I have always pushed the powers that be to get top name blues acts for the Bristol Rhythm n Roots Festival held every September in Bristol VA/TN. Huge three day festival that runs thru the street which is the state line. 5 large stages and probably 20 or so small stages in the bars and restaurants. No alcohol sold at the outdoor stages. I was totally blown away when I heard they got Buddy Guy. Needless to say I was there early to get close. Thousands showed up to see this living legend. Awesome! He put on a great show except for one thing. I counted at least six times the he used the word "f**kin". It did not add anything to the show at all. I know, I know. This is the blues and he has lived hard at times. It's part of the blues culture. Get over it. Right? This was an all ages event held on a large outdoor stage. Not some juke joint or dive bar where this type thing is appropriate. I invited young and old because I am a promoter of the blues. I saw several posts on Facebook that shared my sentiments. He had a chance to win over some new fans to his music and the blues in general. He blew it. I even heard he stated that the white man stole his music. Why would anyone not be thankful for people that love his music no matter what color? Pays the bills. He also said Eric Clapton was one of his best friends. Irony. Would he have insulted anyone if he had not cursed? Personally, I always try to be pleasant and fun at my shows. You can be wild and fun without being vulgar. It's not like Buddy draws the metal crowd or punk that supports this language. Any of you that perform live enjoy cursing on stage?
Buddy guy has always been one of the most humble blues figures. Did you hear him disparage white blues players ?
Personally , I feel the blues is serious stuff and should not be Hannah Montana for kids .
I dont personally care if he swears - if you are offended by the F word these days forget about TV, music movies or any other entertainment To my knowledge Buddy has encouraged and even mentored white guitarists and mentions quite a few in his autobiography
Buddy is 80 years old , lived thru tuff times and doesnt owe anybody anything
Buddy is Buddy. This is nothing new. It doesn't bother me. Kids hear far worse language while listening to rap and hip hop. At the age of 80, he doesn't have a lot of years left. People have been stealing his stuff for years. White or black. He's a very influential artist. People always steal from people they consider influences. Buddy's work will stand the test of time. I always find it kind of humorous, when people expect an 80 year old person to be politically correct. His generation tends to call things as they see them. Not a lot of bullshit there.
He did the exact same thing last year at the Pittsburgh Blues Fest. There were lots of families with young children there and it generated a lot of negative comments on FB. I retired from a steel mill,so I'm no stranger to the f-bomb,but there's a time and place for this. As a seasoned performer,he should know better.
I think this is a BIG issue in todays blues music world and I'm glad regardless of anyone's opinion you brought it up Harp Dude/Duane. I happen to really agree with Goldbricks stance on this. I think if Howling Wolf or a variety of other artists did their usual shows today there'd be a fair degree of outrage by the present crowd of festival/club goers. I think it's a shame that blues has become such a safe, watered down world where guitar and harmonica solo's, suits and haircuts have replaced lyrical content and personality and are marketed primarily to a 50-75 year old white male fan base. Many years ago this music had subjects that varied from: homosexuality to the draft and war to heroin to racism to prostitution to murder and domestic violence. How well would: "Out Go The Lights" (Little Walter) or the original: "Aint nobody's business" or "sissy man blues" or "Squeeze my lemon" go over today? That's scary! I think most people today think Lollipop Mamma is actually about a woman that literally likes damn Lollipops excuse me I meant dang. You know I have seen both sides of this! I watched Fat Possum encourage RL Burnside to swear and cuss on the Jon Spencer record to SELL records and make RL more marketable I don't think thats any better I just hate it when people are afraid to be themselves! I think the main reason young people today are not attracted to this music is nobody can relate to "bought my baby a brand new choo choo toy". Not real, not true, outdated, insincere, filler between solos etc...This music was once a means of communication and still is for some artists even spoken between songs. It breaks my heart NOT when people are offended and NOT when they are NOT but when people think they SHOULD"T be exposed to that. It's art..music is art...musicians are artists not athletes not role models not politicians there is nothing wrong with Duane be offended by Buddy Guy I'm just glad there is still someone out there willing to be offensive! I love Joe L's comment: "I always find it kind of humorous, when people expect an 80 year old person to be politically correct." That is humorous! It's absurd that we want everyone to fit into a social norm and at the same time want to have an extraordinary experience...I see nothing wrong with being clean and nice and I do/will tone down my song choices at certain shows if I feel like it but when called to play a festival or club date (not a street show or city sponsored event) I play MY music with my Lyrics and I really don't care who is upset by it and often times many people are. I would rather have my fans love me for who I really am and my real past then because of who they THINK I am or WANT me to be. I learned a long time ago playing with Junior Kimbrough and RL that being myself was my best ticket to acceptance and more importantly being content in my own skin. I write my songs and speak from a place thats real, it's not always nice, often could probably be said better, it's not always even right but it's real at the time and I can and do look people in the eye when I sing and speak and I couldn't do that singing "I bought my baby a brand new choo choo toy" which to me is real profanity and blasphemy. Blues music is about real life, everyday issues, dope, booze, women, men sex and the Devil and God not just good vocals and solos and those things should be spoken of in modern, everyday language. AGAIN it's ok to be cute, subtle, clever and charming IF THATS YOU but I reserve the right to live in a world where I don't have to like everything, can be shocked, jarred and afraid. Blues is life and life is often X rated. This is a great topic Duane and I sincerely do appreciate and respect your stance on it regardless Sir... I'm just glad Buddy is still pissing people off!-Jason Ricci ---------- www.mooncat.org
Last Edited by Moon Cat on Sep 19, 2016 4:10 PM
Great thoughts, @mooncat. I remember the first time I heard you say "f#%k" in one of your YouTube vids. I thought, "This guy is real. I get him." For me, the blues is much more than listening to albums or watching performances. It's about getting in the head of the artist and trying to understand their inner story. WHY they are singing, not just WHAT they are singing. There's a struggle in all of us. That is our common bond and that's where it all began. Did he say it because he was pissed? Did he say it because he was trying to be funny? or did he just say it because that's what Buddy Guy says? If that's just really how he is, isn't that the guy you want to experience? I saw Buddy years ago and he was a bit rowdy then. I just saw Musselwhite a few months ago and he was a perfect gentleman. I will remember them both differently, for who they really are. If either of them changed their personality to suit the room, I'd feel shortchanged. To be disappointed in an act because he/she cursed is like being disappointed because they wore a color you don't like. Every person in the crowd has a different set of morals and tolerances. We can't judge based on our personal beliefs. Trying to make everyone happy is what mainstream county is for.
Let me say that his language was not in the lyrics of a song. It was between songs when he was speaking to the crowd. It was not about musical expression at all. I surely don't expect a senior statesman of the blues to talk down to his audience and that is the way it felt. I could sense embarrassment in the crowd and I saw his bandmates heads drop or look away. I'm sure they are tired of it. "I've not been on this end of f**kin Tennessee very much." Just didn't get it. People were not offended by the sometimes bawdy lyrics of a good blues song. Not that either. Some artists do teeter between being themselves and doing what sells seats and records. My son fronts a band in Asheville called The Dirty Badgers and he refuses to conform to anything but what he wants to do. I have been fortunate enough to see Mooncat perform on four different occasions. Sure he was being himself, but like my son, he genuinely appreciates the people that come to hear him perform. YES! Musselwhite blows you away with his performance. You also feel love and appreciation. Like I say, be who you are but respect and appreciate your audience. Listen to my son's vocals. He writes about killing and his mom just about sh*t when she saw his shirt. He looks rough by some standards, but you will know that he appreciates and loves you.
The point of Chicago blues is to get people into bars, get them buying booze, and convice them they are going to get laid laid. It's all about getting drunk and fucking. Don't invite a Chicago blues artist to a family fun festival unless you are trying to get people drunk and laid.
This is adult music, and you shoulen't listen to it if you're uncomfortabke with idea of men and women, black and white, getting fucked-up and fucking each other. I like @MoonCat's music, but I'm only going to his show to socialize, have a few adult beverages, and hopefully meet a new special lady friend. That's his job - to bring people together in a social setting, with booze, and the expectation people are going to fuck.
And, thank God, Buddy Guy is "Never Gonna Change":
Valley Duke, that is quite a narrow and base interpretation of and gross generalization about blues music, blues musicians and blues aficionados.
If that is what blues music is all about to ~you~ that's just fine. But I submit that it means a whole lot more to a whole lot of people, including me.
As to foul language, blues music is rooted in times and a culture in which off-color language was part and parcel of the full range of feelings and experiences that blues music and the musicians who play(ed) it express. Eliminating that from the blues music experience would dilute the form and endanger the species. That would be a crying shame.
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
Last Edited by mlefree on Sep 20, 2016 5:27 AM
Like I said comma his words had nothing to do with the music. It was between songs when he was speaking to the crowd ---------- www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
It's part of the blues culture, harpdude61. I guess if you don't understand or like that, maybe you don't understand or like the culture.
It's fine to like the music but not the culture. Surely you must recognize that if you try to change the culture the music will change with it. They're inexorably linked.
At least that's the way I see it.
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
@mlefree I'm taking about Chicago blues music, the type Buddy Guy gets paid to play. The music wouldn't exist at all without the bars it's played in. So, we owe as much to the club owners and promoters as we do to the musicians. Buddy Guy has his own joint, so he understands how it works. Money is only made by selling drinks and the chance of meeting other people. It's party music, plain and simple.
Blues bars, promoters, and everyone else knows that sex sells, and there's nothing wrong with that. You may find his notion to be "base" but it's the Chicago Way.
mlefree I'm sorry you don't understand. I guess you would have had to been there. I'm not lacking in knowledge of blues culture.
You funny. No one is asking anyone to change the culture of their music. I don't care what genre you perform or where you perform it, you should appreciate and respect your audience. It was so out of place you wanted to cringe.
Top entertainers know how to adjust their show based on the major demographic of the audience. This man does not.
You are implying that it's okay to say.."Okay you fuckers accepted my fee and I came here to tell you to go fuck yourselves". Forget culture for a second. If you know the business you understand that delighting your audience ranks way above all other bullshit. If you are so wrapped up in being "who you are" then more power to you.
Somewhere you have to draw a line where being yourself meets good business sense. I play venues where the young bargirls get up on stage and twerk for the audience. Everybody loves it as they chug their beer. When I play a cancer benefit it don't happen. Still, I look for ways to delight the crowd. Maybe getting a child onstage to sing to his sick relative.
I will stand by this statement. Any artist that puts himself and his ego above totally delighting an audience damn fuckin sure don't get it!
I saw him about three or four years ago. I'm done, never again. He's was more about the theatrics than about good groovin music. Half the show featured his child prodigy who was about 12 years old. Kid's big number was a loving tribute to none other than...wait for it...Buddy guy.
First show I'd gone to in a long time where I actually felt like I wasted my time and wanted my money back. Don't remember anything about cursing, but if he did it wouldn't have bothered me. I consider the blues an adult artform and one that is supposed to be a little rough around the edges.
Just my two cents.
Last Edited by Honkin On Bobo on Sep 20, 2016 1:15 PM
I tend to think, Rough around the edges or not .... Class is Class. Cussing in front of kids is a pet peeve for me. And I'm definitely Rough Around the Edges.
There is a time and place for everything. I wasnt at this particular venue. It would really depend on alot of things. Like what the other acts were like, the setting, how it was billed, etc.
I also totally agree with the notion that we Don't want to water down and Sissify Everything. As seems to be the American way these days. Putting Rubber Pads on all the Corners so no one gets Hurt. But Personally I wouldn't be blatantly dropping F - Bombs with little kids running all over the place. And I'm pretty damn far from PC. But I suppose as Ricci Said .... That's Me. But I still dont think Buddy Guy watching his tongue a little bit is gonna kill the blues. But on the other side, You give an inch they take a mile. It starts with F Bombs and you end up with .... well the suits and Haircut groups like Mooncat was talkin about.
So Idk. I Guess it is what it is. If you wanna bring your Kids to concerts, Go see Sesame Street. ----------
don't have a dog in this fight but personally I think if you're making the audience embarrassed with your in-between songs commentary and your own band members cringe and wanna shrink off the stage then you are doing it wrong and I don't care if you're Buddy Fuckin' Guy.
---------- 4' 4+ 3' 2~~~ -Mike Ziemba Harmonica is Life!
Out of context is a good way to put it. Cursing for the sake of cursing. Thanks minor. Well put. ---------- www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
Last Edited by harpdude61 on Sep 20, 2016 8:58 AM
Ive never been to this festival but looking online it says he was billed at 10:15 pm. Seriously. What's the problem with him swearing after 10pm at a blues festival? Come on! Please tell me if I'm wrong and it was midday then it's a little different. If kids were there who shouldn't have heard cuss words then I'd suggest that the problem isn't with buddy guy but with the parents for taking them to a blues gig after 10pm.
You say in one sentence that he did a great show then in another that he apparently ruined it by swearing a grand total of 6 times! Six times huh? Not exactly scaring.
Personally I don't want to go watch any artist that has to censor themselves in the midst of performing their art. Otherwise what am I watching, not art that's for sure, just some passive vanilla nothingness.
sorry if this sounds like I'm having a go at you but it just seems ridiculous to care about this given the situation.
Ian... Not a blues festival. A music festival. Not so many kids there. It was adults mostly. It's not the words he said as much as the context they were used in. If he had sang a song about a wild woman and right after laughed and said that bitch was fuckin crazy it would have probably fit better. He played great! ---------- www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
Last Edited by harpdude61 on Sep 20, 2016 10:31 AM
Go see Springsteen. He uses frequent F-bombs as well. Nobody complains. And we shouldn't about Buddy either, kids would be much more scarred & affected if these performers advocated firearms from the stage than they are from a word they've heard daddy use more than once when doing home repairs.
Harpdude- that sounds like a carbon copy of what he did at Pgh Blues Fest. There was no context to his swearing between songs. Like a 12 year old that just learned the fuck word. This was a festival organized by the area food bank. People who don't know blues from hip hop have heard of Buddy Guy and the place was packed with those kind of people. Not a very good introduction to the blues for younguns. Just no class is what it boils down to
Ian ... Wow. 10Pm. That's exactly what I meant by "It depends on the Billing" Yea no kids should be there then anyhow.
However I think I understand HarpDude a little better now. I originally thought it was a complaint about swearing in front of kids. And the word "fuck" being said at all.
But your saying it was more about the way it was done. And not that it offended you per se, but that it was just off putting because it was a bit juvenile in the way it was done.
ok. I can see that. I'm not sure I can see making a thing of it. ..... But I can see how you could feel that way. I know it can be disappointing to meet someone you held in high regard and be spun around by something off putting they did.
But referring back to the mooncat again. If thats who BuddyGuy is then .... whatever. ----------
Not just any woman Goldie... A wild woman. Nit picky.... At least a few of you understand. Context man context. ---------- www.facebook.com/catfishfryeband
I recently housed a 74 year old hobo who was raised up to his late teen years in Greenville, SC. His use of the word 'nigger' and 'tamale picker'(?) was troubling & embarassing to me tho his actions indicated nary a racist bone or awareness of his faux pas. Sans hearing-aids his whispers were broadcasts but we developed a sign language for my sake.
Well, our party ended when I wound up in the ICU with double pnemonia. While I was incapacitated some of my somewhat straight laced & proper family arrived and they were both entertained and appalled. While he was relating yet another story, my nephew texted his mom in the same room; "I guess he missed the PC memo."
I don't consider word choice to be the measure of a man. Apparently one of my sisters does because she bought him a one way ticket to his dream destination: the NFL hall of fame. He then made his way to the Martin Guitar factory in PA. He did a few days in a WY jail for a pot warrant; went to Estes Park to have a beer at the hotel where "The Shining" was filmed; and Shiner, TX because he likes the beer.
He was back here in CA for 2 days two weeks ago. We caught up before he left for Snowflake, AZ where work awaited. As luck would have it, he made it to Bisbee, AZ where 2 of my sisters were visiting another sister. They declined my offer to set up a reunion. I made them promise to drive carefully while ducking under the dash if they encountered him at an on ramp.
So, while I'm not comfortable with his choice of words at times, his entertainment value and the goodness of his heart more than make up for that.
Enough is enough. All festivals should have designated a “Safe Space” stage. Any song with possibly offensive lyrics should be preceded with prominent “Trigger Warning”. Artists should not be allowed to share their thought, opinions, or personal stories between songs unless the scrip of their story has been reviewed by the appropriate committee. Absolutely no improvising should be allowed.
There are things that I feel are inappropriate, but those feelings are mine and mine alone. Others may have similar feelings or have feelings completely opposite of mine. If something offends me, but does not have a direct physical or economic impact on me then it’s my responsibility to deal with my emotions.
@harpdude61 I get that you didn’t like the F bombs and wanted to let others know what they could expect. I also appreciate your “to each their own attitude” regarding this and that you acknowledged both the favorable and unfavorable parts of the show.
Blues at it's essence is not about the licks, technique , or chops. The form is so easy that any fool can put out something that resembles it. In my book it's about the personality , life experience and that overused and impossible to define word 'soul', - that is conveyed at a visceral level when someone is doing it right. Why anyone would want to censor an artist - especially a Blues artist is beyond me. I want to know and feel who this cat is. You got hear a living legend play, - and speak to you- uncensored! He gave you who he is and IMHO you should be grateful. Sorry if you took the kids perhaps, but grateful.
Yes- there are more 'professional' ways of entertaining- and more 'polished stage personalities. I got to see BB King at Lincoln Center in NYC and a number of other times. He was a gentleman's gentleman - (onstage at least)- and though the amount of time he actually played his guitar varied greatly from show to show - it was always good to see him. BUT,- -- there was a sense you where seeing a stage show, - a 'revue'. A Buffalo Bill's Wild West show of the Blues. The real shit happens in crappy bars with liquored up folk who couldn't care less what anyone thought of them. The more a Blues performer in any venue can bring the real shit with them, - the better as far as I'm concerned.
Got some Blues for ya right here - in a classic bit of back and forth without a note played. Thank the lord it was caught on tape.
"LC: Go ahead we’re rolling, Take 1 What’s the name-a this?
SB: “Little Village” “A Little Village,” mother f*cker! “A Little Village!”
LC: There’s isn’t a mother f*ckin’ thing there about a village You son-of-a-bitch! Nothin’ in the song has got anything to do with a village
SB: Well, a small town
LC: I know what a village is!
SB: Well alright, goddamn it! You know, you don’t need no title You name it up, you, I got-get through with it, son-of-a-bitch You name it what you wanna. You name it your mammy, if ya wanna
I hope this isn't coming off as a personal attack harpdude. You are of course entitled your opinion, your taste and your standards. Your opinion started a really good thread and is always welcome. ---------- Bone's music videos
Last Edited by bonedog569 on Sep 20, 2016 12:26 PM
When Mr. Satan and I opened for Buddy Guy at Summerstage in Central Park in 1990, we got to hang out with him backstage. Mr. Satan had a thing about obscenity: he disliked it and forbid the people in his vicinity to curse. In the dressing room, we were all sipping on Buddy's Cognac and he cursed. He said "fucking" this and that.
Mr. Satan held up a hand and said, "Please, Mr. Buddy sir, please don't use that sort of language. Let your words be as beautiful as the beautiful man you are and it would be a beautiful thing," or something in that line.
Buddy, not used to being told how to talk, got slightly miffed and hurt. "Wait a minute," he whined, semi-playfully. "It was Muddy WATERS who taught me how to talk like that, goddammit."
Mr. Satan took a beat, and then he grinned and said "Well then Muddy Waters was a no-good mother-effer!"
They both cracked up and slapped hands, and things were OK.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Sep 20, 2016 12:30 PM
I see both sides of this particular argument. I remember when we got booked to play the Tall City Blues Fest in Midland, TX a couple of years ago, and the contract I signed contained a non-obscenity clause that actually stipulated the words that we were forbidden, on pain of being stopped in mid-set and not paid, from using.
I believe they included fuck, shit, cock, suck, tits, pussy, motherfucker, and a few more.
I wasn't aware until then that bad language hurled from blues festival stages was a problem. But of course today's blues festivals are, as they say, family-friendly. So I couldn't blame the promoter, and I signed quite willingly. Then, when I actually hit the stage, I said, "Hey folks, I understand that this is a family friendly show, so I'm going to sing a family-friendly song: 'Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.' Please don't be disturbed by a man my age singing this song. I'm just remembering when I was thirteen years old." I thought that was funny.
The blues have not traditionally been family-friendly music. "Feel Like Breakin' Up Somebody's Home," "Sold It To the Devil," "Dirty Motherfuyer." Hmmmmm. That's some blues, right there.
But we live in a School of Rock era, and there's a youth showcase at the International Blues Challenge. Tipper Gore's Puritanical shadow lingers over the music.
To my mind, it doesn't make sense to invite a real Chicago bluesman, a guy who made his living in the black Southside clubs for years, to your festival if you don't want everything he's about. So I can't blame Buddy for doing what he does, language-wise. That's him. Blues is about being who you are. It's also about giving folks a big release--and about conjuring with deep, dark, strong, powerful stuff that needs to be gotten out. Profanity is, as it happens, one way of doing that, whether it's in the songs or in the stage patter. Denise LaSalle had a filthy mouth. Whew! That's what her black crowd wanted. They wanted her to talk the straight shit. The women wanted her to tell off their no-good mother-fu--ing lying and cheating men.
It is also true that blues performance is about intersecting in a mutually productive way with the audience that is actually in front of you. It sounds as though from that perspective, Buddy's performance in this case was a mixed success. I'm sure the parents were shocked. I'm also sure that a fair number of rougher adults, and those with submerged bad-boy and bad-girl sides, were thrilled.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Sep 20, 2016 12:43 PM
By the way, we're relaxing the forum's proscription on profanity for this one thread, for the sake of having a realistic airing of the problem, but please be advised that we don't use this sort of language on this forum as a regular thing, and in fact the forum creed explicitly warns us not to.
Buddy is an old man,give him a break.we`re lucky to see him any more.I saw him at least 10 times in the last 50 yrs.And he was top pro performer.I saw him with his banged up strat,with a 3 horn band,they were so good I had to play some guitar too.SO,huckle buckle mother fuckle,where`d you get them shoes...
Last Edited by nowmon on Sep 20, 2016 12:56 PM
1. I think people should be allowed to talk how they want, and I don't begrudge someone swearing when they are doing a show.
2. You play the room. You are trying to win fans.
Language is a complicated thing. Words are often used to show that we belong to a particular group, or that we know we are in a particular place. At a blues show it's quite possible that swearing will make you seem more authentic and get you more fans. Or it might make people who brought their kids there complain on FB. (The second group is likely going to be more vocal... if you do social signifiers right the 'in' group just nods and accepts you.)
We all have our street corner language set, and our church language set (even us heathens). We may also have a set of language that we use when we visit home. If I'm around people who say "y'all" I slide into it, even although I only lived in Florida a couple years when I was around 3-ish.
I suspect the reason, when you get right down to it, that we don't like it when people swear around our kids is that kids have really terrible filters. A bluesman may know better than to swear in church, but if a kid hears f-bombs he may well respond to "Who died for your sins" f-in Christ, that's who!"- Which would be pretty funny, IMHO, but probably would upset people who want church to be more reserved.
I've got a friend who was, for a short while, trying to make a go of it as a YouTube content producer. He did game reviews. I've heard him be filthy when he's playing, but he was trying to talk about deeper things- a little bit of life analysis thrown in while blowing things up.
Anyway, I'd watched his first few videos and he hadn't sworn at all, and then he dropped an f bomb. I mentioned it to him. My argument was that he dropped it casually, and it didn't enhance the experience. Other than that he had a channel that any adult that was fine with their kids watching horrible on screen deaths would be fine with. With it, maybe he turns off a small percentage of his audience. (He actually did a good follow up video on the topic).
Fuck. It's a word. If you say it and it gets a point across that you couldn't have made without it, then use it. If that's just how you talk and you are talking with your friends, and they don't like it, fuck 'em.
But... and this is a big but... if you are trying to win audience share and your f bombs aren't being used for effect, they are just verbal ticks, then you should see if you can't cut them out. Gauge the audience. If your response is "f them, I'll talk how I want", well, that's your call, but if half your audience posted online that you were out of tune you would try not to be tone deaf on that.
That's just my general thoughts. I don't think any of my songs would offend most audiences, but on a couple occasions I've done a little bit of standup at open mics, and if I see kids there I ask to be dropped down the list a little so that maybe the children will have gone home. Personally, I don't mind if someone swears on stage, and as a member of the audience it doesn't bother me... but thinking about it from the pure point of view of "will this grow my audience" I think you have to weigh the issue. If Andrew Dice Clay or Eddie Murphy dropped obscenity from their shows no one would go. If a guitar guy drops a handful of swearing between songs... I mean, would you think less of him if he cut them out? I'm not thinking in terms of political correctness or anything, just 'make the audience happy'.
Fuck, I don't know. (See, there I am specifically using it to establish that I'm not a prude who can't say it- to lend strength to my argument that it's okay to self-censor. That's a good 'fuck'.) And now I'll stop, because it's served it's purpose and I don't want to turn anyone off.
Edit- The Boss already covered this sort of. Although I said it 4 times in this post, as a rule, the only time I use the F-Bomb myself is in discussions of using the F-Bomb, or occasionally when I get blown up in a videogame, and even then it's rare. Usually I resort to sobbing and rage-quitting instead.
Profanity consists of words that "society" has deemed as unacceptable. Most of them have their origin in simple terms. Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
The man has spent his entire professional life plying his trade after the sun goes down in Chicago. If that did not come out during the show, I would suspect an imposter. You wanted the guitar playing only?
I grew up musically playing/hanging with the bluesmen of Buddy's and older generation. They are who they are and it is a part of their music the way they dress and talk. Todays younger bluesmen try to be more politically correc than the old guys. Today it has become an increasingly family together doing things. Blues were not kid rated ever. I struggle today to do things with adults that have children as they want to include them in all gatherings. I prefer the model I grew up with in the 50-60's- kids played with kids and adults played with adults :) Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Jason's post was perfect! HarpDude Buddy Guy is actually pretty well known for doing just that! I understand your point, but that really is what he does. A lot of Pro's will "play to the room". Some people just play!
Adam I was hoping you would weigh in. I always like hearing your angle on it.
That list of words is reminiscent of George Carlin's List.
Speaking of Good Morning Little School Girl. I had my Ipod running on random and it just so happened to play that song and a few others in a row that use the term "little Girl" in them, as many blues songs do. My girlfriend said something to the effect of " What is this, the Pedophile playlist?"
I had not really thought about it like that before. As you said, when listening to "Good Morining Little School Girl" I had always thought of myself back in high school days. Not as a thirty something chasing down little girls. Lol.
Nate The reason i tend to watch my mouth in front of children is because if the dad gets upset and wants to come do something about it , I feel I cant rightly defend my actions. And it's just out of respect. But at a concert I think it's to be expected. Kindof like when people get mad at my mouth at a Flyers Playoff game. Come on dude, Dont bring your kids to the playoffs.
I try to be apathetic to Harps issue here. But ultimately I want my Blues as Rough around the edges as I can get it.
BoneDog. I actually Took that clip of Little Village and Made a few Sounds for my phone with it. I love that track.
There's one of Little Walter on the Full Box Set. And a few others like it of other artists that i like.
To me it makes it feel more real. Like they were real people and not just automated song and dance men. It's easier to relate to them when you know about their struggles. I like to see the blemishes. Hear about their vices, etc. Actually the more Effed up a person was, the more I tend to like em. ----------
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Sep 21, 2016 8:24 AM
This is a funny thread. People often opine, "why Blues isn't what it used to be"? It's because they are taking a musical form that was real and quite often politically incorrect and are demanding that it be politically correct and non-offensive. It's the sort of thing that drives most festivals to not book real Blues acts out of fear of hurting someone's feelings. It's also the same sort of feeling that are prevalent among event sponsored by most Blues societies. This is the very reason why I do NOT attend most blues festivals, nor do I become involved in Blues societies.
Modern blues is nothing more than a pussification of the original music form. It has turned bands into Blues Hammer.
At eighty years old, it's a unrealistic and unfair to expect an important musician like Buddy Guy to clean up his act and stop being himself .This is Buddy Guy, a classic blues man from the Old School who performs a music, blues , that is described as a means to express the hurt, joy, aggravation, suffering and elation of the human experience, the Black American experience in particular, and to do so with to the Truth and all its grit. Making a bluesman like Guy "presentable" to younger audiences for fear their souls would be lured toward unsavory ways is preposterous and, frankly, disrespectful. Guy's length of career , accomplishments therein and the harnessed savagery of his singing and his guitar work has, I think, given him the right to speak as he pleases. You're hiring Buddy Guy , not Donnie Osmond. His performances at his age are the testimony of a man who's spent many a decade committed to a music that itself is dedicated to getting to the truth in emphatic, unmistakable terms. Requiring him to clean up his patter between songs is the old bad habit of trying to make black music " presentable." Next I expect there to be a demand for he and other blues artists to censor their lyrics lest words of sex, racism, violence, getting drunk, kicking dope, or suicidal despair act as triggers to the suggestible. This is the blues, life on life's terms, or so we say. ---------- ---------- Ted Burke tburke4@san.rr.com
