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From: Mike Curtis
Date: Sun, 18 Jan 1998 22:39:18 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Playing what the audience wants

On Sat, 17 Jan 1998, Bluesonics wrote:

>Mike Curtis wrote:
>
>>When they LOVE something, don't question it. Simply provide it in the
>>best capacity you can. And if this guy's a hack, just think of how much
>>better YOU could do those high notes.
>
>Sorry, Mike, I have to disagree with you on this one. If everyone listened to
>the audience we'd all be dancing to the Spice Girls

Sorry, dude, but I look ridiculous in platform shoes :-)

>what they wanted, we'd ALL be playing Lynard Skynard's "Freebird" every night.

I find it works nicely as a blues.

>To me, there has to come a point where artistic (I hate that word, by the way)
>aesthetics override trying to please the base interests of the general
>audience, some of whom will listen to a straight Chicago blues band for two
>hours and then say "ya'll know any Pink Floyd?"

I do a nifty version of Run Like Hell, too :-) I tune the low E string
down to D, put reverb and flange on the guitar, and get some amazing
sounding chord slides. It's a fun tune to harp-solo over, too.

> And yes, high notes excite an
>audience. I, too, include them in my playing -- but I don't make them the
>entire meal -- in which case, to me, they lose their power since there is
>nothing to contrast them against.

I use all of my notes pretty much across the board. However, I have a few
solos that concentrate on high notes, using those nifty Jimmy Reed type
bends. Even though I use all my notes all night, these solos still get
'em going. I have a lot of variety and expression in my high note
playing, and this helps a lot.

>So, my point here is that while it's important to keep the audience as happy
>as possible (who could disagree), you have to be reasonably true to your own
>vision and your own style. Otherwise, you'd be another Top 40 band.

I couldn't be a top 40 band if I wanted to - first off, there aren't
enough of me ;-)

But there's no harm in doing an occasional tune that's not in your
particular genre, either. All the old timers did. You may not hear the
hillbilly tune Jambalaya on his records, but Josh White Sr did a bang up
job of it when requested, especially when accompanied by a decent tip :-)

It's only the "new" bluesers who are so concerned with "purity" and "being
true to your art". The old timers are/were for the most part just plain'
ol' country folks who loved to play music, and weren't all that fussy (or
proud) about what they played. They'd take requests at the drop of a hat
- - and especially when that hat had a quarter in it (remember inflation - a
quarter was a tidy sum back then, and we bought brand new Marine Bands for
$2 retail).

Why do you think they so much welcomed us young white boys, most of whom
had about as much "blues soul" as a Chihuahua :-) It wasn't phoney, or
put on, etc. They LOVED their music, their audiences, and the fact that
the kids loved it enough to at least give it a try. It was flattering to
have these enthusiastic fans chomping at the bit, trying their best to
emulate the "masters", especially in the face of the racist attitude that
was rather prevalent among many back then. And it was a two way street.
They asked us questions about songs and such, too. We had no concept of
"race", for practical purposes. It was just another visual thing,
somewhat akin to hair style and such. And the true blues masters were not
nearly as "pure blues" as you might think.

If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me.


-- IronMan Mike Curtis
My CD "Doin' It All Myself" available in Tower, Blockbuster, Camelot, PX