Preview
JOHN HAMMOND
Friday, November 7
Engineered Air Theatre (Epcor Centre)
He played in the Greenwich Village club scene when he was 19 years old, trading stages with the likes of Ian Tyson and Bob Dylan, who his father discovered and signed to Columbia Records. He’s crossed musical paths with everyone from Tom Waits to Mississippi John Hurt to Duane Allman to The Band. And when his wife of 13 years, Marla, teamed up with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo to produce his 29th album, Ready for Love, she goosed him into doing something he’d never done in the 42 years of his career – writing a song.
Chatting with blues statesman John Hammond is always an exercise in contrasts. His phone voice is gentle, low-key, empathic and inviting, while on his albums it’s black, passionate, gritty and challenging. Although he’s been on the road for his whole career, the hotel rooms, taxis and dressing rooms are balanced by his Jersey City apartment, where he and Marla, who travels with him on tour, battle a month’s worth of dust every time they come off the road, then spend their time cooking and entertaining friends.
Hammond plays blues that have grown between the cracks of the darkest places in American history, yet in his professional life he has been with the same booking agency for 26 years, has a continuously renewing contract with Virgin records subsidiary Back Porch Records and has a relationship with his manager based more on friendship than business.
Looking back over his career in a phone conversation from his home, the singer remarks, "It’s a lot better than I ever thought it would be. But when you undertake something that you haven’t really got a clue about, well… I mean I began playing professionally when I was 19. I had a vision of the itinerant blues singer going from town to town and not having a clue what that was going to be like. I’ve learned what it’s like to be on the road and make your fantasies become realities.
"I wanted to sing these songs anywhere and everywhere…. I’ve tried to do the right things by finding out what the wrong things are and it’s been just a fantastic journey."
He adds that the basic mistakes young players make in the business involve not understanding how recording, contracts, management and agents work.
"You learn by making mistakes and saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But I’ve survived and my intentions were always to be professional and to be real about my art (and) my talent. I’ve always maintained my focus on my work, so that’s what saved me from being too disillusioned or too ecstatic."
Many young players enter the field of blues due to their passion and Hammond says they will learn early on if the lifestyle is for them. "The idea is to focus on what you want to do and be realistic about it. It’s not just going to be handed to you on a plate – you’ve got to go out and earn it. You’ll find out pretty soon if the road is for you or not. Not everyone can deal with hotel rooms and travelling and those days where you’re someplace where you don’t know anybody. It can get lonely and frustrating. But you’ll know soon enough if you’ve got what it takes."
A force no less than Congress itself has declared 2003 The Year of the Blues, but Hammond says that so far all he’s seen as a result is one disappointing television series. "The series reinforced a lot of the old stigma, the old images that are so out of date – cotton pickers that after work go play at the local juke joint. It isn’t that anymore. There are bands that are professional and are highly skilled and talented all over. It overlooked the modern reality."
Music has been Hammond’s engine, carrying him everywhere on the globe except through Africa and India. Despite this, he clearly remembers his first Calgary gig in 1967, opening for Dr. John at the Jubilee Auditorium. He has played here many times since, and speaks fondly of bringing a touring band for the first time since 1970. The lineup of bassist Marty Ballou and percussionist Stephen Hodges appeared on Ready for Love and on Hammond’s previous album, Wicked Grin, a critically acclaimed album of Tom Waits covers released in 2001.
The singer is as eager to look ahead as behind. He can easily picture himself staying on the road for another 10 years. "I’m 61 and our bodies are guaranteed for 40 years and after that you’re on your own. So I’ve got arthritis and it pisses me off, but it’s one of those things. I still have all my energy, I’m still 19 – still the same guy." |
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