Which popular BLUES standards to play live?

[Mike Perlowin]

I hadn't planned on posting this link again, but I'm doing so to show how well E9 works as a blues tuning.

I play a U-12, and my A pedal lowers my 12th string from B to A.

The song is in A, and the B pedal is depressed pretty much throughout the entire song. I worked the A and C pedals.

Some of what I played is on the low strings that are not found on a standard E9, but much of what I did is on the upper strings.

My apologies to those who have seen this before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkSnoeTWR4I

BTW, when I joined this band, I was given a tape of tunes they wanted me to learn, and every song on the tape, without exception, was performed by a white cover band. I tried to tell the singer/guitarist that he should listen to the original artists, but he didn't see the value of doing so.

[b0b]

That link doesn't work, Mike.

[Mike Perlowin]

I just tried it Bobby, and it worked for me. I don;t understand why it's not working for you.

But as an alternative, try googling my name and the words "You Tube."

At any rate, I've posted the link before and many people here have already seen the clip. It shows that the steel and the E9 tuning is a very effective rock and blues instrument.

BTW, I was playing through 2 effects. An Electro Harmonix Big muff, and an MXR 6 band equalizer.

[Ken Pippus]

Link worked for me. Looks like fun was had by all!

[Lane Gray]

I shot three videos, but youtube has frozen my channel until I figure out how to link it to my G+ account. Fargin ice holes.

[Michael Murray]

Thanks for all the great suggestions, artists, and songs! ..........and the Youtube videos!

michael

[Joachim Kettner]

It sounded good, Mike. More than good, I guess it depends on the player. And a little distortion should be added like you did.

[b0b]

My mistake. YouTube was down for a short time today. Very weird error - they mentioned it on TV and showed a screen shot.

We now return to your regularly scheduled program.

[Lane Gray]

I made three yesterday. I THINK this is the only one I'm gonna be able to share, since I'm leaving for work, and the youtube app is telling me MY OWN VIDEOS are in "an unsupported format" when I try to play them.
I apologize that you can't easily see which pedals I'm using, next week: I put colored tape on my pedal rods so you can watch them drop.
1st pedal, 1 and 2 to G# and E, respectively (sorry for the earlier confusion)
2nd, A
3rd, B
4th, C
http://youtu.be/sZSQtBL5VT4

Listening to it today, I thought of some other stuff that I shoulda laid in there.
I didn't wanna over-rehearse, so that was the first time I played that one.

[Steve Pawlak]

I don't play it, but this is one of my favorite blues songs of all time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNXncglnsZg

[Steve Hitsman]

Personally, I prefer my blues uptown and instrumental...

Back at the Chicken Shack
Doodlin'
Wanderlust
Straight, No Chaser
Billie's Bounce
C-jam Blues
All Blues
Freddie Freeloader

[Lane Gray]

And another. A bit better progression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHS4MpkMAYg
And the third:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6RuMLtdJ3M

[b0b]

Dan Tyack is a master of blues on the E9th.

Big Boss Man

Lots more on his YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/user/dantyack/videos

[Steven Paris]

Thank you, Lane!!! You are smokin'!! Now, for those of us newbies like me, any chance of some tablature to go along with? A link to the backing tracks? Thanks for any help you can provide. You are most excellent!!

[Lane Gray]

I shall ask my wife to get the name of the disc of the backing tracks. It was an album from Jeffran, that had the words "steel tracks", "Blues and Swing" and "II" on it.
If it's not still available, I'll look into ripping it, but I lack a USB turntable.
As for tab, you must be kidding! I played it literally off the top of my head, and only one had I played along with before recently (the first take of the one in C got ruined by technical issues). I might be able to do one of the following in the next few weeks:
1) put together a video explaining how to play few of the licks used, or;
2) listen to one 16 bar chunk over and over til I learned what I played, and put together a video that breaks that ride down into chunks, and showing how to play THAT, or;
3) picking one of those three progressions, and make up a new ride, playing a bar or two at a time, explaining it bar by bar as I go, then play it back over the track at speed, hoping I replay what I just explained, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

As I play most solos improvised on the spot (although I will play certain signature rides pretty close), by the time I had gotten 16 bars in, the first 4 were lost to time. I think that of those 3, #2 would prove the most challenging to make, #3 would not be much harder than 1, but more valuable.
B0b, thanks for posting the Tyack link. Cool stuff.

EDIT: I did recently download a tab creator. If it works for steel (the developer said he's working on an update which will allow annotation and not just fret numbers), I may try to create a tab by listening to the video. No guarantees of that happening.

[Jack Aldrich]

Honestly I don't think the E9th tuning don't fit into Blues.

With all due respect, I beg to differ. The E9 neck is perfect for playing blues. Especially in the keys of E and A.

I can't agree more, Mike! I played a S10 ShoBud ProI professionally for 5 years, mostly in bars, so our band did a lot of blues rockers. Even though it isn't strictly a blues, "Honkey Tonk Woman" is a kick to play. btw, I had an Elecro Harmonics flanger that I often used for blues and rock numbers. - Jack

[b0b]

A flanger is sacrilegious in blues.

[J Fletcher]

You might consider this. A fedora and shades when playing blues, cowboy hat and boots when playing C&W. Makes it easier for the audience. Flanger is ok if you follow the above sartorial tip!

[J Fletcher]

Robert Nighthawk demonstrates how it's done!
Give it a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXY5PfHkEUg

[Lane Gray]

Steven, does a particular section of one of those that stands out as a candidate for explanation?? It takes a bit of time to dissect and reconstruct just a single 16 bar ride

[Dave Mudgett]

Robert Nighthawk demonstrates how it's done!
Give it a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXY5PfHkEUg

Amen. Robert shoulda' been on my list, but I was trying to stick to 'mainstream'. OK, maybe he wasn't exactly 'mainstream' in the 'modern blues' sense of the word, as he basically rambled around and recorded only occasionally. But Robert is probably my absolute favorite blues slide guitar player ever. Playing slide or regular, he was hugely important - my sense is that he influenced most if not all of the early electric blues players. Go check out ANYTHING you can find by him, it's completely righteous. Here's a youtube playlist of stuff featuring Robert - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF0ooiNQ ... 23ECC4C903

The slide stuff is amazing - e.g.,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1QaMFTlr7s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w_AnPxsGxA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5F3GLm4Zjk

Among them is the great Fred McDowell. Every artist on Dave's list is worth checking out, but IMHO, McDowell is in a class by himself. I think he was the greatest of all of the Mississippi Bottleneck guitarists.

Fred McDowell was one of the true progenitors of modern blues styles. Like Nighthawk, get your hands on anything you can.

Blues is about feel, not about licks. Licks are cool, get all you want. But in the end, it's about how you put your soul into it. Much the same as the real-deal in country music, just a bit different platform, if you will. If you have an actual blues audience and you find a way to inject your soul into your stuff, they will be cool.

[Mike Perlowin]

Fred McDowell was one of the true progenitors of modern blues styles. Like Nighthawk, get your hands on anything you can.

Here as some you tune clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64T6ugyWXAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54GNI2K3-ec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TyzAAwJnIw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU_UJwN3WnE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZtMFWZT7Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1Smg90TC4I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=478MF96BRqc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai-vcwQR2qY


Everybody has their favorites. McDowell is mine.

[b0b]

I think most blues bands these days have a more electric sound. Listening to Fred McDowell isn't going to help the OP please a modern blues crowd.

[J Fletcher]

The thing is, there is no tradition of steel playing, pedal or non-pedal, in classic electric blues. ie blues from say 1939 to 1969.
Lots of slide guitar playing, but steel has never developed its own voice in this music.
Lots of guys can play pedal steel with modern blues bands, you know, rocking blues with the lump groove, but who can play pedal steel, or non pedal, with a classic blues band and make it work?
I like Hop Wilson, but what playing of his I've heard sounds pretty limited.
A couple of tunes that do have some nice bluesy steel, Memphis Slim's " For A Day" from Real Folk Blues, and Jimmy Vaughn's "Hillbillies From Outerspace" from "Family Style"
Of course the original post was to ask for five or so BLUES songs that be played at jams, so Stormy Monday, Everyday I have the blues, Got my mojo working, Messin' with the kid, Cold Shot...Jerry

[Lane Gray]

J, it's just a couple years before your target date, but what about Casey Bill Weldon?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9vhFJcUG4I

Personally, I like applying the voice of the steel as its own instrument to the blues rather than trying to copy blues guitar masters whole cloth. Not that I have anything against stealing from Albert and Freddie, but I think the steel has appeal on its own, so why not approach it in the spirit of "if Albert and Freddie played pedal steel, what would they want to play on it?"

I have no idea if I succeed, but I think it fits, and I know I have a ball with it.