Author: Ric Stewart

Mason Ruffner – Blues Center Interview #6

Mason drops by Pinecohn Studios to talk Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois, Buddy Holly, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana. He lays down some of his signature tremolo-stained blues riffs. Live footage from French Quarter Fest highlights an amazing biography of huge accomplishments. Mason discusses his band’s role on Dylan’s “Series of Dreams” and his ongoing collaboration with Carlos Santana. He tries to recollect shooting a music video on top of The World Trade Center in 1987.

This video made possible in part by a Community Partnership grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Joe Louis Walker – Blues Center Interview #2

Joe Louis Walker sits down with Ric Stewart at 2017 Jazz Fest. The interview has been remastered with footage from his 2017 King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR. Joe inspired the name Save The Blues Foundation when he instructed Ric to Save the blues in 2003 while filming a tv show pilot for Raw Music. Topics discussed include pursuing one’s own style, advice from Willie Dixon and working with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Nick Lowe. He praises the minimalism of Muddy Waters and Albert King. He also shares his love for Eric Burdon and War and The Rolling Stones.

This video made possible in part by a Community Partnership grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
 

The Eddie Hinton Story – Will a troubled Southern R&B genius finally get his due?

He should have been a superstar along the lines of Eric Clapton. Or John Mayer. Someone like that. As gifted as he was as a soul singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, Hinton should have been rich and famous instead of a tragic cult hero who died broke and broken, known mostly only to hardcore Southern R&B obsessives, a man whose best recordings aren’t even in print right now.

But that’s how the hand of fate works sometimes.

After moving to Muscle Shoals, Hinton played guitar on Staple Singers, Boz Scaggs, Waylon Jennings, Mavis Staples, Toots Hibbert and Jimmy Cliff records. His playing is featured prominently on the Aretha Franklin LP “This Girl’s in Love with You.” And “3614 Jackson Highway,” the underrated covers album Cher made at Muscle Shoals Sound, bearing that Sheffield studio’s now famous address.

 

Read the full story at: http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/01/eddie_hinton.html

Wayne Perkins – Alabama's Forgotten Guitar Master

Great rundown on Wayne Perrkins work with the Rolling Stones. Perkins’ “Hand of Fate” lines are among the most thrilling in a Stones catalog rich with guitar heroics. Skying, and full of heart…Perkins also played on two other cuts from “Black and Blue,” the Stones album “Hand of Fate” appeared on: melancholic ballads “Memory Motel” and “Fool To Cry.” Not only that, R&B number “Worried About You” originally tracked during “Black and Blue” sessions and eventually released on excellent 1981 Stones LP “Tattoo You,” boasts another, cascading Perkins solo.
Perkins’ also worked at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio with  David Porter and the Soul Children,  Dee Dee Warwick, Ronnie Milsap, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Jimmy Cliff, Jim Capaldi and  Steve Winwood. Perkins also provided lead guitar overdubs on Catch a Fire, the 1973 album by Bob Marley and the Wailers: “Concrete Jungle,” “Stir It Up,” and “Baby We’ve Got a Date.”
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/10/rolling_stones_bob_marley.html

Deacon John – Blues Center Interview #5

New Orleans R&B bandleader and session guitarist extraordinaire, Deacon John Moore, recounts the back story of Allen Toussaint and Chris Kenner’s “Land of 1,000 Dances” Deake shares a few laughs and some tasty slide guitar maneuvers.

This video made possible in part by a Community Partnership grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Stanton Moore in Blues Center Interview #4

Stanton Moore drops by Pinecohn Studios to talk blues and how he joined the New Orleans Klezmer Allstars and Galactic. A very busy drummer, Stanton plays regularly with Charlie Hunter, Will Bernard and Tom Morello. Episode #4 features footage Ric Stewart shot in 1996 of Stanton with the Klezmers, a band he still joins! Rare candid moments of his Stanton Moore Trio are also included. Stanton talks about heavy metal, the source of his dynamic attack and great shows in BCI#4. Subscribe to the Blues Center’s YouTube Channel

Little Freddie King – Blues Center Interview #3

Little Freddie King sits down with Ric Stewart to discuss his brand of New Orleans blues. The native of McComb, MS is a cousin of Lightning Hopkins who migrated to the crescent city at age 14. After working dockside to pay the bills, LFK cut some highly prized blues recordings over 40 years ago and has continued with a healthy slate of shows and albums over the last decade.