Tag: Freddie King

BGS 5+5: Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Bruce Iglauer, Founder and President of Alligator Records
Hometown: Sweet Home Chicago
New Release: Alligator Records — 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music
Latest Album Produced: The Preacher, The Politician or the Pimp by Toronzo Cannon
Personal Nickname: Mr. Alligator

What’s your favorite memory from working in the music business?

After all these years, it would still be the first session I produced, back in 1971, with my favorite Chicago blues band, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. We cut their debut album in two four-hour sessions, direct to two-track (I couldn’t afford multi-track recording) and 100% live in the studio. They played the same ragged instruments that they played in the South Side Chicago clubs. Hound Dog had a cheap Kingston guitar played through a Sears & Roebuck Silvertone amp built by Danelectro. Of the six speakers, two were cracked and distorted beautifully. Brewer Phillips played an ancient Fender Telecaster through a not-too-old Fender Concert amp, and Ted Harvey beat on an old Slingerland drum set. We recorded a couple of takes each of about 25 songs both nights, and chose the best for the album. We tried to make a record that felt just like their gigs at Florence’s Lounge, a South Side neighborhood bar where they played every Sunday. They rocked the house, so the slogan of Alligator Records became (and still is) “Genuine Houserockin’ Music.”

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to work in the music business?

I came to Chicago in 1970 to work for a year as the shipping clerk at Delmark Records, a venerable small blues and jazz label. Then I was going to go back to college. The first week, the boss, Bob Koester, asked me to come to a recording session as “gopher” (the guy who goes for things like sandwiches, whiskey, guitar strings, etc.). I watched as, before my eyes, Chicago bluesman Junior Wells, accompanied by Buddy Guy, Louis Myers, Fred Below, Earnest Johnson and the best blues piano player in the world, Otis Spann, sculpted a blues record that’s worth hearing 100 times. I couldn’t believe this music was being created live right before my eyes. It was incredibly exciting. After that, I had no thoughts of going back to college.

What advice would you give to an artist who’s pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter?

Be a realist. The chances are better than not that you will not be able to make a living doing this. Be prepared to be hungry. Then, if you’re truly determined, insist on making your own statement. Don’t consciously think about being “commercial,” but do think, “Will other people relate to this music, or am I just indulging myself?” If your music doesn’t communicate, then you should perform for yourself in your bedroom and get a day job! If you do perform, remember that each performance is a way of auditioning your songs to the people you want to be your fans. Pay attention to their feedback, both what they say and how they react to each song, each verse, each line.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I guess that I should answer that about both artists and producers (because above all, I’m a talent scout and producer). The artist who influenced me most has to be Elmore James. He wasn’t the best technical guitar player in the world, but he played and sang with such undiluted passion that every record he cut is worth listening to over and over. The first two things I listen for with an artist are passion and originality. He had both. As far as producers, I’d name my old boss, Bob Koester, of Delmark Records, for letting artists be who they are, and Tom Dowd, for inspiring artists to great performances in the studio — including Ray Charles, The Allman Brothers, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Freddie King, Eric Clapton and literally hundreds more.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Find blues and blues-based artists who have that passion and originality, and help them (whether I’m their producer or not) to capture that passion and originality in a recording. Then, be the bridge that connects the artist to his or her potential audience. That way, if the Alligator Records team and I succeed, artists will make records that will rock people’s bodies and souls, and we will help the artists reach more and more ears and (hopefully) get the recognition they deserve.

Photo credit: Chris Monaghan

BGS 5+5: John Smith

Posted on by Editor

Artist: John Smith
Hometown: Essex, UK
Latest Album: Hummingbird
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Smitty (Joe Henry and The Milk Carton Kids started calling me this around the Invisible Hour recording sessions and it stuck. I like it). Johann Schmidt (when on tour in Germany and Austria). When I first started gigging I had a little outfit of bass, cello, and violin. I called us The Wooden Ducks for about five gigs. Since then it’s been the John Smith Trio. I’ve always admired jazz musicians and to me, the words Trio and Quartet are innately very cool words to use, even for a folkie like me.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I remember it took almost a year to write “Great Lakes.” I had the first verse and the chorus but I spent months trying different ideas, looking for the right path and tripping over myself the whole time. That’s what got me into co-writing. I started to share ideas with others which opened up my creative thinking in a new way. Suddenly I felt more receptive even to my own ideas. I finished writing “She Is My Escape” with Joe Henry and then “Great Lakes” revealed itself to me. I’ve been into co-writing since then.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I used to play electric guitar with David Gray. There was a moment during a slide solo at Red Rocks when the band went quiet. I had a very brief moment of very loud guitar heroism with the sun going down over the mountains and I didn’t screw it up! It’s so easy to screw up a guitar solo though. I think they are often best avoided or attempted alone at home. I played a bum note in the Royal Albert Hall around that time and half the crowd laughed. I had to die a little inside before I was able to see the funny side. My classical musician friend told me, “Darling, you’re no one until you’ve whacked out a spare at the Royal Albert Hall.”

In Amsterdam a guy in the audience asked if he could play and sing a song on my guitar, and he performed a beautiful rendition of one of my own. That was a kind of magic. It’s one thing seeing it on YouTube but another entirely when it’s onstage at your own gig. That would be my current favourite memory.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

When I was 11 years old I had already passed a few grades on the piano. I thought nothing of it beyond the fact that I was simply playing piano in school. I enjoyed music of course but I don’t think I knew that I could live my life through its lens.

So my dad sat me down one day and put on the Physical Graffiti LP and I heard “Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin for the first time. It completely blew my mind, a totally definitive experience. I saw a different world on the other side of the needle. Doors opened in my mind and I felt alive in a very different way to before. It might sound a little hyperbolic but it’s true. I knew right then that I wanted to make music and I actually needed to play guitar. My dad gave me a Stratocaster and that was it for me.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I learned early on from Joe that if you’re going to work you need to dress the part. Not just for yourself but for the people around you. When I’m in the studio I make sure to iron my shirt and comb my hair. I work harder and concentrate well if I’m holding myself to a reasonably high standard. The same goes for being onstage. I believe you should look good for the people who’ve paid to see you.

In the dressing room, or maybe it’s just a corridor or a bathroom, before a show, I warm up with a song or two and write a couple of notes. I don’t believe in carrying much around with me. I try to use what’s in my guitar case.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I once ate a bowl of olives at an Allen Toussaint concert and those were the best olives I ever tasted. I like to listen to Ry Cooder when I eat. I reckon Bop Til You Drop is the record I’ve listened to the most in my life. My dad used to put it on every time we had friends over for dinner, and he cooks Indian food. Therefore I like to cook curries and play Ry Cooder records for my friends. I don’t know a better way to do it. If ever I have a clear day off at home, I’ll spend it cooking and listening to Freddie King, Joni Mitchell, Keith Jarrett. Sometimes I’ll crank up Mastodon to help chop the onions.

About the Playlist: Songs and interpretations by the artists who have influenced my life as a folksinger, not only in the musical sense but in the way I think about the bigger picture; each of these records has helped to guide me to where I am now.

Photo credit: Rose Cousins