Spencer Bohren at the Red Dragon Listening Room

When Spencer Bohren took the stage last Saturday night at the Red Dragon Listening Room in Baton Rouge, I was thrilled to get the chance to see him after so many years. My daughter, Lorena was born near New Orleans in 1981 and Spencer’s wife, Marilyn was the attending midwife at her birth. Marilyn was expecting their second child at the time.

In my conversations with Marilyn between my wife’s contractions, I learned about Spencer Bohren and his roots blues. He was making a living, supporting his family, playing clubs in New Orleans, doing a lot of musical experimentation, hosting a weekly Monday night jam session at Tipitina's and playing weekends at the Old Absinthe Bar on Bourbon Street. Still, it wasn’t until a few years later that I actually got a chance to hear him perform.

I remember the first time I saw Spencer singing and playing guitar at Chelsea’s near LSU. I actually sat six feet in front of him, drinking beer and watching his fingers in amazement. He was making exotic chord progressions, doing solo embellishments and finger picking melodies like I’d never heard before. At the time, a B7 chord was awesome and mysterious to me, but this guy was playing harmonic partial chords all over the neck. Man, I wanted to be able to play like that. His style and energy was so vibrant and alive and I’ll never forget how thrilled I was to watch that kind of guitar playing. He was such an inspiration to me at that time.

A year or two later, I had an opportunity to sit and jam with Spencer at a mutual friend’s house. I played him the only blues song I knew at the time, a subdued version of a tune called “How Long” by Christian folk guitarist, John Michael Talbot. I don’t know what Spencer thought of that song considering he was into the real country blues classics, styles by artists such as Mississippi John Hurt, Tommy Johnson, Charley Patton and so on, but he played along with me with absolute politeness, enthusiasm and respect. Just that short time with him really gave me the encouragement I needed to work harder at improving my playing skills.

Thirty years ago Spencer was just beginning to make his mark in the music world of delta and country blues, traveling around the United States, hauling an Airstream trailer with his red and white ’55 Chevy Bel Air, along with his wife Marilyn and their young children. During that time he actually gave me an autographed copy of his first solo LP album entitled “Born in a Biscayne”, which I played over and over until it was completely worn out.

Spencer’s music is born right out of that folk-blues revival of the late 1960’s. In fact, early on in his career, he actually met one of my favorite guitar heroes, the eccentric ragtime genius, Reverend Gary Davis. Over the years, Spencer has established himself as a torch carrier of the old traditional roots music, mixing in some creative, thoughtful originals as well. One of my favorites is a tuned he wrote called, “Cry of the Blues,” on his 1996 CD, Dirt Roads

Spencer probably doesn’t know how much I appreciated that first album he gave me when I was in my early 20’s. But it opened up my ears to a world of music that I love dearly to this day. There is so much unrefined emotion in this old style of music. So when he played blues classics like “Canned Heat,” and “Ain’t Nobody’s Dirty Business” at the Red Dragon this weekend, it was like teleporting back to that time once again. Throughout the evening, Spencer sang and told stories while moving effortlessly from lap steel guitar to banjo to his old Gibson and then back again, painting a melodic panorama of poetry, image and sound. My friend, John Baute, elbowed me more than once between sips of wine, as if to say, “Wow, this guy is great.”

Patrick Sylvest, from Thibodeaux, generally plays in an old time string band trio called the Mosspickers. Patrick opened the performance with a set of inspired and imaginative originals which gave voice to environmental concerns such as coastal restoration and conservation awareness to Louisiana’s dwindling black bear population. Patrick is a talented musician with a pleasant voice and a great sense of sensitivity and rhythm.

The Red Dragon Listening Room is a very special place, thanks to its’ sponsor, Chris Maxwell. What Chris puts into this place is nothing short of a labor of love. It is the ideal setting for experiencing intimate, live music. Spencer said that he’d been all over the United States and that places like the Red Dragon, which cater to live acoustic music, are very rare. Through the Red Dragon Listening Room, Chris Maxwell allows professional songwriters the opportunity to be heard in an atmosphere that is truly unique.

I always have a feeling of being at home at the Red Dragon Listening Room, a comfortable relaxed feeling of being with a room full of friends. The people who love this place come because they know it will be a pleasurable experience of appreciating the excellence of talented acoustic musicians. It is a venue unlike any I’ve known before and I truly appreciate the fact that we have it here in Baton Rouge. If you’ve never been there, please check it out and support the cause of great quality acoustic music in Baton Rouge.

Spencer Bohren’s web page is at: www.SpencerBohren.com
Patrick Sylvest’s web page is at: www.myspace.com/mosspickers

Steven Smith – Acoustic Lead Guitarist

Date: January 2010
Name: Steven Smith (Scratch)
Website: www.scratchandsnifflive.com
Genre: acoustic pop rock
Instrument: Lead Guitar / Harmonica


Steven Smith (a.k.a. Scratch) is one of those rare accomplished guitarists that enjoy playing just for the sake of the music itself. His rhythmic accompaniments generate a bouncy groove that really allows one to hear the richness of acoustic guitar playing. The first time I heard Steve play was while he and Peter Duffield (3 Blind Mice) were performing a gig at Calente’s Restaurant in Central, just northeast of Baton Rouge. Their music was tight and polished, performing as an acoustic duo known as Scratch & Sniff (www.scratchandsnifflive.com), and playing a variety of 60’s & 70’s folk rock cover tunes.

Steve’s guitar playing was inspired by the early country fingerstyle guitarists, Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, who both utilized a pulsating bottom end in their playing. Steve’s guitar style, however, exhibits a lot more melodic flow rather than an alternating bass rhythm. And his ability to intuitively blend harmonically with just about anyone, accentuating major and minor based melodies between lines, seems to express a hint of ragtime syncopation. But it is apparently obvious that his foundation is deeply rooted in folk rock. One can easily discern surf and country blues techniques from American bands like the Beach Boys, Grand Funk Railroad, The Grateful Dead and the Eagles in his style. I really enjoy listening to him play and I’ve met several people who agree that “Scratch really has a nice touch on the guitar.”

Steve’s grandfather became his first musical influence. Amos Callegari was from Cottonport, Louisiana. And he played fiddle for a Cajun band for many years. One day he decided to donate his fiddle to a Catholic School. After that, the old man kept up his musical interests playing the harmonica, sometimes playing simple tunes for his grandchildren.

This early introduction must have really impressed Steve because he can play blues cross harp just as well as any old bluesman from Mississippi. A couple of years ago Steve was hired to record a unique blues harmonica lick that was actually used in a jingle for the Team Toyota commercial, which has aired thousands of times on television since.

By the time Steven Smith was in high school his desire to play music led him to getting one formal lesson on the snare drum. After a month of pounding out cadences his mother had enough. She took the drum back to Montgomery Wards and got him a guitar and amp instead. One day, Steve heard a neighbor named Randy Borne’ playing guitar; Randy had begun taking guitar lessons around this time and was sitting on his porch playing “House of the Rising Sun”. After hearing that, Steve started hanging out with Randy, absorbing as much as he could and then eventually showing him some things on the guitar as well.

At the age of 16 Steve got his first acoustic guitar and it was during these early years that he actually began developing his own unique melodic playing style. His emphasis was always on being an accompanist rather than a solo guitarist. He says the best gig he ever played was in November of 2005 at the Beaumont Civic Center, where he and 3 Blind Mice were privileged to open for Edgar and Johnny Winter at a benefit for victims of Hurricane Rita.

Over the last 40 years, Steve has developed a solid understanding of musical scales and has formed his own method of practicing them as a kind of warm up fingering exercise. His guitar picking technique employs holding a flat-pick while clawing the treble strings with his middle and ring fingers. Preferring nylon strings, the effect he produces is very punchy, yet mellow at the same time.

One night I invited Steve to come check out the open mic at LaFonda’s. When he showed up, he just leisurely introduced himself to a couple of musicians and before you know it he was sitting down and effortlessly playing along like it was nothing. He has a natural ability to blend in with any kind of musical style or genre. Later in the evening, he played lead guitar for Steve Judice, performing a few original Red Dirt Americana tunes such as “Outta Luck Again,” and “Nobody Talks”. It sounded incredible. Donna and I wished we would have had a film recorder going.

The first time I performed live music with Steven Smith was during the Clinton Community Art Market last November (2009). We set up a small P.A. in front of the Landmark Bank and played out toward the street nonstop for three hours - everything from the Beatles to John Prine to the Doors – and had a blast. I was absolutely amazed at how he could just follow along on a song he’d never heard before and just come up with some of the most incredible musical embellishments right on the spot. There were a lot of people who came up to me afterward to say how much they enjoyed the music.

Be sure to check out Steve Smith’s calendar and new music webpage at www.scratchandsnifflive.com and try to make it to one of his performances or just listen to some of his music online.

Open Mic

Venues that offer open mic nights are great. That is, as long as the right elements are there. I’ve met some wonderful people at open mic's and learned a lot from networking with other musicians. For those of us who are really into music, it’s a good way to have some kind of social life without having to join organizations.

Here are some simple suggestions that I’ve found makes the event work best. You can use them to set up your own open mic night. It is a great way to network with other musicians, share musical ideas and learn new styles. In our current climate of social apprehension, where so many people suffer tension and anxiety, we need secular avenues where people can come together and experience live music. Open mic's provide that kind of opportunity so I think business owners should try to accommodate them. Musicians will surely come, they’ll invite their friends and family to eat and drink and listen to music.

Be sure to check out our open mic at LaFonda’s Restaurant on Airline Hwy in Baton Rouge each Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

1. Have open mic’s no more than once a week, and always schedule them consistently on the same night.

2. If at a restaurant, try to designate a specific room just for the open mic, so that people who are not interested can opt out.

3. Turn the televisions off. The worst open mic’s I’ve played always have a football game going on. You’ll have two dozen enthusiastic fans screaming at the TV while the guy on stage is trying to sing his best love song. It doesn’t work. Let the football fans have their own night and let the musicians and listeners have theirs.

4. Have a sign up sheet. Someone has to run the event and keep tract of how long each person can play. Twenty minutes is the max, less if there are lots of people waiting to play. There’s always going to be someone who wants to hog the mic, so the coordinator has to enforce the time limit and keep it fair for everyone.

5. Don’t talk too much. Don’t go on and on about what the song means to you, how you wrote it and what it’s about, blah, blah, blah. Sure you can mention the title and say a little something. But for the most part, people in the audience aren’t interested in all that. They will usually be talking to each other at their table, so just shut up and sing!

6. Be sure to practice what you’re going to play before you go. It is awkward when someone plays a song they’ve forgotten the chords or the words. Do yourself a favor and put your best foot forward. Practice what you want to play.

Loud Music

This week Donna and I worked on a lot of different music; mostly country blues classics, some folksy pop stuff and a few ragtime tunes. She’s really into the ukulele and this was the first time since taking up playing that she felt confident enough to come out with me to a coffeehouse and play in public. There was so much receptivity and enthusiasm for old time music at this one particular place - such a great venue for intimate, live acoustic music.

There should be a lot more places seeking to create that kind of atmosphere. It is unfortunate that most business owners don’t see the value in it because there are a heck of a lot of people who really enjoy that kind of experience. They come there just to drink coffee or have breakfast, and they want to be able to talk, visit with friends and listen to quiet, relaxing live music. In many cases, places that do have live music are too dang loud. You can’t talk, and you’re just pummeled to death by the ferocious volume coming out of the P.A.

Anyway, this past Monday Donna and I played for a nice crowd, which was partly due I suppose to the “after Christmas” travelers along the Interstate. On Thursday (new Years’ eve) we went back there and played again for a slightly smaller group and had an equally enjoyable time. Later that evening some neighbors invited us to a party, so we showed up with guitar, uke, harmonica and a bottle of wine, and sat around the kitchen table with a few friends and played and sang some more.

Not everyone liked our country blues and folk tunes though. In fact, there were a couple of people who were annoyed and waited around for us to stop so they could crank up the stereo and play some contemporary dance music. Wow, what a contrast! But one woman who had stayed to listen to us with her grandson said, “Your music is so much more soothing than that stuff.” But the thing I finally realized is this: there is a genuine sense of longing in many people to experience a kind of life-affirming kinship that only live acoustic music can provide.

So when they cranked up the stereo, turned on the flashing disco lights and started wildly gyrating to “Mustang Sally”, the atmosphere in the room drastically shifted from people relaxing, visiting, talking and sharing songs to one of stress, tension, even an odd feeling of enmity. No one could talk because the music was so loud and aggressive. There was a harsh sense of disconnection that seemed to take over. It was so weird to see it happen. Obviously the majority of us could feel it, but the “others” were absolutely oblivious. They wanted the music to be loud and they wanted to dance. And they did. So they simply took over. There was no more relating or sharing with one another. Everyone just stood around watching the two or three drunken dancers whooping and hollering.

Donna and I stayed a little while longer and watched the crazy scene unfold, surprised that the good energy had died out so quickly. But we were happy that we had been able to visit with some friends. After a few minutes and a couple of pieces of fudge, we packed up the instruments, left early and went home.

The next day she and I went for a long walk and talked about the party the night before and concluded that there was something significant about that hour we had created a setting of relaxed camaraderie. I think that was the first time Donna ever had that kind of experience around playing music. But I’ve known about it ever since high school. Nearly all my friends played in the school band or were into guitar. And we used to spend hours sitting around at my house drinking beer, eating pizza, playing songs, laughing and singing. It was one of the best times of my life.

I felt it then, as I do now, that this is one of the best ways to connect and relate to others. Unfortunately you don’t see it much these days in the lives of young people. Too much technology has busted the desire or need to come together in singing circles. Though many of them love their digital music, they are still eager to go out to clubs and listen to extremely loud bands. But these kinds of gatherings are not so much for the purposes of social networking. They’re not getting together to discuss issues of social injustice or causes they believe in, they’re going out to relieve frustration.

This new generation, more than any other before has a completely different idea of what is important. To them the American dream is not so much about having an opportunity to work for and build a modest home, learn wisdom from elders, raise a family, cultivate relationships, learn creative life skills, or develop some form of art - for many teens, 20 and 30 something’s, it is simply about wanting to be famous like the people featured on popular reality shows like American Idol, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, and so forth.

When I heard this mentioned on a public radio program recently I was stunned, but it does make sense. I’ve noticed that many young people who are into playing music seem to be more concerned with putting together a band, performing on a stage, earning money playing gigs, or simply hoping to gain some recognition or fame. What ever happened to just getting together for the sake of playing and sharing music?

My friend, John Baute has the right viewpoint, that’s why I admire his approach. He’s been learning to play the guitar for about a year now, going along at his own pace, just trying to create a solid groove so he can experience the pleasure of playing music for his own enjoyment. He describes it like this, “I just want to be able to sit on my porch and play the blues.” Too me, John has discovered a profound secret, which is that the seed for satisfaction and success in music exists whenever someone plays for the sake of the music first. Anything else just stirs up ego and corrupts the creative energy. But if a person participates in music with the purpose of sharing their own joy and enthusiasm with others through learning, listening and playing songs, there is a whole other dimension of experience available to them, one where making other people happy is more important. I’ve seen this happen over and over, but sadly, it is something that few musicians seem to be conscious of.

That’s why I really like places that offer open mic performances (as long as the place has the right atmosphere, which I’ll talk about in another post). An open mic is an opportunity for an amateur musician to get up there in front of people and just pour their heart and soul out. It takes a lot of guts to get up in front of people and sing, but the cool thing is audiences love it. The majority of people would still rather experience live music rather than listen to the TV or digitally recorded music. And I’ve found that in certain situations, the simpler the music is, the better it is for the listener to enjoy.

Many hard-core rockers would disagree. They assert that if more instrumentation is louder and better, increasingly more louder is even better! But I still maintain that the music that has the most “spaciousness” is far more enjoyable to experience. Once you get beyond three or four instruments, it gets too hectic. There are exceptions of course, depending on the song and the mood of the music, but for the most part, I’d say, keep it simple and people will appreciate it more.

There is just too much NOISE these days in most public venues, too much happening all at once. I think it is crazy that restaurants have 5 televisions going on at the same time, especially when there’s a band playing. And now-a-days bands are even louder than ever before. People sit there in front of the PA speakers like it’s no big deal, constantly screaming at one another trying to talk. What in the world is going on? Are people that oblivious and deaf that they can subject their body to that kind of noise and pretend like it’s not abnormal?

I actually watched a 20-something year old girl sit inebriated and seemingly comatose just four feet from a PA speaker on the balcony at Boudreaux’s & Thibodeaux’s in Baton Rouge while this deaf-inducing heavy metal blues band blasted out the most outrageously loud and darkly inert music(?) I’ve ever heard since seeing Ritchie Blackmore at the Centroplex in 1977. I actually went downstairs to the street still plugging my ears from the volume. It’s just unbelievable that young people can subject themselves to that kind of assault without blinking. To me it is a symptom of a society desperately trying to feel something they sense is missing and the only way they can is by exposing themselves to as much noise, entertainment, pleasure and intoxication they can get.