SRV

"BLUE" JIMMY:  GUITARIST/SINGER/BLUESMAN

BLIND DOG OZZY:  NEUROTIC CHIHUAHUA

"BLUE" JIMMY:  SRV.  Those very letters send shivers up an' down my spine.  They stand for STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN and as we celebrate his memorial birthday this week, I just wanted to say a few words about him.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  More than a few ...

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Rolling Stone Magazine, in their list of The Greatest 100 Guitarists Of All Time, lists him at # 12 behind legends like:  Jimi Hendrix; Eric Clapton; Jimmy Page; Keith Richards; Jeff Beck; B.B. King; Chuck Berry: Edward Van Halen; Duane Allman; Pete Townshend and George Harrison.   I find that a fair list but in my book, I rate him second to only Hendrix  in sheer guitar virtuosity.  Only a few of those guitarists, ( Clapton, Beck, King) tried to go onstage with him and SRV politely and respectfully held back so as not to show up his heroes.  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Oh!  But didn't you wanna see him go off?

"BLUE"  JIMMY:  I was always a fan of Classic Rock and Blues music thanks to my my older brother and sister's record collection which I plundered in elementary school.  I was just a fan.  I never had any idea I would actually play guitar until I heard SRV on the radio playing cuts from his 1983 "Texas Flood" album.  This was completely different from the JOURNEY, STYX, FOREIGNER airfare I was hearing on the radio at the time.  This was The Blues.  Different from the B.B. KING or ALBERT KING albums I caught in 70's.  Different from even the shows I caught on TV of Freddie King opening for Grand Funk Railroad and taking the Hard Rock legends to school on a nightly basis.  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  And Freddie King was badass!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  SRV was different in that he was a one-man orchestra who could play lead, rhythm, bass lines, fills, string percussion and sing while wearing a cowboy hat, hand-tooled boots and psychedelic Texas gunslinger outfit all at the same time!  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Damn!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Look at videos of some famous guitar heroes giving a guitar clinic which they are often obligated to do by the companies which supply them with all kinds of guitar swag.  Even some of the greats will just play a few licks and tricks and bask in the applause which fans will give them because they are glad to hear anything.  SRV could pick up a single acoustic guitar and play a whole concert with no band, no amps, no effects and no bulls**t.  Watch his 1990 appearance on MTV's "Unplugged" if you need proof.  I never knew a guitar could be played like this until I saw video of old Blues cats like Big Bill Broonzy, The Reverend Blind Gary Davis and Lightning Hopkins doing the same thing.  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Sounds like two cats playing all at once!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I remember after hearing SRV,  I took all my Summer job money (all of it) and went and bought a brand spanking new, Fender American Standard Stratocaster for $1,000 bucks and suffered for food and beer money all the rest of the year.  Since then, I have gone through countless appliances, TV's, computers and a few automobiles.  All gone.  But I still have that Stratocaster and have played a lifetime of Blues on it.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  And the neighbors ain't had a wink of sleep since!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  That was his gift to the world.  He took an old, dying art form known as The Blues and gave it to young boys like me in the MTV era who were looking for something real.  Thank you brother Stevie, for making The Blues sexy and dangerous again ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... I'm getting a boner!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Sake's Alive!

BLIND DOG OZZY:   Wow!  Wow!
bluejames61@hotmail.com

THE NEVERENDING JAM: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

"BLUE" JIMMY:  WORLD RENOWN ROCK CRITIC

BLIND DOG OZZY:  NEUROTIC CHIHUAHUA

"BLUE" JIMMY:  The Good Lord took Gregg Allman last May at the age of 69.  I chose not to write a tribute to him alone even though he was a successful solo artist, because I'm sure he would have ALWAYS wanted to be known as the leader of the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  F**k yeah!!!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Although he and his legendary brother Duane were born in Nashville Tenn., they first formed The Allman Brothers Band in Jacksonville, Florida.  Later on, they made their home base in Atlanta, Georgia and still later moved to Macon.  Let's put it this way, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND was SOUTHERN with a capital "S" all through their lives.  In later years, they tried to deny any association with pissed-off Redneck, sh**kicker bands like LYNYRD SKYNYRD, BLACKFOOT, POINT BLANK AND MOLLY HATCHET ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... But deep down, they know they started that whole scene!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Partying, taking psychedelic substances and rearranging old Blues numbers and writing songs that allowed keyboardist Gregg, slide guitar virtuoso Duane and Les Paul master Dickey Betts to improvise for hours, they forged a sound that caught the ears of  early Hard Rock fans who loved to hear long jams by musicians who could do it well, thank you!  This sound was also not lost on American music aficionados who could appreciate their deep Rock, Blues and Jazz roots but also bikers, dealers, trailer-trash yayhoos, Rock 'N' Roll Gypsies and f**ked up, Charles Manson-inspired, mean hippie freaks ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... The good people!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Predecessors to Bad Boy party bands such as VAN HALEN, MOTLEY CRUE  and GUNS & ROSES, they had members become heroin junkies,  had roadies start a backstage brawl with the GRATEFUL DEAD, had guitarist Dickie Betts arrested for assaulting a cop, had their tour manager stab and kill a promoter for non-payment and had founding guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley die in motorcycle accidents just as they were starting to find success.  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Nice!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  But let's not forget the most important thing ... the music!  With Gregg on keyboards and Ray Charles-influenced vocals and two killer guitarists mixed with a rhythm section from Hell, they were like a Southern, hard rockin', Jack Daniels-soaked LED ZEPPELIN crossed with the soul and groove of SANTANA ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... Perfect party music with a bottle of Annie Green Springs and a big, fat joint!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Through the years they broke up and reformed countless times, even bringing in guitarist Derek Trucks, nephew of original drummer Butch Trucks, to play all of Duane Allman's legendary slide guitar parts.  At one time they even had shredding Ozzy guitarist, Zakk Wylde sit in for Dickey Betts! ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... Imagine that sound!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  But the one musician that held it all together all through the years was Greg Allman with his long blonde hair, steely blue/green eyes and powerful voice and Pentecostal  Church keyboards that made you feel pure and sanctified all over again.  If he had stood up from behind those keyboards and just held a mic stand, he would surely be considered one of the greatest frontmen/singers of all time!  But he was content to be Gregg Allman, blonde, badass and brilliant as the leader of the band that made the South Rise Again ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... Hell Yeah!!!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Sake's Alive!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Wow!  Wow!
bluejames61@hotmail.com

ADVANCED BLUES: 101: GOIN' DOWN TO THE DELTA

"BLUE" JIMMY:  LOWDOWN BLUESMAN

BLIND DOG OZZY:  NEUROTIC CHIHUAHUA
"Ain't but one school for The Blues and that's down in the (Mississippi) Delta" - Blind Dog Fulton ( From the 1986 film, "Crossroads").

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I bin posting a lot of critical reviews and commentary on the Internet about bands, guitar, music and musicians in general.  People have angrily written to me and asked, "Do you even play?"  Oh yeah I play and I do it well, thank you.  This lesson is about improvising The Blues in such a manner that you don't look foolish in front of people.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  You done that many times!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  The other day, I heard a band called Five Finger Death Punch on the radio doing a cover of the song, "Bad Company" by Classic Rock Legends, BAD COMPANY.  Nice try, but I considered this sacrilege.  This is a song I would like played at my funeral because it says it all  about the life of a musician in a hard rockin', bluesy manner.  But this version was cold and stiff and sounded like typical 90's - influenced , Alternative Rock.  The lowdown is, young musicians today didn't grow up listening to The Blues like 60's and 70's bands such as: BAD CO. ;  ZEPPELIN; DEEP PURPLE; HUMBLE PIE; FOGHAT; GRAND FUNK RAILROAD; ZZ TOP and AEROSMITH.  Before going onstage in huge arenas with Marshall Stacks and blinding light shows all these bands at one time, sat down in their bedrooms and picked acoustic guitars trying to copy their Blues idols. 

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Today's musicians think The Blues is a color you tint your hair!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  The Blues is a simple, some say even primitive, form of music that originated in the Southern United States in the early part of the 20th century.  Early practitioners of this music such as  Leadbelly, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Blake,  Blind Willie Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy and others made a name for themselves playing the Gospel, Ragtime and Jazz music popular at the time and adapting it to Blues guitar which was a lot more difficult than it sounds.  Some pieces, such as those by Blind Blake, have never been duplicated ... by anyone!


BLIND DOG OZZY:  F**k that!  Don't even try!


"BLUE" JIMMY:  Then the Great Depression hit in the late 1920's and everyone had to go from listening to swingin', uptown, big city Blues to hearing primal, plantation field hollers played by dirt poor sharecroppers who often played on cheap and sometimes even homemade instruments.  Experts of this style included Charlie Patton, Son House, Muddy Waters and the mythical Robert Johnson who some say couldn't play s**t, then disappeared for a few years and when he reappeared, was playing a unique form of Blues so advanced that when he recorded, people thought there were two guitar players on the record! His myth seems to parallel great spiritual leaders of  history such as Buddha and Jesus Christ who left mainstream life and then returned later with great wisdom.  Mississippi Delta legend has it that Robert Johnson went down to a country crossroads where he met The Devil and made a pact where he had to sell his soul in return for incredible talent and success.  Again, this idea of selling your soul to The Devil in return for musical virtuosity, goes back to at least the time of the great Italian violinist, Niccolo Paganini (1782 - 1840)  who, rumored to have sold his soul to The Devil, was denied a proper burial by the Catholic Church.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Others say Robert Johnson most likely went away for a few years, loaded up on bootleg whiskey and practiced his ass off!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Whatever happened, it is the spirit of Robert Johnson, Charlie, Son and Muddy that I try to capture in this video.  Keep in mind that I grew up listening to Classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal as well as The Blues and in the middle of this example, you'll hear me step on the Tube Screamer and the Crybaby simultaneously and do things to a Telecaster that you best not allow your young children to see!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  At least PG-13 for sure!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I start off in the key of E in the first position, using an intro and various Blues turnarounds that are typical of the Delta Blues, leanin' heavy on the open strings.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  The guitar seems to play itself like this ...

GUITAR PLAYING ITSELF

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Then I do some heavy choking with my thumb over the top of the neck that allows me to sound some low E- string rumbles that sound like Delta thunder!  If you ever took a Classical Guitar class, they will tell you that this is absolutely wrong, forbidden, lazy guitar technique and you will have to stay after school and "correct" this ...

CHOKIN' THE NECK

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... But it feels so good!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  The Blues is all about breakin' the rules and you will see Bluesmen using unorthodox technique, bad fingering, slurs, string noise and especially, string "bending" which is considered "cheating" in Classical Guitar ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... Because those guys are fags!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  But every once in a while, a Bluesman will surprise you and throw in some big -city, fancy-ass, Jazz runs or chords in the style of T Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown or Pee Wee Crayton and you will know that they did their homework at one time or another!

BIG-CITY, FANCY-ASS, JAZZ CHORD

BLIND DOG OZZY:  From about the 1920's to about the 1980's Bluesmen did what I remember doing when I was a kid and played phonograph records over and over to learn how to play, lifting the phonograph needle back and forth to learn how to play a certain part.  This was an inexact, torturous, frustrating process and resulted in only limited results.


BLIND DOG OZZY:  You old f**k!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I'm not even that old and I remember when I started learning to play the guitar, there was no CDs that you could just pop in and out and pause and fast forward and rewind, no videos, no computers, no Internet, no YouTube, no programs, no apps, no talking phones or Skype or devices that tune up the guitar for you, there was only this ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  What the Hell is that ... a licorice pizza?

"BLUE" JIMMY:  But those records got me where I needed to go and to tell you the truth, I even miss the hiss and the crackles and the pops and the skips because I know I'm in the last generation of Bluesmen to learn how to play the way Robert done it ... slow an' easy an' right!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  As Hound Dog Taylor once said he wanted put on his gravestone, "He couldn't play s**t but he sure made it sound good!"

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Sake's Alive! 

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Wow!  Wow!  
bluejames61@hotmail.com

HEAVIER THAN GOD: THE ALMIGHTY BLACK SABBATH

"BLUE" JIMMY:  SLEAZY ROCK JOURNALIST

BLIND DOG OZZY:  NEUROTIC CHIHUAHUA 

"BLUE" JIMMY:  We just saw the final California performance of the legendary BLACK SABBATH last Sept. 24, at the 2016 OZZFEST at the San Manuel Aphitheater in San Bernardino, CA.  Tomorrow night is their final performance ever at the Genting Arena in (appropriately) their home town of Birmingham, England. They say it's THE END for them.  In fact, the name of this final tour is called THE END tour.  Because of issues with Tony Iommi's health after a struggle with lymphoma, they say this is it!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  No way!!!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Seeing them up there onstage for the final time and seeing a video of them on the big screen from the 70's when they were young and evil and high and dangerous, I got tears in my eyes.  It suddenly hit me that this band had composed the soundtrack for a huge chunk of my life.

BLIND DOG OZZY:  And attendant hearing damage!!!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I discovered the band known as BLACK SABBATH one Summer vacation in the early 70's when my big brother David told me not to touch his new "Stereo" radio/record player or his "Stereo" albums.  "Stereo" was an important designation back then.  Before "Stereo," everything was known as "Hi-Fi." To this day, I don't know what the f**k either of those things mean but I knew that "Stereo" was like, better than "Hi-Fi."
BLIND DOG OZZY:  ???

"BLUE" JIMMY:  When my big brother told me not to touch his player or his albums, I took that to mean to not touch them when he could catch me touching them.  It somehow didn't register that I wasn't actually supposed to touch them at all.  So there were the first three BLACK SABBATH albums that my brother had borrowed from a friend:  "Black Sabbath" "Paranoid" and "Master Of Reality."  I had already heard some great, classic hard rock albums by bands like CREAM, IRON BUTTERFLY, JIMI HENDRIX, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD and DEEP PURPLE but these were different ... these were f**king scary!!!  I picked them up and they smelled like patchouli incense and strawberry oil and they all had those little cut marks all over the back of them that suggested they had been used to chop up buds of weed and roll joints during many a stoned and decadent listening session.  

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Nice!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  When I put them on the turntable, my ears were stunned to hear impossibly heavy, loud, Apocalyptic Rock music that rattled and vibrated my insides in a way that most people will describe in a manner similar with their first encounter with pornography.  It was so wrong ... but why do I like it so much?

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Carpe Diem!!!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  I was addicted and BLACK SABBATH became my personal cult with their musical and lyrical themes which were part Book Of Revelation, part Dante's Inferno and part Process Church in an era of Cold War doom played by a bunch of stoner hippie f**ks who looked like they had recently been kicked out of the Manson Family!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Basically, good lads! ...

"BLUE" JIMMY:  BLACK SABBATH IS:  Tony Iommi; Blues and Jazz-influenced left-handed guitarist who plays with plastic tips on his right middle and ring fingers due to the tips being chopped off in an industrial accident.  Some say this handicap contributed to the development of his ultra-heavy sound.  But it was really his use of downtuning, his frenzied, high register runs and his evil-sounding, atonal riffs that made his music sound like you were at Alestair Crowley's funeral on a dark, rainy night. Whatever the case, most people agree that Iommi invented Heavy Metal guitar.  Terence "Geezer" Butler; bassist and in the early SABBATH days, was their main lyricist, relying on the occult, science fiction and horror for the words to much of their songs.  He is also supposedly, one of the first electric bassists to use a wah pedal.  If you've ever been to a SABBATH show, it was his bass lines that you felt vibrating your balls all the way up in the cheap seats.  Bill Ward; Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich influenced drummer who has been in and out of the original lineup in a truly Spinal Tapish manner due to health, weight and substance abuse problems.  But in his heyday, he was one of Metal's great drummers who could bang out a drum solo with the best (e.g. "Rat Salad").  He was reportedly set on fire twice by band members as a prank which resulted in serious burns and was once covered in gold paint by them which caused his body to nearly "suffocate" and he had to recover in the hospital ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... It's always the fat kid that gets picked on!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Then we come to one John Michael "OZZY" Osbourne;  singer, songwriter, actor, raconteur and multi-media personality ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  ... What kind of stupid, f**ked up name is OZZY?

"BLUE" JIMMY:  OZZY,  as an entity, is as recognizable as Coca Cola, Apple, Mc Donald's and Nike in popular culture.  Simply type "OZZY" into any search engine and you will get only one result, his.  Despite this renown, it is sometimes easy to forget he is the lead singer in the heaviest Metal band of all time!  Never one to rely on distorted screaming or studio effects, his clear, air raid siren of a voice will haunt my consciousness forever ...

BLIND DOG OZZY:  "Oh no, no, please God help me! "... ("Black Sabbath").

"BLUE" JIMMY:  So there it is.  They say this is THE END and I have to take them at their word.  But what an incredible, heavy ride it has been.  BLACK SABBATH as a band, has outlasted Psychedelic Rock, Disco, Punk, New Wave, Alternative, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, Glam Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal and everything in between.  Through it all, they have never "gone commercial" or changed their crushingly heavy sound.  And in a music world full of bands with "Black" in their name, none were blacker than BLACK SABBATH.  To quote the immortal Nigel Tufnel of SPINAL TAP, "It's like, how much more black can this be?  And the answer is none.  None more black."

BLIND DOG OZZY:  THE END!

"BLUE" JIMMY:  Sake's Alive!

BLIND DOG OZZY:  Wow!  Wow!
bluejames61@hotmail.com