I was going to write something this morning about the craziness going on in the current administration. But after a while I began to think that there was no point in it. Those of you who see things as I do with me would nod in agreement.
And if you still believe there is a single bit of honesty, decency, empathy, or any other positive qualities residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, then you most likely will never be swayed by my opinion. If you honestly believe that this person cares about anything but himself and the fortunes of a few friends and family members, then you and I reside on two different planets, my friend.
So, to spare myself the aggravation, I decide to focus on an old favorite who I’ve neglected in the last year or two, blues legend John Lee Hooker. I wrote the following here back in 2008 and didn’t include any of his music. I was new to this blog thing and didn’t even know how to embed a video at that point. So, here’s that post with the music.
Have a good day, if you can.
I remember coming across an old John Lee Hooker album at a used record shop on Market Street in Corning, NY in the 1970’s. It was a beaten piece of vinyl titled Folk Blues. I was just a kid and had no idea who John Lee Hooker was but the album cover had a certain gritty, real feel to it and besides, it was only a buck.
It was from the early 60’s, scratched and worn, and I remember the pops and crackles when I first put down the needle. Didn’t sound hopeful but when his guitar and rhythm section kicked in on songs like Bad Boy and Rock House Boogie ( both tracks from the early 1950’s) it was pure magic. It was simple, direct and raw. The guitar sound was like downed power lines arcing in a storm.
I was hooked by Hooker.
To the casual listener, Hooker’s music could seem repetitive and narrowly focused but to me that was the genius of it. His reexaminations of certain grooves revealed nuance and subtlety that could be easily lost in the distraction of an insanely hypnotic rhythm.
I view my work at times like Hooker’s music. There is sometimes repetition of form, of compositional elements but that is by design. Because I am working in a defined form it allows me to spend more creative effort on nuance– texture, color subtlety and quality of line. The result is a piece that fits easily into the body of my work but has its own feel, its own life. Its own groove.
As John Lee would say, boogie, chillen…
Redtree Times 
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