ARCHIVE
“Showmanshipwas
nottheirthing.It was
musicianship that was
important”
JIM FISHEL
OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 43
W
HENtheplanning
forAnnArborBlues
Festivalkickedoff,
hadyoujustfinishedat
UniversityofMichigan?
Well,I neverwenttotheUniversityof
Michigan.Mybrothertransferredtothe
UniversityofMichiganin1967.I was
graduatinghighschoolin
1969.Inthesummerof1968,
mybrotherwastellingme
thathewasgoingtogooffto
Chicago,walkintotheJazz
RecordMartandstarttalking
toBobKoester,andgive
[writer,bluespromoterand
photographer] DickWaterman
a call.Wehadbeenbrought
uponjazzandbluestogether,
justasfans,andwhileI
listenedtoa lotofbandsanda
lotofwhitebluesperformers,
andjazzperformers,it was
theoriginatorsthatI really
gotinto,andthuswestarted
hangingoutintheinnercity
inCleveland,andthenin
Chicago,togetthefeel.I was
prettynaïveinthosedays.I
thoughtI wasfairlyworldly,because
I hadseenprobablyabout 20 percent
oftheseartistsinsmallclubs,orinthe
caseofMuddyWatersandHowlin’Wolf
andBBKing,therewasa blacknightclub
calledLeo’sCasinoinCleveland,which
usedtohavea bluesfestivaloncea year.
Butmyeducationstartedrightquick,
andI realisedthatashipasI was,I didn’t
realise some of the lingo. I had studied
JimFishel
Howa teenageblues
fanhelpedpreserve
the music’s legacy
blackhistory,butfoundoutthatI was
definitelya flyon the wall absorbing
everything.
Whatforyouwerethe
highlights?It’skindofweird
toaskthat,becauseI would
imaginetheentirefestivalwas
thehighlight...
Nothingdisappointed.AsI grewtoknow
theartists,I realisedthatshowmanship
wasnottheirthing.Musicianshipwas
theimportantthing,andsoI changed
myopinionforthebetterofsomeof
these musicians.OtisRush,tothisday,
is oneofmyfavourites.He
neverwouldbendtoplaying
theguitarbehindhisback,
withhisteeth,jumpingonhis
back,gettingintheaudience.
I’vecometorealise,aseach
yearpasses,thatthisguy
playeda stylethatotherscan
emulate,butit’simpossibleto
imitate.Perhapsthegreatest
momentis theonethat’s
previouslybeenreleased,
whenwegaveBobKoester
- becausehewassigned
toBob,andmybrother
hadstayedwithBob– we
gave him the tape we had
masteredofMagicSam(releasedashalf
of1981’sMagicSamLive). Thatsetwas
brilliant.Anybodywho’sheardit would
saythat.MagicSamcameinasmore-or-
lessanunknown,andasthestorygoes,
camewithouta guitar,camewithout
a band,camelate.I waspreparedfora
completeletdown,butmybrothersaid,
“Isawhimplayintheclub,justwait.”
Luckily,SammyLaywasthereasa
performerandhesaid,“I’veplayedwith
himbefore,I cansitin.”Thenweput
a calloutfora bassplayer,onlytofind
thatthefirstbassplayerwhohadnearby
equipmentandwasn’tperformingwas
BruceBarlow,whowasthenknownas
“Buffalo”BruceBarlow,whowasthe
bassplayerinCommanderCodyAnd
HisLostPlanetAirmen.Hehadnever
playedwithSambeforebut,tothisday,
wheneverI runintohisformerbandmate
BillKirchen,wealwaysjokeaboutthat,
becauseI said,“Ofallyouguys,Burrow
wastheluckiest,justbecausehegot
tositinandplaywithMagicSam,one
ofthegreatestsets.”Therewerejustso
manymomentswheretheaudiencewas
enraptured,whereI wasfeelingit.
WiththeAnnArborBlues
Festivalrecordingsyoudid,on
theNorelcotaperecorder,the
performancesarethething,
butthefactthattheywere
recordedastheywereis so
muchofthecoreofwhatmakes
thissetwork.
Mysonsaid,“Whatarewegoingtodo,
putechohere?Dad,it is whatit is,we
hadtorepairthetapes,you’reluckythey
survived.”Hehassinceworkedona
bunchofhistoricalprojectsfortheBob
Dylanbootlegseries.Heunderstands
thatmusicis sacrosanctandthat every
noteplayedwasnotperfect.
Whatdidyoulearnfromthe
experienceofthefestival?
I wasa relativelyhipyoungteenager,
butreallynotveryhip.It gavemea lotof
backgroundwhichI tookintomylater
life,whenI firstbecamea writerand
reporter,becauseI wasa journalism
major.MybrotherandI didfouryearsof
threeconcerts,eachyear,ofbluesatthe
UniversityofMiamiwhenI wasdown
there,withmanyoftheseartists.There
areamazingtalesofthoseyears,butI
wasa littlewiseratthatpoint.I learned
thattheseweredowntoearthpeople.We
hadanassortmentthatwenteverything
fromChenierplayinghiszydeco,which
wasa completerevelationtomeatthat
point,becauseI wasn’treallyhiptothat
music– I knewaboutCajunbutI didn’t
knowaboutblackCajundanceparties,
andthatChenierwastheking.Andall
theseincrediblyfragileolderguysthat
werethere,aswellasalltheseyoung
guitarslingers.It wasaneducational
experience,anexperiencethatwe
allhopewegetatleast once in our life.
INTERVIEW: JON DALE
Q&A
JimFishel
recordedthe
actsatthe
AnnArbor
BlueFestival.
Below:the
original flyer
