I have always contended that blues music has about four or five major misconceptions as it relates to the general public. None of these are positive misconceptions by the way. In no particular order:

1) It is sad

2) It is old fashioned

3) It isn’t hip

4) It sounds like really bad dinosaur rock i.e. It sounds like ‘what my Dad listens to in the garage’ (see #3)

5) It is no fun

There isn’t a better example of this than an experience I had a few years ago.

I was at a blues show at a resort hotel in Huntington Beach, California. It was part of a summer concert series where they presented blues music for free on a patio adjacent to a sidewalk café in a courtyard on the property. A band led by singer/harmonica player Billy Watson and featuring guitar legend Junior Watson (no relation) was playing in front of a handful of local blues fans and a healthy throng of tourists.  They were playing variations of jump/west coast and little touches of electric Chicago blues. The tunes were unfamiliar to 95% of the audience, yet parents with salt water dripping off their noses were dancing with their kids, some of whom were sporting newly purchased Mickey Mouse ears. Well heeled, people from all over the world were digging vintage blues music and didn’t even know it.

When the five piece band took a break both Watsons walked over to where I was standing to say hello and to visit for a few minutes. When the band went back on stage a gentleman sidled up to me and began to engage me in conversation. He asked me if I was familiar with this band. I told him that I was. He said, “These guys are fantastic. They should be playing in a large outdoor amphitheatre or big concert hall. What are they doing playing for free on a patio on a Saturday night?” I said, “For starters it is blues music.” He interrupted me, burst out laughing and said, “No it’s not. This music is GOOD!”

This gentleman was conditioned to think of blues music as one of those misconceptions mentioned earlier. As we continued the conversation, he was absolutely baffled and was quite positive I had no idea what I was talking about. No big deal. I get that a lot. Whatever he knew to be true in this crazy world, as sure as he was standing there, he knew it wasn’t blues. He didn’t know what to call the wonderful music coming off the bandstand with which he was so enthralled, but he was convinced that it wasn’t blues.

How did it come to this?

There aren’t too many days that go by that I don't talk to one of my old buddies from the old days. So what do old dudes (and dudettes) from the old days talk about...the good old days of course. That being the blues revival of the 80’s and especially the 90’s when a combination of factors came together to create the biggest resurgence of interest in blues music in history.

The 1990’s was a time when the American economy was booming. Peace was breaking out around the world. Blues music was blowing up and making headlines. The President was getting blown and making headlines as well. They were glorious times.  

Everybody was replacing their vinyl with CDs. People were actually purchasing music rather than stealing it. Indie blues labels were thriving. Every major label had a blues subsidiary imprint. Blues nightclubs which catered exclusively to vintage American music, mostly some form of blues, sprung up everywhere seemingly overnight. It was a time when the House of Blues chain was opening locations all over the country and booking blues bands.

The new blues society scourge with their endless stream of bad ideas, overly politicized infighting and relentlessly bad taste in music hadn’t inflicted their damage to the scene to any great degree quite yet. The blues festival scene was thriving while featuring blues music on their stages. Perhaps more importantly, the in-home entertainment options of big screen, hi-def TVs, Facebook and YouTube hadn’t arrived. The biggest factor was that the fans were young.

Will we ever get back to that again? Probably not. However, it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice what makes this music so appealing in the first place. We don’t have to continue to redefine the genre out of existence in an attempt to keep it alive. Even the incoming grand poobah of the Blues Foundation was quoted in a Memphis’ daily newspaper that, “on ramp” artists like Joe Bonamassa are what the blues needs. I’m tired of hearing from people who don’t care for blues music, telling us what it needs. 

I love this music and what it doesn’t need is a bunch of gray beards like me telling anybody what this music needs. OK, I’ll tell you anyway.

It needs young people. It needs that excitement and energy that comes with youth. Blues music that sounds like 45-50 year old classic rock is not appealing to young people. Real, organic, swinging, hip music or real orgasmic hip swinging music does. Music which inspires you to dance is appealing. Music with deep soul is appealing. Great ensemble playing is appealing. Young people can spot bullshit a mile away and, to their great credit, don’t put up with it. The crap, that is often being passed off as blues, has alienated and driven away an entire generation of listeners. 

Vintage Americana has always had tremendous appeal. From classic cars to Levi’s from the rockabilly revival to the swing revival to even the blues revival of the 90’s, young people have always had the answer. We should listen to what they have to say on the subject today. When we pass the blues on to the next generation, let’s ask ourselves; what are we giving them? Have we given them a reason to be interested in what this language has to say? 

Maybe the blues doesn’t need an “onramp” artist. If it does, how about we try out a new onramp? The blues-rock guitar God onramp has never merged with young people. How about Nikki Hill? She and hubby Matt play a brand of vintage r&b, rock&roll, soul and yes, blues, in a style that skips past classic rock and gets to the essence of cool vintage music in way that the The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Hollywood Fats Band, The Stray Cats, The Blasters and others did in the late 70s and early 80’s when they were playing in front of young audiences.

Nico Duportal and his Rhythm Dudes along with Jai Malano, like the Hills are playing on huge festival stages in front of large enthusiastic audiences in Europe as I am writing this on America’s birthday. So are Igor Prado and others. The archive section of this site is filled with interviews and features on younger blues musicians, along with my favorite artists from the 80’s and 90’s blues revival and beyond.

As young Dave Alvin wrote...    

‘We got the Louisiana boogie and the delta blues

We got country, swing and rockabilly, too

We got jazz, country-western and Chicago blues

It's the greatest music that you ever knew

It's American music.

It's the greatest sound right from the U.S.A.’

It is the sound that the Watsons were playing at that beach resort a few summers ago. That gentleman I was talking to that evening was right about one thing. It is GOOD music. It is also blues music.

At the end of the day however, it really isn’t about age, race, gender or nationality. It is about talent, hard work, dedication and perseverance. Let me try and say this with a straight face. It is the American way. At least that is the way it was taught to me.

However, may I suggest we baby boomers should lead, follow or get the f*ck out of the way and listen to what young people have to say. I’m not worried. Young people all over the world dig the greatest sound that is right from the U.S.A.

Just a thought...I would love to hear from you on this.

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