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anyone else plays the older electric blues like I do ?

GibsonPlayer72

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Sep 20, 2015
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I just wondered how naturally come by the old style electric blues.. stuff like how Jimmy Vaughan or Jimmy Reed or Freddie King . Otis Rush , Buddy Guy Hubert Sumlin played ? I noticed one thing at a lot of blues Jams people will play a lot of fast licks and call that the blues.. I guess it's something you have to just feel.. but I play it more authentic then that because I have I guess what you would call an old soul.. and it just turns me on more .

Also what about the sound strings?? Heavy gauge , flat wound ? Pick or fingers or both ? Slide?
What kind of amp? Guitar ?

Kinda wanted to start a fun discussion and see who else out there really digs this stuff
 

lpnv59

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Jul 15, 2001
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I play blues with a few bands. One outfit, coined The Soupie Boys(Soupie is Portugese sausage) includes a cast of players fairly well known in the Rhode Island blues scene. Bruce Bears, keys for Duke Robillard, Brian Templeton who sings and plays harp, Dean Cassell on bass, who is now in Beaver Brown but has toured for years with many acts. And Bobby Christina, whose brother Fran was in the Fabulous T's. Franny sits in with us once a year when we play Mitchfest, a Hospice benefit held his father's name. The tunes called are traditional blues and I just play them as I feel em. I incorporate all my influences and what comes out does not include a lot of notes. I love hearing players like Monster Mike Welch, Duke R, Young Neil, Ronnie Earl. But I couldn't play that way when I tried. So I don't deny my limitations, I embrace them. Being heavily influenced by the late 60's/70's British blues & rock, guys as much as the seminal American blues, country & R&R players. George Harrison as much as James Burton, I come up with my own stew of licks. Some of the more open minded blues enthusiasts appreciate what I do. Some don't...you can't please the world. Well some can I guess. :hee I just go my own way with as little ambition necessary to play enough gigs to keep me satisfied. So far, everybody in this band wants me in, when they could get any number of great players from the NE area who play a more traditional style. I'm humbled to be in their company! :salude

My gear used with the Soupie Boys is; '09 CS Fender '57 Relic Strat w/ Don Mare Formvar 50's pickups, strung with Ernie Ball 9's > Box of Rock > either a '64 or '66 Fender Deluxe Reverb loaded with a G12H30 Heritage Celestion. I play both with & without a pick.....depends on the song and if I have nails.
 

GibsonPlayer72

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Sep 20, 2015
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Awesome !!! Wish there were more of us out there. One thing I noticed is when I have tried auditioning for a blues band it is usually more modern style blues then traditional . I enjoy listening to both styles but really I enjoy the older style when it comes to playing . Thanks for the reply awesome stuff !
 

dez

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Jul 10, 2004
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625
I think the reason that there's not alot of that stuff is that it's just not that easy to do. May seem like it, but it aint. Taste and restraint are some serious skills. The players you mentioned played stuff perfectly, IMO. I listen to Jimmie Vaughan and it just cant be better. And Freddie King, Hubert, etc., etc. And I cant do it. It's just not me. Bums me out, but I appreciate the originals even more because of it.
 

GibsonPlayer72

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Sep 20, 2015
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I agree . Playing a lick fast isn't as much of a skill as playing it with restraint.. I feel more genuine when I play something very simple but done well .. There are players that are not blues persay like Paul Kossoff that played very simple well excuted licks with tone for days on end .. I also think that one mistake a lot of aspiring blues players make is that they forget how effective a few notes put in their proper place is .. That it's not a race. Lot of people don't get Jimmie Vaughan is they don't feel he is exciting enough.. but forget that it takes years of practice to play with taste and restraint.
 

thejaf

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Oct 27, 2006
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I'm inspired by some songs from those artists, but for me blues music especially has to have soul. I've found some do and some don't, regardless of speed at which notes are expressed. For instance, Buddy Guy's version of "Baby Please Don't Leave Me" is slow and achingly soulful, but to me "Since I've Been Loving You" live is just as epic, albeit much much faster playing.
 

Don

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I consider myself to be a blues guitarist more than anything else. I started because of Clapton, which lead me to a lot of the old greats, though a lot of what I know comes from the Fabulous Thunderbirds first four albums. I wore them out!:hank

I live on the MA/RI border and, probably due to Duke Robillard (he lives a couple of miles from me) and Roomful of blues, there was a lot of blues played around here. If I recall, there's a pic of Jimmie Vaughn in a Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel t-shirt on the inside of SRV's Live Alive album.

Speaking of SRV, his popularity was kind of a double edged sword- he brought blues to the forefront in the '80s, but set people's expectations to more of a blues rock style than the traditional sounds that I preferred. I liked him a lot, but much preferred Jimmie.

After about a year and a half apart, my cousin (vocals/harmonica) and I have been rehearsing about a dozen or so songs so far and will be looking for a drummer and bass player soon.
 
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Big Al

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Oh boy! This thing pops up every now and again and just cracks me up with all the self serving back slappin' chest thumpin' throw downs in defence of a lack of skill as more authentic playing. Gets old and a little sorry sounding.

Playing speedy lines and riffs isn't a sign of lack of soul or feeling just as playing slow restrained riffs aren't demonstrations of authentic more soulful style or lack of skill.

Both approaches are valid and each one can be misused. Blues didn't stop it's evolution in 1937 or 47 or 57. There are advocats for ALL the many styles and the various ways of playing You gots to step up and shred to boogie, there is a long history of head cutters and shredding instrumental music that is every bit as authentic as other
approaches.

I appreciate and marvel at the skill and dexterity of a good shredding blues guitarist. Ain't nothing to be shamed about. Blues played low and slow becomes a dirge.

I can tear it up on a quick time boogie. I can squeeze tears outta slow minor blues and hammer a Hill Country riff home. One thing I won't do is validate my inadequatecies by putting others down, and that is always the problem with these threads.

Slow, fast, major, minor, soft, loud, clean or overdriven it's called DYNAMICS and a musical guitarist uses them all. I try to. As I see it I serve the beat. Groove is everthing.:hank
 
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goldtop0

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Aug 19, 2003
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I started with Mayall's Bluesbreakers and EC in the late '60s and worked it back from there.
Love the Jimmy Reed stuff,BB etc and do the best I can with what I got.......love a good thumping boogie woogie.
Play with all different sorts of outfits month to month...some blues, R n R, some jump jive with good harp players and double bass.......love that magic.
Smaller amps now with R6, R8 and a '51 tele partscaster.......can't be beat.
 

Big Al

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Ever check out the Late Great Earl Hooker? Critically under appreciated. Same kind of instrumental stuff as Freddie King without the out of tune accompaniment. Beautiful phrasing. Ol' Lightnin' Hopkins would tear it up now and again, too.
 

goldtop0

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My son gave me a good Lightnin' CD last Christmas and some real early BB King that I didn't have but for the life of me I can't think of any Earl Hooker tunes.......will check his stuff out......thanks Al:2cool
 

Big Al

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I kept hearing stories about the dude. I never heard of him, but I had heard him. Earl played on a lot of the classic Chicago Blues hits. He was a sideman par excellence and widely regarded as the BEST of all the classic Chicago Blues Guitarist. I'd agree. Killer slide and well executed and wonderfully phrased lines. Muddy Waters used him on quite a few and that opining slide guitar riff on Zepplins "You Shook Me" is a direct quote of Earls slide on Muddy's cut.

I have to look up the CD I can't get to it right now, I have two something like SWEET LITTLE ANGEL or something like that.
 

greenfield

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Jan 21, 2003
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42
I guess I do. . . .
So. . .is this info from what you guys see at other peoples gigs and such?
I find it's hard to do this stuff if the other guys can't play the right way,ie drums and bassists and such.
For years i'd try to get my friend and drummer to learn about Fred Belows or SP Leary but he wants to play like the dude from Kansas.
What about you guys?
 

greenfield

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Jan 21, 2003
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Lately I've been getting back to guys like Mud or Jimmy Rogers for the songs but try to do my poor man's Robert Lockwood stuff. Really, the cool stuff is on the vocal-centric, piano or harp albums. Guys like Wayne Bennett, Johnny Moore, MT Murphy, Clarence Holoman, Luther Tucker. How about Carl Hogan?.... Yeah a lot of lead stuff but no backup.
Also, I find many guitar players just want to wank and not play good rhythm guitar. Bitches! I run a Blues Jam in SLC and find people want to be a star but not really be a student. Kinda weird.
what have you guys seen/experienced?
 

GibsonPlayer72

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I think the ability to be a good rhythm player allows you to feel the song better so when you do a play a lead it comes more naturally . It's true that a lot of the stuff you hear with Muddy Waters you hear a lot of harp solos but also you hear some great lead work. But learning to listen is a skill in itself especially when listening to some music and playing along. It's good to just pause and listen and see where they are going with the lead in the song. As well as the rest of the band.
 

DaMang

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I love the blues like most of us do.Huge Johnny Winter fan,but love the 3 Kings also.Blues is a constantly evolving form of music just like Rock,Jazz,or any other.I enjoy it all because someone put their heart and soul into it.There is no bad music. (although some is borderline).LOL
 

dalezjc

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Jun 3, 2017
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I was fortunate enough to see Buddy Guy back in the early 80s, and it truly was an amazing experience. I wasn't into the blues back then, but it really opened my eyes and ears to what it's all about. He played with such emotion and the space between notes was....well it was huge. But it was so effective.

Dale
 

GeraintGuitar

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Messages
115
Oh boy! This thing pops up every now and again and just cracks me up with all the self serving back slappin' chest thumpin' throw downs in defence of a lack of skill as more authentic playing. Gets old and a little sorry sounding.

Playing speedy lines and riffs isn't a sign of lack of soul or feeling just as playing slow restrained riffs aren't demonstrations of authentic more soulful style or lack of skill.

Both approaches are valid and each one can be misused. Blues didn't stop it's evolution in 1937 or 47 or 57. There are advocats for ALL the many styles and the various ways of playing You gots to step up and shred to boogie, there is a long history of head cutters and shredding instrumental music that is every bit as authentic as other
approaches.

I appreciate and marvel at the skill and dexterity of a good shredding blues guitarist. Ain't nothing to be shamed about. Blues played low and slow becomes a dirge.

I can tear it up on a quick time boogie. I can squeeze tears outta slow minor blues and hammer a Hill Country riff home. One thing I won't do is validate my inadequatecies by putting others down, and that is always the problem with these threads.

Slow, fast, major, minor, soft, loud, clean or overdriven it's called DYNAMICS and a musical guitarist uses them all. I try to. As I see it I serve the beat. Groove is everthing.:hank

couldn't have said it better myself ........so i didn't i just quoted big Al
 
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