Friday, Jul. 25, 2008

Guy goes 'Skin Deep' for his latest release

Blues hero Buddy Guy has become synonymous with the electric sound of Chicago.

While born in Louisiana, he cut his blues teeth learning alongside such Windy City legends as Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and Howlin' Wolf.

But it wasn't until a new generation of British and American guitar slingers like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan started citing Guy as a major influence that he was nudged out of the shadows and into the pantheon of blues greats.

The recognition catapulted him to five Grammy Awards and 23 W.C. Handy Awards. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This week, Guy's latest studio album, "Skin Deep," hit store shelves. The release is deeply personal for the 71-year-old singer/songwriter.

First, it is one of the few releases in his career featuring entirely original material. And second, the lyrics and subject matter come from deep within his own life.

Guy spoke with The Bee from his home in Chicago, back from touring Europe.

Q: Do American and European blues fans differ much in their reaction to your music?

A: To be honest, playing is the same. When you are kind of famous like I am, you've got your supporters. But the feeling is the same. And I can't be nothing but Buddy Guy. I've been to Africa, Australia, Japan. I can't say I'm going to play Japanese blues or Australian blues. I play Buddy Guy blues.

Q: Your new album, "Skin Deep," came out Tuesday. Tell me about it.

A: I've been in the business since 1967, quite a long time. I was supporting a lot of the great blues players. But this is the first CD I had more to do with than any other. Most of my other CDs had one, two or three songs of my new material.

This has 100 percent new material, and it took me a long time to get the label to let me do it. They never gave me a chance to go out there and just said, "OK, Buddy, go see what you can do." But now I have a chance to do this one and hopefully I can prove them wrong.

Q: What was your inspiration for the new music?

A: It's from the experiences I've had through my life and from the blues and religious songs I heard growing up. (It) comes from just sitting around talking to people.

My biggest record was "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues." That came from when I was playing pool and getting thrashed and someone asked me, "Are you going to play some blues?" I said, "Damn right, after I hit this ball." So you can say something that might stick in my brain at any time. I think that's the way all good songwriters do it.

Q: Why did you name the album "Skin Deep?"

A: We tell a story. And this is a story about where I grew up in Louisiana. My parents were on the plantation and when we were 3, 4, 5 years old, we used to play with these kids. But when we were 11 or 12, we weren't allowed to play with them anymore.

But at night, when we'd look at our hands against the light, all we saw was red blood. Not white or black blood, but red. Underneath, we're all the same.

Q: You'll be on a triple blues bill with George Thorogood and Charlie Musselwhite. Is it fun for you to play shows with artists like that?

A: It is always fun, you always learn something from someone else. It's always fun. Even the public would rather see a show with two or three guitar players. They say, "I love Buddy, but I love these other guitars, too."