Modern master, Duke Robillard, brings Blues 'into the future'

The Editors: The following interview with the thoroughly modern Blues master Duke Robillard was conducted earlier this month. Robillard, original founder of the legendary Roomful of Blues and Epiphone endorsee, will conduct a series of clinics beginning July 19 at MARS Musician's Planet store in Baltimore, Maryland. Check out The Road clinic listings for the details of his itinerary.

Robillard's thirteenth and most recent release may prove to be his most enduring blues masterwork. New Blues for Modern Man runs the gamut from Duke's compelling re-arrangement of Charlie Patton's "Pony Blues" to his own rocking '50s-flavored shuffle "How Long Baby" to the instrumental final "Big Bottom Blues".

You're on, Duke.

How do you feel your new album New Blues for Modern Man on Shanachie differs from your previous albums? Well, previously Ive done things that often have one theme throughout the album. Either a Swing album or a Blues album or maybe a Roots Rock oriented album. This album is a conglomeration of all the different sounds and all the different styles that I play. It has some of everything I do running through it, however it has an overall consistent band sound throughout. I think that is the main difference.

You did a cover of Bob Dylans "Love Sick", what inspired you? I played on the original session of that from last years Time out of Mind album with Dylan and I really loved the song when we recorded it and felt real close to it. I felt I had my own version of it that featured the guitar a little more.

The guitar solo you did on that song was ripping. It sounded like you were pretty inspired. Do you wing it in the Studio or do you have general idea where you want to go? I pretty much tend to arrange things right there on the spot. That was cut live, I think with maybe a keyboard & vocal overdub but the music was cut live. I had the intentions of recutting the guitar solo but it just was inspired and the band really followed me well so we just left it the way it came out.

The last song on the album "Big Bottom Blues" sounded like you were playing an archtop. What were you playing? I believe I was playing my Epiphone ES-295.

I know you are currently endorsing Epiphone guitars. What do you like about them? I think they are really consistent, great sounding instruments and the necks feel really consistent with the old guitars which I really like. I think a lot of companys are making instruments with necks that are shallow and flat and I think the Epiphones have a good neck that you can grab on to, something that is similar to the vintage Epiphone or Gibson guitars. The sound of them is tremendous. I love my ES-295, and my Zephyr Blues Deluxe is working out great for me. I also have a Riviera that I really love the sound of. They are really consistent, great sounding, great playing instruments.

Do you stick to just one or two guitars when recording or do you switch up a lot? I use several different guitars when I record. I use really an arsenal of instruments. All kinds of things. Old archtops to contemporary guitars. A lot of different solid bodies and quite a few different archtops. I probably used about 7 or 8 different guitars on the album. How about live? Yeah. I use a lot of different instruments live. Primarily Ill have a couple archtops and 2 or 3 solid bodies, different style solid bodies. Whether it be a Les Paul or a Stratocaster. Ill often have an archtop with humbuckers and an archtop with P90s. Yeah, I use quite a few different instruments (laughing).

Do you have a particular amp you prefer? I use a lot of different amplifiers depending on the venue and the mood Im in (laughing). I use Fender Twin Reverbs, Peavy Delta Blues amps, a Sovtek Mig 50. Those are the 3 primary amps that I use.

I heard the lyrics on one of the songs off your new album that said "When I was 6 years old I knew what I was going to do" Is that true? Oh yeah. I heard early Rock and Roll. I think it was 1954 when "Rock around the Clock" came out. Hearing Hank Williams and Bob Wills and then later on Chuck Berry, Little Richard ,and Fats Domino. I heard their music when I was very young and I went crazy over it. It gave me chills, goosebumps, and I decided then I was going to play music.

Did you pick up the guitar first? Ukulele first.

How old were you when you first started playing guitar? Well thats a funny question because I wasnt allowed to have one because I was so serious about it that my Mother didnt think it was a good idea that I was so obsessed with the concept of it. So, I would sneak into my brothers room when he was out on a date or something, he was much older than me. I was probably about 10 years old when I started playing guitar. Any chance I had to pick one up I would but I wasnt really allowed to play my brothers instruments, so I watched them make chords and sneak in their rooms and play their guitars when they werent around, so it wasnt until I was about 12 or 13 that I found a way to get a guitar by telling my father that I had to build a guitar for a science project. He helped me do it and after I had one they couldnt stop me.

Were you one of those guys who would spend hours on end practicing? Oh yeah. Once I actually had an instrument of my own I would come home from school and practice until I went to bed.

Who were a couple of your main influences back then? When I was really young I would say, Duane Eddy, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry.

If you had to choose your top 3 guitar players of all time who would you pick? Well I have so many favorites. My tastes have developed more. I still love those three players but it would probably be more a Blues guitarist like T-Bone Walker or a Jazz guitarist like Charlie Christian or somebody like that. Although I have hundreds of favorites and it is kinda hard to just pick a few.

Do you find yourself still practicing or do you just play for the enjoyment of playing? Well I practice when I learn a song or write a song, thats pretty much where Ill come up with new things. But as far as sitting around and practicing scales or something I really dont do much of that, but I play so many days, I play 220-230 gigs a year so Im really playing a lot.

Are there any new artists out there today that you particularly like, maybe not necessarily a Blues artist but any new Artists in general? I hear several artists when Im touring and I might hear somebody on a show with me or I might hear a track on the radio or something. I wont say no because I know there are but there is nobody coming to mind that I am actually following today. My influences and my primary interests are pretty much from the older masters but I hear new people all the time that are great and there are certainly in the Blues field new guitarist that are coming up all the time that are great, and in Jazz too.

What do you think of the state of Blues music today? There has been a lot of attention to the younger Blues players and the success they are having in the mainstream. I think it is healthy. There is a real good world wide audience for Blues and it will continue to grow. As far as the mainstream, that seems to be reserved as you said. You hit the nail on the head. It seems to be reserved for younger players for some reason, which I guess is just kind of part of Pop culture to put the emphasis on youth. Especially American Pop culture. Blues was a music that never really paid attention to age or race. It was music for anybody and any age person whether they be old or young but there is a trend toward young Blues oriented artists that crossover into the mainstream.

You have had a long career playing and producing music. For some of the younger players out there, with the experience youve had what would you consider important for a young guitarist wanting to make a living playing guitar or maybe even Blues guitar? Well you know, when you say make a living you really put another twist into it (laughing). From an artistic point of view I think it is really important to really study the history of the music and study the masters, all the early masters of the music. I think that is really important to having depth in your playing. Really knowing where everything comes from because if you are only influenced by the generation before you, you know. I dont know, I always like to go back to the purity of the beginning of it rather than taking my influence from the generation before me, only because there is so much more you are going to hear when you go back and follow the history of it up. But that is from an artistic standpoint the way I feel about it. Plus it is very important also to bring the music into the future, which is a balance I try to keep in my music. Trying to bring it forward and doing something that may sound more contemporary whether it be production or musically but also at the same time pay a lot of attention to the foundation of it and the roots of it. I think for anyone who wants to have longevity I think it is a good idea to study the whole idiom and go back to the beginning and see where it all came from.

What would you say to musicians who are out playing but feel disheartened because they havent reached a certain level of success to which they aspire? My advice to any musician is first of all you have to do what you do because you really have a need to do it and you really love it. Success is such a fleeting thing and there is so much chance involved. You have to plan, especially today when there is so much competition and it is such a business. You have to make a plan of attack if you really want to have a career in music. I think the main issue is if you are really planning to satisfy yourself, thats going to translate to your audience. If you are doing what you want to do because this is what you need to do and what you really believe in, that translates to your audience. Especially in forms of music like Blues or Jazz you can make a descent living without ever hitting the Pop mainstream. If you are really honing your craft, it is a very valid thing; it is meaningful. You dont have to hit the Pop mainstream to have a good or meaningful career in music.

What inspires you to continue doing what you are doing? I really honestly have really grown to love recording and of course I love playing live. I feel that every time I go in the studio that Im really coming up with something new and Im developing as an artist and I feel like I can really make my statement now when I record. It is really a very inspiring experience for me. For years I was kind of intimidated by the process of recording, but I really enjoy it very much now. Every time I make an album now or produce an album for anyone else it is a whole new level of enthusiasm for playing music. I think Im more creative at this point in my life at this age than I was when I was younger. I listen to old live tapes and I certainly was a very inspired guitar player 20-30 years ago and I can appreciate what I was doing but I just feel generally more creative now. I think Im more tapped into the real creativity within me at this point in my life.

What do you think it is that keeps things fresh for you? For me honestly its the fact that I get to record often and I get to record with other people and I get to produce other people. Every time I go in I kind of re-evaluate the whole thing and I have a chance to re-shape what I am doing and reinvent what I am doing, giving it a new twist. Live, I love to play live and when I play live I represent pretty much most parts of my career. When I go in the studio each time Im coming up with something with a new twist. Thats really what keeps it fresh for me.

Do you think there will come a point when youll lean more towards producing than playing guitar? I dont know really. I certainly love to do it but I feel my real talent is what I do as a musician. I do enjoy producing a lot. I may get into more of that. I might divide my time up more if there is really a demand for it.

I understand you will be doing some upcoming clinics for Epiphone guitars. How long have you been playing Epiphones? Well Ive been playing Epiphone guitars since I was very young. I started out early playing Epiphone 330s back in the early 70s and then getting into the Epiphone archtops. I really love the vintage Epiphone archtop acoustics and electrics, Ive played them for years. I then went over to the new Epiphones at some point 5 or 6 years ago and started playing them regularly. Ive always really liked the instruments.

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