Blues' Popularity Dying?

[drumbob]

Up until a few weeks ago, I was playing a couple gigs a month in a blues/roots band that had been working for about four years. Gradually, we found our gigs drying up. It seemed that very few clubs were willing to even touch a band that played blues anymore. Many of the area joints that featured blues have either gone out of business or have changed their formats to classic rock. A few blues bands I know have changed their sets to include mostly classic rock. One of the best blues rooms around, the Corner Stage in Middletown, NY, shut their door a couple months ago. Up to about a year ago, this place was considered an "A" room by musicians. Now, they're out of business. All the bigger blues clubs in NYC have gone under too. The Stanhope House here in northwest NJ is still operating, fortunately.

Is blues in the dumpster of popularity? What's going on? I love the music, but it seems nobody wants it.

How are the blues scenes in other parts of the country?

[tennis_nick]

It is going down, but do not worry... I'm bound to be the next Clapton on the scene in a few years, that should boost it!

[sloop_john_b]

Blues, to me, has always seemed to be something that musicians had more of an appreciation for than non-musicians. And I think that you can be rest assured that among musicians, blues will always be around. You'd be hard pressed to find any guitar player who didn't start out with a few blues licks, or an experienced player who doesn't know any blues licks. And something that will most certainly never die is using the 12-bar blues {I-IV-V} form in songwriting. It's become something that isn't exclusive to the blues anymore.

Perhaps blues isn't as relevant to the "masses" as it has been in the past. But it does make me stop and think - who were most of the people listening to Clapton, SRV, Jimmy Vaughan, Buddy Guy, et al - musicians or non-musicians?

[peewee]

Bob, I can relate entirely. I've been working as the guitarist with Catfish Hodge for over 7 years now. When I first took the gig, we played on average 7 dates each month and I also toured with a Richmond, VA based band - Li'l Ronnie & The Grand Dukes - from Philly to Key West, FL to Alabama and back. I made a pretty decent living. Gradually, I started seeing the same thing you're talking about and over the last 3 years it's gotten pretty bad. I left the Grand Dukes in March of '05 after my son was born and most of the local DC area venues I worked with Catfish have either cut us out of the schedule or - in most cases - have folded.

I think people still enjoy the music, especially those of a certain generation and more younger people are discovering the music as well. However, I think the biggest problem is the economy in most places. Rents are higher, the costs of managing a room is greater and the bottom line is that most people these days just don't place the importance on live entertainment anymore. Over the last 3 years, the DC/Baltimore area has lost a number of rooms. Blues Alley is about to close it's doors due to the astronomical rents in the Georgetown area. Baltimore's Full Moon Saloon had to close it's doors last year after the death of Zeke Phillips. DC is down to a scant few rooms and we're about to witness the closing of two more before the Spring.

In the instance of economics, most clubs are resorting to "bread & butter" draws; generally those that appeal to a younger and/or broader crowd. In one particular room that we'd worked in for nearly 10 years, we were eliminated primarily because of our ages - the oldest being 62 and myself being the youngest at 44. We always had great draws and people loved the music, but college aged kids and young professionals would rather hear a cover band that played material that they both recognized and related to. This thinking by the club folk has also had a major repercussions amongst the working musicians here. When a club owner can get a band of 20 somethings to come in for $250 and bring all of their beer drinking college/work friends, it's a win situation for the owner; his expenses are much less and his profits are greater. The downside is that the cats who depend on the income from playing - such as myself - find ourselves on the outside looking in and scratching for any work we can find. Many of us are working with up to 4 bands to make ends meet. I know that I've found myself taking on more freelance work than I ever have and will sometimes play 4 dates over 7 nights with 4 completely different groups.

There still are some fabulous rooms out there that feature Blues such as The Bamboo Room in Lake Worth, FL, Sweet Caroline's in Winchester, VA., B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ in Kansas City, MO and The Slippery Noodle Inn in Indy. There are also Blues dances sponsored by local dance societies that are held weekly in many parts of the country; I've been playing one about every month here - easy gig and great pay on a Sunday night!

The Blues comes and goes in cycles in terms of popularity. That last run was one of the best since the revival of the 1960s. Just keep the faith, it'll regain some popularity with so many younger artists out there nowadays such as Sean Costello, John Nemeth, Nick Curran, Kirk Fletcher and the like...just give it time!

[tamborineman]

mike i really empethize with you. you are so right about age discrimination and the quality of the young bands [ have you watched austin city limits lately ? ]. i'm not for drinking and driving or playing guitar but mothers against drunk drivers has done a great job of closing many music venues.

[gray]

I think that its popularity, outside of its center core of fans and such, seems to rise and fall according to whatever the trend or whim seems to be. It just seems to fluctuate. Right now its popularity seems to be receeding, and later it will pick up again. Myself, I never get tired of it. In fact, every Saturday night/Sunday morning I listen to the Blues Before Sunrise radio show on 90.9 WDCB (used to be on 91.5 WBEZ for 20 years or so). My favorite blues show.
For what it's worth, I just bought a Howlin' Wolf CD and had it for about a week before the line to borrow it from me started. So that's a good sign! The blues are fairly popular around here.

[peewee]

Hank, you've hit another aspect as to why live music in general is waning. The laws that exist today regarding drinking and driving are tougher than ever before and really discourage many from wanting to leave home. Couple that with the advent of new technologies, there's very little reason for anyone to leave the sanctity of their own homes any more.

I play one particular room about twice each month and without fail there's always a sobriety check point somewhere along the route home. I may have 2-3 beers over the course of the gig ( approx. 5 hours including load in and out ), and although I'm not even buzzed, there's always the possiblity that I'll get stopped just from the "luck" of the draw. If I register the legal limit of .08, there's always that possibility of going off to the slam for the night....and being a small guy, it's quite possible that I could reach that limit, especially if I drank my last beer an hour before.

You also have to keep in mind that the Blues, much like trad Jazz and Bop is a "niche" music. There will always be a core base that will stand by the music and players through thick and thin. Most are members of the local Blues Societies.

[drumbob]

Hank, you've hit another aspect as to why live music in general is waning. The laws that exist today regarding drinking and driving are tougher than ever before and really discourage many from wanting to leave home. Couple that with the advent of new technologies, there's very little reason for anyone to leave the sanctity of their own homes any more.

I play one particular room about twice each month and without fail there's always a sobriety check point somewhere along the route home. I may have 2-3 beers over the course of the gig ( approx. 5 hours including load in and out ), and although I'm not even buzzed, there's always the possiblity that I'll get stopped just from the "luck" of the draw. If I register the legal limit of .08, there's always that possibility of going off to the slam for the night....and being a small guy, it's quite possible that I could reach that limit, especially if I drank my last beer an hour before.

You also have to keep in mind that the Blues, much like trad Jazz and Bop is a "niche" music. There will always be a core base that will stand by the music and players through thick and thin. Most are members of the local Blues Societies.

Mike...You are right about a lot of things you mentioned. I'm a working musician too, obviously, and I puprosely don't have anything to drink on gigs, mostly because I don't like being impaired in any way, and number two, I have been stopped many times by "the man" leaving a gig late at night. Cops in northwest NJ have very little to do at night, so once in a while, they follow somebody and pull them over just to check for DWI. I disappoint them every single time, because I drink nothing but soda or water. As far as blues going through cycles of popularity, I'm sure it will rebound at some point. I recall it was Stevie Ray that made the blues cool for younger listeners way back when, and when Stevie died, there were too many copycat idiots with Strats and gaucho hats releasing records. I think part of the problem is there have been way too many blues recordings released into a small niche market over the last 10-20 years. I mean, how many CDs can you buy? The market for recorded music is already way down in general. So for now, I'll play my sixties garage rock, seventies classic rock and British Invasion rock gigs and enjoy them. My bass playing partner and I are laying the plans for a classy and very hip wedding band that can also do clubs and corporate functions. I think we can slip a little uptempo blues in there if we try!

[charlyg]

My favorite Classic Rock tunes are, by and large, ripped off old blues tunes anyway!!! That is what got me started listening to the old blues. The one that toasted me the most was Whole Lotta Love. They added three words and the tag line was Page, Plant.

So, what did they do to correct this injustice besides paying the back royalty money? The tag line now reads, Page, Plant, Dixon!

I think as folks grow up they start to figure out there is nothing new under the sun,it is all derivative, and soon they want to explore the roots of the music they enjoy. Well, no matter what music they enjoy, it all comes back to the blues!!!!!!!! What goes around comes around, and the blues has been coming and going forever, seemingly!

Some may say I am biased. No prob!

[winston]

it all comes back to the blues!!!!!!!!

Agreed! There's no question in my mind that is a true statement.

[sloop_john_b]

Well, no matter what music they enjoy, it all comes back to the blues!!!!!!!!

Clearly they listen to very little Palestrina.

[charlyg]

I cant even pronounce that, let alone spell it! Now I gotta go Google.....


Well, it was actually Yahoo, but:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_P ... Palestrina

[winston]

Clearly they listen to very little Palestrina.

OK I'll bite John. So post one of his recordings from the 1560's. I had to look him up too btw.

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

Not very bluesy, but:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop- ... 82-3495231

[winston]

That's a very good song. I had a bit of trouble with the words though