by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
What: George Thorogood Live
Where: Florida Theatre
When: MAY 1, 2007
Over his thirty years on the road, the rocking bluesman George Thorogood has staked out a claim as the king of blues-rock. Yes, George defies categorization after having many top-ten hits and string of platinum-selling albums. George’s latest album, The Hard Stuff, was released last year.
As a tribute to George’s longevity in a viciously competitive business, his greatest hits compilation CD, George Thorogood: 30 Years of Rock, was recently certified gold and named the Top Blues Album of both 2005 and 2006 by Billboard Magazine, which also crowned George and his band the Top Blues Artist of 2005.
All this recognition as a blues artist is great, but curiously, George considers himself an anomaly–an artist who draws an eclectic group of fans from rockers to blues lovers. In other words, George doesn’t see himself in any category. To get the skinny on George’s latest work out on the road, I talked to him via telephone last Thursday to pump up the volume for his Florida Theater show on May 1, 2007. We had a funny and lively conversation.
“Is this Rolling Stone Magazine?” George joked
“Yeah, sort of–Rolling Stone South–y’all.”
EU: I was digging your album The Hard Stuff. You know I’ve always considered you a blues artist. But then you had those big hits back in the 1980s, which got you airplay, moved you up into another category, and got you name recognition – how do you see yourself?
GT: I have no category. I’ve been rejected by every category known to American culture. I’m too rock to be blues and too blues to be rock. I don’t get much recognition being a blues artist. I’m off on my own thing. I do make a living, and there is not a club owner or promoter who wouldn’t want to walk with me. I have a strong fan base, and I have a longer career life expectancy than the young rockers.
EU: You can also keep working up until your old age, like Pine Top Perkins. He is 94 years old and he’s still gigging.
GT: Well you have to understand something, that in blues and jazz, one can keep working into one’s old age. Those genres allow many people to become icons. I would hope that I can continue as long as I feel like it. But it’s not the same outlook for my particular niche in the biz. When I play live or record, the music comes out as rock’n’roll with a blues feel. I have a certain brand of rock.
EU: Yeah, I understand. I listen to your music and it falls under the category, in my mind, as blues–but separate, like John Fogerty. I see you as a fusion of Fogerty and the old Gene Vincent fifties thing. To me blues and rock are kissing cousins.
GT: When people ask me what type of music I play, I say American music. I’m a boogie-woogie guy with a blues base. Everything I play ends up as rock due to me and my band’s energy on stage. What would you call Jimi Hendrix’s music? Here again, the artist has defined himself, just as I define myself. It’s the George Thorogood brand that people expect when they come to my shows.
EU: While I was listening to your latest album, on one of the cuts, I’ve Got My Eyes on You, it sounded like the old Gene Vincent sound, but distilled by your sound. I think your ballsy guitar sound is so out front it gives your music a rough edge which transcends the old sound and makes it your own.
GT: We’ve played a lot of places that standard blues bands can’t get into. And conversely, we can’t get into the bigger arenas. Eric Clapton couldn’t play the House of Blues–he’s just too big. But it’s perfect for us, or 2,000 seaters like your Florida Theater. So we have a niche that keeps us on the road and selling albums. Those hits like Bad to The Bone are funky boogies, and that is where we shine.
George is in California working on his first acoustic album between tours. The new album is slated for release next year. George rolls into the Florida Theatre on May 1 to treat Jacksonville to one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer.
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