Is Blues dying.............again? [Archive]

eddie101

10-23-2008, 08:51 AM

I remember back in '70' and early '80's, BB King as well as other blues icons were quoted saying that the blues was dying and then, as we all know, someone named SRV came from nowhere and made it hip to play blues again. Now with him no longer around, I don't really see anyone carrying his torch, so to speak. John Mayer is good but he plays more to the pop audience and I don't really see anyone else out there who is 100% devoted to blues AND popular. What do you blues experts think? :munch

mojocaster.com

10-23-2008, 08:52 AM

The blues never died... and never will. These guys have been booked solid 250-300 nights a year, and would be booked more if they wanted to.

Jahn

10-23-2008, 09:04 AM

I think the Blues is as strong, if not stronger, than its ever been. Heck, whenever there's trouble brewing in folks lives (plenty of that going around these days) they turn to the Blues.

mtmartin71

10-23-2008, 09:09 AM

I agree that there's always going to be an audience because it's an emotional music that really is experienced best in a live setting. Having said that, I personally am a bit tired of the blues and I think the middle-aged white guy in a bowling shirt or Hawaaiian shirt playing it is even more tired. Part of the reason I'm leaving my current band.

Tone Ball

10-23-2008, 09:10 AM

Music evolves. Go into any guitar store and hear what folks are playing... a lot of them are playing the blues. It may just not "look" the way we remember it. There are definitely other genres going on the extinction list before the blues. Call your congressperson!

Brian D

10-23-2008, 09:20 AM

Nah.

jawjatek

10-23-2008, 09:38 AM

eddie101

10-23-2008, 09:47 AM

Why don't you just buy some new shirts?

:munch

I am thinking it is lot DEEPER than that. ;)

greggorypeccary

10-23-2008, 09:52 AM

The blues will always be there in some form or another as long as rock lives on...and I really believe that rock will never die, so...

But that's not "blues". (not to be one of those n--- purist types, but...)

But no, just because it's not popular doesn't mean it's dead.

bluesjuke

10-23-2008, 09:57 AM

Blues never has and never will die.
To those that are periphial fans it wanes but to those of us that have it near and dear to our hearts it is always at the forefront.

Picked up in general popularity in the late 80's/ early 90's and has been fairly strong in the public ear since.
Probably the best run it has had in general population terms.

flyingvees

10-23-2008, 10:02 AM

Everybody gets the blues....From the cradle to the grave.

GuitarsFromMars

10-23-2008, 10:04 AM

that would be news to me.

stevieboy

10-23-2008, 10:11 AM

The blues survives. It lives in it's own world apart from what's popular at any given time on the radio or in video. So it's never really big, from time to time it gets a little attention in the mainstream world. But it never goes away either.

semi-hollowbody

10-23-2008, 10:14 AM

the thought of blues dying makes me sad...very sad, depressed...dare I say it makes me "blue"...

there is a song in this...

woohoo its back, alive and kicking!! ;)

guitarslinger21

10-23-2008, 11:10 AM

as long as old, white men are buying guitars, blues will be alive in one form or another. ;)

guitarmook

10-23-2008, 11:23 AM

I have seen a subsidence of the popularity of blues in this town, I think. I used to be able to count on Antones, the Continental Club or a couple small places on 6th street as having a good blues band any night of the week. Used to see bands from Albert Collins and Buddy Guy to Roy Rogers and Gatemouth Brown at Antones. Now it's rare to get a travelling blues band at Antones, and they have newer rock bands much more often than blues. The Continental Club, while still one of my favorites, rarely has blues bands, and I can only think of two clubs on 6th, and one is only open Th-F-S.

Is the form dead? No. not at all. Is it as popular as it was 15 years ago? Again, not at all.

fetishfrog

10-23-2008, 11:53 AM

I guess it depends on what you mean by 'dying'. Will people continue to play it? Yes, absolutely...so by the definition of dying meaning 'will people play it?'...I'd say no, it won't die.

Will it continue to grow and progress through time, a necessity for any art form to remaim vibrant and alive? By that definition...I'd say maybe. The blues has the unfortunate problem of being held prisioner by 'purists', who, ironically, may kill the thing they love so dearly by boxing it in and suffocating it. I sure has hell hope that doesn't happen, but it might.

zombywoof

10-23-2008, 11:53 AM

The blues first "died" during WWII when the recording industry shut down cutting off the primary means for making cash. It came roaring back after the war but this time with electric geetars in the hands of folks who traveled north along Highway 61 in search of the promised land. In the 1960s the surviving pre-War artists were back in favor when the folk music revival hit. I have heard it had been so long since Son House had blayed that Blind Owl Wilson (of Canned Heat) had to re-teach House his own songs. Rock then hit big with young folks listening to that instead of older forms of music. Then the British guitar players introduced a whole new audience to electric blues and musicians in search of their roots and something genuine started listening again.

So on and so on and so on. Blues never went away - it just comes and goes on the charts. Each time it re-emerges some new spice has been added.

zombywoof

10-23-2008, 12:05 PM

That's why I don't buy into the 'pure' business. I feel that as long as you're following the 'blues formula' which involves the blues feeling, blue notes, 4/4 rhythm, etc, you're playing some form of the blues.

That is a pretty limited definition of the blues. Ain't no formula to it. Too much variety. Ya got the vaudeville divas, the string bands with their "sock" rhythm guitars, the gritty Mississippi slide players imitating the human voice and the call and respone of the fields and jubilee songs, the ragtimey and danceable music of the Uptown Atlanta players and so on.

A purist is just someone who sticks to the styles and techniques of the masters. They can execute Blind Blake's thumb slip with precision but are not about to throw in some extra secret sauce like some Freddie Green moving chord lines or Chuck Berry double-stops into their blues stew.

Franklin

10-23-2008, 12:08 PM

The Blues will be around, but the players will become like the Dixieland bands only playing in gazebos and old folks homes.

Just kidding! I hope....

Sean Costello was the future and the "real deal" as far as Blues goes. He always stayed on the traditional side of the fence where most others go Blues-Rock to try and get more of an audience.

To me it seems like Blues has not evolved much in 30+ years. Back in the 50-60s there were so many styles of Blues. Now it seems like a much smaller range of Blues styles.

gkoelling

10-23-2008, 05:06 PM

as long as old, white men are buying guitars, blues will be alive in one form or another. ;)

I didn't know blues was age, gender, or race specific.:rolleyes:

8nthatK

10-23-2008, 05:29 PM

Lol...I actually kinda agree...and can only hope the middle age duffer, playing in the pentatonic box music, does in fact die.

as long as old, white men are buying guitars, blues will be alive in one form or another. ;)

Tonefish

10-23-2008, 05:45 PM

Blues will never die...it's a state of mind!

rob2001

10-23-2008, 05:52 PM

I don't think any style of music really "dies". That is unless everything is judged by pop culture.

Benee Wafers

10-23-2008, 06:02 PM

oops wrong thread

shane88

10-23-2008, 06:23 PM

as long as old, white men are buying guitars, blues will be alive in one form or another. ;)
:rotflmaothat's great.... as long as someone like Jack White or Seasick Steve come along every few years it'll be ok

i know guys in their 20's who started lookin deeper into the great american back catalog and i suggest this whenever someone asks

but old white men are a worry :BEER

R.Kirkland

10-23-2008, 06:29 PM

ummm any love for Joe Bonamassa? I think he is taking the Blues torch and kinda rammin it down your throat (in a Kick A$$ sense).. definatley a new wave on Blues and blues Rock.. Far more than john mayer (not that I dont like mayer) just not really leading the pack on modern Blues.. Just a thought..

les

10-23-2008, 06:38 PM

Blues die? Are you kidding?

With the sad state of world affairs, it's the only thing holding us together - LOL

S.W.Erdnase

10-23-2008, 06:40 PM

Dead?

No, man, it's just exclusive. We're keeping it to ourselves and not sharing, is all.

gkoelling

10-23-2008, 07:51 PM

Lol...I actually kinda agree...and can only hope the middle age duffer, playing in the pentatonic box music, does in fact die.

Here's to you going first. :BEER

darth_vader

10-23-2008, 07:51 PM

Alvis

10-23-2008, 07:59 PM

A slow agonizing death due to the closed minded folks that run the scene

8nthatK

10-23-2008, 08:07 PM

Strike a chord? lol...don't forget your SRV wannabe hat!! :rotflmao

Here's to you going first. :BEER

CharAznable

10-23-2008, 08:12 PM

gkoelling

10-23-2008, 08:31 PM

Strike a chord? lol...don't forget your SRV wannabe hat!! :rotflmao

I don't wear a hat but I will when you outgrow the diapers, son.

bluesjuke

10-24-2008, 12:32 AM

Don't forget that the old white Blues lovers have been loving them since their youth.
Love of Blues isn't issued with an AARP Membership card.

gkoelling

10-24-2008, 06:22 AM

Don't forget that the old white Blues lovers have been loving them since their youth.
Love of Blues isn't issued with an AARP Membership card.

Absolutely. I've been listening to and playing blues since 1967.

The stereotyping by some of an entire genre and anyone who appreciates it, is more than a little naive.

Don L

10-24-2008, 07:32 AM

:banana

Ogre

10-24-2008, 07:53 AM

I remember when Jimmy & Stevie Vaughn were largely ignored here in Austin. The blues always comes back. It is a truly American genre, and there are up and down cycles.

Gas-man

10-24-2008, 07:57 AM

eddie101

10-24-2008, 09:36 AM

I agree that a lot of dudes PLAY blooze, but is the audience there?

Well, when the band starts wanking on a blues number that is when people heading out to take bathroom breaks. :hide

jumpnblues

10-24-2008, 09:37 AM

"[...I personally am a bit tired of the blues and I think the middle-aged white guy in a bowling shirt or Hawaaiian shirt playing it is even more tired...]"

Novel suggestion...don't watch it, don't listen to it, don't play it. Problem solved! These threads always end up the same ol' way...the guys with the tattoos, sideways hats, and pants down around their knees dissing the middle aged geezers with Hawaiian shirts. It's been done ad nauseum. Sooooo, I won't watch it, won't listen to it, won't play it. :horse:horse:horse:horse

Tom

karmadave

10-24-2008, 09:46 AM

As long as people are going through pain, struggles, and hardship, the Blues will never die. The Blues is life and story-telling in song.

-KD

bluesjuke

10-24-2008, 09:49 AM

semi-hollowbody

10-24-2008, 10:05 AM

What I think is amusing is when people that declare they don't care for the Blues get in front of a Live band playing Blues and become absorbed in it.

eddie101-
"Well, when the band starts wanking on a blues number that is when people heading out to take bathroom breaks."

Key word- wanking.
that is so true...I cant get a group of friends together and go see a classic rock band, an alternative, a metal, jazz...name it, someone is not gonna be into it...but get a group and walk into a bar that has a good blues band and everyone will be bopping their heads to the music....

I am primarily a hard rock, classic rock, alternative fan... I dont own any BB or Stevie Ray...we went to a blues bar for NEw Years EvE a few years ago and they had one national act, two local acts, and the group of us had a BLAST, they played dancable music, and they played sit back and chill/listen music, they did some classic rock tunes also, but make no mistake they were blues bands...and everyone left there with an appreciation of what we'd just listened too...

I need to get some BB and Stevie Ray

eddie101

10-24-2008, 10:10 AM

As long as people are going through pain, struggles, and hardship, the Blues will never die. The Blues is life and story-telling in song.

-KD

That is what they say about so called Rap music, which is kinda oxymoron thing with me. I don't think - I could be wrong - you even need an elec guitar for that kind of music.

greggorypeccary

10-24-2008, 10:31 AM

Don't forget that the old white Blues lovers have been loving them since their youth.
Love of Blues isn't issued with an AARP Membership card.

+1!! Now, I'm nowhere near AARP age, but I first saw B.B. King when I was a teenager in the early 80's. Been loving the blues ever since!

Gargloic

10-24-2008, 11:27 AM

For everyone saying that blues lives on in rock: I think you need to go back and take another listen to some real blues. I'm not trying to be a blues purist here, but there is a big difference in feel between blues and most (not all, but most) rock. Bonamassa may be playing blues licks, but he does them with a straight-up rock feel, not a blues feel. Same goes for Gary Moore.

What does real blues means?

What is real rock?

Is it: She loves you, Honky tonk woman, Stairway to heaven, Brain damage, Barracuda, Won't get fooled again, Logical song, Highway star, More than a feeling, Sharp dressed man, Rock this town or Roxane?

If you can answer all of the above, I guess the same can be applied to blues

IMVHO

Gargloic :hide

darth_vader

10-24-2008, 11:33 AM

What does real blues means?

What is real rock?

Is it: She loves you, Honky tonk woman, Stairway to heaven, Brain damage, Barracuda, Won't get fooled again, Logical song, Highway star, More than a feeling, Sharp dressed man, Rock this town or Roxane?

If you can answer all of the above, I guess the same can be applied to blues

IMVHO

Gargloic :hide

Surely we can all agree on the difference between a "blues" feel and a straight-up "rock" feel????

If you can't hear the difference, then I don't know what to tell you :messedup

Scott Miller

10-24-2008, 12:29 PM

Surely we can all agree on the difference between a "blues" feel and a straight-up "rock" feel????

No, we can't. The first problem is knowing what "feel" is. The second problem is how you have learned what the feel of the music is. If you learned that the blues feel is Joe Bonnamossa, you have a different idea of what the blues feel is than the person who learned that the blues feel is Robert Lockwood.

bluesbreaker59

10-24-2008, 02:23 PM

Surely we can all agree on the difference between a "blues" feel and a straight-up "rock" feel????

If you can't hear the difference, then I don't know what to tell you :messedup

Yes there is a difference in the two "feels".

That's like saying there is no difference between REAL country (Buck Owens) compared with Rascal Flatts (pop)

greggorypeccary

10-24-2008, 03:36 PM

Yes there is a difference in the two "feels".

That's like saying there is no difference between REAL country (Buck Owens) compared with Rascal Flatts (pop)

Correct on both counts sir!

(IMO, of course)

Gas-man

10-24-2008, 03:53 PM

Yes there is a difference in the two "feels".

That's like saying there is no difference between REAL country (Buck Owens) compared with Rascal Flatts (pop)

Why is Buck Owens REAL COUNTRY and not Mother Maybelle?

:confused:

Buck got in a lot of hot water in his day for using rock and roll embellishments like tom-toms on his songs with the guys that liked REAL COUNTRY.

bluesbreaker59

10-26-2008, 09:23 PM

Why is Buck Owens REAL COUNTRY and not Mother Maybelle?

:confused:

Buck got in a lot of hot water in his day for using rock and roll embellishments like tom-toms on his songs with the guys that liked REAL COUNTRY.

I didn't say Mother Maybelle, of course The Carter Family is real country. I compared Buck to Rascal Flatts. Do you hear the difference?

jumpnblues

10-27-2008, 09:30 AM

"[...If you learned that the blues feel is Joe Bonnamossa, you have a different idea of what the blues feel is than the person who learned that the blues feel is Robert Lockwood...]"

Just because someone learned that Joe Bonnamassa's music has a blues feel doesn't make what he plays blues. Joe is a great player, but I'd bet even he would tell you he plays blues influenced rock and roll and not straight/traditional blues. I've said this before in other posts...I can't define straight/traditional blues, but I know it when I hear it. There are subtlties and nuances that make "real" blues what it is. And if a player doesn't know what those subtlties are, then they haven't made an honest study of the genre beyond simple "jamming". I thought I knew what blues was too when I first started playing it. But the longer I played it and really studied it I found out I didn't know what I was talking about. The boundries can certainly get blurred though. For example, does Coco Montoya usually play blues or blues influenced rock and roll? The answer to me is...yes. I've heard him play both. But if you notice, his playing style and phrasing changes...albeit subtley. I have a West Coast blues CD with Coco on it and I would certainly call what he plays on that particular CD, blues. Yes, the parameters can get very blurred. When it's that close it just doesn't matter to me anyway. But that is the overwhelming minority of the time. Ninety five percent of the time I can tell "real"/straight/traditional blues from blues influenced rock and roll.
And there's nothing wrong with blues influenced rock and roll. People can get really emotional about the differences. But what's wrong with calling it blues influenced rock and roll? Nothing. As I said, Joe Bonnamassa is a great player. Walter Trout is a great player. Gary Moore is a great player. Blues influenced rock? Certainly. And done extremely well. But don't try to tell me what they play is blues because IMHO it isn't. JMHO, YMMV.

Tom

frank62

10-27-2008, 09:44 AM

OK, as long as people get the blues and they always wiil there will be blues music. For the most part the blues is the human condition. Nobody is exempt.

MBreinin

10-27-2008, 09:46 AM

A slow agonizing death due to the closed minded folks that run the scene

Well, man...as long as there are guys like you keeping it alive, I think it is in good shape!

Mike

Gas-man

10-27-2008, 09:47 AM

I didn't say Mother Maybelle, of course The Carter Family is real country. I compared Buck to Rascal Flatts. Do you hear the difference?

I didn't think you did.

The point here is that the guys like you who declare that Rascal Flatts is not "real country" are the same guys (of a different generation) who thought Buck Owens was not "real country" 40 years ago.

There is no such thing as real country. It's a constantly changing pop format that is always bringing in new influences.

Why should it be frozen in time in 1965 as the standard? Why isn't it frozen in time in the 40's with the Carter Family?

Dig?

rob2001

10-27-2008, 10:00 AM

What does real blues means?

What is real rock?

It's all perspective. In the late 70's/ early 80's I was a young, gigging rock guitarist. To me at that time, anything that sounded remotely like Chuck Berry was blues. :messedup

When SRV came out I thought, straight up blues player.:messedup

I'm still a rock player now but my understanding of blues is totally different to what it was then, rendering the previous ideas of blues kindof comical. But even then I understood what Frank62 points out. It was and is about the human condition.

bluesbreaker59

10-27-2008, 12:06 PM

I didn't think you did.

The point here is that the guys like you who declare that Rascal Flatts is not "real country" are the same guys (of a different generation) who thought Buck Owens was not "real country" 40 years ago.

There is no such thing as real country. It's a constantly changing pop format that is always bringing in new influences.

Why should it be frozen in time in 1965 as the standard? Why isn't it frozen in time in the 40's with the Carter Family?

Dig?

Rascal Flatts is a pop band, dig? Most of the stuff on modern country radio is watered down 90's pop with distorted Les Pauls, and men with lots of makeup and metro clothes, OR half dressed females.

I haven't heard much "****reee" music in the last almost 20 years. Right around the time Garth Brooks hit the scene IMHO. Who knows maybe it was when Ray Price went "Countr-politan"

Give me Merle, Paycheck, Cash, Buck, Possum, Dale Watson, Junior Brown, Lefty Frizzell, Red Simpson, Hank Sr., etc.