BluesWax Sittin' In With
Gary U.S. Bonds
The School of
Rock 'n' Roll
By Don
"T-Bone" Erickson
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Gary U.S. Bonds
Photo by Scott Allen of vividpix.com
Remember the Rock 'n' Roll party anthem "New
Orleans"? Maybe you were coming of age in 1960 when the irresistible dance
beat poured out of your transistor radio. Or perhaps you first heard the tune
in the film Blues Brothers 2000. Backed by what is probably the greatest
assemblage of musicians in one group (B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Eric
Clapton, Koko Taylor, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, Steve
Winwood, Dr. John, Travis Tritt, Jimmie Vaughan, Billy
Preston, Paul Shaffer, Clarence Clemons, etc.), Gary U.S.
Bonds tears through his hit song in a Battle of the Bands contest versus
the Blues Brothers ... and loses! Say what you will about the storyline;
I call it one of the finest cinematic musical moments of all time.
Bonds had a series of hits in the early '60s, including
"Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Twist, Twist
Se�ora." In 1980, he met Bruce Springsteen and their enduring
friendship and musical collaboration has resulted in two albums on EMI - Dedication
and On the Line.
Now Bonds has a new album, Back in 20, on M.C.
Records. In addition to his own talented band, the disc features special guests
Dickey Betts, Phoebe Snow, Southside Johnny, and
Springsteen himself. The songs conjure up that same adrenaline rush of
excitement first heard on "New Orleans" and reflect the influences of
not only Springsteen but Delbert McClinton and Otis Redding as
well.
I was in Austin, Texas, at the South By Southwest (SXSW)
Music Conference in March of this year to interview Bonds and witness how he
generates enough energy to ignite a crowd into a dancing frenzy. He's clearly
still having a ball and gets a kick out of taking us along for the ride.
Don "T-Bone" Erickson for BluesWax/Blues
Revue: How different is recording nowadays compared with when you first
started out?
Gary U. S. Bonds: When I started out, it was
two-track. And when four-track came out, I said, "My God, this is more
than you ever possibly need!" And then eight and ... God knows what it is
now. What is it? 8,000 tracks?
BW: Do you find yourself adhering to the simple approach
or do you make use of all that?
GUSB: I get into it a lot because the studio is in
the house now. My daughter - thank God she knows how to turn it on, that's the
main thing. Anyway, I started out using all the tracks; I used about 126 or
something like that. I wanted to use all of them, but after I listened to them,
I don't need all of this. Now I'm back to the basics, you know? I just use the
tracks that I need. I used about 16 for overdubs and stuff. It works out
better. It's cleaner.
BW: It leaves some space and lets it breathe a little.
GUSB: Exactly! That's what we did with this album.
It's not two-track, but the songs have the same feeling as the songs that I
used to do before I had a hit record back in the '60s.
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Gary U.S. Bonds' Back In
20
Click Cover For More Info
BW: It does have a fresh, live vibe.
GUSB: Yeah, we kept it that way. We rehearsed it just
like we used to do, hit the "on" button, record it, and OK -
"Next!" "Are we going to fix it?" "No, that's fixed.
We fixed it. We did it."
BW: You had a heck of a band onstage. Is it the same band
that's on the album?
GUSB: It is the same people that are on the album.
BW: What was it like working with Bruce Springsteen?
GUSB: Oh, it's always fun with Bruce. He's a
character. He's got his own way of doing things, God bless him. I love him for
that. He's got a lot of great stories he can tell. I love what I do and I love
the people that I'm around. I don't get a chance to go out very much, because I
don't really want to. But when I do get a chance to come out, I'll go see
Delbert McClinton, who's absolutely fantastic. Delbert's my man. I'll go out
and see B.B. King when he comes to town. I'll go see Bo [Diddley]. Every now
and then I'll catch Chuck Berry. I see Ben E. King all the time.
BW: During your performance, you talked about meeting Otis
Redding and how that came about.
GUSB: Yeah, I just happened to see him down in Macon,
Georgia, where my stepfather's family lived - I'd go down every now and then
with him, because he wanted to drive down. I got my little license, you know, I
was a kid, you want to drive! When I was down there I used to hang out in
different clubs, even as a kid. I met Otis at one of these clubs. He was doing Little
Richard kind of stuff, Larry Williams, that kind of thing, which I
thought was great! After Otis had a hit record - and I didn't even know he had
a hit record at the time - he was coming through Norfolk. He called me up and
goes, "Hey man, I got a hit record. I'm comin' there." So I met him
down at the hotel and we sat around and I guess we did what kids do, just
stupid stuff. And I miss that with him, just silly, crazy things. He was such a
good man, such a kind man.
BW: You were blessed to have gotten to know him.
GUSB: Man! I really admit that I was stunned when I
got the news [of Redding's death in a plane crash]. I was totally devastated,
like he was a family member. But he did leave us with some great songs.
BW: You do "Dreams To Remember" on the new
album. What a classic tune.
GUSB: I love it - any one of his songs. We found one
that nobody's doing hardly, anymore. That's hard to find.
BW: Who are some of the other people who influenced you,
who really touched you?
GUSB: Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson ... and
they were fun to watch, too. They were entertainers and could sing!
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Photo by Jen Taylor of
vividpix.com
This article previously ran in the August/September 2004
(Issue No. 89) issue of Blues Revue magazine. Click HERE now to order
your subscription to our sister publication and for some great holiday
specials!
Don "T-Bone" Erickson is the founding editor of
BluesWax. T-Bone may be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED].
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This Week in BluesWax:
Gary U.S. Bonds
- In the E-zine:
BluesWax is Sittin' In With Gary U.S. Bonds. Founding editor T-Bone
Erickson sat down with Bonds and talked about his comeback album, Back in 20,
and more!
- On the News
Page: Ann Rabson Tells Us About An Important Benefit Show; Ray Charles
Exhibit At Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame; Lamont Cranston Opens New House of
Blues; Telarc Announces Great Releases For 2005; Whoodoo Band Goes To
International Blues Challenge; Who?; New Breedlove Guitar Series; New
Studebaker John Album; Bandana Blues News; Don Nix Show; and more!
- On the Photo
Page: Gary U.S. Bonds live!
- On the Blues
Bytes page: Part Two of BluesWax Sittin' In With Sue Foley. This
week Vincent Abbate and Sue Foley talk about the album and her new project, Guitar
Woman.
- On the Blues
Beat page: The inaugural Marquette Are Blues Festival was a huge
success and BluesWax was there. Check out this festival held over Labor
Day weekend and make your plans now to attend.
- Under BluesWax
Picks: Eric Wrisley reviews the various artist CD All Wood and
Stones and Walkin' Cane's 706 Union Ave.; Art Tipaldi reviews Goin'
Home by Paul Rishell and Annie Raines; Pete Lauro reviews Craig Horton's Touch
of the Bluesman; plus reviews of Heretics & Privateers by John
Kay and Knackebrod Blues by Louise Hoffsten.
- One
Year Ago Today In BluesWax: BluesWax
was at the 2003 San Francisco Blues
Festival and what a time our contributors had. Check out Part Two of this
festival review of one of the largest Blues festivals on the West Coast.
- Don't forget to play the Blues Trivia
Game: Remember, everyone who plays is in the drawing for the prize!
This week's prize: a two CD pack! The pack includes Live in Atlanta by
Fiona Boyes and the Fortune Tellers, courtesy of our friends Fiona Boyes, and
Taxi Chain's Smarten Up!, courtesy of our friends at NorthernBlues
Music. Play Today!
