Ray
Shasho had the rare privilege of chatting with John Mayall recently about the
current tour, his incredible band of blues virtuosos and a musical career that
has spanned more than 50 years.
Ray
Shasho: Hello John, happy Friday the thirteenth.
John Mayall: “Is that what day it is … oh my God.”
Ray
Shasho: You’re currently on a rather lengthy tour.
John
Mayall: “Not sure which tour you’re talking about, we do several tours. We’ve
got an east coast tour which is almost three weeks, is that the one you’re
talking about?
Ray
Shasho: So you correlate the tour as east coast or west coast in the states and
maybe by continent when travelling abroad instead of classifying it as a
worldwide tour?
John
Mayall: “It’s just whenever the offers come in and where the agents can group
together and we tour. The next one we’re doing is the east coast tour and like I
say is about three weeks.”
Ray
Shasho: You’ve got about eighty confirmed dates worldwide and counting, in my
book that’s still a lot of touring.
John
Mayall: “It’s really nothing …nothing at all.” (All laughing)
Ray
Shasho: John, you’ll be making a rather rare appearance in Sarasota, Florida on
November 29th at the Municipal Auditorium. I for one is extremely excited to
have John Mayall performing in my backyard.
John
Mayall: “We’ll certainly try and stir things up for you. I will also be
celebrating my 80th birthday when we perform in Sarasota.”
Ray
Shasho: I just can’t believe it.
John
Mayall: “Yea, time rolls on doesn’t it?
Ray
Shasho: It’s obvious you still have a passion for touring and you look
incredible man …Do you have any secrets for looking young and keeping so
incredibly fit?
John
Mayall: “No, I guess I’m just blessed with good genes I suppose. But I keep
healthy and I’m always very active and always have been so. I don’t really see
any signs of aging yet. Music keeps you young.”
Ray Shasho:
We have a lot of Brits that live here in Sarasota, usually on a part-time
basis, do you have any connections here?
John
Mayall: “Florida is a state that we don’t get to nearly often enough, but we
don’t pick places, it always has to do with promoters in various areas and
coming forward with gig offers. So it’s not really up to us.”
Ray
Shasho: John, I really like your current band … Rocky Athas on guitar, Greg
Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Davenport on drums … they’re all amazing musicians.
John
Mayall: “They are pretty amazing; we’ve been together for five years now but it
really doesn’t feel like anything at all, we just love playing together.”
Ray
Shasho: They all have incredible resume too. What inspired you for putting this
particular band together?
John
Mayall: “Initially it was because I was taking a break after the disbanding of
The Bluesbreakers and it coincided with Eagle Records wanting a new album. It
was the last one on the contract that I have with them and that kind of
triggered a new chapter.”
Ray
Shasho: The band definitely captures that traditional classic blues sound and
image onstage. I watched numerous You Tube videos from various 2013 live
performances and the band sounds great! My favorite video was the group
performing “Stormy Monday” the classic T- Bone Walker tune at B.B. Kings … just
awesome!
John
Mayall: “We just started doing that one again. A lot of things songs we lay
dormant for several years and then decide to bring them out again … giving them
a fresh life.”
Ray
Shasho: John, it’s reassuring seeing the blues persevering and attracting
audiences worldwide.
John
Mayall: “Just judging by the amount of young players that always seem to be
popping up … it will. Some of them are better than others, but the whole point
about it is they are all attracted to the blues and want to play it.”
Ray
Shasho: I’ll admit, I’ve been worried about the blues genre sustaining. Younger
generations may not be able to sense or experience what it takes to conceive a
bona-fide blues song … maybe too preoccupied with their cell phones.
John
Mayall: “Anybody can get the blues because the world in a tangle the way it is;
there are plenty of things to get you depressed about. Smartphone’s aren’t for
everybody, there is an amazing amount of young players who devote all of their
time to learning the guitar or whatever instrument …it’s usually guitars that
seem to attract everybody.”
Ray
Shasho: You play a variety of instruments effortlessly and you’re also an
incredible harp player. I’ve never been able to master the harmonica, were
there any special techniques that you used in learning how to play?
John
Mayall: “It’s all self-taught and I just bumble my way through it into whatever
best way I can. I don’t know how to explain it; I guess I do the best I can
with any instrument I get attracted to. But they’re just tools in order for you
to express yourself and that’s really the upshot of it.”
Ray
Shasho: There were so many great blues artists from the very early days. Kim
Wilson of the Thunderbirds introduced me to Harmonica Frank Floyd who actually
played the harmonica without holding it or assistance of a neck brace while
singing at the same time. And Maria Muldaur turned me on to the legendary
Memphis Minnie.
John
Mayall: “There was a lot to listen to out there. Memphis Minnie was one of the
very few and very popular female blues singers and guitar players in the 30’s.
She was a friend of Big Bill Broonzy who saw it all from that era of the 30’s
and 40’s.”
Ray
Shasho: John, what do you remember about growing up in England during World War
II?
John
Mayall: “We had the bomb shelters in the schools and had air raid drills. So I
guess that was exciting I suppose. It was all part of what was going on. I was
about eleven or twelve so I remember a lot of it. We lived about twelve miles
from Manchester and Manchester was bombed pretty heavily. You could see the sky
was red from the bombs.”
Ray Shasho: Was it difficult finding blues music while growing up in England?
John
Mayall: “I had my father’s record collection right from when I was a kid and so
I was kind of weaned on jazz and blues … mainly on jazz I suppose. 78’s were
the only thing invented at that time, so there were plenty of 78’s to get the
background of what was going on.”
Ray
Shasho: Jim McCarty told me that Eric Clapton actually auditioned for The
Yardbirds. Did he have to audition for The Bluesbreakers?
John
Mayall: “No, he was a known quantity by then. The Yardbirds were a pop band
from the beginning although they were doing blues material. Their final
direction showed where they were really at.”
Ray
Shasho: John, here’s a question that I ask everyone that I interview. If you
had a ‘Field of Dreams’ wish like the movie, to play, sing or collaborate with
anyone from the past or present, who would that be?
John
Mayall: “I guess Big Maceo Merriweather was one of the people that I missed.
He’s my idol on piano. So he’s the first one that comes to mind. I just feel
lucky because I’ve played with most of the people who are no longer with us, so
it’s great to have had that experience. But there are lots of people I would
have loved to heard play … Lead Belly… Blind Lemon Jefferson … All the pioneers
of boogie-woogie … just so many people, the list is endless.”
Ray
Shasho: John, thank you so much for being on the call today but more importantly
for all the incredible music you’ve given us and continue to bring. We’ll see
you in Sarasota on November 29th for your 80th birthday.
John
Mayall: “Excellent Ray, we’ll see you in Sarasota.”
Visit
Ray Shasho’s classic rock music blogs at www.classicrockhereandnow.com
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