I don't think the kids get the enormity of the experience, but it'll come with time. They understand the history of the music and yet, I don't think it'll hit them fully for a while.
Fortunately, we're going back again and they'll have the chance to see and do more.
Even with all these opportunities, we're not slacking off at all. There's more to learn, you know.
More to learn, you say...
Yeah. We don't have a master plan, exactly, but we know we want to keep going, keep challenging ourselves to become better.
Because the kids have school, we stick mostly to playing the summer and winter festivals. We also play at a restaurant in Burlington called Trendz on Thursday nights. It's a semi-acoustic thing. And that's where we met our harp player, Alishan "Alex" Hagopian. He heard us playing, asked to join in one night, and he's been playing with us ever since.
What's Alex's background?
Alex used to play in a three-piece heavy blues rock band in the '80s, but decided to retire after figuring there was no market for them at the time. He came out of retirement to be a part of The Bluesers and we couldn't be happier.
The guy knows his music and his influences range from Sonny Boy Williamson II to Paul Butterfield, so he brings his talent and an appreciation for the history of the music into the fold.
Tell me a little more about the rest of the band.
Well, why don't we let them speak for themselves? Take it, Mike.
Okay, Mike, what's your story?
[Laughs] I'm Mike Branton, I'm 32, play guitar, sing, I grew up in bars...
Seriously, though...
I am serious! I've been playing for a long time and have always been in three or four bands at any given point. But the Bluesers, this is my favorite band. We have such a great foundation here.
I love playing with these guys because we keep each other on our toes.
Mikey, our drummer, is so talented. The thing with him is he plays with a maturity that exceeds his age and experience. Chris, he's got drive and is really getting into it, but he needs to "shape up and get it together". [Mike laughs and, in the background, Chris laughs, too.]
It's so fun to play with people who appreciate great music and are inspired by my idols. I'm getting them into Mike Bloomfield, Peter Green...
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congratulations! This article was an Editor's Pick this week.
2 - John Cotton
Great write up, Thank you,
We consider it a honour to be listed as "One of The Top Ten Blues Bands To Watch"
The only thing I forgot to mention when we were talking on the phone was a big part of our "Shut The Front Door" recording session involved our engineer D'Arcy McGilligan he is on the Berklee College of Music advisary board for recording and has worked with Rick Derringer and George Wallace Jr (Lt Gov of Alabama) and we were both written up in the Berklee newsletter, Here is a link to that newsletter.
Also the "A Guy Out In Hollywood" is Skip Adams of Global Graffiti Music here is the link to his website Global Graffiti Music
John Cotton (The Bluesers)