BuDDY GuY CoMPetition WinneRs

Congratulations to these six winners of our Buddy Guy Competition. There were so many entries, but these six were the lucky ones drawn from those with correct answers:

Christian Walton, Brian Barks Boris Cross. Jeff Ferguson David Mitchell. June Thomas hOraCE paNTEr talks anD Paints blues. Panter, aka sir horace Gentleman is the bass Player With the leGenDary SpECIalS, one oF the most innovative anD hiGhly Danceable Punk/ska/reGGae Fusion banDs in the WorlD originally formed in Coventry in 1977, within the next four years the band achieved number one UK hits with Too Much Too Young and Ghost Town. The haunting, pulsating, mesmeric bass riff on the latter remains one of the most memorable musical sounds of that era. The Specials even had their own label, 2-Tone, its distinctive black and white check artwork reflecting the multi-racial agenda, promotion of harmony and prevailing fashion of two-tone tonic mod suits. As Horace explains, ‘We made people dance and think at the same time. Just like the blues where it all came from in the first place; sing about your worries and your feelings and turn them into a celebration.’ In his brilliant autobiographical account of life with The Specials, Ska’d For Life, Horace gives important insights into the blues. ‘Music is the healer as John Lee Hooker would have put it. If there hadn’t been American blues and country music there would not have been ska, reggae and rock and roll with all the sub divisions and cul de sacs.’

Enjoy your CDs which are on the way!

The Specials re-formed in 2009 and still tour the world, even guesting at last year’s Olympic Games closing ceremony. Horace has also returned to his roots with a blues band called Blues2Go and is playing ‘alcohol inspired’ blues and R&B. On tour in the 80s, Horace who is a Fine Arts College graduate would visit the world’s best art galleries and collect new books. This background stimulated his current work, much of which has a blues theme. His first public exhibition was in 2011 and his paintings can be seen in galleries as far apart as Leamington Spa and Singapore. His iconic ‘blues collection’ includes paintings of the great American bluesmen. In an exclusive interview, former teacher Horace reflects on his career, his blues influences, the blues-themed artwork, The Specials and his current blues band.

‘When I first started listening to music it was called Pop Music. I bought singles by The Byrds, The Small Faces and The Supremes. I liked it. It made my heart beat faster. As my interest in pop music grew I began to read about the people who played it and the music’s history. The songs I gravitated to were blues-based: Fleetwood

Mac, Spencer Davis, and Free. The relationship of the I, IV, V chord sequence! I preferred listening to Cream, rather than Pickettywitch. I used to wonder who R. Johnson was when I heard Cream’s version of Crossroads . Discovering the original blues practitioners was a complete joy.This is going to sound pretentious but I’ve always had a desire to be creative. Art and music are comfortable bedfellows as far as creativity is concerned and both have always been at the forefront of my mind. As a bass player I am dependent on others, but art is all about my own creativity.”

“When I started doing my art seriously, it was logical that my subject matter would be something close to my heart. I wanted somehow to describe the music I love, not just paint a portrait of Muddy Waters, but to portray the music and its impact on me. I was very influenced by American folk art and the socio-political side of the blues and the appalling circumstances of the people who played it.”

“What I call my ‘blues paintings’ aren’t paintings at all, but collages that have been worked on – drawn, painted, written, etc. The original blues pieces are on 12” plywood panels. These are then enlarged to twice the size, giving it a billboard feel. These enlargements are what I then embellish and they become the second stage, or original works. I produce limited edition prints from these. I also include real objects on the initial board: guitar strings, the top of a harmonica, barbed wire and so on to make the finished piece more interesting. I use maps too. A lot of these musicians came from Mississippi and moved to Chicago so that sense of place and history is represented in the pictures too. I love Chicago blues in particular and in images such as Hound Dog Taylor I wanted to be able to capture some of the rough, gritty texture of the music as well conveying something of the essence of the city.”

“I quit my art teaching job at Christmas 2008 when The Specials reconvened because continuing to be a full-time teacher became untenable once I had a touring schedule. I tell everyone that being a teacher was the second-best job I’ve ever had. I put a notice above my art room door at school which said ‘Drop in Centre’ – pupils were often sent to join the art classes if they were in need of some down time; I wanted them to feel that art was safe and fun.”

“There are five out of the original seven members currently in The Specials. Jerry Dammers wasn’t included in the 2008 reformation and Neville Staple left last year for health reasons. He lives not far from me so I still see him and chat regularly. We plan to do European Festivals in 2014. In the UK our audience tends to be card-carrying members, but in Europe and the US we have noticed a much younger audience coming to our gigs. Playing in The Specials is always very exciting.”

BLues2Go

“Blues2Go is a hobby. We are a local blues band for local blues people. I play bass, Al Maynard sings and plays a bit of guitar, Pete Gardner plays the real guitar and Russell Munns is the drummer. We’ve been playing around our home town of Coventry for nearly 10 years now; we don’t like to travel too far to play. We have families and day jobs and there’s no big plan, no CD, no website. We play drinking establishments, rather like where the original music was performed. It’s a democratic set-up although I suppose I’m the MD as I’ve got the most experience, but everyone else brings songs along and if it works, it’s in the set. We do a few standards but we like to play stuff that other people don’t. Personally, I take The Fabulous Thunderbirds as our template.”

“As far as the current US blues scene is concerned, I’m very impressed by Ben Harper and the Fat Possum records (R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimborough, T. Model Ford), the stuff that I’ve heard from Gary Clark Jnr. sounds pretty good and Vintage Trouble put a smile on my face. As far as the UK is concerned, there’s no one I’m mad about. The current predilection for ‘blues-rock’ leaves me rather cold, not to mention deaf. Gary Moore has a lot to answer for! I have had a wonderful career but the music business has changed a lot since I started out, mainly due to new technologies and social media. This is the future isn’t it? I know that if the Angry Hornets are playing at The Slug & Toadstool there’s more than a fair chance there’s a clip of them on YouTube so you can see if it’s worth going or not. That helps for sure. I see that bands can help themselves in terms of PR by being proactive on social networking sites, if they are savvy they can create their own buzz (as long as they actually have talent in the first place). What hasn’t changed much is the management of bands and recording contracts which seem pretty much the same really There are still labels that take on an artist and nurture them, just as there are still labels that sign acts for the quick buck, same with management; good management is paramount.

“My advice for anyone embarking on a musical career today would be to carry condoms as parenthood can seriously mess up your career, and buy a duffel coat. It doubles as a pillow or sleeping bag and comes in handy when your van breaks down at 3.30 in the morning 15 miles south of Carlisle! Seriously though, make all your mistakes when you’re young, and learn.”

See more about Horace at www.H oracepanterart.com

VErbAls the increDiblejourney oF brian kramer continues, as he heaDs DeePer into siberia in search oF Decent voDka anD quality blues music

APRIL 4th

We are now off to Nizhny Novgorod to share the bill with acoustic Blues man Robert Lighthouse at the club; Jam Prestige. It’s a good five hour drive but that was to be expected. Robert is no stranger to these parts. He is also a native of Sweden, but built most of his early career throughout the States and Washington. Lighthouse is a gifted picker, slider and exponent of the “Dr. Ross” one man band style. He’s played all over Russia and Siberia so many times he speaks some of the language and according to Eugene is just about the only artist he books here who can successfully get around the region on his own. Eugene is taking good care of us, making sure our needs are all met and the food in Russia is real good.

I grew up in an area of Brooklyn called Little Odessa in Brighton Beach, so I am no stranger to borscht (red beet soup) pirogues and latkes. The club; Jam Prestige is packed as Robert takes the first set with his smooth, seductive blues drawl and hypnotic picking, he gives the crowd every bit a blues experience steeped deeply in the delta..

After a short break Bert and I take the stage and bond instantly. We both know Robert Lighthouse from back in Sweden and invite him up to join us for a few songs to close out our set, which really gets the room rocking!

Directly after the show, we need to hurry to catch an overnight train back to Moscow for an early flight to Yekaterinburg for the big URAL Blues Festival. Now Bert and I are not big drinkers these days (though I’ve certainly had my share) and like to keep in focused and professional on the road. However Eugene and Robert are old buddies and used to this path, so they’ve already got a bit of a head start. After a short delay of locating the missing train tickets, we board and find our sleeping cars.

Bert is zonked out and wants call it a night so he can be alert for the festival tomorrow. I decide to join the guys for a quick night cap in the train bar to finally engage in some social time without having to deal with hours of driving, setting up, breaking down and crashing in a hotel. Here I learn it’s not just the Vodka that starts to emerge in abundance, but also equally important is the ritual of ordering a plate of small pieces of potatoes and slightly warmed herring. I soon learned that after you kick back a shot, the potato and bit of herring must follow. It’s just the way it’s done.

Before you know it; more vodka and all hope of trying to stumble back and find your sleeping car is lost. I slipped away while Eugene and Robert senselessly argued with the bartender about negotiating the bill, refusing to pay what was handed them. I left a stack of rubles on the table from CD sales of the previous show which somehow it disappeared in the confusion.

We were awoken to a very hung-over Eugene in the morning; “Robert is missing”

I urged; “Missing? How do you know?” Eugene replies; “His shoes are here but he was not in his bunk when I awoke...” After some frantic pacing up and down the train, finally Robert emerges, barefoot, long hair frazzled, cigarette dangling from his lip, looking very beaten and hung over. Apparently at some point in the night he wandered for a smoke between train cars but wound up on the wrong side of the restaurant car and was unintentionally locked outside the train where he remained, stuck throughout the night. Bert and I were beginning to look more than a little concerned.

APRIL 5th And 6th

“Where is whisky bar?” Eugene hoarsely inquired. Robert slurred in “whisky bar!” Everybody then simultaneously, horribly off-pitch, sang a verse of the familiar Doors tune; “Oh show me the way to the next whisky bar. Oh, don’t ask why, oh, don’t ask why”. Eugene had loosely told us it would be a fifteen minute trip through the Moscow Metro, because Moscow traffic was impossible and through the metro was the only way to go. However, thirty five minutes later dragging two guitars in hard cases and a large suitcase up and down, over and under, dodging people and dragging our stuff through countless metal detectors that served absolutely no purpose what-so-ever. They beeped as you walked through and some half asleep, uniformed semi-official, rent-a-kozmonov-cop with a big hat would lazily wave you through, barely looking in your direction.

Exiting the train, we only had a short time to check our baggage in but Eugene and Robert had somehow misplaced their shuttle train tickets, which he had urged us not to lose track of because you cannot exit the platform without them. He pleaded and argued with the gate agent to no avail and resigned himself to purchase two more tickets to get out. We slumped into our seats of the express train from Moscow toward the airport to Yekaterinburg, just making it with minutes to spare. Eugene’s hand then reaches into his pocket and magically produces the missing tickets. That done, we quickly picked up the pace again with Eugene way in the lead. We all followed him through a revolving door that apparently in Russian urges us not to enter with a sign pointing to another useless security check. A security guard quickly snapped into action as four or five people started whizzing past him, unsecurity-checked. His radar honed in on Eugene, following closely behind, urgently muttering into his walkie-talkie rotating and looking all about as he trailed behind a staunch Eugene who never once looked back and just didn’t seem to give a f*ck.

As we reached the flight desk and all produced our passports to get checked in, Eugene was suddenly in the shadow of six Russian military security guards equipped with AK-47s and very much the Dolph Lundgren stereotype’s that you’ve seen in all those cheesy action films of the 1980’s.

They barely said a word when Eugene started jutting his bony finger at them, angrily reprimanding them in thick, intense Russian. He then handed all our passports to a very hung over and bewildered Robert saying; “You check in, I back in five minutes” and off he went, strutting ahead of the military men without any regard. Robert stood there holding the passports still in his stretched out arm looking very confused and I gave Burt a glance that basically said “that’s it we’re fucked” But before we could take another step, there was Eugene waltzing back over, grabbing our passports back simply saying “OK, we go now... Where is Whisky bar?”

Robert snickers; “whisky bar...”

Everybody sings “Oh show me the way to the next whisky bar. Oh don’t ask why.” tH e r oad to Siberia continue S in tH e next i SS ue i SS ue S o pack your bag and be ready...