Hey there. So I’m out taking my morning walk. About halfway through it occurs to me – everybody I pass has a mask on.
Makes sense. Everybody now has more masks than socks. And we’re all trying to keep each other safe. But then I realized, all this masking is contributing to a new kind of national shortfall – the smile debt.
Okay, so I realize there might not be a whole lot to smile about nowadays. But we all need to make an effort to come out from behind the mask every-so-often and pay down some debt. (Just sayin’)
This week: I’ve got a Spotlight on a living Blues-Rock legend who gives new meaning to the term “come-back.”
And then in Short Licks, there’s a live show sighting and a comment on how to not-get-rich-quick with streaming.
Spotlight – Walter Trout
Photo by Jean Frank Photography
Living His First, Best Destiny
He’s been a Bluesman for over 50 years. He’s recorded 29 solo albums in the last 30-odd years. And his latest album, “Ordinary Madness”, is some of his best work ever. He was born for this.
A Walking Blues Legend
Walter’s Blues resume is, well…ridiculous.
After moving from New Jersey to Los Angeles in the early 1970’s, Walter worked his way into playing with several great Blues artists including Percy Mayfield and John Lee Hooker. From there, he landed the lead guitar slot in Canned Heat. Three years later John Mayall came calling and Walter joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – perhaps the ultimate gig for a Blues sideman.
Then at age 38, five years into the Bluesbreakers, the opportunity to go solo fell into his lap and he ran with it. And we all lived happily ever after.
Well, not quite.
The Day the Music (Almost) Died
Musical success was accompanied by lifestyle excess.
Walter had used drugs and alcohol for several years until they tore up his life and his music. Ultimately, he managed to turn it all around and get sober – in large part due to a lucky intervention by Carlos Santana. But the damage had been done. He had contracted Hepatitis C and later, his liver began to fail.
Walter spent 2013 and 2014 in pain, in the hospital, or in both. For much of that time he couldn’t hold a guitar, much less play it. Then, literally just few days away from death, a liver transplant saved him in May of 2014.
It took more than a year to recover. And he literally had to start learning how to play the guitar all over again from scratch. But Walter did make it back to the stage in 2015.
Second Chances
There was always a deep connection between Walter and his music, but after the heath scare that connection became profound.
Now, every note he plays is a joy because he knows how close he came to never playing one again.
The result has been an artistic renaissance – some of the best writing and performing of his career. At age 69, when most artists are coasting on their past, Walter is creating a new future.
The Outro
Walter Trout has been in and of the Blues for a long time.
He has an enormous body of work and a musical imagination that’s even bigger. When he plays, his guitar becomes a physical extension of that imagination. You can see him tune in, close his eyes, and literally become the music. That’s a real good thing for us Blues fans.
He’s lived enough Blues for a musical lifetime and it probably couldn’t have happened any other way.
Here’s a Short Walter Trout Playlist:
Short Licks
Photo by Irina Murza on Unsplash
The Show Must Go On (Differently)
Live Blues music is crawling back. Oh, livestreams aren’t going away any time soon – or ever. But clubs are making some moves. Sort of like bears after hibernation. And City Winery is one club that’s really stepping up.Their guest safety precautions are pretty impressive. You should give them a quick once-over and see how comfortable they make you feel.
City Winery Guest Safety Precautions
Thoroly Good
If you’re a George Thorogood and the Destroyers fan you may want to add this to your collection. Craft Recordings is releasing a remaster of GT’s “Live in Boston 1982” concert. This is the complete concert plus 12 previously unreleased tracks. The recording was made when the band was at the very tip-top of their game – and in front of a home town audience.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers Live in Boston 1982
#SaveOurStages
“The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is partnering with YouTube for a 3-day virtual music festival (Oct 16-18) to Save Our Stages. This benefit event aims to generate awareness, advocacy and donations for the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, directly supporting our most vulnerable venues experiencing catastrophic revenue loss.” (Lots of small clubs will go out of business forever if they don’t get help soon.)
SaveOurStages Virtual Festival
Spin Doctor
Who’s getting rich from Spotify spins? Spotify says they pay most artists something between $.003 and $.005 for each stream you or I listen to. When you do the math, that means 1 million “spins” in a month equals about $4,000.00. Sounds good but when you consider only about 60 artists in the whole world achieve that many spins, it takes on a different shade. Meanwhile, Spotify is worth billions. (Surprise, Joe Bonamassa has an opinion on all of this.)
Feel the Bloat
Bluesman Big Boy Bloater has a nice podcast I check out each month. It’s called “The Blues Podcast.” (How did he score that name?) It’s not the typical “radio-like” podcast that just plays tunes. Rather, Big Boy gets some really good interviews going. The latest one is with Ana Popovic. And now he’s “Zooming” his guests so you can watch too. (Incidentally, Big Boy’s real name is a closely guarded secret.)
I’ll Leave You With…
“Tell The Truth” by Whitney Shay
(Something we can all use a whole bunch of right about now)
Thanks for reading,
Jon
Jon Beres
I’m one part Blues Fan and one part Digital Native (with a dash of Curmudgeon.) I’m also the publisher of AlltheWayBlue.com. If you love the Blues, I have a feeling we’ll get along just fine - cheers!
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