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Blues Is A Celebration (2)

<<< Back to part 1 of this interview 50K MUSIC: In your bio you state: “Blues and Jazz are my teachers, both as a guitarist and a singer ... it's all about soul; heart and soul.” Could you please tell us more about what Blues and Jazz has teached you? How much of your heart and soul do you put into your music? Woody: Well, I put all of my heart and soul into my music. There is no way to quantify that. I believe in performing like it’s the last thing I may ever do. I feel that be a professional musician is a privilege. I never wanted to do anything else. I learned from the blues and from jazz what is important to me about being a musician – respect for the music and musicianship. These are forms of American music that are the equivalent of what Classical music is to the Europeans. Blues and Jazz are the American Classical forms. Robert Johnson, Duke Ellington and BB King are, you know, like the Bach, Beethoven and Mozart of American music. I’m always learning, always studying, whether I’m writing a new song or cutting heads with another guitarist at a blues jam. I love the way horn players phrase and my harmonica player, Jose Ruiz, is one playing motherfucker who studies constantly and pushes me to dig deeper. Blues and jazz players are constantly trying to develop because the music demands innovation. These forms aren’t museum pieces, they are ever evolving musical adventures and you got to have chops to hang with the best players. There is a lot of improvisation, obviously, and that takes years of practice and study to be able to make your own statement as a player. 50K MUSIC: Who would you refer to as the ideal Blues musician, who is your ideal? Woody: There is no one blues musician who is my ideal. I can’t narrow the hugely influential blues canon down to one ideal artist. Each has had his or her own impact on the form, in some cases reinventing it and breathing a whole new life and generation in to it. That’s what the blues is about, forward momentum and the ability to carry on. Younger blues musicians carry the torch of the blues forward, reshaping it to reflect the current scene. Again, it’s not a museum piece. Neither is jazz. That’s what I hope to do with my blues, carry the music forward while respecting the tradition itself. The blues is a celebration and it’s great to see more and more people coming to blues gigs, people who might only know the blues as some kind of lowdown vibe, but it’s not. It’s a music that has many facets and interpretations and when it’s done right live blues, in particular, is absolutely transcendent. You’re praying and reflective one minute and partying and grooving the next… that’s the mojo an audience feels at a blues gig. You don’t go to a blues or jazz gig to feel lousy, you go to feel better, to feel elevated above your own worries and troubles. 50K MUSIC: In your blog you wrote about a gig for children. Do you think Blues can be a healer to this world? Do you see a chance to make this world a better place with your music? Woody: I think music definitely heals, motivates and inspires. I believe the world is enriched by the presence of this mysterious thing we call music, yes. Whether or not it’s a better place because of my music is not for me to say or to even consider. I do the best work I can with my music. The children for whom we perform are kids in need of a positive experience. Their parents are junkies in many cases, and these kids are going hungry. My blog tells the story of that first performance. I was moved by the enthusiasm these children had for my guitar. We intend to do more lunchtime shows, to give them the opportunity to dream a little bigger, to play some instruments and have a bite to eat. If the music we bring to those neighborhoods inspires even one of the kids to dream of a way up and out of the rather bleak situations they live in, it’s been a healer. I don’t become the healer, the music does. Like John Lee Hooker said for whatever reason, “blues is a healer”. Yes, I believe that. I know music has healed me many times over. 50K MUSIC: Can you please tell us something about your SXSW experience? Is SXSW worth the hype? Woody: SxSW is an important event in that it is hugely hyped and does garner a lot of press. Is it a life changer, a career changer for 99% of the bands that perform? Probably not. Living in Austin, I have the opportunity to play music here all the time in this legendary music community. It’s a great city for live music in many respects. I imagine it’s a real buzz for bands to have an opportunity to perform here during SxSW. I performed at SxSW a couple of times and I’m always amazed to hear that the next band up is from Scotland or some such place and that they’ve come to the U.S. to perform a 45 minute set at SxSW. That blows my mind, that kind of investment by those bands. It is something to see, to be a part of the festival, though not mandatory for one’s career, no. I have issues with the amount of money made by the organizers of the event versus the amount kicked back to the bands which are the fundamental core of the profit being made. It’s an argument I’ve heard many times being a local, but it’s not likely to change. It’s considered a lucky break to get a coveted SxSW slot, so you do the gig and hope for the best audience. I’ve met some great people at those shows from all over the world. At any rate, I suppose it looks good on your performance resume. 50K MUSIC: What are your plans to promote “Up Against It”? What other plans do you have for the next few months? Woody: Again, I go back to playing live as the main thing I do. I have some PR in place and I have the usual radio campaign efforts underway. It’s a constant job to promote one’s work. I just keep meeting people, making connections and pushing the music, the new album, to ears that will have it. I don’t worry about who doesn’t dig it. I spend my time taking care of the sources and resources that show potential. I reach out to my fans, new and long-time fans, making sure they know I’m still here and carrying on. I try to offer something new for those who’ve been around for a long time so that they continue to hang with me, you know. With the blues, there is an audience for that music, a community, really. There are, thankfully, so many resources in place that are blues specific and that helps me target who is interested in my music. But truthfully, I’m interested in performing more, including tours to Europe, so that is a primary focus. This is what I do professionally and live shows are where it’s at. People love live blues gigs, so do the musicians. The blues, and “Up Against It”, is about community and that’s where I take the music, to the people in that community. I’m a working musician with a family, so I have to stay employed as a musician. It’s kind of a nuts and bolts thing, you know. It’s not rocket science. 50K MUSIC: And last thing: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know. Woody: Ha! One thing…alright. If you are a fan of blues and soul, check out my new release and please support it if you like what you hear. Contact me, talk to me. I’d love to hear from you. Being a musician, especially in this economy, carries some extra weight to it. People want to have music in their lives. Most people can’t imagine their world without a soundtrack, you know. But music, like food, isn’t free. It’s my passion, yes, but it’s also my job. Artists create art to add to and share with the world more color, more inspiration, more beauty and more intellect. To be compensated for one’s creation seems to be a huge issue currently. I believe in sharing it, definitely, as long as people continue to support it, financially, with a legitimate purchase now and again of a concert ticket or an album on CD or via download, whatever. It’s critical to the survival of the arts. If you want milk and bread, you don’t just go take it from the grocery store, you have to buy it. There is no distinction between buying food or gas and other products, including music, books, art, etc. As a consumer of music, you should feel compelled to support it, because on the other end of your purchase is a family - much like my own - who quite literally need the money to pay our own bills. I think most people get that, but it scares me that a lot of folks so casually argue that music should be free, like the air we breathe. But, man, I can assure you that it costs money to produce an album or even a single song. Record companies over-priced their CDs, that was a fact. But now, with this independent, entrepreneurial music business in place, artists are setting reasonable prices for their music and most, if not all of the money, goes directly to that artists account so that they can carry on creating the work that you dig. Again, it’s nuts and bolts, man. In terms of the current financial crisis in the U.S. and the difficulties people are faced with; losing homes, jobs, health care, etc., the “soul of a man” continues to be nourished by the fundamental beauty of music. Throughout time, that has been a fact. The “language” of music has brought people together and had a positive impact. We are fortunate to be able to perform quite a few free concerts here in Austin which brings it to those folks who don’t have money to spend on a ticket or cover charge, you know. If you can afford it though, buy an album and drop something in the tip jar next time you’re knocking back a beer at your local hang. That band in the corner could use the money and I guarantee they are going to put that money right back in to their local economy. Anyway, I began the process of writing and recording this album thinking it was a solitary sort of artistic statement, but have since then come to realize that it’s truly something we all share at one time or another. In making this record I came to understand that the feeling of being “Up Against It” is a universal one. If you’re a blues fan, get out and support your local blues scene. It makes a huge difference to the musicians who are working it and you might find yourself hanging with some great people. We all could use a little more community in this ever shrinking, internet obsessed, world we live in. Facebook only resembles a “social network”. Nothing beats a live blues gig at your local pub for some true social experiences. <<< Back to part 1 of this interview www.woodyrussell.com

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