Listen while reading:
Hi Jukka! it's a great pleasure to do this interview, thanks a lot. Let's go!
I play the blues too. I feel it is "my own folk" music...but i share nothing
I play the blues too. I feel it is "my own folk" music...but i share nothing
historically or
culturally with the folks that created it. I read Corey Harris being quite
sharp and clear about how the blues can't be separated from the black people
culture and their background.
Have you had any
doubts about the cultural aspect of being a white and european blues player?
When I listen to the Blues played by the
people who lived under the circumstances that created the Blues, it is a
totally different thing compared to the Blues played by the people born and
raised in the modern society -even though the music may sound the same.
We still have a whole lot of problems, difficulties and troubles in our
societies and especially on personal level but
we are not in the America in the days of old.
And that is where and when the real Blues emerged and you certainly hear and feel it in their Blues. In that sense luckily the Blues is dead. I have talented and skilled musician friends all over the world in countries like Nepal, Thailand, Brazil or even Finland that play great MUSIC that you with a good reason can call the Blues.
Blues as a music genre luckily never dies but we can not go back in time. Hard to explain in English but one example: You can recitate speeches like Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" or Fidel Castro's "Letter from Che" but nobody's getting goose bumps. Why? It is not in it's historical, political and cultural context and you did not live, experience and create it - it would be only words.
And that is where and when the real Blues emerged and you certainly hear and feel it in their Blues. In that sense luckily the Blues is dead. I have talented and skilled musician friends all over the world in countries like Nepal, Thailand, Brazil or even Finland that play great MUSIC that you with a good reason can call the Blues.
Blues as a music genre luckily never dies but we can not go back in time. Hard to explain in English but one example: You can recitate speeches like Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" or Fidel Castro's "Letter from Che" but nobody's getting goose bumps. Why? It is not in it's historical, political and cultural context and you did not live, experience and create it - it would be only words.
Here I would like to modify Fred
McDowell's words and turn them upside down: "I don't play no Blues, it
only sounds like it."
Do you earn your
living through music biz?
If not, what do you
do for a living?
We have a small seasonal gardening
business. We grow and sell potted herb plants of legal varieties during the
planting season from March to July. The rest 8 months of the year I am a
traveling musician. I am writing this interview on a tiny island in the middle
of the Bay of Bengal between India and Indonesia.
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| Left to right: Bad Mood Hudson & Black river bluesman |
Most "roots
music sceneters" relate Finland to the band Deltahead.
They are missed by
many. I do play "Don't move to Finland" in my gigs, what are
they doing now? Are you related with any
of them in any way?
They were the greatest rock n roll
band ever and of course they are Swedish. Great guys and superb musicians. I
booked them once to the Floating Cockroach festival that I arrange and met them
again in France at a festival but after that they split. I don't know what
happened, I never wanted to ask. They even had recorded a new album that was
never released if I understood right. Now you can see in Youtube David playing
great music but more like chanson/theater/Swedish "visor"-type of
music. Still makes me very sad they quit- their live performances were the best
I've seen and I've seen many!
Is the Black river Bluesman a savage? do
you live in a remote and natural area?
Yes, Wrestling with bears and taming
wolf puppies is what we do when there is no snow shoveling. Black River
Bluesman is a country boy from a small village of the Black River. So small
that I bet you would not call it a village at all. I am just a Finn - it is I
need my every day woods and lakes for the peace of mind. And oops then I escape
the bad bad winter for a better climate. Summer is short. Last year it was Monday
and Tuesday.
There is a big
crisis of interest and businesswise in the live scene in Spain.
It has to do with
the crisis but too with the unreasonable taxes that shows pay
here and (has to
do) with the lack of interest of the youngsters for
rock'n'roll. Does something similar
happen in Finland?
Rock n roll will never die.
Why do you think
younger generations are less interested in live music or playing
in bands?
Yes I think so. My son is 14 and none of
his friends or school mates are playing in a band. Social media gives you
easier ways to get girl friends.
How's your album
"Moonshine Medicine" going?
What's the weirdest
review you have had about it?
The album was released as a vinyl LP, CD and a download code (also included in LP). The sound on vinyl is by far better. We've got loads of overwhelming reviews. The weirdest thing is that the blues critics say: "It's not a blues album but we love it." And the rock critics say: "It's a blues album but we love it."
The album was released as a vinyl LP, CD and a download code (also included in LP). The sound on vinyl is by far better. We've got loads of overwhelming reviews. The weirdest thing is that the blues critics say: "It's not a blues album but we love it." And the rock critics say: "It's a blues album but we love it."
Are you going on tour soon? How do you book the shows and set the tours up?
I do some of the booking myself but I
must admit that I am lazy. There are blues agencies in different countries
working on tours for us so let's wait and see! We'd be happy to play Spain too
if you only say: "A gig!", and we'll be there!
The next show is going to be at the
Finnish Blues Awards gala in Helsinki in January. In February we'll have a
couple of shows in Estonia, including the premier of the documentary film of my
latest trip to the USA and to perform at the Deep Blues festival in Mississippi
last October.
Do you feel there
are some exhausted topics in the "roots scene"?
i'm thinking of
repeated looks; dust bowl era folklore, "hillbilly" or Mississippi
jargon,
(even when most
bands aren't for the South) or bands that just put
together an open tuning, some shouts and
pretend they are playing "deep
blues"...
No friendly fire please! I'd rather be
more of a peace negotiator in the Blues scene than to judge other people's way
of making music of any kind.
I was happy when all that punk wave came
about in 1977. Everybody's allowed to play! You don't like you don't listen,
fine! You want to wear hats and shades and play Mustang Sally, fine.
What genres did you
play before becoming the Black river Bluesman? Were you a
metalhead anytime for example?
I was a blues fanatic from the very
beginning in the early 70's. Some of the first albums I bought then among all
those blues LPs also included Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin etc. I
have always been a big fan of Neil Young, Tom Waits, etc. and I've had my
hippie music making period too. Punk, grunge and avant garde jazz too are among
the genres I like. But the Blues always remained as an essential part of my
life. I used to have bands like one called "Help! I'm a Rock" that
played my originals in the spirit of Hanoi Rocks.
Besides playing
lowebows, do you play "normal" guitars in your shows? what tuning
do you use?
I only play Lowebows at our shows when
we perform as Black River Bluesman & Bad Mood Hudson. The Lowebows are the
fundamental foundation of our duo's sound and music. I've already got five very
different models of Lowebows (one, three, four and six string guitars) and I
tune them to various power chords and some quite weird tunings depending on the
song. I also play regular lead guitar in a blues band called the Hard Road that
obviously plays John Mayall covers and other blues classics. There I am mostly
using the Fender Stratocaster which I bought in 1979. Mostly standard tuning
but also open tuning in slide guitar tunes like "Dust my broom" (open
E) or "I be's troubled" (open G).
If you were offered
a "Devil's pact" (sorry for the topic, it's catchy) which
bluesman style would you like to master?
I never really listened to any song
trying to learn guitar licks note by note. So I guess I am not very
interested in learning any master's guitar playing style in particular. But if
the Devil's pact would give me the credibility of Howlin' Wolf, I'd certainly
climb the stage curtains up and down during every show. Well if I really
had to answer your question I'd say, although not a bluesman: Marc Ribot.
The underground circuit
is tough and weird for many reasons. You can see professional
musicians mixed
with occasional players, good promoters and well appointed venues with
right the opposite.
Good people on the road and heartless bastards that are
looking to screw you up...what's your
take on it? is it positive or a bad one?
Many of the promoters are the kind of
persons that are hyper active and have one million projects going on at
the same time. They do get a lot of done but also sometimes forget and mess up
things...I don't think I ever met any guys with real bad intentions.
I rather avoid playing in wrong kind of
venues like pizzerias or cafes not built for live music.
Would you change
the Black river for the big Mississippi? Have you been tempted?
Got any plans?
I have plans and yes I could change for the Mississippi but not for good. The Black River is good during the non-skiing season (especially if it happens to be on a weekend) but I need my dip in the Ganges every year as well. In the near future I'll probably be spending much more time down by the Mississippi and the Ganges than the Black River.
---------------
Check their website for more info and purchasing their recordings:
http://www.bluesman.fi/
I have plans and yes I could change for the Mississippi but not for good. The Black River is good during the non-skiing season (especially if it happens to be on a weekend) but I need my dip in the Ganges every year as well. In the near future I'll probably be spending much more time down by the Mississippi and the Ganges than the Black River.
---------------
Check their website for more info and purchasing their recordings:
http://www.bluesman.fi/
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