitely are from my heart,” he says. “I did learn a lot about rushing things. When you have time to prepare something you have to take advantage of that time. We made that record in like 3 days and it turned out great but I felt like it might have been better on my part  if I took my time with certain things.”

It hasn’t taken long at all for the guitar world to embrace Kingfish either. Earlier this year Fender guitars featured Christone as an ambassador for their new Vintera range, a line of vintage-inspired electric guitar and bass models that embody a period-specific vibe. Kingfish was chosen as the musician to perfectly represent the spirit of their 50s model Vintera Strat. On stage however, it’s currently a Player series Strat that he uses as one of his main instruments, along with his custom Michael Chertoff LP-style guitar. Amp-wise, he’s still exploring his tone. “I am alternating between amps, Peavey and Fender,” he explains. “Right now I am using a Peavey Delta Blues, that’s a little 2×10 or maybe the one with 18 inch speaker or a Fender Twin or a Fender DeVille. Mesa Boogie have me trying something out now too. I only use like 3 pedals, the Conspiracy Theory overdrive, wah wah and tuner.”

There are a couple of wonderful acoustic tracks on the album too, ‘Been Here Before’ and ‘Hard Times’, which he used whatever guitars were available to him in the studio including a J-Series Gibson. Occasionally at home Christone will gravitate to an acoustic guitar when inspiration strikes. “Yeah I do that,” he tells me. “I do it when I don’t feel like pluggin’ in. I do like to play acoustic because it does improve your control and it’s good to have around the house. Also when the album came out I started adding some acoustic stuff to my show.”

The great news for Australian blues fans is that Kingfish will be heading our way next Easter to perform at Bluesfest, a festival he has heard much about. “I’ve heard a lot man,” he says enthusiastically. “It’s actually one of the festivals I’ve been wanting to be on for a long while. I’m really looking forward to it. And what else is he looking forward to about his trip downunder? “Kangaroos man! Kangaroos and meeting new people and playing some music, that’s what’s on my agenda.”

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

LENNY KRAVITZ, JIMMIE VAUGHAN, ANI DIFRANCO & MORE ADDED TO BLUESFEST 2020 0

The wait is over! Following a great first announcement including Dave Matthews Band, Crowded House, Patti Smith and her band and so many more, Bluesfest can now reveal more incredible artists to join the lineup for the 31st chapter of Bluesfest Byron Bay this Easter. Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020 Just added:

LENNY KRAVITZ
JIMMIE VAUGHAN (exclusive)
THE WATERBOYS (exclusive)
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
ANI DIFRANCO
MADOU & MARIAM
THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND
ZUCCHERO (exclusive)
CORY HENRY & THE FUNK APOSTLES
YOLA
TAL WILKENFELD
JOACHIM COODER (exclusive)
STEVE ‘N’ SEAGULLS (exclusive)

Commenting on the announcement, Festival Director, Peter Noble OAM said “As the Bluesfest lineup is organically building, I am delighted to welcome Lenny Kravitz as a headliner. Lenny has often been described as ‘the last of the great rock stars’ and anyone who has seen him live will know why! I am thrilled to welcome him to Bluesfest 2020, dreams do come true!

With this announcement, we have scored some fantastic exclusive performances from Jimmie Vaughan, The Waterboys, Ry Cooder’s son – Joachim Cooder and all the way from the North Pole – Steve ‘n’ Seagulls! There just isn’t any other band quite like them. When you live that remotely, you need to do something serious to get your message out and boy have they ever!

We love guitar at Bluesfest. This year is fast becoming the year of the guitar! With Jimmie Vaughan and The Allman Betts Band added to the previously announced George Benson, Marcus King Band, Larkin Poe, John Butler, Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, Walter Trout, Carolyn Wonderland playing with John Mayall and Dave Matthews Band – Bluesfest 2020 is going to be guitar heaven! And, let’s not forget the bass players! Aussie wunderkind Tal Wilkenfeld has been the anchor for some of the greatest guitar players to tread the boards including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Prince and Herbie Hancock who all hired her for her bass skills. Now it’s our turn to hear our home girl’s many talents. We’ve so many artists making their Bluesfest debut in 2020 in this announcement alone! Tal Wilkenfeld, Joachim Cooder, Ani DiFranco, The Allman Betts Band, Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles and Yola, to name just a few. It’s SO exciting! Now we are getting the build-up. With many more announcements to come, I’ve plenty of surprises up my sleeve! Bluesfest 2020 is going to be the best yet! Oh and did we say, Crowded House exclusive, they’re playing their first Australian show in five years!”

The Bluesfest 2020 First Artist Lineup:

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
CROWDED HOUSE (exclusive Australian performance)
PATTI SMITH AND HER BAND
GEORGE BENSON
BRANDI CARLILE
JOHN BUTLER
XAVIER RUDD
THE CAT EMPIRE
MORCHEEBA
JOHN PRINE
JENNY LEWIS
FRANK TURNER
JOHN MAYALL
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE
THE MARCUS KING BAND
WALTER TROUT
CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM (exclusive)
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
LARKIN POE
THE WAR & TREATY

For further information on the lineup or artists please see here.

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

KIRK FLETCHER: THE 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW 0

Acclaimed soulful, blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher is returning to Australia next February to play a series of gigs. Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips caught up with Kirk on the phone to chat about his career, the current album Hold On and the upcoming tour.

In any band-friendly venue in any town in any developed country, chances are there’s a blues guitar player due to hit their stage at sometime soon in the future. The blues transcends race and language and we can all relate to the heart and soul of the genre. With such an overabundance of blues guitarists in the world, to stand out from the rest you’ve got to be really, really good. LA-based guitarist, singer, songwriter, performer Kirk Fletcher is undoubtedly one of the finest exponents of blues guitar with a playing style which features incredible fluidity and fire, yet there’s a sincerity and  warmth which touches you deep inside too. Add Kirk’s soulful vocals, his amiable, laid-back nature and you’ve got a performer who is rapidly rising to the top of the heap.

“I don’t know if I am at the top of the pile but really I don’t think about it much,” Kirk tells me. “I feel like I have my own story to tell and the more I can develop as a singer and songwriter and use the guitar inside a song, I think that people can relate to that. I think that is the thing that separates me from maybe other people. I’m not saying I’m better or anything just saying I’d be different.”

Kirk developed an eclectic music taste early in life, beginning with a love of gospel music, which he heard and played in his father’s church as a child. He further broadened his musical palette through his guitar playing brother’s record collection and a stockpile of guitar magazines.

“I learned how to play guitar in my father’s church when my older brother got me started playing and I was just trying to play like him,” says Kirk while recollecting his past. “I tried to play the licks that he was playing and the way he would play songs in church, the way he held the guitar pick and his choice of guitar and pedals, all that stuff I got from him. Plus he had all the guitar player magazines, the records, so he was a great inspiration. I owe him a lot. As I got older I was listening to what was on MTV but also having this gospel thing. A Kirk Fletcher week would be gospel music, everything from The Dixie Hummingbird style to listening to Prince, Jesse Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan to BB King, Bobby Bland, Lightin’ Hopkins and all that kind of stuff. A whole mixture of anything I thought was good.”

It didn’t take long for the word to get around that Kirk Fletcher was a guitar player of note and before long he found himself sharing the stage with luminaries such as Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton and Hubert Sumlin. Fletcher also went on to play with the legendary Fabulous Thunderbirds and Charlie Musselwhite, artists he learned a great deal from.

“You learn so many things because they are so experienced and they have been out there and they have seen it all,” Kirk says. “Also they came up in a different time so they would tell me stories about how it used to be, things to look out for, things that they enjoy places that they enjoy. Plus visiting some of those places, I got to enjoy them too, the food, music, records, how to be a man and stand up for myself, all those things I learned because I was in my late teens, early 20s when I started playing with those guys.”

Despite releasing several albums since his debut in 1999, Kirk labels his current record Hold On as his first real solo album. It’s the first time that he has written and arranged all of the material himself, apart from a little assistance on a couple of tracks. It was recorded in the UK with his European band, Jonny Henderson on organ and bass with Matt Brown on drums. “I have this musical connection with these two musicians, Johnny and Matt, who will be on tour with me when I come to Australia. We just had an immediate musical connection. I did a gig with them at the Bristol Jazz Festival a few years ago and it was so easy and simple and straight forward, that whole connection continued on the record. It was definitely the easiest record I have ever made and the most fun and rewarding.”

As well as having Johnny And Matt in the studio, Kirk also featured Australian singers Jade Macrae and Mahalia Barnes on backing vocals on the album. “Yes, they are absolutely on the album, my sisters,” he tells me enthusiastically. “We were doing a tour with Joe Bonamassa, the Three Kings tour a couple of years ago when I met them. Just the whole Mahalia Barnes family, we just hit it off instantly like sisters and brothers, so it was a great thing. I really couldn’t see myself recording a new record without having those girls on there.”

In regard to recording his guitar parts, Kirk is an old school kinda guy who likes to capture his solos early. For the most part, he used a Telecaster, a Tweed style amp, with 50s type circuitry, a little boost and a bit of reverb to arrive at his tone. “Well I usually just do solos on the fly,” he says. “I don’t really overdub guitar solos. I don’t usually fix things. If on the first or second take, there is a problem, or not quite getting the feel I want, I might fix something but usually, I am more of a one-two or take guy, especially If I am playing something in my comfort zone. If I am playing chords to someone else’s song, maybe I will take longer because I don’t know the song or something but I really just like to let it rip right there on the spot.”

“I like to mic up amps.  I’m not scared of technology or anything but for me, I like a bit of air and a bit of fun and the way the guitar reacts through the amplifier. I actually had the amplifier sitting right next to me on a chair, right next to the guitar. I had never recorded like that before. It was right there on the chair and the whole guitar reacts differently when it is that close to the amplifiers. You can get sustain on any note. It was a lot of fun.”

On the road, Kirk’s gear varies slightly but the same ethos applies. “A lot of times recently in the last couple of years there have been a lot of fly in, fly out dates and things like that. I usually get a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with 2×12 and some kind of reverb pedal and a Vemuram Jan Ray pedal for a boost and that’s pretty much it. I usually like the guitar and the amp to do most of the tone. I can pretty much get the tone from my hands the way I play.”

Kirk Fletcher has been to Australia many times before and is looking forward to returning with a tour starting in Sydney on February 6th.

“Australia is amazing. Australia is one of the first places I ever went on tour and I fell in love with it, had a wonderful time with the people and just the whole vibe. The cool laid back thing, even more so than LA and I’m from LA so I really connected with Australia. I have been back quite a few times and I have always had a wonderful time with great crowds and I always meet somebody new that is amazing. There is always such amazing music in Australia too. It will be me and the guys I had on the record, Jonny Henderson on organ and bass and our drummer Matt Brown. We’ll be a trio and it will be fun. We have been playing a lot together in the last few years so it should be a well-oiled machine.”

Kirk plans to dedicate much of the time before coming to Australia to creating his next studio album, which he hopes to have done by the time he gets here. In regard to the grand plan, he’d like to collaborate more and just wants to continue to do what he’s doing and get better at it!

“I think the plan is just to become a better songwriter and sing better, maybe even collaborate with people outside of the blues genre. I look at people like Ry Cooder and John Scofield and people like that. They’re into what they do but they don’t mind doing other stuff, you know like John Scofield and Jon Cleary or Ry Cooder doing the Cuban thing, so that is really exciting to me. I love all types of music but I will always have the blues as my base and my language.”

KIRK FLETCHER 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES

Thursday 6th February
The Factory, SYDNEY
105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville
http://bit.ly/FLR19-KirkFletcher

Friday 7th February
Lizotte’s, NEWCASTLE
31 Morehead Rd, Lambton
https://lizottes.com.au/live/shows/booking/2679

Saturday 8th February
The Abbey, CANBERRA
O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls
https://www.eventopia.co/event/Kirk-Fletcher/388668

Sunday 9th February
Way Out West, MELBOURNE
4 Market St, Newport
www.trybooking.com/522360

Wednesday 12th February
Caravan Music Club, MELBOURNE
1 Victor Rd, Bentleigh East
https://www.trybooking.com/519427

Thursday 13th February
Lighthouse Theatre, WARRNAMBOOL
185 Timor St, Warrnambool

Friday 14th February
The Gov, ADELAIDE
59 Port Rd, Hindmarsh
https://thegov.oztix.com.au/?Event=104192

www.gerrardallmanevents.com

GEORGE BENSON: THE BLUESFEST 2020 AUSTRALIAN TOUR INTERVIEW 0

Inspired by the sounds of his stepfather’s Epiphone Emperor guitar and the guitar licks of jazz greats Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, George Benson became enamoured with music and the guitar as a child in the early fifties. Between then and now, in a career spanning more than six decades Benson went on to become one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history and in my opinion, one of the most fluid players of all time in any genre. Not only has George been a superstar in jazz terms, in 1976 his career skyrocketed to yet another level when the breakout album Breezin’ was released. It was the first album in music history to hold the number one spots on the jazz, pop and R n B charts simultaneously. The album won 4 Grammys, including Record of the Year for its single, and sold in excess of six million copies. More success followed with hit singles such as On Broadway, This Masquerade, Give Me The Night, Turn Your Love Around, Love Ballad and numerous others, making George Benson one of the most successful recording artists ever in contemporary music. Far from winding things down at age 76, George has just released a new album Walking to New Orleans, a tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry and is returning to Australia in 2020 to play Bluesfest and sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney.

AM editor Greg Phillips was thrilled to catch up with George Benson to discuss his career, the new album, his Ibanez GB10 signature guitar, and the upcoming Australian tour.

Whereabouts in the world are you at the moment Mr Benson?
I am in Paradise Valley, Arizona, where I have lived for some time now. I like the weather here, there’s sunshine all the time.

You have just released a fabulous new album titled Walking to New Orleans, a tribute to Fats Domino and Chuck Berry. Was the album an idea that you had for a while or an idea someone else had put to you?
It was the idea of the record company themselves. I don’t know why they formed that idea but they thought it would be interesting to do it. So I said OK, I will give it a try and see what happens cos I love those artists too. I’ve been associating myself with their music at this time in my career but at one time in my life, I used to listen to them all the time because they were everywhere. They dominated the radio and the jukeboxes of my era.

Did you ever get to meet Fats or Chuck?
I met Chuck Berry in Los Angeles at a music store very briefly where he was buying strings and picks and things like that. He didn’t know who I was and I didn’t want to bother him but I had to meet him, that was very important.

When you are working on new arrangements of somebody else’s material for a record like this, do you know fairly quickly how you are going to approach each tune or do you experiment with different styles and tempos?
No I very seldom know and that’s good because we don’t want to make the same record over again. What we want to do is something fresh, something that comes from my mind at the moment. That fresh approach to things has worked very well for me. My biggest records have been mostly one takes, sometimes the first take … This Masquerade and Breezin’, On Broadway, they were early takes, we didn’t do them over and over again like how a lot of new records are made. That kept the records sounding fresh and like how we meant to play them as opposed to something we put together over a long period of time.

The producer you worked with on the new album was Kevin Shirley, who is known for producing a lot of rock music records. What was it like working with Kevin on this record?
I had never met Kevin and because of the style of music, I understand why we had never met before but I am glad I met him this time as I respect him as a wonderful producer and I enjoyed working with him.

This was only your second time recording in Nashville I believe?
Yes, the first time was with Chet Atkins at his house and that was a wonderful day too but it was just an off the cuff thing. We were friends and he used to invite me down to restaurants and eat catfish, country food. We had a good time and I respected him and he was one of the greatest guitar players of our time, so it was a privilege for me to go down and hang out with him. We got one or two songs together in his house, he had a great studio but this time with Kevin Shirley, it was a commercial venture with a record company and that was quite a different thing.

Speaking of producers, how important was Tommy Lipuma to your career and how would you describe his production style?
Well I don’t judge them like that. All I know is that he was a very congenial fellow and he brought me great songs, songs I did not think I could perform but what he did was open my mind up to the record industry mentality. While I was trying to think like an African American, he was turning me onto people I had never heard of before … the song This Masquerade and the song Breezin’, I didn’t particularly like that song. I heard it years ago and I didn’t particularly like it at all until I remembered that people loved it. Everywhere that I went he would ask me to play that song and I would always say, nah I don’t want to play that. He said George, I think that people would love to hear you play that! So I reviewed it again in my mind and thought, yeah he’s right people like that song and that’s what we are in this business for, to play for the public. And that’s what a great A&R man does, he connects the audience and the artist through the music. He selects music that he thinks will work in that direction. I owe a lot to Tommy Lipuma.

You are known for your Ibanez GB10 signature guitar. Was that the guitar that you played mainly on this new album?
Yes, I played that guitar and one other guitar, a D’Angelico, one of the originals. I used that on a couple of cuts. It’s not the kind of guitar I play on the stand every day because it lends itself to a much different kind of music but it has a beautiful sound, a beautiful tone to that particular instrument but mostly I used my GB10.

When did your love of hollow-body guitars begin?
From the very beginning. My stepfather, when he met my mother I was seven years old and he brought his Epiphone Emperor, which was one of the top of the line acoustic-electric guitars at that time. I got into that bag way back then because he turned me onto Charlie Christian records and you couldn’t get that sound with a solid body guitar. You had to have a hollow body guitar if you wanted to sound like Charlie Christian, who was playing with the Benny Goodman band at that time. I fell in love with that mentality, that tone, that approach to guitar.

I saw you in a Youtube clip recently playing Charlie’s 1940 Gibson ES250, which was featured in a museum exhibit at the time. I believe you also had a guitar like that earlier on as well?
Yeah, I don’t even know how I got it! At that time I was going through a lot of guitars. Guitars were relatively cheap then. To get one of those guitars now would cost you a fortune. I would go in and I would buy one and then sell it or give it to one of my friends, I didn’t know what I was doing, should have kept it. My children could buy a car with those. That was the mentality at that time. I changed my opinion on guitars. I needed something that had a cutaway in it and the early Charlie Christian guitars did not have a cutaway, so that became important to me. Although I cut a few records with non-cutaway guitars, some of my best records like White Rabbit was recorded with a non-cutaway Charlie Christian style guitar.

You have released 45 studio albums. What do you know now about getting a good guitar sound on record that you didn’t know the first time you recorded?
That the sound could be altered by the engineer. At first, I did not like my recording sounds. After the original ones I did with CBS, I liked those recordings.  After that, I’d go into the studio and begin to hear a guy I did not recognise. It didn’t sound like me anymore, so I had to adjust my thinking in order to make records because engineers didn’t want to hear anything I had to say. Nothing I would say to them would make them change their mentality, they didn’t know what I was talking about. Finally, I got the sound I wanted again when I recorded the album Breezin’ with Warner Brothers under Tommy Lipuma and the great engineer Al Schmitt. He listened to what I was saying and he altered my sound to make it sound natural. I also had new equipment. I went in with a Johnny Smith guitar and a Polytone amplifier and man, that put me right on the street where I should be living. It was wonderful.

The folks at Ibanez keep honouring you, more recently with a 30th and then 40th anniversary model of the GB10. What are the key elements that they had to get right for you to put your name on that guitar?
Well, I designed the original. I have designed maybe about eight guitars for Ibanez over the years. The main thing with those, in the beginning, was the size, which was highly unusual at that time, a mid-sized guitar. It was not popular when it first came out, although I did design a standard, regular guitar for the rest of the world,  a standard jazz guitar. The little one was unique, the GB10 was a very unique guitar. Although jazz players liked my GB20 which was a standard size, it was the GB10 which took off.  They’d begin to examine it, pick it up and say OK, this is a good road guitar. For me, that’s what it became, it became the perfect guitar to take on the road. When I sang it did not cover my whole body like the country players’ guitar, you know nothin’ but a piece of wood in front of me, a big piece of wood with a hole in it! It was small and I could swing it around very easily, it was not cumbersome and it never broke down on me and even if it hit the floor, I could pick it right up off the floor and play it and often it wouldn’t even go out of tune. So that was very important to me.

Although jazz players liked my GB20 which was a standard size, it was the GB10 which took off. They’d begin to examine it, pick it up and say ok, this is a good road guitar. For me, that’s what it became, it became the perfect guitar to take on the road.

 

I read that Peter Frampton was an influence on you, could you elaborate on that?
First of all, I liked the impression that he had on his audience. They didn’t forget him easily, he recorded music that was very memorable. To me, in the beginning, he was just a name. They’d tell me the top rock guitar player in the world’s name is Peter Frampton. I said I’d never heard of him. One day I saw his name in a magazine article so I picked it up and read the article and he said, oh I listen to George Benson’s music and said whaaat? You mean the top rock guitar player in the world listens to my music? I read the article and then I examined his records to see what kind of sound he had. I liked the records, he was on the right track. I liked his stuff, he was playing stuff that was different from everybody else. I said you know what, I am going to try that on my next record, so I used percussion and a wah-wah guitar and it was very successful, we went over the 100,000 album mark, which was very difficult with the record company I was with, as they had no distribution as I understood it at the time. When Warner Brothers heard that I had sold 100,000 albums or more, they said man if that record had of been with our company, it would have sold 500,000 albums, which would have made it gold. So the head of the record company put out the order that he wanted George Benson on this record company yesterday! That’s how I got on Warner Brothers records, so Peter Frampton was very important to my movement in the world of music.  I met him later and he’s a very nice person, still is today.

You are coming back to Australia in 2020 for Bluesfest and some sideshows. Will your band be the same one that you took to Europe and the UK recently?
Most definitely. I don’t go anywhere without my tools and they’re part of my tool chest brother. They know what I am going to play before I play it. Basically they don’t know what order the songs are going to be in but they know the structures and they know what I am looking for. If I pick a song, even if they have never heard it before they would know what it is I am expecting them to do.  That puts us on the same page and makes us sound good to the audience and that’s what is important for me, we connect with the audience.

Tell me about Stanley Banks, you have had him as your bass player for a long time. What is it about Stanley’s bass playing that you enjoy?
When I met him he was a kid, only 23 years old and that was 43 years ago. He knocked me out in a sense that … he studied classical bass, upright bass for a while. He had good energy and he plays bottom. You know today a lot of bass players want to play like they do on a guitar. I don’t want anyone playing my guitar for me, I want them to play the bass. Stanley Banks does that very well and he has been on a lot of my hit records. I can say it best by saying this … when my career became very popular, selling records in the millions, every now and then someone would come to me and say man, why do you have Stanley Banks in the band, I know guys who could play rings around Stanley Banks. I said to them, you know I have played with the greatest bass players of our time and I know the greatest bass players of our time. I knew James Jameson, he was my friend. I also played with the number one bass player on earth which is Ron Carter, who plays upright bass. I have played with a lot of wonderful bass players in jazz history, played with ‘em all. I always say, which one of them has sold 20 million albums and they couldn’t answer that question, there was no comeback with that. And I don’t want a bass player that if you offered them ten dollars more, they’re gone. If you get a prima donna, you know… man that bass player is wonderful, I wonder if I can steal him from George Benson’s band if I offer him ten dollars more than George. You don’t want that in your band either! So I have always had Stanley Banks and he plays well and we have sold a lot of records together and we are very good friends, which is the thing that is more important than anything.

How do you go about approaching your set list for a tour like the upcoming Australian one?
We know there are songs in the set that we have to play or the audience will be very angry at us. They are in there but they are not in an order that the band knows because the band will go to sleep if they did. If you put a set list with all the songs you want to play, they’d go to sleep and play with their eyes shut and you don’t want that. They know they are going to play On Broadway, they know they’re going to play Breezin’, and whatever else on the list that is necessary. But you know something, they’re not mad and they don’t get mad playing them and neither do I. I always told myself, If I ever got a hit record  … cos I know some of my friends wouldn’t do that, they would not play their hit record, they would get tired and they’d tell their audience, we’re not going to play that song, we’re tired of that. I thought that was terrible. You’ve got to remember even though they have been on the road ten, fifteen, twenty years or more, some people have never heard them live and you can’t disappoint them. And If a person has come to your concert many times, they are coming because of those songs. So it is better for me to form the opinion that hey, I like those songs too, after all I wouldn’t be here without them and that’s my mentality.

I’m wondering about future projects. A lot of people like your instrumental records, do you think you’ll ever record another one
We never know what is going to happen next but I would not turn it down because you know I love instrumentals and my guitar is still waiting for me to tell it what to do. I practice just about every day on my guitar, so I would not turn it down. I would love to do a great instrumental album, so don’t rule it out.

Bluesfest 2020 is being held from 9 – 13 April 2020. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.

George Benson Side Shows

Sat 4 April, State Theatre Sydney
Tickets via Ticketmaster

Wed 8 April, Palais Theatre Melbourne
Tickets via Ticketmaster

REVIEW: JOE BONAMASSA – PALAIS THEATRE, MELBOURNE 0

Review: Joe Bonamassa – Palais Theatre
Monday 23 September, 2019
Review: Joshua Batten
Photos: Mark Moray, Wicked Rock Photography

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Such is the case for antipodean fans of Joe Bonamassa, the 21st-century blues-rock titan with more #1 albums on the US blues chart than many of his contemporaries on the mainstream charts. It’s been three years since Joe’s last Australian tour (his longest gap to date between visits), and in that time he’s released his 13^th studio album Redemption, and his 15^th live album British Blues Explosion, recorded in London and featuring tributes to his original heroes Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. At the time of writing, a 16^th live album is on its way, recorded on his last Australian tour at the Sydney Opera House.

All this means Joe has over 100 original songs and 200 covers from his catalogue at his disposal. Still, a vast majority of patrons tonight probably won’t be crying out for a deep cut from 2011’s Dust Bowl and they probably couldn’t tell you which Gary Moore song Joe covered on his Greek Theatre live album – they just want to hear some good old-fashioned blues-rock guitar playing.

People are still finding their seats when Joe walks on with a Gibson ES-355 in hand and bursts into Muddy Waters’ “Tiger In Your Tank”. Despite sounding slightly sharp in the vocal department, there’s no stress or hesitation when he steps away from the mic for the first of many guitar solos.

For Joe, an artist simultaneously considered the saviour and sacrilege of blues music, the first twenty minutes of the show do nothing to quell either argument, and instead provide the best of both worlds. After “Tiger”, Joe runs through a selection of tunes from Redemption, including classic rocker “Evil Mama”, the Albert King inspired “Just ‘Cos You Can, Don’t Mean You Should”, and “King Bee Shakedown”, a good ol’ boogie-woogie shuffle.

Joe is infamous in the guitar world for his vast collection, and indeed several of his prized axes were on display tonight. Aside from his usual Les Paul’s, a Fender Stratocaster was used to give “This Train” a bright, dirty tone, a Firebird gave the title track from “Blues of Desperation” a majestic, soaring quality, and a Telecaster with a humbucker was used on “Tea for One/I Can’t Quit You Baby”, taking tunes from both the early and later careers of Jimmy Page and giving them the Bonamassa treatment.

Throughout the night, Joe mixed his trademark techniques with a few lesser-known ones. Of course, there were enough volume swells, high screams, tremolo strums and shred-a-thons to fill up the quota, but my favourite moments were the ‘less is more’ bits, like in “Sloe Gin”, played with a steady, slow arrangement and giving Joe a chance to focus on long, sustained notes, emphasising emotion over virtuosity. Another technique worth mentioning was one where Joe performed pull-offs with his left hand, while using his right palm to slide down the neck, creating a Steve Stevens-esque pinch harmonic run. It’s a testament to Joe’s talent that even after over sixty years of the electric guitar’s existence, it still continues to surprise.

Following “Sloe Gin”, Joe took the opportunity to introduce his band, arguing that the marquee out the front of the venue shouldn’t just say his name, but rather “Joe Bonamassa and the Cavalcade of Stars”. Indeed, this is an all-star group of industry professionals onstage, and almost everyone gets a chance to shine throughout the night – veteran bassist Michael Rhodes favors chords in his solos while still holding down rhythm, legendary Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble keyboardist Reese Wynans wails on his Hammond organ with his right hand while throwing in electric piano stabs with his left, and fill-in drummer Lemar Carter lives up to his reputation as one of LA’s most in-demand session musicians – even though Joe’s right-hand man Anton Fig is sorely missed, Carter brings a youthful energy to the stage with steady, powerful backbeats. On the far left, trumpeter Lee Thornburg and saxophonist Paulie Serra are powerful enough to make it sound like there’s a full brass section coming from the stage, and on the far right, a trio of great Australian lead vocalists provide backing vocals with guts and gusto. Mahalia Barnes takes a solo on “If Heartaches Were Nickels”, giving new life to a song which first appeared on Joe’s debut album back in 2000, and Juanita Tippins is a more than adequate fill-in for Beth Hart, trading lines with Joe on Bonnie & Delaney’s “Well, Well”. Jade McRae is unusually quiet tonight after a headlining single launch from the night before, but she still provides enthusiastic tambourine and syncs in with the other BVs.

After ten songs and over 90 minutes of music, Joe decides we’ve been sitting down long enough and finally brings the audience to its feet with the one-two punch of John Mayall’s “Little Girl” and his own ‘biggest hit’ “The Ballad of John Henry”, both played on a black Les Paul custom, complete with a Nigel Tufnel-esque triple humbucker setup. With horns and BVs in full flight, “John Henry” has never sounded so good, and despite being around for a decade now, remains Joe’s most recognisable song and a perfect main set closer.

Of course, it’s not really over yet, and after a brief stop, Joe comes back out on his own with just an acoustic guitar, heading straight into an eight-minute rendition of “Woke Up Dreaming”, full of fast and furious notes and varying dynamics. Although many of the familiar licks from previous renditions have made it in tonight, there’s surely some improvisation going on to keep everyone on their toes. Finally, the rest of the band comes back on, Joe brings back the Telecaster, and as the first chords of “Mountain Time” ring out across the Palais, the final climb begins. Guitar and bass trade lines halfway through, the horns and backing vocals act as the musical wind in the sonic sky, and the night ends with all nine musicians triumphantly taking a bow together in front of an astonished crowd of over two thousand.

Although it’s been three years since Joe’s last Australian tour, it’s been five years since I’ve seen him in a headline slot. At the time I was afraid that the addition of so many extra musicians would distract Joe from putting on a true rock & roll show, instead leaning too heavily on the blues. Fortunately, he owned the stage tonight, and I’m sure he’ll continue to be a blues rock hero for several years to come. If you’ve never seen Joe Bonamassa live, start saving now and fix that when he comes back for his next tour, which surely won’t be too far away.

RICKY PETERSON INTERVIEW: KEYBOARDS FOR FLEETWOOD MAC, PRINCE & MANY MORE 0

A life long Minnesotan whose sound has always focused on a characteristically “Minneapolis” sound, Ricky Peterson is best known for his now 20 year association with saxophone legend David Sanborn and for having, produced, written and played keyboards for Prince on and off since his early days on the Twin Cities scene (perhaps most notably producing and arranging the song “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”).

Playing on David Sanborn records since the mid 80’s, he ensembled with and produced Sanborn on “Songs from the Night Before” and Prince on “Gold”, “Emancipation”, “Crystal Ball”. Peterson also played a big part in writing and producing George Benson’s “That’s Right” CD.

This is just the icing on a career whose associations (either live or in the studio) read like a diverse pop and jazz trivia encyclopedia: Bonnie Raitt, , Billy Joel, Anita Baker, James Taylor, Mavis Staples, Joe Sample, Sting, Sergio Mendes, Brian Wilson, Ben Sidran, Rodger Waters, Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Phil Upchurch, Jimmy Buffet, Fine Young Cannibals, Steve Miller Band, GoGos, Paula Abdul, Boz Scaggs, Dave Koz, Lalah Hathaway, Sheryl Crow, Jonathon Butler, Bruce Willis, The Jets, Jermaine Jackson, Rhythm Syndicate, Chaka Khan, Robben Ford, Howard Hewett, Larry Graham, Tuck & Patti and John Mayer.

Ricky Peterson who has played keys for Stevie Nicks since 2007, was back in Australia with the new version of Fleetwood Mac, featuring Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and Neil Finn (Crowded House). Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips sat down with Ricky to discuss the Fleetwood Mac tour, his gear, his time with music greats such as Prince, David Sanborn and George Benson, as well as his current projects, WDR Big Band and The Peterson Brothers.

https://www.rickypeterson.com