So, B.B. was really cool. He was really nice and friendly. He signed guitar picks and asked us about what we liked about the blues, he told us to keep playing, keep practicing. It was definitely one of the best moments in my life.
What's it like to be in this band, play festivals, and compete at IBC?
It's fun... it's funny. It's never boring. The flying and the driving is fun. There's a lot to see and I get to meet a lot of people. I've met Hubert Sumlin, Phil Guy, Dr. John, and Pinetop Perkins. They have all these great stories and they always seem to like talking with us. I mean, they know we're just kids, but they still seem to like having us around.
Are your friends impressed with your success?
Aww, they don't think anything of it. I mean, they think it's cool that I'm in a band and get to play festivals, but other than that, we don't really talk about it. We're too busy doing other stuff.
Like what?
Video games, hockey. Normal stuff.
What video games do you like, what system do you have, and what's with the hockey?
I have PlayStation 2 and PSP. I also play on my computer. I don't really have a favorite game, but I like RPGs, MMRPGs, and online games.
In hockey, I play defense, or sometimes am a forward. It just depends.
Do you ever worry about hurting your hands and not being able to play guitar?
At first, I didn't think anything of it. Now, I worry a little. But I like hockey and I'm not giving it up anytime soon. I'm still a kid, you know. I need to have fun.
And school? Are you a good student?
I'm okay. I have to keep my grades up because that's the deal I made with my dad. Music can't get in the way. Besides, I need to do well with school so I have something to fall back on. There are no guarantees in the music business.
That's pretty sensible!
You have to be smart about it or you won't get anywhere.
What kind of music do you like? I don't want the "I like blues" because you play blues, I want the real answer.
[Laughing] Really, I love the blues! I like all kinds of music. Except rap. No rap!
My favorite musicians are Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, B.B., Buddy Guy, Mike Bloomfield... and I love the Beatles. Plus, Mike's got me into Peter Green and a lot of others. They're all so good.
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)