Bob Margolin, a veteran of Muddy Waters’ band, talks about Blues at the Crossroads, coming to the Palladium next Friday

We’ve got a great weekend of blues coming up. Saturday, Feb. 23, is our fourth annual boogie woogie blues piano stomp. More on that in a future blogpost, but today I want to talk about Friday, Feb. 22, when we feature Blues At The Crossroads, a tribute to Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, which stars Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, along with James Cotton, Tinsley Ellis, Jody Williams and Bob Margolin. What follows is a question and answer session I did with Bob. We’ll start with a description of himself from his website:

I am a Blues guitar player and singer, carrying on the “old school” Chicago Blues style and creating original music today. From 1973-1980, I played guitar in the band of Chicago Blues legend Muddy Waters, touring worldwide and recording, and learning to play Muddy’s powerful music directly from him. In 1980, I started my own band and I’m still on the road and recording.

Your career has been tied to the great Muddy Waters – both while you played with him and after Muddy’s death. Can you talk briefly about what he’s meant to you as a musician?

I’ve been out of Muddy’s band 33 years, please don’t dismiss the music I’ve made since then by leaving it out. During my time in his band I tried to give him what he wanted on the bandstand and use what I learned as a musical foundation. It was a unique opportunity to learn as an apprentice to a master. I’m proud to honor him on this tour.

Can you tell me a little about this tour? You can’t go wrong with a show built around artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, but how did this tour come together?

Blues At The Crossroads 1 in 2011 was a celebrated the 100th birthday of Robert Johnson. This one celebrates two of the greatest Chicago Bluesmen, Muddy and Wolf. Most of us were associated with at least one of them in some way, and the younger members of the Fabulous Thunderbirds play the music with deep understanding and fire. I think the tour is a good concept for the theaters we’re playing and the seats are filled with enthusiastic fans. It’s also tremendous fun for the musicians to give ourselves to the spirits of Muddy and Wolf. I hope they are smiling down on us.

What are some of the songs and highlights of the show – what can the audience expect to see and hear?

For my part, I try to do different songs each night, but one will showcase Muddy’s signature slide guitar style. The second might be a song he did or one that I wrote that’s associated with Muddy. Kim Wilson from the Fabulous Thunderbirds sings Muddy and Wolf songs and presents his own advanced harmonica playing and powerful singing. Jody Williams played guitar in Howlin’ Wolf’s band in the 1950s and contributed to some of his classic recordings. Jody also played on some of the biggest hits of Billy Boy Arnold and Bo Diddley and had hits under his own name and performs one, “Lucky Lou.” James Cotton has been a very visible bandleader since leaving Muddy’s band in 1966, and knows as much about playing Muddy’s music as anyone in the world. Cotton is truly legendary. Tinsley Ellis replaced J.J. Grey just as the tour started. Neither had a direct connection to Muddy or Wolf but are well-known, strong younger musicians who show that Muddy and Wolf had a broad lasting influence.

I know you are playing, producing and working with other great artists in recent years. Can you tell me more about VizzTone Records and how you approach the recording business these days?

VizzTone is not a record company, it’s a label group. The artists produce and manufacture and own their own recordings. We provide distribution and publicity and the benefit of association with the fine artists we work with is welcomed and respected by DJ’s, writers, and music fans. We have released about 50 CDs since 2007, and the ones we have coming up will, I believe, introduce the music world to some very special audiences. We’re proud of all our artists, but I can’t wait to see how the world reacts to 17-year-old Austin Young from Colorado Springs. His CD “Blues As I Can Be” will be released in April.

Anything else you want to share?

The shows have been going very well, a special time for the musicians, audiences and the audiences we meet in the lobby on intermission and after the show. Everyone is featured in a few different combinations that bring out our best. This music has been around more than 60 years. It’s gratifying and exciting that it is still moving music lovers in 2013. The passion and spirit are in the house.

Tickets for this show are available through the Mahaffey Theater and at the Palladium box office the day of the show. For a link to the Mahaffey and to our box office, visit www.mypalladium.org or call the box office at 727 822-3590.

You can read more about Bob Margolin at his website: http://www.bobmargolin.com/index.html