Bluesman Harp Dog Brown is coming to the Cowichan Valley Saturday, Sept. 24 for a CD release party at the Crofton Hotel.
“We just cut this album in California in February. If I say so myself, it’s stellar,” Brown said.
Music lovers can expect “early, authentic, electric blues,” he added, saying he has plunged deep into that era.
“The early ‘50s, Chicago. For the album that just came out, we went down to California to record live off the floor, like they did in the ‘50s. In fact we were using a vintage recording system from 1954. It’s interesting, you know how people are pressing vinyl again even though we thought we’d never do that because CDs were so much better, digital was so much better than analog. The marketplace directs us always to forget about what’s good; you’ve got to get something that’s better. And then you find out later that ‘better’ wasn’t half as good as ‘good’ was. “
For Brown, even after 36 years in the business, there’s lots of musical journey ahead.
“This is not a race. It’s a life. I was on tour five years ago in Thunder Bay and they had a big screen and they were playing one of those old European blues festivals, maybe 1956. The reckoning moment was when Memphis Slim, who was in the house band introduces this young man on piano and sets it up: ‘He’s only been in the business for 25 years’, and he meant it. That was young to these guys who were in their 60s and had been doing it all their lives,” he said.
“Blues is something you don’t do on the surface. You have to have some life experience to really own what you do. I’m 54 years old and I’m just getting into this. I’m really excited about the next 25-30 years in my career. I have no plans on stopping. I’m just getting going.”
Brown will be playing the Crofton Hotel, Saturday, Sept. 24. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
