A LIFETIME OF BLUES AND BROTHERHOOD: 11 GUYS QUARTET

The 11 Guys Quartet don’t actually need to make music, although they do—and it’s wonderful. They could just turn up at a gig and talk about their experiences as blues musicians and the long list of legends they have backed and played with. But they do still make music, and since the pandemic and the relocation of drummer Chuck Purro to Florida, their music production has been via the wonders of technology. Richard (Rosie) Rosenblatt explains:

WORDS: Andy Hughes | IMAGES: Supplied

THE BAND’S EVOLUTION AND REMOTE COLLABORATION

“We have been playing together for a long time, since the 1970s. We were originally a band called The 11th Hour Band, and we regrouped about fifteen years ago to record some instrumentals with a view to releasing them as a record, and we renamed the band The 11 Guys Quartet. Then came the pandemic, and Chuck moved to Florida. Now, all of our music has been produced remotely. Paul (Lenart, guitarist) is the technical mastermind who puts it all together for us. We create our parts, and that’s why there are no videos of us actually playing music together. There are videos of us ‘together’, put together by our video wizard Bill (Mather, bassist). So, Chuck plays the drums down in Florida, and I play the harmonica in Boston, and it all gets put together into individual videos with a green screen, and Bill puts them all together— and that’s what we do.”

Bill continues, “We found that when the pandemic hit, and no one could work or play together, musicians were starting to make videos and put them out on social media. So, we thought that would be a good idea. I bumped into a friend who works in advertising, and he showed me how to use an app that can make videos, and I started to do that, mainly just for amusement. And it opened up a whole new audience for us. We now have a global reach, which is amazing. The great thing about YouTube is that you can hear all the original material played and sung by original musicians, and that’s wonderful for younger people now.”

THE REALITY OF TOURING IN LATER YEARS

So, is there any chance of the band actually getting out on the road and playing some shows? Chuck shakes his head sadly, “We’re too old to carry the equipment around anymore! But we have all got a lot of history, and we have played with a lot of great musicians over the years.”

Paul reflects on the band’s history: “I used to play in the American Folk/Blues Festival back in the 70s, and all the older musicians used to come out for that. Willie Dixon, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton— all the original players would come out. I went on tour with these players, and you learned a lot about people doing that. They were from the deep South, and I was one of the only white people on the tour, and they treated me exactly like I was one of them, which of course, I was—one of their own. This would be 1970, and that’s fifty-four years ago, and they have all passed now. I worked with them in Europe, so they got better treatment there than they did back in the United States. One of the artists out there was Memphis Slim, and he lived in Paris.

“He told me that he realised he couldn’t make money in the States, so he moved to Paris and they treated him like a king. He bought a house just outside Paris, married a French lady, and he said they treated him really well. He would gig, just himself and a drummer, and he did that for decades. They made some videos on those European gigs as well—if you see the clip of Big Mama singing Hound Dog, and the guitarist is wiggling his shoulders and has a quiff, that’s Buddy Guy. Chuck played with Van Morrison for a while, and I think we have all played with Hubert Sumlin at one time or another.”

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY AND MAINTAINING BONDS

So, the music rolls on, thanks to the miracle of technology, and more importantly, to gentleman musicians of, shall we say, an earlier vintage, embracing it and using it to get their music out to a potential audience which stretches around the world. They may not have been able to play together physically, but the bonds that drew them together all those years ago still hold strong today. Bill Mathers considers the links that keep them connected: “We probably last worked together in about 1973 or 1974, and we had personnel changes a few times. Then Rosie had a blues club night, and he invited us down to play with him there and jam on Sunday nights. We became the house band, and here we are, some fifty years later, still together.”

Paul adds, “When we look back together, we realise that we have become like a family—we are really close, and that’s not always easy to do for musicians in bands. We get along, and we tolerate each other—that’s the key. You learn to accept each other and roll with the personalities together.”

Rosie remembers, “We were working together in my basement making albums, and I formed a record company to be able to release them, and that went on for about twenty years. Our biggest artist was Susan Tedeschi, and the company probably put out about fifty albums.”

LABOURS OF LOVE AND THE JOY OF MAKING MUSIC

There is no doubt that the band’s current efforts are labours of love, which is just as well, because it’s not producing them any real money! But as Paul confirms, money was never the reason for any of this—not then, and not now. “It actually costs us money to do this, but we’re musicians, it’s what we do, so we are happy doing it. The pandemic has opened up a massive audience for us that we never had, worldwide. We’re big in Croatia now!”

For readers new to the band, they have two albums out, and they are keen to talk about both of them. Rosie takes up the story: “The first record, Small Grooves And Blues, we made in a studio together, playing live—no overdubs, just down-the-line playing like we always do. It got lots of wonderful reviews. The second, 11 X 11, was made remotely, as we have outlined, and it has far more production and studio depth to it than the first one, thanks to the amazing production that Paul has done with it. It’s our video singles, which are all out there on YouTube, and some new songs as well. That’s got a wonderful reception as well, even though it was made in such a different way.”

LOOKING FOR THAT ELUSIVE BREAK

Paul, meanwhile, is looking for that elusive break into the major leagues, which may come through film or television. “We are still doing the same music, and have the same audience—older people. The media wants to push stuff to younger people. There are a lot of people our age who would like our music if they were exposed to it, and that’s a trick missed by the music business. Our generation still listens, but they are not catered to. They should be—our generation has disposable income now, houses paid for, kids left home. We just need the crack to wiggle through and find an audience we can work with.

“If someone who chooses music for TV and films saw one of our videos, they may think we would be a fit for a film or a TV episode—that would be really cool. Our audience is growing and building. We have lines in the water, we just need a bite on one of them. Here’s hoping. We are not stopping, we do what we do, and it’s too late to stop now!”

A LEGACY THAT ENDURES

The 11 Guys Quartet is a testament to the power of music, technology, and enduring friendships. Despite the challenges of age, distance, and a changing music industry, they continue to create, innovate, and connect with audiences around the world. Their journey isn’t just about the music—it’s about the love of the craft, the joy of collaboration, and the timeless bond that keeps them playing, even fifty years on.