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WHERE BILLY THE MOUNTAIN FIRST SAW LIGHT |
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| Published on 4/15/2006 |
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| By ZANDER RAN |
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Exclusive Interview: Mekong Doctor Blues
The Blues Doctor says LIVE consultations relieve stress!
There are men who live and die by their swords and others who claim to live on their wits. But few are as crazy to attempt survival in this day and age with nothing more than a Fender guitar between them and the devil and the deep blue sea.
But Bangkok’s Doctor Blues is one who wields his trusty guitar to survive, carving a loyal local fan base while at the same time filling local venues as he delivers some very fine blues music in the process. The Doctor also fronts his band, the very tight and always entertaining GROOVE JUNKIES.
“Playin’ the blues ain’t about fame and fortune. It’s about doin’ what you love and having a purpose in life to promote something you really love. And I sure love the blues! The blues is a beautiful form of expression where you rid yourself of your cares and fears and tell the world through your music it’s fine to feel down or broken-hearted, while not forgetting that one day everything will be better again. The blues is a kind of musical catharsis allowing players and listeners alike to unload the baggage and stress of the day, and clear the page ready for another round in this often tough game we call life.
“And if you play the blues like I do, you have the extra delight of having another voice with which to express yourself, which is what we are doing with our screaming and a-crying and a-weeping guitars. Me and Sister Fender (my guitars), we telling you everything gonna be alright! The guitar is speaking to you and washing away the cares of the day and telling you to chill out and love your life, no matter how hard you think times might be. So them blues is a kind of therapy concocted from simple melody, rhythms and fun and love and hate and good times and bad and happy and sad and killer grooves. Sounds kind of familiar? Yeah, cause that’s what life’s all about too!
“No blues, no life.”
Wow! This dude is intense and comes across almost like one of them old evangelical preachers who once roamed the U.S. converting the unbelievers, filling their tents for nickle and dime charismatic prayer sessions. And like those guys, the Doctor appears to have done his homework too.
“The message that the blues carry is a popular one in this town these days anyway, as demographics reveal that more American guys from the Babyboomer generations and similar European dudes are heading to Thailand for extended breaks. Most remember the power and beauty of the blues from the heady days of the Sixties, when blues enjoyed a global revival.
“Then white kids applied new interpretations to the form as they embraced and fashioned rock music, and at the same time gave the blues a new voice. Cool-looking electric guitars and powerful amplifiers added to the awesome delivery of this great music, and the late part of the Swinging Sixties and most of the Seventies was dominated by rock music which was born from the blues and the influential music of Chuck Berry and many more like him. The Rolling Stones was a blues band for chrissake!”
So is there a blues revival underway here in Bangkok then?
“Well, local blues stars Chai and his Blues Maniacs have been carrying the torch for the blues down at Saxophone Pub at Victory Monument for years.
“But me and my buddies got our ball rollin’ here with the Delta Boys back in the late 1990’s and we was kept busy spreading the word until the band folded as members moved on. Then I got the itch to play again, and formed Mekong Doctor Blues and the Groove Junkies in 2001 and since then, with only some slight adjustments to the line-up, we have been gigging steadily and drawing larger audiences wherever we play.
“And we like to think that our popularity is due to the fact that, like the old blues masters, we try to play the real thing - that is genuine blues - and stay away from the Hollywood-style Blues Brothers approach. We play Chicago blues, Delta blues and Texas blues - and little or no Hollywood blues!”
Keep up with the band and local blues developments in general at Tokyo Joe’s on Sukhumvit Soi 24 on a Wednesday night at 9:30 pm, at Noriega’s on Silom Soi 4 on Thursdays at 9:30 pm, at Tokyo Joe’s on Sunday at 8 pm and at Jazzanova on Sukhumvit Soi 24 on Mondays at 9:30 pm.
Check out www.mekongdoctorblues.4t.com or www.thebluesmessiah.faithweb.com.
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| Article Credits and References |
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| No Credits or References were provided by publisher |
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| Press Release Follow-up Notes and Amendments |
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| Finish with:
Check out www.billythemountain.com, www.mekongdoctorblues.4t.com or www.thebluesmessiah.faithweb.com. |
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| Submitted on 7/25/2006 |
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