Amongst the many challenges commonly discussed in the music world these days, include discussions on the state of rock and roll and how with the evident decline of blues as an influence that (as been said by several), “rock is dead.” I’m not entirely sure about that and I have written about this (see one example here). I also know that when blues influences creep into popular music (and it does occasionally) people respond, and that there are growing popular blues based acts that seem to be gaining an ever widening audience (Larkin Poe, Tedeschi Trucks, Rival Sons, Marcus King, etc.), and clearly blues based music is featured in, of all places, major commercial ads. I have also written about what appears to be a growing movement of heavier delta blues influenced acts that seem to be gaining a following with younger audiences. Think Robert Johnson meets Slipknot with some of the makeup and other stage show similarities. Artists in this world tend to avoid the blues label, but the influence and connections are obvious.
All of that said, actual blues does seem to be on the decline in terms of popularity—attendance is down at blues festivals, attendees tend to be older and many clubs refuse to hire “blues bands,” despite the reality that when cover bands—either rock or country—play blues songs (often one of a couple of Stevie Ray Vaughan tunes) the crowd reaction is immediate and positive. I have written about what I believe to be an almost primal—even genetic—reason for this. More on this later.
In previous posts, I have given a list of ideas that I think we should be focusing on to rebuild these connections and understanding about blues; its impact, influence, and place in American music; and its continued importance. You can find that here. However, I felt it was also necessary to address some myths that I hear a lot—especially from musicians who should know better.
Myth #1: Blues is Easy to Play and all Blues Songs Are the Same
I know I may have even had this notion when I was a young punk. I thought I had “the blues” down as I rambled around on a pentatonic scale over a primitive and labored “lumpty shuffle,” my music friends would lay down when we were trying to warm up or just “jam.” I wrote an article here a while ago on my awakening, what happened and my life long work to learn to play some semblance of this art form and why there is a difference between bands that play “blues songs,” and blues bands. Here is reality: playing the blues is hard if you REALLY want to get into this genre. As it turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong and was schooled hard. Eric Clapton famously talked about this when asked if he considered himself a blues singer. He laughed and said that after all these years of practice he felt like he was finally getting the hang of it. I know what he means.
More than that, all blues songs are NOT the same. Every song has different turnarounds, jazz-like “heads” or riffs, some are 8 bar or 12 bar that go “fast to the “IV,” have verses that may be as much as 16 bars, heads, other oddities at the turnaround, etc. There are countless rhythms and grooves and many, many ways to play even the standard stereotypical “blues” that most garage bands have done a time or two for sure. I am a big believer that to really become a blues player, you need to learn these songs—all of them: the rhythm parts, the riffs and “heads,” etc. The genre is there. Skip over this and you will remain as lost as I was as a punk high school kid noodling aimlessly away on what I thought was “blues.”
Myth #2: The Blues is Just “Old People” Music and We Need to Move Beyond It into the Future
I heard this recently. I even had a club owner tell me that he didn’t hire blues bands because blues fans “didn’t drink” and were mostly older. That may currently be true. However, I always go back to the foundations of American music, the “British Invasion” of the 60s and 70s and the impacts beyond that literally made American music what it became. As Muddy Waters said, “The Blues Had a Baby and They Named it Rock and Roll.” It could be argued that no blues=no rock, no country, no soul, no R&B, etc. Yes, it certainly can be said that those young British lads who named their bands after Muddy Waters songs, played songs by their heroes throughout their career, sought out, met and played with their heroes when they could, and never, ever forgot where they came from, built on what they had learned and created new genres of music. BUT…they had a foundation. It was not just a cursory run-through of a pentatonic and a poorly played shuffle. In their own words they had devoured whatever blues records they could get from America, hung on every note and riff, learned the songs, played the songs, and desired nothing more than to meet their heroes in the flesh. That was where EVERYTHING started. It can be that again. The internet, YouTube, etc. make many things possible that never were before. You can find live videos of most all of the greats. It is true that most of that older generation of blues artists, except for Buddy Guy and a handful of others, are gone. BUT there are people like Kim Wilson, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Trucks, etc. who met and played with many of the greats and are still carrying on a legacy. What do they know? How did they learn? The music is not dead. I can also guarantee you that the spark is still there and it really just takes immersion and inspiration to carry it forward. American music needs this shot in the arm again.
Myth #3: You Can’t Dance to the Blues, and it’s All Just Sad Music Anyway
One of my pet peeves is the idea that blues is locked into the stereotypical subject matter and structures that people often reference— “it’s sad music,” “all sounds the same,” etc. etc. The genre doesn’t have to be the way it is often pigeon-holed and, in fact, if you take my suggestion above and learn the great songs, especially those by the great blues song writers like Willie Dixon, McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters), Chester Burnett (Howlin Wolf) and others, you will find amazing variety in subject matter, focus, structure, etc.
More than that, as I have said over and over: If you can’t dance to a good blues shuffle, you can’t dance! In fact, I have never ever seen dance floors NOT full even if a groove like this is poorly done. As mentioned, there is something deeply primal and subconscious about it all.
Myth #4: “All You Need to Be a Good Blues Player is ‘Feel’,” “The blues is Just a Good Man Feeling Bad,” (And other common stuff you hear people say)
While these things are not entirely wrong and, in some cases, can be attributed to real blues icons, there is much, much more to the story, AND much, much more to becoming a skilled, competent purveyor of this art form. There is a history here and an accompanying “vocabulary” that is essential. You can pentatonic riff and rage all you want, with all of the feeling you can muster and it will remain paint by numbers unless you dive into the details and learn the “language.” Solos need to fit songs. Sometimes those songs require knowledge of a particular “riff” or “head.” You also NEED to become a competent, knowledgeable and skilled rhythm player in order to have all of these things in your back pocket, which means you need to learn the classic songs, learn to play and “comp” on different grooves and rhythms (and there are many) and understand how all of this fits together. “Feelings,” “difficult times,” and other stuff you hear people attribute to having “the blues,” is probably key somewhere, but it isn’t the essence really, and you can have all of that, and still not have any grasp of the essentials that make this art form what it is.
Myth #5: You Can Learn to Be a Good Blues Player by Soloing Over Basic Backing Tracks
See #4. Backing tracks are a particular rabbit hole that is common these days. In my experience, people that focus on backing tracks lack the things mentioned above and miss all of the essentials. It can be fun probably…but it will NOT make you a blues player.
Myth #6: There Isn’t Much to Being a Rhythm Player in a Blues Band, So You Can Just Skip Over That
I’ve heard this. To reiterate from #4, the essence of the genre is in all the rhythm figures, riffs, heads, etc. in the classic songs. Learn those songs to find that essence and be able to “speak” the language. More than that, my journey as a rhythm player took me into the jazz world as well. That’s where I learned chord voicings and substitutions that became my stock in trade. It also allowed me to hear, and attempt to emulate, other great instrumentalists such as organ players Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff who helped me see how to fit some of those things I gleaned from the jazz world into blues. As it turns out, Stevie Ray Vaughan did much the same. It has taken me years to develop the language and vocabulary, versatility and style as a blues rhythm player—and I still work at it. I think after all these years, I’m finally grasping a small piece of this puzzle. It has been a journey. By the way, learning all of this also made me a much better soloist. You can’t have one without the other.
I often refer people who doubt this, to arguably one of the greatest blues backing bands in history—The Aces. They backed up and recorded with many of the greats, including the incomparable Little Walter and Junior Wells. Louis and Dave Myers set a standard that has been rarely matched, and along with drummer Fred Below, literally invented Chicago blues as we know it. There is nothing simple and easy about what they did, and there are others, including Hubert Sumlin, Fenton Robinson, T-Bone Walker, Magic Sam, etc. that were not only gifted soloists, but set standards as rhythm players. Seek these people out in the same way that you glean riffs and lead lines from the great soloists.
Myth #7: Stevie Ray Vaughan is the Greatest Blues Guitar Player in History
Not even Stevie would agree with that. He knew he stood upon the shoulders of giants–people like W.C. Clark (who also wrote the song Cold Shot), Albert King and Hubert Sumlin. He talked about this constantly and took every opportunity to play with and collaborate with his mentors. If all you know about blues and blues guitar is SRV, step back and learn about the names mentioned above for starters. I wrote an article on just this topic recently, too. You can find it here. In the article I give you a lot more background and information. Stevie was great. I’m not denying that. However, he is not, nor will he ever be, the end all and be all of the blues. Learn what he knew.
There are more, but this is a start. In many ways, I believe we may need an entire reset on blues, blues-based music, the value and importance of it, what it is and how it manifests at the center of American music still to this day. More importantly, why it is more vital now than ever, and what we can do to save the soul of American music and the role that blues plays in that process.
Play on!
Join our Facebook page Real Blues You Can Use for more discussions on these topics. For in-person or virtual lessons, coaching and mentoring with Mark, contact him at: imwiththebandmz@gmail.com and visit his website at: www.im-with-the-band.org.
Mark Zanoni
I'm With the Band 