Social Smokers

Rip It Up, Issue 143, 1 June 1989, Page 10

Social Smokers

Chicago Smoke Shop

Chicago Smoke Shop are filling asmall country with the big sounds of blues and R&B.

After playing support for major tours by Robert Cray, Koko Taylor and George Thorogood, Smoke Shop are now touring to

The average age of Chicago Smoke Shop is early twenties whichis young forablues band.

Yes, | suppose itis a surprise. We've started as a blues band and we'd like to think we'd move onto other things.

You're moving away fromblues? - I think the whole industry is. As far as I'm concerned, blues is 19505/1960s Chicago blues. After that it's been R&B really. - : Albert Collins doesn’t play blues, he plays Rhythm and Blues. There'sthe definitve blues and that's Muddy Waters. Anyone who is not playing that style, is not playing blues, he’s playing Rhythm and Blues. There are other influences, like Living Colour crossing

promote themselves and their self-titled debut album.

Darren Watson. lead singer and guitarist with the band, took time out to talk about Chicago, Albert Collins and making it big with 12-bar thythm and blues. that with white rock. Were the blues buried with Muddy Waters? Ah no— the spirifof the blues lives on! Peopletendto blend blues. | get people coming up to me and saying that Marvin Gayeis a great blues singer— where do you draw the line? For me, blues was defined by the Muddy Waters Band of the 50s. Some people see us as playing blues. Aren‘t you?

Nabh, | don’t see us as playing blues, because | didn't grow up on the Mississippi delta.

Do youthink you haveto be ablack manto play the blues?

No, no way. Look at the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the way they emulate the black bands, melttogether allthe differentinfluences.

So whatinterested youin the blues? Jimi Hendrix! Growing up in the Huit Valley, everyone's into the metal trip and there was this guy Hendrix! | bought up all his albums | could find, read the credits and saw a reference to some cat called 8.8. King. (Laughs). So | wentand bought one of those old vinyl pressings of a 8.8. King album — great! Whoelse? ; Stevie Ray Vaughan — the Fabulous Thunderbirds. From there, people like Magic Sam and T-Bone Walker. | suppose I've done everything the wrong way. But I'm starting to understand what “it” is and what “it” isn't. I try not to letthe influences vary too much.

So whatis your favourite? Phew, ah — it's a mixture of everything Really, I really dig Chet Atkins, he's not ablues playery’ know— and T-Bone - Walker. Wes Montgomery and also people like Django Rheinhardt. If a guitar player hasn’t got these people, he hasn'tlearnt.

What about modern players? Albert Collins, as everybody tells me. |

did listen to alot of him. I've kind of moved off of him now, but it still comes through in my playing. Obviously Robert Cray and 8.8. King have to be no. 1. Freddy King, if you ignore his garbage ofthe 70s, all that Burglar crap. His instrumentals (of the 60s) are just mind-blowing. '

Are youthe only leader in Chicago Smoke Shop? Obviously! Well, 'm the leader on stage, | suppose, but as far as material, it's mainly between me and our drummer Richard. We've been together for years. He's really into big band stuff. We chose the material. Then itcomes down to a big battle! It's pretty hardto chose the songs. We-don't want to do material that's been done to death. We chose songs that sound good andssit well in the show.

Soyou aretheleader? I'mthe one who's up front playing and singing, so I'm perceived as the leader, plus | lead the band on stage. Butif it wasn'tfor the other guys, there wouldn'tbe a band. They're justas - importantfo me, we're pretty democratic. :

You've gotabigband by anybody’s standards, upto eight players atany onetime.ls ithard to make aliving? Yes, impossiblé. Some of us play part-time in other bands. I playin

another band and that's how | make a living. The other guys just scratch it out with different part-time jobs. -

Inoticethat you'rebilled as arevue. Thatimplies aformal “structure” toa gig.lsthathowitis?

Yes, | think my show is a formula and planned to make a crowd enjoy it. 8.8. King has worked to a formula for God only knows how long. And travelling around New Zealand with Koko Taylor, she works to a formula. She says exactly the same thing every night. She doesn't get out there feeling the blues every night. She goes out there and works to ‘aformula because she knows it works. Every band works to a formula.

Any comment to make about the choice of material on the album? Well, we had areally limited budget and only three days in the studio. We 'only had a couple of weeks to get organised. We weren't even hoping to getarelease but the first company we B

_there'sonly the one original — Mind _ albumondyourmusic; Pretlypositive. The reactiontothe singlehasbeengood. Thelivegigon Radio With Pictureshelped. The album hasonly just been released, soifsabit looearylolel, _ Imnotsure —cedainlyhopesol

Zealand? There's nottoomany blues Wstoughworkautthere, There'ssfl Nowe don't They re eallydifculito playwell Andlsuppose fmabitunder says ‘playaslowblues lfreeze, Playingan instrumentalsiow bluesis

doingforCray, KokoTaylorand Thorogood, what'sthe crowd reaction Different. Mostof the crowds ikevs. WinningovertheßoberiCray _audiencewaseasy—more sophisticated people. But Thorogood —hawasougt Makeasecond, befterclbum.Keep thinking. Gofothe USAand see what's Good, butwedlifeelthatwecould havedonebetter. lwasrecordedin

three days which didn't give us alotof Thebandhas hadsomeprettygood opportunities—suppertroles forsome majorbluesactsandthelive performance on Radio With Pictures. We've made the opportunifiesfor ourselves Hustledand pushed. For Robert Cray, we were luckylocover costs. | suppose a combination ofgood lkendguodmonogement. Withsuchalotgoingforthegroup, it willbeworthwhileseeinghowlong thefuturelooksbright.

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