I've been on a mission to learn blues guitar. Sooner of later I'll post a video of me playing. I'm a bit self-conscious of my playing. I really have a long way to go.
Over the last week or so, I've been listening to a lot of old school, traditional blues. Each night I fall asleep listening to the likes of Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters. I'm trying to get a better feel of the music and a better idea of how it flows and it's basic structure.
As far as I'm concerned I've always felt blues is the basis of American music. It was born in America and morphed into modern day rock n roll. The more you listen to it and analyze it the more you can hear that early rock n roll influence!
Howlin Wolf - Live in DC
Listening to this music you can here the roots of early rock n roll. Blues is like the slower more soulful cousin of early rockabilly and rock n roll.
Muddy Waters - Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Muddy Waters is another one of my favorite old timers. I love the slow tempos and haunting guitar solos. A lot of modern blues is faster paced. The old guys kept it smooth and soulful.
You See Me Laughin': the last of the hill country bluesmen documentary - 2002
I'm not sure if I've posted this before or not. It's a pretty interesting documentary about some of the modern blues guys Stars: R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Cedell Davis, T Model Ford, Bono (U2), Iggy Pop
Chuck Berry - Live Belgium 1965
I think Chuck Berry is the perfect example of how the blues morphed into rock n roll. Chuck truly was the REAL king of rock n roll. The original seed. From his fast paced blues style he gave birth to several genres of modern rock!
Grateful Dead - Truckin Up To Buffalo
So the Grateful Dead certainly have their bluesy moments but that's not why I posted this. I actually came across this as I searched for blues music. I probably would have passed right by this but I was actually at this concert.
A friend of mine pulled up to the local hangout with a group of people in his beat up VW mini bus looking for some weed to take to the concert and talked me into joining them. I'm pretty sure this was my first Dead show. I was more of a heavy metal kid, but even back then I loved a good party. So I hopped in the mini bus and attended my first Dead concert.
The concert was an incredible experience. After the concert we bought burritos from some guys that were making them around a campfire. To this day they were the best burritos I've ever had. Then as we were walking back to the van some guy standing around a nitrous tank asked if we had any weed for sale and I gave him a handful. There wasn't much weed around for some reason. When the guy tried to pay me, I told him not to worry about it and then he insisted that we hang out and inhale nitrous balloons with him and his buddies. We ended up sitting in the parking lot until sunrise smoking pot and inhaling nitrous. 🤣
Good times for sure and really fond memories!
Well that's it for this #MusicMonday Hope you enjoyed this blues edition and my short "trip" down memory lane! If you have any blues recommendations, feel free to post them in the comments!