A Conceptual Canadian Blues Festival Somehot Peppersfrom Midwinter

Canadian Folk Music BUUEllN 31.2 (1997) ...3 A Conceptual Canadian Blues Festival somehot peppersfrom midwinter I had early lessonsin marginalization.As a little boy, I was North America, and the blues, we should all recognize, is in fascinatedby the culture of Native Americansand Canadians,a Canada.To refresh your memory, some months ago we pub- preoccupationwhich is less common than one might think. lished Dave Spalding'sreview of a set of recordingsby Jackson Among the kids I shareda block with, army was consideredthe Delta, a mostly acousticblues trio from Peterborough.2In that grownup, acceptablegame, and anything else was likely to be review, Dave commentedon the prevalenceof Americanplaces called babyish (a word I don't supposeI've heard spoken for and themesin the material before him and asked,"Don't Cana- nearly two quartersof a century). Cowboystended to be passe; dian situationsinspire blues players?" As I set that issueup, it in the rockin' 50s, the codesof GeneAutry and Roy Rogers,not struck me that this might be the excusefor a specialissue some to mention the latter's relatively delicate good looks, left their time. When Rick Fines, of JacksonDelta, respondedwith some machismosuspect. Of course,if I'd fastenedupon them, at least valid, intelligent thoughts on the matter (Bulletin 30.4, I'd have been interestedin white people. The slanderthat was December1996), John and I confirmed the plan. laid on me was, "Georgewants to be an Indian when he grows What follows does not pretendto be exhaustiveor defini- up." Think about it-not only did I haveto defendmy choiceof tive, nor shoulda readerassume that it is basedupon exhaustive obsessions,I had to defendmyself againstthe claim that I didn't researchon our part. We've thrown out somelines (anddragged understandthat I couldn't be an Indian, even if I wanted to, in a disappointingnumber of rubber boots), quizzedourselves which was not how I framedmy interestto myself, in any event. and someacquaintances, and, in the time that we had available, I'm rememberingthis tonight becauseI'm asking myself have gatheredthe following songsfor your perusal. PeterNar- how much truth there was in the comment, later made about vaezserendipitously offered the interview with Carlosdel Junco someof us-white boys who beganto play the blues during the which accompaniesthese songs. 60s-that we wantedto be blacks. Perhapsin this casethere was Not all of theseare currently availableon record (we've let a bit more to the charge. Mter all, Norman Mailer in The you know when they are). This may present a problem for White Negro said as much of hipsters in general. Exoticism? readerswho do not read music. On the other hand, Dave Ray Primitivism? Racism, even?Probably there was a degreeof all (12-string playing member of Koerner, Ray, and Glover- this. rememberthem?) once faced a similar problem when he discov- Someyears back, when I was reviewing a cassetteby Ken ered Paul Oliver's Blues Fell This Morning, in which he found Hamm for the Bulletin, it struck me that in the 90s we are as far one, maybetwo, verses-and no hint of the tune-to Barbecue from the 60s as the 60s were from the 30s, when many of the Bob's "Freezeto Me, Mama." This was obviously a tempting greatestoriginal blues were recorded.This might be considered item for a young 60s boy looking to rediscoverhis body as well from a numberof angles-for starters,can 90s peopleunderstand as the blues, but this was someyears before blues reissueswere 60s peopleany better than 60s peopleunderstood 30s people?- plentiful (and I'm not aware that that song ever did make it to but what really strikes me is that with eachpassing year, the era vinyl), so he just wrote his own tune and madeup somemore of John Hammond,Dave Van Ronk, and so on must surely have verses.It can be done. becomemature, as did that of Blind Lemon Jefferson,Missis- We don't claim that this selectionrepresents the writing of sippi John Hurt, and Kokomo Arnold, and with each passing Canadianblues players, that it makesa large statementabout the year, the agedifferences among those musicians will becomeless role of the blues in Canadaor about the role of Canadain the blues; neverthelessit is interestingto note that someaspects of significant. There havebeen white; players of blues, if not from the year Canadianlife do fit comfortablyin the bluesidiom. One concern the idiom was created, at least since shortly after. That age that we had in choosing these songs is that they did have to difference really is trivial. (I've always been fond of the pleaseus, and had the medium not suited the message,I doubt comment reportedly made by Jack Teagardento Louis Arm- that we would haveenjoyed them enoughto encourageothers to strong when they first met, "I'm an ofay, you're a spade.Let's begin to sing them. blow.") Someof the earlier white blues players apparentlydid Some readers may wish to argue about the degree of want to be black (read Mezz Mezzrow's autobiography,Really Canadian content in some items. One might say that Ken the Blues, if you don't believeme), but this definitely cannotbe Whiteley's "CorneA Little Closer" (or his "SheMakes Her Own said about RoscoeHolcomb, for example, whose music is as Way" from the last issue) isn't particularly Canadian.I myself bluesyand and as white as they come. Or about SamMcgee, or, sometimeswonder whether the nice-guyimage Canadians like to urn, early GeneAutry, or Mac Beattieor JohnnyMills's daddy.1 supposethat they have is really justified. It can't be proven, One might argue (and I'm sure someonehas) that the blues either way. It's still a good song, it was written by a Canadian, is the musical genre that defines our century; didn't British and when he was asked whether he'd written any particularly composer, Michael Tippett, entitle his, autobiography, Those Canadiansongs, he offered these two. A similar discussion Twentieth Century Blues?If nothing else, the bluesis cer-tainly might be madeabout Johnny V's" Ain't GonnaDust My Broom an essentialform in North American music. And Canadais in No More." I requestedthe songbecause it seemedto us to have 4... BlR.lEllN de musique folklorique canadienne 31.2 (1997) that je ne sais quoi that seem to make Whiteley's song dis- funky to somethingas smoothas Bob Wills ever did in his Las tinctively Canadian,though we really did try to keepje ne sais Vegasperiod. By the sametoken, Sid Marty's "Oryland Blues" quoi to a minimum-the discourseof the blues is alreadytoo full hashad someof its minor anglessmoothed a bit-the blueshere of "if-you-don't-get-it-I-can 't-tell-you" rhetoric. is mediatedby the Fred Neil influence-but it's still a blues at But you can't argue about "Black Fly Moan," "Fishing root. Grounds," "Snow Plow Blues," "Canada Goose Blues," and We offer you nine songsby nine singerswith nine different "Northern Ontario Blues," to namefive very different sorts of personalities. blues, ranging from city to country and from a fairly dark Mis- -George W. Lyon sissippi sort of soundto a lighter, f'dggyfeel, and from very 1 Isn't it interesting that Johnny V had Sonny Rhodessing his daddy's song on the CD? Apparently he felt that the bridge betweengenerations was strongerthan the gap betweenthe racesor nations! 2 By the way, when Davevolunteered to review JacksonDelta, I was a bit surprised,knowing him primarily as a singerof British and Canadianfolk songs.John told me that Dave beganhis performing life in the skiffIe boom in Britain during the 60s, which meant that he played blues and related material. If I were going to attempt to defend the proposition that the blues is the music of this century, I might use Dave as an example.(Or Big John Campbell-check out his "Walking Dog Shit Blues" on page 15!) Thanks to Phil Thomas, Linda Morrison, Ken Whiteley, Peter Narvaez, Johnny V. Mills. For yeomanassistance with tran- scribing, thanksto ScottMarshall, MaureenChafe, and Michael Pollock. Michael worked late hoursto makethe camera-readycopies. We'd like to recommendto you the fine Canadianblues magazine,Real Blues. It usedto be called West Coast Blues Review. We're having trouble finding it on standsin Calgary, a problem we hopewill be temporary,but we understandthat not only is well distributedin the larger market south of the border and in Europe, it hasbecome accepted as a premier periodical in the field. Editor D. Robertsonwrites, "We try and focus on 'authentic blues' and cover the whole realm of blues, soul, gospel, zyedecoand R&B with featureson many obscureartists and rare recordings."Rates are $30.00per year in Canada,$30.00 (US) in the USA, and $45.00 (US) per year overseas.They publish six issueseach year. Write Real Blues #302, 655 Herald Street, Victoria, BC V8W 3L6. < [email protected]> ..,..,.., I knew Bill Kinnear briefly Bay Folk Society in Owen Sound. during the 80s. He and I were a- Carlos del Junco infonns me that mong the hundredsof white boys Kinnear died onstage at The Gate- (of all ages)who were attractedto way in Collingwood, Ontario. If the blues genre. Perhapsnot all of you have to go, I guess that's as our motivations could be scruti- good Billas way cameas any to music late in nized closely without embalTasing us, but we were sincereand enthu- life; it helps to have practiceda lot siastic.Some of us made(and con- as a youngster.He probably didn't tinue to make) some very [me even hear the blues until he was music; somegot rich (somesquirt- grown up. I don't know whether ed a fortune through needles); I he was chasing rainbows or had supposewe all had our moments.

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