Buddy Guy's Legends by Gatorman

Buddy Guy’s Legends featuring Buddy Guy


January 7, 2010 (Chicago), I was invited to Buddy Guy’s Legends by his assistant Isabelle.  My buddy Dave picked me up for the hazardous snow storm blizzard, snow blowing, trip. BGL is just about 60 miles north of my small rural homestead. I actually would have canceled if Dave had not graciously volunteered to drive. Dave is an ex-national guardsman combat medic and a Fire department captain/paramedic with twenty years of emergency services, so I thought go for it. If I was going to be stuck in an emergency situation such as a blizzard he is the guy to be stuck with.  Besides I got him his ticket, albeit a forty dollar one. He also is an excellent driver. Yeah Right!

We arrived at BGL at 7PM Mr. Guy was not scheduled to kick off until 10:30. One thing about BGL they do stick to the schedule. Nice. We looked around for an empty seat and there were just two left.  I’ll share a secret with anyone planning on visiting BGL. GO EARLY. I’m talking 1:00 PM early. Have lunch then have dinner because the food is excellent. The two empty seats were at the table of my two new friends, Nicole and Ryan Kibiloski. I asked if they were taken and they were not. Bam, we sat as fast we could. The seats were maybe 50 feet from the stage. There were located directly in front of the soundboard. Anyone who is  blues club veteran knows the best sound is right in front of the board.


We chatted about the blues and as it turns out they admitted that this was there first time. My friend Dave told them that they were in luck the professor of bluesology was sitting at their table, namely me.
I gave Ryan a list of names for him to look up on youtube. I knew he had a computer because he is a securities broker. His wife Nicole is a Montessori Teacher and as a matter of fact is opening a new center in Woodridge , Illinois.

Diamond Jim Greene opened up and was followed by Big James and the Chicago Playboys following. Kudos to James and the Playboys, because they unlike so many horn bands I have heard, actually tuned up the horns.
Buddy Guy’s band took the stage and kicked off a shuffle that cooked and Buddy had not even taken the stage.

Buddy Guy strutted on the stage like a man 1/3 his age. He wore a black beret, a red tuxedo with tails, a Fender Strat and a smile from ear to ear. MR GUY WAS IN THE HOUSE.  I am not lying to you the readers I was totally floored concerning his performance. You hear a lot of good and a lot of bad about Buddy. It comes with the territory, I know why some of the greatest guitar players in the world hold Mr. Guy in such high esteem. He is the ultimate example of Electric Chicago Blues. I know I’ll get comments about that statement, but I do not care what anyone else thinks. He is the greatest electric blues guitarist in not only Chicago, but perhaps the world.

One Parting Thought; there is a reason why people like Eric, Stevie, Jeff Beck Jimi Hendrix and numerous others sought him out, HE IS THE BEST.  Thank you MR. Buddy Guy, for letting me take your photo. Now how about that interview? 
Isabelle thank you from the bottom of my heart you are the best.
Blues Me Or Lose Me
Terry Lape AKA Gatorman
Copyright 2010 Terrance B. Lape

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In The Electric Mist Film Review - by J. Blake

(New York, NY)

IN THE ELECTRIC MIST is a 2009 mystery/thriller starring Tommy Lee Jones and John Goodman. It is based on a novel titled IN THE ELECTRIC MIST WITH CONFEDERATE DEAD by James Lee Burke. Burke is best known for his series of mystery novels involving a character named Dave Robicheaux; a Louisiana Detective and recovering alcoholic, plagued with demons from his time served in the Vietnam War.

Despite the character’s 18 appearances in literary form, Tommy Lee Jones’ portrayal of Robicheaux in IN THE ELECTRIC MIST is only the second time the character has made it on to the big screen. The first being Alec Baldwin’s portrayal in the 1996 film, HEAVEN’S PRISONERS; based on the book of the same title.

So right about now, I’m sure you’re asking “what does this have to do with the blues?” Well in addition to the film’s swampy Louisiana setting, it also happens to contain acting performances by Buddy Guy as a local bluesman named Sam “Hogman” Patin and Levon Helm as an LSD induced vision of confederate General John Bell Hood. I’d love to report that this film has a smoking blues score or soundtrack, but unfortunately it does not. There is a scene where Buddy rips some electric blues at an outdoor BBQ, but even that is not filmed particularly well or given much focus within the grand scheme of things.

On the blues front IN THE ELECTRIC MIST doesn’t seem to deliver much more than slightly below average acting performances by two root-music legends, which is unfortunate, because the filmmakers missed out on a potentially great opportunity. As for the film itself, its plot involves Robicheaux simultaneously investigating a current series of slain hookers and the mid-1960s murder of a black man whose bones have been dredged up from the swamp by Hurricane Katrina. Which in itself is a little too convoluted, add on the fact that both cases are somehow linked to the local filming of a new Civil War epic, and this film is just plain confusing!

Despite the IN THE ELECTRIC MIST’s talented cast, Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ned Beatty and Mary Steenburgen, it was damned to the realm of “straight-to-DVD” and after watching it, I’m not all that surprised. The film is not horrible, but it is not exactly “commercial” either. Other than Guy and Helm, I thought the performances were quite good and perhaps if I were more familiar with the source material, I would not have found the plot so confusing. If you’re a fan of the books, you may find this film more rewarding than I did, but I think that the average viewer may find it a little slow and tedious.

It should also be noted that the US DVD release is 15 minutes shorter than the copies of the film distributed to the rest of the world; a factor that may account for the plot seeming a little too convoluted. We unfortunately may have lost some important exposition when that footage hit the cutting room floor.

*If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy: Clapton/Winwood DVD Review

Thanks and keep reading American Blues News!!!

Copyright © 2010 - J. Blake. All Rights Reserved

Willie Mitchell dead at 81 by Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms

(Memphis, Tennessee) American music and in particular the musicians of Memphis, Tennessee have lost a stalwart, a bedrock of innovative music producing and a man, known to so many as "Papa," who was a mentor and friend to so many musicians, including the author, that it is indeed difficult to perceive the breadth of our loss. Willie broke his hip in September, 2009 and had a heart attack on December 19, 2009. He passed away on Tuesday morning, January 5, 2010.

Royal Studio on Willie Mitchell Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee
formerly the Royal movie theater now home of Hi and Goldwax Records

Listening back to the beautifully arranged Hi and Goldwax records that have been produced during the long, productive life of Willie Mitchell, I am struck by what magnificent jazz arrangements he posed against what might have been just straight up blues or soul songs, transforming the otherwise ordinary, and crafting it so purposefully into the remarkably unique and soul-stirring. These records are a testament to the peculiarly classy and innovative sound that came from "Papa" Willie Mitchell. They were different from anything that SUN or STAX records produced and stand on their own as the best of Memphis music. Al Green's hits, recordings by Rod Stewart, John Mayer, the work of such notable blues men Buddy Guy, Otis Clay and O.V. Wright, 12 albums of extraordinary instrumentals such as 1963 release "Soul Serenade," written by Willie Mitchell himself, and Syl Johnson's version of the Teeny Hodges/Al Green chartbuster, "Take Me to the River" are solid proof of this assertion.

Papa Willie Mitchell at the board

If anything this remarkable musician and producer was a musician first and a bandleader and producer as a result of years of live performances. Discharged from the Army in 1954, Willie Mitchell became a famous bandleader, playing gigs in the fruitful musical breeding ground of the clubs of West Memphis, Arkansas during the last half of the 1950's.

largest billboard in the South, Plantation Inn

These gigs, such as the Plantation Inn and Danny's club provided the experiential knowledge, the training that would stretch the canvas that would become soul and R & B for decades to come. Without these gigs, the interplay of musicians and the kind exchange of skill and techniques exhibited by the musicians, there would have been no Hi Records or STAX records hits. It simply would not have ever happened. It is for this reason that I have loudly decried what has happened in my home town, the elimination of the full time musician by starving him out or literally, killing the golden musical goose. No gigs, no way to make a living means no fertile ground for developing a musical scene. We live on our past with no thought of the future. How many times can every bar band play "Mustang Sally?"

If you are interested in this story of where the Memphis music came from, please click on this link to my earlier article in the American Blues News archives:

http://www.ameriblues.com/2009/12/memphiswhere-music-came-from-posted-on.html


Willie Mitchell discovered Al Green at a gig in Midland, Texas, in 1967, brought him back to Memphis, borrowed $1500 from Mr. Joe Cuoghi, owner of Hi Records and part owner of Poplar Tunes record store, to help Al get established in town, and set out to make him a star. He believed in Al's talent and knew what he could do with it in combination with his own producing skills. He was right.

http://www.algreenmusic.com/

About this Willie Mitchell said, "Of all the singers, he was the only one that could hear jazz changes and really sing in that style. Once we got that sound together, I just kept making those arrangements ... and it was just hit after hit."

Willie searched for songs that would match with Al Green's voice and told Al to "sing sweet, don't use that rough voice," and they led the band through a multitude of different songs including Temptations tunes and even the Beatles' "I Want to Hold your Hand." After a dizzying day and night of recording Al insisted that they try a song he had written. They worked out the tune with the band and recorded "I'm So Tired of Being Alone" at about 1:30 AM after, Al said, Willie had a little shot of vodka. This beautiful arrangement using the Rhodes sisters, who Willie had seen sing country music, on background vocals, was an unqualified winner. Willie went on to write and arrange with Al and many other Hi artists during the 1970's including Ann Peebles("I Can't Stand the Rain"). These were successful years. I remember seeing Papa Willie cruising around town in a white Bentley having some laughs.

From the Hi Records site:

"At Hi in the Sixties, Mitchell was already working with the core of what would become one of the world's greatest rhythm sections -- guitarist/leader Teenie Hodges, his organist brother Charles and bassist brother LeRoy. Known as Hi Rhythm, the Hodges Brothers, along with drummer Howard Grimes, remains the premier ongoing Memphis soul section..."

Here's a link to the Hi site: http://hirecords.com/history.html

Otis Clay and The HI Rhythm Section, 1986

Standing left to right: Leroy Hodges, Charles Hodges, Howard Grimes

Sitting left to right: Otis Clay and Teenie Hodges

Willie Mitchell (seated at the Fender Rhodes piano) and (from left) Leroy Hodges, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Archie Turner Mitchell, Rev. Charles Hodges and Howard Grimes gave records from Hi that special sound.

My dear friend and former band mate, Howard Grimes is one of the finest old school drummers in the world. Some of Howard's shuffles defy description and it was a thrill and honor to play on stages with him for many years. Once Howard told me that he owed a lot to Willie Mitchell, who, when he was a very young man, had instilled in him that lazy, behind the beat time thing that is the essential signature of Memphis music. Howard said, "Willie told me, Howard, you watch my foot now. Then he tapped his foot all the way through the track we were recording. He said, Howard, we all gonna start together, and we all gonna end together." Thus greatness is born. Both original members of the Hi Rythm section, Howard and bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges were some of my favorite musicians with whom I got a chance to play blues with over these many years. They are as kind, thoughtful and friendly as they are talented.

Willie Mitchell in his office surrounded by gold records

Pat KerrTigrett, Willie Mitchell, Jimmy Davis

My dear friend, Memphis musician Jimmy Davis, writes the following, "We were lucky enough to be at the Grammy's when Pops was awarded his Lifetime Achievement Award. Our group was also on the same plane home and we all walked together through the Memphis Airport with Willie. We stopped at a Commercial Appeal newspaper stand and there he was on the Front Page. I bought every copy and handed 'em out to our incredible Memphis Entourage. I'll never forget it."

My friend, the superb keyboardist, Archie Turner Mitchell, appears in the following video from Memphis NBC affiliate WMC-TV. To brother Archie, who now has lost his father and has always been so kind and supportive of me as a fellow musician, shared his stage and keyboard with me many nights, I would like to return the compliment, what Archie always says to me when I am downcast, "you are 100 with me, brother. One hundred...A plus."


Here is the Link: http://www.wreg.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=54db6117-0e3a-44f6-9482-15383540fe1e&src=front


As is our custom, to honor Willie Mitchell the musicians of Memphis will play at a formal processional down Beale Street with musicians playing all along our walk down the street that immortalizes the home of the BLUES and its musicians. We begin at noon this coming Tuesday, starting at B.B. King's Blues Club at 2nd and Beale. Loved ones, friends and fans are all invited to walk with us.

In lieu of flowers, the Mitchell family requested donations be sent to the non-profit Willie Mitchell Foundation and Scholarship Fund c/o Royal Studios, 1320 Willie Mitchell Blvd., Memphis, TN 38106, or that contributions be made in Mitchell's name to MusiCares at 1904 Wedgewood Ave., Nashville, TN 37212 (or call 877-626-2748).

Services for Willie Mitchell

A public viewing will be 2 to 6 p.m. Monday at N.J. Ford & Sons Funeral Home, 12 S. Parkway West, Memphis, Tennessee.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hope Presbyterian Church, 8500 Walnut Grove in Cordova, Tennessee. The service will include a video presentation and performances by Solomon Burke, Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, Shirley Brown and J. Blackfoot, among others.

© 2010, Robert "Nighthawk" Tooms

RCT

CHICAGO BLUES: Alligator Records Part Two by Gatorman

PART TWO

Today I am continuing the interview of December 2, 2009, with Bruce Iglauer. Bruce is the founder and head of the independent blues record label Alligator Records in Chicago.

If I was to listen to your Ipod what song would I hear?


First, I don’t own an Ipod. I really hate compressed files because they eliminate so many of the subtleties of the recording and the mix. In a car you can’t tell, but if you play a compressed file against the original CD, you can tell the difference in a second…assuming you’re not listening through earbuds or computer speakers.


But if you want to know what I listen to for pleasure, the answer is almost always blues records from the 1950s and 1960s. If I had to listen to only one artist for the rest of my life, it would almost certainly be Elmore James. I could argue he was the greatest blues singer of all time, just a chilling voice. Plus, I’m a slide guitar freak.


What blues song do you think could be a representative of Chicago blues?


Tough question. Do you mean the ‘classic’ Chicago blues of the 1950s? In that case, my choice would be something obvious, like “Hoochie Coochie Man”, with the lineup of electric guitars, amplified harp, piano, bass and drums and a charismatic vocalist like Muddy. If we start talking about the somewhat ‘modern’ era, I’d pick another obvious choice, like Otis Rush’s “I Can’t Quit You, Baby”. If we’re talking about today’s Chicago blues, it’s harder to define, because the language of blues has become more universal. There is less Chicago about Chicago blues now than in the past. I’d probably listen to one of the so-called throwback artists, like Lil’ Ed or Magic Slim, who could have been recording in the 60s as easily as today.


Can you define what a true Blues Man is?


Honestly, the answer is  ‘no.’ I would say that being a blues man or woman in my mind is more than being a musician. The music must be an expression of your soul. Like John Lee Hooker said, “it’s in him and it’s got to come out.” There’s another song (can’t remember who wrote it) that says “I didn’t choose the blues, the blues chose me.”  And I do believe that you can’t perform blues effectively without having lived a lot of life. That’s why some of the kid guitar hotshots don’t impress me. They can play a lot of notes very fast, but they don’t understand the emotional function of each one. As I like to say, they don’t know what the important notes are, so they don’t know which ones tell the story. And often they don’t understand that a rest (when you don’t play a note) is part of the music and the storytelling too.


Can you tell our readers what Lumpty lump is?


Ah, an easy one! Yes, it’s a type of shuffle where the rhythm goes “lumpty lumpty” like a horse cantering. A “true” lump for me involves playing the same note twice in the bass pattern. But when blues musicians are jamming, they can say “Lump in G from the 5” and count it off, and they will all be speaking pretty much the same musical language. Someone like Bob Stroger is a great lump bass player. And Jimmy Reed was the king of putting great catchy lyrics to a lump beat.


You just concluded your seat on the Board of Directors for The Blues Foundation. Tell us a little bit about that experience.


I am a big supporter of the Blues Foundation, and consider the production of the International Blues Challenge and the Blues Music Awards to be major achievements, and very good for our community. Nonetheless, I wish the Foundation would do a lot more, especially in the area of blues education. The mission statement of the Foundation talks about “ensuring the future of the blues” and I think blues education in the schools and elsewhere is a lot of that job. Blues is not fashionable music at all right now, and younger people have almost no way to learn about it and become fans. So I wish the Foundation would dedicate itself to that goal. During my time on the board, I was considered to be pretty much of a maverick, and probably wasn’t the best-liked person there. I bumped heads with the staff quite a bit too. We just see things very differently. I believe in the mission of the Foundation. It’s a question of how to fulfill that mission where we often disagree.


Pat Morgan, Pinetop Perkins’ manager, is the new president of the Blues Foundation. I am eager to see how she steps into the role, and how she affects things. Paul Benjamin, the outgoing president, was very much responsible for significant improvement in the BMAs. Jay Sieleman, the executive director, has done a great deal to make the IBC a truly fine event. But producing two major events, no matter how good, is just not enough.


Where do you see the genre in the future?


This is a crucial and scary time for the blues The most famous icons of our music, B.B. King and Buddy Guy, are in their 80s and 70s. After them, no one artist has achieved a national profile that anywhere near equals theirs. B.B. has been amazing for the blues, both as a musician and as a spokesman. To have someone like him, who can communicate with audiences so easily and who can go on TV or radio and speak so eloquently about the blues, is a miracle, and has helped make the blues known worldwide. What other blues man can come on the Tonight Show and charm everyone? Unfortunately, no one who is coming up in the blues has that kind of combination of charisma, talent and eloquence, as well as being really well known. I’m afraid when B.B. is no longer with us, many people will pronounce the blues ‘dead’. And it is true that the ‘young guns’ of the blues are mostly middle aged now. There are some good young artists, but many of them are guitar slingers rather than the whole package. And try to name someone under the age of 40 leading a working blues band in Chicago, or almost anywhere. That’s not true in almost any other genre of music. We need to nurture our younger artists. We also need to have an expansive definition of blues, and lots of blues fans want new blues that sounds just like old blues. If the music doesn’t evolve, it will petrify. I don’t want blues to be like Dixieland jazz…a museum piece with a few hardcore old fans that want re-creations of what has already happened. You’ll never beat Muddy at being Muddy. I can never understand why I get so many demos of Muddy and Robert Johnson songs. Do you really think you can bring something new to those, and make me forget the originals?


What are some of today’s challenges?


There are many. For a start, people aren’t buying music like they used to. This includes both recorded music, and, to some extent, live music. Ever since 1999, when illegal downloading began, record stores have been closing. We’ve lost literally thousands of them. And the remaining ones are mostly stocking the hits, just like Wal-mart. As you can imagine, it’s pretty tough to get blues records into hits-only stores. And stores were where a lot of fans (and potential fans) found out about new recordings for the first time. A good record store could be a port of entry for people to discover new music and even genres of music they didn’t know about. Now that discovery isn’t happening. Unfortunately, a lot of blues fans are older, and aren’t very committed to shopping on the web. So our sales through Amazon and our own web site, www.alligator.com are not nearly as large as you’d expect. And many blues customers don’t want to buy downloads. With our roots artists like Eric Lindell and JJ Grey Mofro, downloads can be around 30% of their sales. For our blues artists, they are more like 12%.


Still, the best way that a blues artist has to promote his or her career is live performance. Most of our artists tour year-around, usually the old-fashioned way, driving their own vans, hauling trailers, carrying their own gear with no road management or help of any kind. Only a few have buses or even an extra person to help. They survive by gigging as constantly as possible, selling CDs at the gigs (which is very important to us, as you’d imagine) and living almost from gig to gig. With blues not being so fashionable, and the economy in so much trouble, it’s harder and harder for the artists to get the weekday gigs they need to support their touring. Having nights off is really expensive and most of our artists would be happy to gig 6 or 7 nights a week if the work were there. They’re not lazy! They try to save money from better paying festival dates and overseas tours, but it’s hard.


How have you monopolized the internet?


We have hardly monopolized the internet! However, I can brag that I believe we were the first blues label to begin selling online, back in 1995. Our site at www.alligator.com offers not only the entire Alligator catalog of CDs but also Alligator-branded clothing and books, DVDs, calendars and other merchandise that I think any blues fan would be interested in.  Besides selling, our web site includes bio materials on all our artists, a complete history of the label, tour calendars and booking information for all our artists, an online jukebox that streams hundreds of Alligator tracks, a goodies section that includes free downloads, news of the label and artists, and most important, a place where fans can sign up to be on our mailing list! Besides offering them special deals from our site, we also inform them of gigs by Alligator artists in their area. We recently expanded this service to inform our Canadian and European customers about upcoming gigs and tours.


More recently, we’ve established myspace and Facebook sites for any of our artists who didn’t have them, and I’ve even begun to twitter, though I have to say that I think it’s kind of silly. Myspace and Facebook are good tools to let fans know where gigs are.  These also include links to artist’s videos. We’re continuing to explore all kinds of online communication, as we’re very aware that traditional media is struggling. It sure was a lot easier when there weren’t so many bloggers and podcasters trying to convince us how important their work was!


I hate to ask this question, but there is a rumor that you turned down Stevie Ray Vaughn. Is that true and if so why?


I heard Stevie live around 1980. At that time, he was playing what I heard as lots and lots of Albert King licks at about three times Albert’s volume. I didn’t hear original songs or much in the way of original guitar playing. In fact, as much as I appreciate and admire Stevie for turning on so many people to the blues (and for producing our wonderful Lonnie Mack record, “Strike Like Lightning”, which he also played on), I don’t think many of his fans realized that he was playing a lot of other people’s licks. Stevie had an amazing ability to absorb existing styles and playing. His playing of Albert King’s and Lonnie Mack’s styles was uncanny, and you could also hear his huge vocabulary of guitar from the players like Clarence Holliman, Roy Gaines and Pat Hare, who did lots of session work behind singers like Bobby Blue Bland and Junior Parker. Of course Stevie pumped up the volume and the intensity, but he would be the first to point the spotlight at his inspirations. So, I heard Stevie playing a lot of things that I considered derivative, and passed on him. I would say that he grew a great deal as an artist, but his music didn’t really excite me a lot until about halfway through his recording career, when he began to write more original songs. I think his best, most original and personal music was still ahead of him. Of course, his death was a huge loss for the blues. No one since has managed to bring the blues to a new, young audience. We didn’t know how much we needed him until he was gone. As Tinsley Ellis says, the only thing worse than a world full of Stevie Ray imitators is a world without them.


Now, don’t ask me who ELSE I foolishly turned down!


Do you have any secrets you would like to share with our readers?


You mean, besides the names of the artists I mistakenly passed on? What I’d say to aspiring blues recording artists is—don’t get into this music because you think there’s a career for you there. There probably isn’t, and if there is one, it will be a constant struggle without much financial reward. Play this music because you love it, because it soothes your soul and makes you smile. If someone hears you and likes you, great! But keep your day job.


For aspiring record business people, I’d say—this is about the hardest time ever for anyone trying to run anything that resembles a record label. If you are determined to try it, apprentice to an existing label first. I learned a lot as I went along, but there is not time for that now. You need to know what you’re getting into before you get into it, not afterward.


If you could go back in time what one thing would you change?


This question made me smile. The first thing I’d do is go back and see Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson live. In fact, I’d see plenty more blues men and women…Tommy Johnson, Skip James, Louise Johnson, Cripple Clarence Lofton, young Gatemouth, hundreds and hundreds. As far as business, there are some chances I should have taken and didn’t. I could have signed Otis Rush, for example. And I would have invented cloning so that I could clone myself and have a couple of selves working all night so that I could go out to more gigs!


What are most proud of?


Wow. Lots of things. I have given many great artists recording opportunities and career opportunities they might never have otherwise had. I have helped make recordings that will stand the test of time, from Hound Dog Taylor to Professor Longhair to Koko Taylor to Lil’ Ed to Corey Harris to Michael Hill to dozens more. I hope I’ve helped enlarge the audience for blues, and helped to carry the tradition into the future.


What’s Next?


Right now we’re working on albums by The Holmes Brothers and Guitar Shorty for March release. In April we should have a new Janiva Magness. Soon I’ll be going into the studio with Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King for a 2010 release.  I’m constantly listening and watching artists, trying to fine the visionary blues men and women for the next generation. I hope I have enough vision to recognize them. I like to think that the future of Alligator Records and the future of the blues will be one and the same.


Thank you Bruce for your time.


Terry " Gatorman" Lape


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CHICAGO BLUES: Alligator Records Part One by Terry "Gatorman" Lape

Part One

Alligator Records

Bruce Iglauer

Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions for me.   


How did you first start in the record business?


I came to Chicago at the beginning of 1970 to work for Bob Koester, my mentor and hero, at his label, Delmark Records, and in his store, the (still wonderful) Jazz Record Mart. I thought I was going to stay for a year and then go to graduate school, but I’m still here. At first I just wanted to be around the blues scene, and to see recordings being made. I became Bob’s shadow; if he went to a South or West Side club, I went along. If he went to the studio, I was there as gopher. If he was editing tape, I wanted to watch. My first recording session was “Junior Wells’ South Side Blues Jam” with Buddy Guy, Louis Myers, Otis Span, Fred Below and Earnest Johnson. It was like going to heaven. I also got to watch/help out on sessions with Robert Lockwood Jr., Roosevelt Sykes, Jimmy Dawkins and a few others. I never dreamed of having my own label; I just wanted to work for Delmark. Bob is still a huge hero to me, and I feel he’s never gotten the credit he deserves as a key figure in bringing the blues to the world. I walk in his footsteps.


At that time, the entire blues scene was in the black community, and I was going to the little ghetto blues bars 4-5 nights a week. The music was often just terrific, and the atmosphere was very special. The musicians and the audience were basically the same people, and they communicated in a way that I don’t see when blues is more of a presentation, as it usually is today. The people in these ghetto clubs shared a cultural understanding, a history and understood blues as a way to heal everyone’s emotional wounds, not just a form of entertainment. Those nights were some of the happiest experiences of my life. Often I was the only white person there, and almost everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Sometimes the street was a little scary, but the clubs (which were basically neighborhood bars with a band) were full of working class people who understood that I was there for the music, and appreciated it. This was before I was a record guy; I was just a fan, and a “hippie” (at least in appearance). I got to know a lot of musicians personally.

Junior Wells always kept an eye on me and we drank on street corners. People like Lefty Dizz , Eddie Shaw, Big Bad Ben and Magic Slim were really nice to me.




Why the Blues?


It’s hard to explain, and I don’t entirely understand it myself. They say that if you don’t love the blues, you have a hole in your soul. Well, it seems like the blues fills the hole in my soul. From the first time I really heard blues, at a Fred McDowell performance in 1966, it was as though blues spoke directly to the innermost part of me. I know that sounds corny, but it’s true. I felt Fred’s music was the most honest, direct and emotional thing I had ever heard. After that, other kinds of music seemed false and plastic. These days, I’m not an easy man to move with music, but when the blues works for me, it still works just like it did that first time. Blues has made me happier than I ever imagined, and it’s wrenched me more than I ever imagined. Sometimes it’s so good it makes me cry (in a good way). First and foremost, I’m a fan. That’s crucial in understanding what Alligator is about. I made a label to share my fan-dom with others.


In 1971 you left another blues label shortly after you recorded Hound Dog Taylor & the House Rockers. Did you have any idea at that time that you would become one of the most influential Blues Men in the industry today?

Not at all. When I recorded Hound Dog (while I was still working at Delmark Records), all I hoped was to sell enough copies to make another record. I never dreamed of a catalog of 260 albums. Hell, I never dreamed of having an employee! Everything was day to day, just trying to make my company survive. I never wanted to be a businessman, but I realized early on that unless I was good at business, I couldn’t make more records. So, I learned. A lot of people I know tried to start labels at that time. They loved the music but didn’t take time to learn the business.


What did it cost for that very first record?


That’s easy—my first studio bill was $956 dollars. That included cutting the master disc. We recorded direct to two-track, mixing as we went. There was nothing to do over. We recorded each song a couple of times, and chose the best versions.  I paid the band $960 dollars--$480 for Hound Dog and $240 each for the other two members of the band. Of course, that was an advance. They made thousands on royalties over the years. I pressed 1000 LP's, and got the jackets printed on credit. Then the hard work began!


In the start up years, what were some of the challenges you faced?


Essentially, everything, I had no distributors, no radio play, no press, no booking for the artists I recorded, no road management, nothing. I was on my own. So, I found distributors (some of them I knew as Delmark distributors, but others I had to find; I wanted distributors who weren’t so specialized that they only dealt with a few stores), made my own contacts with radio and press, booked the bands, traveled with them, published their music, and pretty much did everything, including packing and shipping the boxes of LPs. I could only afford to release one album a year, and if that one didn’t sell, it was hard to get the distributors to pay me for anything. I was operating out of an efficiency apartment in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. It took two years to move to a three-room apartment, and a year later I bought a small house. It took from 1971, when I started, until 1985, before I wasn’t living in the same place as Alligator. I didn’t have a full time employee until 1977. Eventually I had seven people coming to my house, with LPs warehoused in the basement and 7000 cassettes in the kitchen. I knew then it was time to move, either the label or me. I chose to move the label, and I still live in the house. Alligator has never stopped being a challenge, or a battle. Actually, this may be the hardest time ever in the history of the label. I don’t know how record labels are going to survive the closing of literally thousands of stores and the rampant illegal downloading. Plus blues is not at the peak of its popularity right now. We need some young champions of the music who have a vision for taking the blues into the future.


Can you name some of the very first artist’s you recorded?


Sure. Hound Dog Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Son Seals, Fenton Robinson, Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Albert Collins and the Living Chicago Blues series, which had 18 different artists spread over six LPs. It’s now four CDs.


Can you tell us a little bit about the costs involved to develop an artist for recording?


Every album varies in costs. First, there is the cost of the musicians, both the sidemen and the leader. These can vary a lot. Then there’s the studio cost—typically $600 to $1000 per day. In the old days, recording tape was a big expense, often $1500 or more for an album. We usually spend between three and ten days recording, and mixing is usually about three songs a day. There are artists who record really quickly, like Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, and artists who need more time. When I’m the producer (I’ve produced or co-produced about 125 albums), I prefer the faster artists. I’m not super patient!


I like to do as much rehearsal as possible. I don’t think the studio is the place to experiment with arrangements. The studio is the place to get the best possible performance. But sometimes, when I’m working with an out of town band, we have to pull a lot of the music together in the studio.


Once I’ve recorded and mixed, then there’s mastering (usually around $1000-$1500 if you want it done right), photos, packaging. And then we get to manufacture about 4500 CDs that we give away as promo copies, to radio, press, and retailers. Then we have to buy retail programs at the stores—things like listening posts and top shelf positions and featured placements. None of those things are free. And we have to do our basic advertising. Usually this means that we’re spending $15-20,000 per release to set up the recording in the marketplace before we sell a single copy.


In the meantime, we’re working with the artist, the booking agent and hopefully a professional artist manager to do tour planning, so that the artist is out in front of the public when the new release is being promoted. We have about three months when the media and stores will think of something as a new release. After that, it’s back catalog.  During that three month period, we will spend additional money advertising and publicizing every gig the artist does. We continue to publicize gigs after that, but our big advertising push is in those first 90 days.


One thing that’s important to understand is that we have to pay for all these things, on a product that gives us a profit of around $6 per CD (less for a downloaded album).  So it’s a very risky proposition. Alligator spends more promoting a release than anyone else in blues, and I like to think we do it better.


How do you find new artists?


I’m constantly listening to artists, both on demos or home made recordings (or on other labels) and at live gigs. The first thing I go by is my gut feeling. Does this artist reach my emotions, stir me, touch a little of my soul? It’s MY label; I have to believe in everything we release.


Alligator probably signs at the most one or two new artists a year. So, as you’d imagine, these decisions are terribly important. Besides the cost of making a new record, including paying the artist, we spend tens of thousands of dollars promoting, marketing and advertising every new release. And of course we also spend hundreds of hours of human time trying to attract the attention of the media, the retailers and potential customers. Plus, for every artist or band we sign, this means there are hundreds that we don’t sign. If one of them had been a better choice (or maybe not signing anyone new and attempting to further promote our existing roster of artists would have been the smartest choice), then we have wasted a huge amount of time and money. In 2009, the new artists we signed were Buckwheat Zydeco and Tommy Castro, who were obviously already well-established acts. Plus, we released the debut by Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, who had begun life as Little Charlie and the Nightcats and spent their whole recording career with Alligator. In 2008, we signed Janiva Magness, Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater and Smokin’ Joe Kubek and Bnois King. Again, these were artists who had already had some success on other labels. The last artists we signed who had not been on a nationally distributed label before Alligator were Eric Lindell in 2006 and Michael Burks in 2002.


So, obviously, one thing I look at when considering artists is their previous recording history, including their sales history. I’m always looking for artists who have done a lot to establish their own fan base, whether locally and regionally or nationally. I need artists who have some sense of how to take care of their own careers, or who may have some kind of professional management or booking agent. I can’t deal with artists who are ‘weekend warriors’ or who are unprepared for major touring; getting in front of audiences is the best way blues and roots artists can create fans and sell their music. There isn’t enough radio and other media for blues and roots to make touring less than totally essential.

Of course I look for artists who have their own sound and style, well connected to blues but not repeating what’s already been done. This is a tough row to hoe for artists. The pressure is often to do familiar songs and re-create familiar sounds. But Muddy Waters didn’t become famous by coping Son House and Robert Johnson. B.B. didn’t become famous trying to copy T-Bone Walker. So creating your own songs, or taking other people’s songs and making something fresh from them, is essential for anyone hoping to be signed with Alligator.

Above all, there is the live performance. If an artist can thrill me on stage (and I’m a tough sell), then I’m interested. That includes the ability to play but also to sing really well, and to communicate with the audience.


I do still listen to demos, but it’s been a long time since I found an artist based on his or her demo recording. And these days so many artists who aren’t ‘ready’ are financing their own albums and sending them to me. They are expecting me to take an hour of my life to listen to their album, and are often resentful when I only listen to the first four songs. As almost no one else in the industry listens to demos at all, I would hope they would be thrilled just to get a listen, but often my honest response leads to an angry reply, not a ‘thank you for taking the time’ note. No one wants to hear “you can’t sing”, even when they asked for my opinion. And “you can’t sing” (said really nicely) is my most common criticism of demos and self-made records that I receive.


Can you tell us some of the steps involved in recording an artist?


One thing that distinguishes Alligator from most other blues labels is how much preparation we put in before recording. In the old days, when so much of the standard blues repertoire was still new to younger fans, labels like Delmark could bring artists into the studio and if they didn’t write a lot (like Magic Sam), they could still make great records of songs that are familiar now but weren’t then. Now I work very closely with my artists on repertoire and arrangements, to try to make each album as fresh and original as possible. If I am producer, I generally rehearse quite a bit before we get to the studio, trying to figure out how to give each song its individual identity, planning the dynamics, and honing the lyrics. I try to involve the whole band in creating the arrangement. Musicians play with more fire if they have some ownership of the arrangement instead of just coming in playing a pre-defined part. Plus, sessions are more fun that way.


Some of my artists produce themselves, like Tinsley Ellis , Rick Estrin, Eric Lindell, Lee Rocker and Roomful of Blues. Some bring their own producers, like Marcia Ball, Janiva Magness and Tommy Castro. For some, like Lil’ Ed, Michael Burks and Smokin’ Joe Kubek; Bnois King, I produce with the artist. Under almost all circumstances, I’m going to be involved with the choice of songs and give some input on the arrangements. One thing I like to point out is that I am running a commercial record company, albeit in a specialized field of music. I’m not just saying to my artists “express yourself.” I want them to make honest records that they believe in, with songs they want to perform live. But I also have strong feelings about what each artist’s most distinctive talents are, and why I wanted them on Alligator. I’m not shy about saying to an artist, “that’s the kind of song your fans like” or “that’s not really a song that is showing what makes you special” or “that’s one that will challenge the public definition of you.”


Generally I will insist on approving the mixes and mastering, and want input into the order of songs on an album. I am often called a control freak, but that’s mostly by people who don’t understand the kind of input a label normally has into its releases (outside the world of blues). It’s my job to sell the final album. If the artist gives me something that I can’t sell, then I’m going to disappoint him or her. I have had situations where an artist wants very much to make an album that I don’t believe shows the artist’s strengths, or I simply believe is wrong-headed for that artist, and that I won’t be able to market effectively. In that case, I have sometimes released an artist rather than put out an album I don’t believe in.


What do you look for in a new artist or signing an artist?


I’ve answered some of this already, but to summarize—I want artists who have a real musical vision, with at least one foot firmly in the blues/R&B tradition but other elements that make their music personal and different from what’s already been done. I want artists with both vocal and instrumental talent. I ideally want artists who write their own material, or can personalize songs written by others. The point is of course that they need to have a distinctive, personal sound. I absolutely need artists who know how to deliver on stage. Blues and roots music is all about communication skills, both musical and visual. It’s not only music, it’s also show business, so a visually boring act is not for me (though I know that some artists can hold stock still and keep the attention of the audience through their intensity). I need artists who understand that they are in the business of being professional musicians, and that it’s a full time job. The fun part is doing a show. The un-fun part is leading a band (very different skill set), honoring contracts, working with booking agents, being media-available and media-friendly, not getting too ‘relaxed’ on substances to keep from delivering a top notch show and total professionalism. I need artists who have already established some kind of fan base, even if it’s just local; I need to have something to build on. Ideally, I’d like artists who are internet-savvy and take care of things like Myspace and Facebook. And of course I need artists who are prepared to sell their CDs from the stage, understand how to do that, and don’t think they are ‘above’ taking the fans’ money! But ultimately the real and final question is—does their music move me?  I have built Alligator to be a label that has a consistently of quality, rootedness, and musical urgency. I have to believe in every release. The Alligator Logo is also the Bruce Seal Of Approval. I admit there are some releases I like better than others, but my concept of the label is all killer, no filler.



Terry " Gatorman" Lape

PART TWO NEXT WEEK


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Chicago Blues: Diamond JIm Greene by Terry "Gatorman" Lape

HAPPY VETERAN"S DAY AND A SPECIAL GATORMAN THANKS TO ALL OUR VETERAN'S

THANK A VETERAN TODAY.

And now on with the show

I recently went to Buddy Guy’s Legends to see and Hear Ana Popovic. She did not go on until eleven that evening and I arrived at about 8:30. I am so glad that I did.  If I had not been early I would have missed Diamond Jim Greene. Playing harmonica with him was a acquaintance of mine Lamar Harris. They were one of two opening acts. Diamond Jim Greene is a great Delta to Piedmont acoustic blues artist. Buddy Guys Is nice ,but I was quite upset with the way people were talking and not paying much attention to the performance. I  tuned the talkers out.

He grew up on the Southside of Chicago in the 50’s.  Jim is an extraordinary bluesman whose time has come. I have listened to his CD “Holdin’ On” many times. The only problem is I only have one copy.  I need two copies, one for the car and one for the house.
Mr. Greene hits us right off with a very soulful rendition of “Please Send Me someone To Love”,
and then jumps right into “Custard Pie”, acoustic style. “Oh Glory (How Happy I Am)” captures Reverend Gary Davis’ era quite nicely. It contains some very nice vocals and musical accompaniment.  The piano man adds to the composition without distracting from it. I especially like the way the vocals build. Jim’s guitar picking is outstanding.  “Come and Go Blues” is an example of a new version of a rock blues song. I previously heard it performed by Greg Allman of the Allman brothers.  Diamond Jim does an awesome job.  “Hot Tamales”, is an example of the great early blues man Robert Johnson. What a great tribute to the man I consider to be the father of the blues. Please no emails it is my opinion and I’m sticking to it.
“Please Call Home” another Greg Allman tune features excellent guitar work from Diamond. “Gates to the City” traditionally called “Twelve Gates to the City” I first heard by Reverend Davis via Youtube.  Jim does an amazing tribute to the Reverend with this one song.
“Jug Band Music” is Memphis Jug band music to the tee.  With Jim’s Growling Vocals and the barrelhouse piano it is a step back in time and should be considered an historical recording. There are not many people preserving this type of music.  “Girlfriend Blues”, displays Jim’s prowess with slide guitar. This is one of my favorites and I wish there was more solo slide guitar.
 “Death Comes A Creeping” is another traditional song that is presented in that old down home blues style. “Eliza”, has quite a New Orleans swing to it. The piano man really pigeon holes the sound with his rolling style of finger placement. “Tee Tot Blues”   by Hank Williams Junior is about a guitar man that taught Hank how to play. Nice guitar work and violin.

This CD should be part of any blues fans collection. It is representative of many different styles of the blues. I will be out to see Diamond Jim Greene again. 
Gatorman

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