Check out some recent stuff by Alvin Youngblood Heart and Corey Harris. Seems like there's still a lot of guys beating the pavement...
http://www.chicagobluesguide.com/
http://www.chicagobluesguide.com/
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Is blues a dying art?
- Thread starter zeppfan90
- Start date
Like AaronVonRock said, Blues reached its peak in the 50's & 60's and hasn't progressed much beyond that. And it's not that surprising if you think about it; like most aging genre's of music, new groups and performers are pushed forward based on how old, not how new, they sound. You can't expect audiences, especially young audiences, to get into styles where the best stuff happened 50-60 years ago and all the new performers are trying to ape the sounds of their forebearers instead of making it relevant for new listeners.
The closest there's been is a few garage rock bands that don't play the blues like people are used to, but still keep it alive. That's the other problem: people don't want new blues, they want old blues. You can't hold on to the old, you have to grow to survive.
The closest there's been is a few garage rock bands that don't play the blues like people are used to, but still keep it alive. That's the other problem: people don't want new blues, they want old blues. You can't hold on to the old, you have to grow to survive.
Like all genres, the blues have peaks and valleys in terms of groundbreaking artists and public acceptance. I think the blues is trapped in a box, in a sense, because if you stray too far from the classic sound, people say it isn't really blues, but if you stick to the fundamentals, people say it's moribund. I certainly wouldn't wish on the blues what has happened to contemporary country music. Sometimes it's just fine if something isn't too popular....
It may come around and capture the youth again. Who would've expected banjos to make a resurgence?
Ok, here goes with a response from down under.
I play in a blues band. We play our interpretation of songs which were written and performed by artists in previous generations.
We don't get paid for what we do and we play because we want to. We do our best with the ability and gear we have.
We are not American but in playing blues we respect it is American.
Whilst I may seek out how other bass players interpret blues I have reached a point where I worry less about what other blues bass players are doing and concentrate more on how I feel and interpret things .
But in doing this I have also applied a fair amount of time researching, listening and learning basic blues bass and history.
My way of learning blues is far from the tradition of learning directly from players who handed down from generation to generation
But that doesn't stop it from being handed down through other means...
So whilst blues may not be the current lime light it is still around and it is being passed on through generation and across international borders.
As to whether blues will experience future revivals is in the hands of future generations..I figure all I can do in between is just be another person who carries it in the form as I understand and can express , happy or sad...
In regard the comments about Jimi Hendrix ... I think it is fair to say Jimi was blues, but it was an extreme interpretation on his part and I can understand why some purists may not recognise him as blues...
Rossa
I play in a blues band. We play our interpretation of songs which were written and performed by artists in previous generations.
We don't get paid for what we do and we play because we want to. We do our best with the ability and gear we have.
We are not American but in playing blues we respect it is American.
Whilst I may seek out how other bass players interpret blues I have reached a point where I worry less about what other blues bass players are doing and concentrate more on how I feel and interpret things .
But in doing this I have also applied a fair amount of time researching, listening and learning basic blues bass and history.
My way of learning blues is far from the tradition of learning directly from players who handed down from generation to generation
But that doesn't stop it from being handed down through other means...
So whilst blues may not be the current lime light it is still around and it is being passed on through generation and across international borders.
As to whether blues will experience future revivals is in the hands of future generations..I figure all I can do in between is just be another person who carries it in the form as I understand and can express , happy or sad...
In regard the comments about Jimi Hendrix ... I think it is fair to say Jimi was blues, but it was an extreme interpretation on his part and I can understand why some purists may not recognise him as blues...
Rossa
Yeah. The blues is a dying genre, performed mostly by old men.
https://www.google.com/#q=ana+popovic+pictures&revid=1857859506
https://www.google.com/#q=ana+popovic+pictures&revid=1857859506
I can vouch for that, my band plays in the Chi all the times. Lots o blues goin on up here.
Not a dying art, but the purveyors of the form are increasingly very uninspiring and about as 'blues' as my butt. It doesn't help that the form is perpetually murdered by middle aged guys with money in pork-pie hats having fun with it as a weekend hobby and passing it off as legitimate blues. There's nothing more insipid and nauseatingly cliche that I can think of in music than than that.
Blues Boy King would disagree.
The story goes that there was no Hendrix in the blues library collection at the University of Mississippi until BB King donated his album collection. When asked why he considered Jimi to be a blues player, BB replied that Jimi was indeed a genuine delta blues player, it was just that Jimi's delta happened to be on mars.
This is the most ignorant post I've ever read on TB. Do your homework, kids. Listen to Kim Wilson, Jr. Watson, Larry Taylor, Doug Deming, The Mighty Flyers, Dave Specter, Nick Moss, Hank Mowery, Igor Prado, Rusty Zinn, Duke Robillard, Kid Ramos, James Harman, Little Charlie, Bill Stuve, Rick Holmstrom, Bobby Radcliffe... hell, my fingers are sore and I ain't even started. Pathetic and lazy, you are.
And if you dont think Jimi Hendrix could play the blues, then you dont have a clue what blues is.
Another recent blues band is The Strypes, young guys from Ireland. They are getting quite popular in the UK. I think they are all under 20 too. Its 50's - 60's influenced.
The blues continues to speak to listeners everywhere, even those with limited knowledge of the genre. Hopefully, performers will continue to get to know its history in its various forms, keep the fire stoked and be able to put their own personality and stories into their performance.
