When
I was getting ready to go to college my cousin Steve took me on a road trip to
Chicago. That trip started a
tradition of mini-pilgrimages focused on good food and the Blues. For each subsequent trip a new Blues
Mix or Playlist was created specifically to introduce me to a new artist, song,
style or writer.
It
was on those trips that caught the Blues.
Building
on this newfound interest, my dad introduced me to Duke Tumatoe & The PowerTrio a local group with a great
sound. Then he shared his
collection of Kenny Wayne Shepard, Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ Top, Eric Clapton, and
B.B. King. Not all of these
are strictly Blues, but Dad helped me to see that they all influence one
another. Seeing this connection
helped me deepen my love of the genre.
Last
weekend, Steve and I continued the tradition after a long hiatus, and fell
right back into our pattern.
This time, however, I was able to contribute a little more to the
conversation as I’ve become a little better versed in the Blues than I was at
18.
One
of the songs, I heard for the first time this weekend was Soulshine, by Warren Haynes (Allman
Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule). This song has it all. Well written and performed with all of
the soul you’d expect from a performer of Haynes’ caliber. I think that’s what I love about
the Blues, the soul. It’s hard to
fake the feelings, the pain, the suffering. It’s hard to fake the Blues.
A
friend once asked how I could listen to all of that depressing music all the
time. The Blues aren’t really
about the dark and the sad. The
Blues talk about on pain and suffering, but often times the song is about
survival, making it through the pain and suffering of life. The Blues are about the hope for better days.
The
Blues are about the power of the soul to shine through the darkness. It’s about soulshine. Better than sunshine, better than
moonshine, and damn sure better than rain.
"Now you got to let your
soul shine,
Just like my daddy used
to say.
He used to say soulshine,
It's better than
sunshine,
It's better than
moonshine,
Damn sure better than
rain.
Yeah now people don't
mind,
We all get this way
sometime,
Got to let your soul
shine, shine till the break of day."
~Warren Haynes
Soulshine video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0BNlYY_RA
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