Your very first blues experience.

[blues2death]

ok,ok,ok.......

can you remember the time you heard your very first blues tune?

you know...the very first one.that one that outshined everything that regular radio was playing then.

what were you doing then at that exact time? do you know who played/sang it?

details down and dirty guys.

[vegetablejoe]

"The Pusher" by Steppenwolf. The song came out in '67, but I must have heard it in '68 or '69, as a little boy in Cebu.

I must have been playing with the usual toys for little boys, being as I was not a teenager yet. My eleder brothers must have been playing the album on the stereo... heard the Yardbirds before that, but they didn't sound as heavy.

[nathanmanansala]

the first time i met the blues...

... i was a sophomore in college and 5 years into my guitar addiction. i saw an SRV tape at a record store (The Sky Is Crying) and i'd read a lot about him sa guitar mags but had never really heard anything from him. i looked at the song list and saw little wing. i had bought a jimi hendrix tape a few months before so i was basically just curious about how he did on a hendrix tune. jimi's version was nice, but stevie's is what made me love the song.

so yun. stevie did it for me. i'd always listened to blues since pero never actually played it til this year when pinagbigyan ako ni deltaslim and he let me join the new band he was putting together (there was a lot of begging and sobbing involved). all the other bands i've been part of were either metal/hard rock or pop and i was weaned on satriani/vai/kotzen (i still worship those 3).

thats why stevie will always be the special bluesman for me. i'll go through a buddy guy phase, dickey betts phase, albert collins phase, joe bonamassa phase, joey puyat phase, freddie king phase, a joric maglanque phase but SRV will always be the shiznitz for me.

[430nmtune]

"The Pusher" by Steppenwolf.....

Ya know I smoke a lot o' grass....Woo..oh Lawrd I pop a lot of pillsss..
But I never touched nothin' that my spirit couldn't heal.......

hehehe I remember that.  I had the Steppenwolf 'Gold' Album back in '79 but my landlords brother borrowed it and never gave it back. My landlord has gone on to the other side already.

But the album that did it for me was the 'Guitar Boogie' by Clapton, Page and Beck.  Then there was this 'bluesy' song by the Kinks... Gallon of Gas.
Then i started the hunt for more blues...

[blues2death]

ok my turn....

way back before the mid 80s, i was into the usual fare...micheal jackson,corey hart..my older brothers had a mobile---mga new wave ang tirada noong araw at nakaparada ang mga plaka ng mobile sa bahay so i was into sound tripping way ahead of the kids in my batch. sometimes i would run into the occasional jazz album or elvis album---never bought my own though, always naghihiram..on one period i would listen to a beach boys cassette or the sgt peppers album while i was taking my afternoon nap. so  subliminally i was already absorbing "real" music.

i also ran into the first abraxas album...reel to reel machine pa ung meron namin noon.the cover was really graphic--with the naked black magic woman in the front. d ako pinagbawalan noon ng magulang ko na tingnan yun..hehehe

but that was just 60s-70s music in general...hindi pa blues noon.

so i found a ray charles album in the stash that my brother's mobile would keep in the house...i dont remember the title....but i was already fixated by the raw attitude exhibited by blind ray...also heard a few aretha franklin albums---respect was a usual staple...but in my head it wasn't the blues yet....just plain ol' music that sounded real good.

enter BB king.i dont know how it got into my hands.must have been there ever since i was interested in music, just never noticed it coz i was too busy listening to the beach boys and the sgt peppers.

right about that time he was nominated in the grammy's for " my guitar sings the blues"...that was the first. raw emotion...great vocals....sent me to tears....also "3 o'clock blues" and "thrill is gone" w/c i found on some cassette tape somewhere....

BB is my first blues experience that has had any effect on me....that was when i learned that this was called "the blues".

hooked for life saw the blues brothers movie on channel 2...then i was hooked.

[tony2tone]

my first encounter with the BLUES was when my dad would play old Billie Holiday on the record player, my favorite track was God Bless The Child, back then I didn't knew it was the Blues I was listening to. When I reached highscool that's when I started to listen to Hendrix, Clapton, B.B. King. I could still rememmber buying this guitar book from national bookstore it was by Arlen Roth, " How to Play Blues Guitar: The Basics & Beyond : Lessons & Tips from the Great Players" that's where I started teaching myself to play the blues and I'm still learning up to now.  

[deltaslim]

But the album that did it for me was the 'Guitar Boogie' by Clapton, Page and Beck.  

same here... in high school ako nun, and it spurred me to learn to play guitar. i was figuring out the solos on that album before i could play chords (ergo, my great achilles heel to this day). was already hearing a lot of led zep, hendrix, pinoy rock at the time but this album was the first that made me realize... teka, blues ito ah (albeit copy of the real thing).

i quickly searched for other, more raw and authentic blues music and within a year or so i had albums of folk/blues music festivals in the 60s bought for like P50 only.  listened to Skip James, John Hurt, Libba Cotten, then, etc.

then, over 990Rock, i started listening to Blues Sessions by Bob Magoo. one day, i called him and asked him to play the whole Robert Johnson albums during the show. a few weeks later, he did. i didn't catch it but my friend was able to record it on tape and we listened to it at his home and at school.

after that, i searched for Robert Johnson's teachers or sources of their material as well as their "products".  Discovered and found music of Son House, Charley Patton, etc. and also Muddy Watters, Howlin Wolf, Li'l Walter.  then i looked for the sources and products of both old and dead guys as well as the newer Chicago guys.  found gospel, spirituals, field, and Appalachian music as well as BB King, Freddie King, Albert King, Otis Rush, etc...

so much blues, only one liftetime!

[Tarkuz Toccata]

But the album that did it for me was the 'Guitar Boogie' by Clapton, Page and Beck.

I have that vinyl album also.

But I believe my first blues experience was listening to Statesboro Blues and Stormy Monday.

My next encounter with blues was probably when I heard Have You Ever Loved A Woman, Driftin' Blues, and Ramblin' On My Mind.

[fred]

B2D:

Yo bro, 16T here! Nice thread.

I got my pulled in big time around 1977 when a high school buddy handed me a tape(d) copy of Derek and the Dominos album, "Layla and Other Assorted Ove Songs". Could not have come at a better time as I had just learned to play "Slow Blues in C" by Ten Years After and I was just craving for more.

The tracks Key to Highway, Nobody Loves when You're Down and Out, Layla and Have you Ever Loved A Woman drew me in like no music ever did.  It was hard to explain but it was as if I knew exactly what he was singing about and it made me feel every note EC [and in some portions, Duane]  played. More over, I could actually follow solos in my head while I listened ..... well you know what I mean.

After that, it was just a contnous affair with the genre. A journey that goes on till today.

Rgards!  

[Tarkuz Toccata]

Almost forgot, All Your Love and Hide Away from the classic 1966 album John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.



I can still remember Jose Hilario's rendition of Hide Away being played by the guys in DZRJ-AM (780KHz) Pinoy Rock & Rhythm.

[Deacon Blues]

A great part of my 'musical education' came from tuning in to the old DZRJ when it was still in the AM airwaves. This was way back during my high school years - around 1977-80.

Back then, I soaked up everything I heard like a sponge. One of the highlights was listening to the midnite shows hosted by Mystery Man, Bob Magoo, Howlin' Dave and the others.

A high school classmate would even tape those shows, and one of the memorable ones include those of Pat Martino's 'Joyous Lake,' some Mahavishnu stuff as well as Chick Corea.

It was this same friend who introduced me to Jeff Beck, who had a great impact on me as well. I remember him saying, "Think Jimmy Page is hot? Listen to this." Upon which he put on Beck's 'Wired' record.

Although I could say I was more into the rock-jazz stuff at that time, I didn't mind listening to the more 'classic rock' or blues players.

I remember listening to Mahogany Rush (was it Frank Marino on guitar?), Robin Trower and a lot of other great blues players.

I even remember a live recording of this band where the guitarist would actually do his impressions of the greats and would call out their names as he segued into their popular licks. Something like, "Eric Clapton! ... and then he'd do a Clapton lick, 'Jimmy Page! ... and so on ...

I just dont remember who he was.. Maybe any of you guys do

Oh, and that was round about the same time that they were playing a lot of Steely Dan stuff. I remember the time they featured 'AJA' exclusively for a regular period, which accounts for my penchant for the group.

Well, we all have to thank RJ for at least giving considerable airtime to local artists as well, and that was how I got acquainted with the good players like Wally Gonzales and Walter Wirth.

One of the most memorable solos for me was Walter's solo on Petrified Anthem's 'Something for Everyone' ...

And perhaps my favorite blues song ... 'Wally's Blues,' with that Echoplex-laden intro ... oh man! Now, I don't really care if that was something that represented traditional blues.. It just hit me .. Maybe it’s because of how it builds up to its climax, and how Wally’s playing just reeks of so much emotion..

After that, my interest in the blues was sparked by SRV, with songs like 'Lenny' and 'Little Wing.'

Much, much later ... I didn't realize I'd get interested in the blues again - that is, 'til I met guys like deltaslim, veggiejoe, teletubby, toybitz and psychic_sushi ...  

[Deacon Blues]

By the way, blues2death,

Great work on the Blue Rats chronicles. That was a delightful read ..  

Sounds like something apt for Rolling Stone. Reminds me of Cameron Crowe and 'Almost Famous' ..

 

[blues2death]

you know what deacon?

when i watched almost famous...it kinda reminded me of my time w/blue rats...

the cameraderie w/fellow musicians...allman bros. revisited, substance abuse...bus rides and plane rides...weird groupies or  "band aids"...

i felt like almost famous was written about "the blue rats"....different line up though coz stillwater was a 4 pc...while during my time blue rats became a 10 pc at one point.

[whitey]

First blues experience I had came by chance one Sunday morning in Long Beach California. I was with a close friend of mine walking around the streets when we heard this music coming from somewhere. After a bit of searching we came upon a church where this music was being played, mind you very different than the churches I was brought up in. So we had a peek inside only to find out it was an all black congregation not really a place for two stoned white boys, but seeing how it was a church we felt relatively safe. The music being played was awesome and to this day probably one of the best shows I have experienced, so real and with so much feeling. After that I heard Little Walter's  "My Babe" and that's when I picked up the harp. First live concert was Taj Mahal.

[deltaslim]

First blues experience I had came by chance one Sunday morning in Long Beach California. I was with a close friend of mine walking around the streets when we heard this music coming from somewhere. After a bit of searching we came upon a church where this music was being played, mind you very different than the churches I was brought up in. So we had a peek inside only to find out it was an all black congregation not really a place for two stoned white boys, but seeing how it was a church we felt relatively safe. The music being played was awesome and to this day probably one of the best shows I have experienced, so real and with so much feeling. After that I heard Little Walter's  "My Babe" and that's when I picked up the harp. First live concert was Taj Mahal.

hey whitey... love black gospel too.  but i promise we won't be jamming on anything like that.  jam na!  

[whitey]

Deltaslim what a disappointment and just when I thought we were getting a feel of that old school blues, haha! Maybe in another life for me.

[deltaslim]

Deltaslim what a disappointment and just when I thought we were getting a feel of that old school blues, haha! Maybe in another life for me.

come to think of it... we HAVE jammed on some gospel tunes before... by Blind Willie Johnson and Mississippi Fred McDowell!  

[namida]

First blues experience, it was rather visual. Chuck Berry, from some strange tv special. I thought, what the hell is this guy playing? He looked so intense and immersed in what he was playing. But the real trip happened when I heard Jimmy Page. Stairway to Heaven, and off he took me to some vision.

[blues2death]

First blues experience, it was rather visual. Chuck Berry, from some strange tv special. I thought, what the hell is this guy playing? He looked so intense and immersed in what he was playing. But the real trip happened when I heard Jimmy Page. Stairway to Heaven, and off he took me to some vision.

i think that was chuck berry's " hail, hail rock n'roll"....that was a good movie.

[af_villaruel]

my first blues song was hoochie coochie man. classic.

never looked back

[vegetablejoe]

"The Pusher" by Steppenwolf. The song came out in '67, but I must have heard it in '68 or '69, as a little boy in Cebu.

... heard the Yardbirds before that, but they didn't sound as heavy.

Now that I've been thinking more about it, Steppenwolf wasn't my earliest blues experience. The very first blues album I ever bought was...



"Cheap Thrills" by Big Brother and the Holding Company

This was the heaviest, most powerfully, highly-charged "orgasmic" music I had ever heard in my pre-teens. What I would give to hear someone belt out "Piece of My Heart" or "Summertime" or "Ball and Chain" or any of the other songs on that album the way that Janis Joplin did. Whew!

uhmmm... calling dopedeeva, blues buddha and Dyanibee... pwede mag-request?! hehehe!

[dantuts]

hey vege ..your also a janis joplin / Big Brother and the Holding Company
 fanatic.. ayos..!!!

does blue_buddha's band cover these ?

well request din...  

[vegetablejoe]

hey vege ..your also a janis joplin / Big Brother and the Holding Company
 fanatic.. ayos..!!!

does blue_buddha's band cover these ?

well request din...  

Hindi ata. Pero kung mangulit tayo ng mangulit, baka tayo pagbigyan, hehehe.

[dantuts]

well...."try just a little bit harder ..."

[spilledmilk]

my dad played "from the cradle" ni eric clapton sa car player. he said "dapat ganyan ka...yan ang magaling...". I remember by that time i was already able to improvise a little bit and i said to myself "ahhhh so ive been playing a bit of blues na pala" (ANG KAPAL KO NO???!!!)