WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 Hi, this is Joe Bonamassa, and you're listening 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:05.419 to My Weekly Mixtape with your host, Brian Colton. 00:00:16.339 --> 00:00:19.300 Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:22.219 takes the classic mixtape approach. to building 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:24.879 a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:28.539 Back in 2003 at a CD listening station at my 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:31.579 local record shop, I discovered this evening's 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:35.000 guest and was instantly hooked. A few weeks later, 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:38.179 I took a group of friends and my now wife to 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:41.280 the Mexicali Blues Cafe in Teaneck, New Jersey 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:44.939 to catch this gentleman's power trio live. promising 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:47.679 my friends and family an evening of blues music 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:50.000 they would never forget. And I'm happy to say 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:53.079 that promise was beyond fulfilled. Now, here 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:57.979 we are 20 plus years and 27 number one albums 00:00:57.979 --> 00:01:01.439 on the Billboard Blues chart later. It's my absolute 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.980 honor to welcome modern blues legend Joe Bonamassa 00:01:04.980 --> 00:01:08.099 to my weekly mixtape. Joe, thank you so much 00:01:08.099 --> 00:01:11.760 for joining me, man. Well, you know, interesting 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:16.599 about Mexicali blues. It was a blues club. They 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:20.040 did jam bands. They served Mexican food. And 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:22.000 it was run by a Jewish guy who loved the blues. 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:26.540 Yes. Eli. And if that doesn't tell you that music 00:01:26.540 --> 00:01:30.400 is multicultural and is the universal language, 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.140 I don't know what else to tell you. That place 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:38.219 had everybody represented. And yeah, those are 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:41.379 fond memories of those gigs there in Teaneck, 00:01:41.480 --> 00:01:44.859 just over the bridge. Yeah, we're not too far 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:47.560 from there right now. I'm in Port Chester, New 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.840 York tonight. The legendary Capitol Theater. 00:01:50.980 --> 00:01:55.359 Two nights here, and then we have five more to 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:58.859 go after that. So we're almost done. Not done 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:01.519 yet, but almost. Well, I'd like to start by asking 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.819 you the question I ask all of my first -time 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.620 guests, and that is, what does the word mixtape 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:11.300 mean to you? Back in the 80s, because we used 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:15.490 to... One kid would have a cassette, and then 00:02:15.490 --> 00:02:18.270 it was the dual tape deck, and you could copy 00:02:18.270 --> 00:02:23.490 one song into the neck, and you were basically 00:02:23.490 --> 00:02:25.789 getting the music for free. It was a very analog 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:31.270 Spotify. And, you know, it really is the definition 00:02:31.270 --> 00:02:35.110 of compilations. Maybe you don't want to listen 00:02:35.110 --> 00:02:36.669 to a whole album. Maybe you want to listen to 00:02:36.669 --> 00:02:39.780 25 of your favorite songs. all in a row. Now 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:41.500 you have the opportunity. You could just, your 00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:43.740 playlist could be endless, literally infinite. 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:46.979 But you have, I think on a cassette you had, 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:50.680 um, what, maybe 20 minutes aside, 30 minutes 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:54.460 aside. And, uh, yeah. And that, that was, that's 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.219 how, that's how we did it. And you trade them 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:00.159 and you'd be like, Hey, I got some, you know, 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:02.500 I got, I got a Stevie Ray Vaughan live track 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:04.879 and some Robert Cray and some whatever, you know. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.300 And that's how you discovered music. And that's 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.919 how you consumed music back then. Well, it's 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.080 no secret that you're a guitar connoisseur of 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.699 sorts. And while some people might call it a 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:20.099 collection, I'm going to refer to it as an army 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.740 of guitars, which at this moment sits at over 00:03:23.740 --> 00:03:28.060 500, if I'm correct. It's definitely a collection. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.139 I think the amount of guitars is past 650 by 00:03:32.139 --> 00:03:35.250 number. Wow. But, you know, the thing about collecting 00:03:35.250 --> 00:03:37.389 is you, I always tell people, you collect what 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:39.770 you like. You never want to have, don't let anybody 00:03:39.770 --> 00:03:41.770 else spend your money. So if you like a certain 00:03:41.770 --> 00:03:45.389 type of guitar, if you like those kind of esoteric, 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:47.990 weird guitars from high school, Japanese guitars 00:03:47.990 --> 00:03:50.909 from the 70s, and if you're surrounded by that 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:52.870 kind of stuff and you really love it, then there's 00:03:52.870 --> 00:03:54.810 nothing wrong with it. Never let anybody tell 00:03:54.810 --> 00:03:56.750 you, like, well, you really, you need one of 00:03:56.750 --> 00:03:59.069 these, one of these, if you don't have any interest 00:03:59.069 --> 00:04:02.229 in it. My interests are, you know, I like... 00:04:02.430 --> 00:04:05.229 Fender and Gibson solid body guitars from the 00:04:05.229 --> 00:04:09.729 years, probably 1950 to about 1965. And that 00:04:09.729 --> 00:04:13.770 makes up those 15 years of both Gibson and Fender 00:04:13.770 --> 00:04:17.490 make up the majority of my collection. So then 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:20.389 my follow -up to that is when you're in the studio 00:04:20.389 --> 00:04:25.149 recording, how do you decide, you know what I 00:04:25.149 --> 00:04:28.459 want? to go with this sound for this guitar. 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.439 Do you record several tracks using different 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:34.139 guitars to try to find the right tone? Certain 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:36.160 songs are just obvious. You know what I mean? 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:38.300 Like, you need a Strat for this, or if I'm producing 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:40.639 a record with Josh, you know, he'll be the Tele 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:43.480 guy, I'll be the Gibson guy, you know, and we'll 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:47.060 play rhythm on those tracks. And it just, you 00:04:47.060 --> 00:04:49.360 know, the maturity of my collection is museum 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.139 grade, meaning that it's completely unmodified, 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.410 completely in mint condition. with no changes 00:04:55.410 --> 00:04:57.430 whatsoever. Some guitars didn't have the original 00:04:57.430 --> 00:05:00.589 strings. Now those guitars don't need to be disturbed 00:05:00.589 --> 00:05:04.290 and beat up for anything. And, you know, but 00:05:04.290 --> 00:05:06.310 I have stuff that I do play, you know, the stuff 00:05:06.310 --> 00:05:08.389 that's on the road and it's on, you know, I play 00:05:08.389 --> 00:05:10.730 that. And then there's also the stuff that, you 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:12.470 know, isn't in mint condition that you just go, 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:14.470 you just grab it and you're like, this is going 00:05:14.470 --> 00:05:17.009 to be killer. And it sounds great. And it, but 00:05:17.009 --> 00:05:19.290 it plays well, you know, and it's got frets and 00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:21.209 it's, you know, so you have to, you know, you 00:05:21.209 --> 00:05:23.029 have to, if you're just a collector of things. 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:27.750 And then you want to buy the cleanest, most original 00:05:27.750 --> 00:05:29.649 example of whatever you're collecting, because 00:05:29.649 --> 00:05:33.009 that will always hold a value. If you're a player, 00:05:33.129 --> 00:05:35.009 you don't want to drive a race car with bald 00:05:35.009 --> 00:05:38.769 tires. So, yeah, I have to toe the line. I can't 00:05:38.769 --> 00:05:41.529 just go on a collector and, you know, whatever, 00:05:41.769 --> 00:05:43.769 and never play any of it. But I have to have 00:05:43.769 --> 00:05:47.629 some of it that is modded, or not modded, but 00:05:47.629 --> 00:05:50.589 just, you know, maintained, meaning that there's 00:05:50.589 --> 00:05:53.250 new frets on it. you know, everything works. 00:05:53.970 --> 00:05:57.110 Well, back on episode 60, I was fortunate enough 00:05:57.110 --> 00:05:59.470 to talk with a friend of yours, Walter Trout. 00:05:59.490 --> 00:06:01.470 Nice. And we talked about your collaboration, 00:06:01.889 --> 00:06:04.670 Clouds on the Horizon, for his Full Circle album. 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:07.589 And during our sit down, Walter and I talked 00:06:07.589 --> 00:06:10.029 about something that I've always been blown away 00:06:10.029 --> 00:06:13.689 by, and that's the technique of volume swells. 00:06:13.689 --> 00:06:17.620 And it's actually what drew me to purchase. The 00:06:17.620 --> 00:06:22.480 copy of Blues Deluxe 21 years ago was your use 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:26.439 of volume swells in the title track. I'd love 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.199 to know your mindset behind volume swells in 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:33.040 songs, because I feel like it's something that 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:37.899 impacts the song so much. Well, I mean, it takes 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:40.899 the guitar out of the guitar world, meaning that 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:44.019 it sounds more like a cello or a violin. And, 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.180 you know, I learned from watching people like 00:06:47.180 --> 00:06:49.779 Walter Trout, who's wonderful at it with a strat. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.060 He has a really cool technique where it's really 00:06:52.060 --> 00:06:56.459 fast and it's almost like a tremolo. And then 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:59.579 there's people like Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan. 00:07:00.019 --> 00:07:02.639 And those are the, you know, so when I do the 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:04.899 volume, it's generally on a telly. And you can 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:07.639 channel that, but it just puts it in a different 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:12.160 realm. It just brings you to a place where. people 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.180 lean into it. You know, you want, there's parts 00:07:15.180 --> 00:07:17.439 of the show you want people lean into. Then there's 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:18.500 parts of the show you want to pin them in the 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:20.920 back of their seat. And it's usually, it's a 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:26.240 very dynamic way of delivering a solo. And I've 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.040 used it my whole life. And again, I learned by 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.600 watching Walter and Danny was a mentor of mine. 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.680 And I didn't never met Robbie Cannon, but I certainly 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:37.959 heard, you know, Livestock and Town Hall in New 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:40.680 York. And, you know, that version of Roy's blues 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:43.779 is haunting. And it's all because of that, that 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:46.639 volume swell, you know, and it's like, you know, 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:49.339 something dark, there's some dark demons in that 00:07:49.339 --> 00:07:52.560 man. You know what I mean? Like that's, that's, 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.220 he's not projecting, you know, he's, he's, or, 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:58.139 you know, he's not acting. He is that, that those, 00:07:58.220 --> 00:08:00.779 those are the, he's summoning the demons. Well, 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:03.660 I am, and it is no shock to anyone that listens 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:06.819 to this show on the regular, a huge fan of cover 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:10.740 songs and reinterpretations. And something that 00:08:10.740 --> 00:08:12.920 has impressed me over the years throughout your 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:18.180 career is your choosing of cover songs, songs 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:20.339 that you're going to take and put your own stamp 00:08:20.339 --> 00:08:25.279 on. And two of my personal Mount Rushmore covers. 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.300 are both your version of Slow Gin, which was 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:32.940 originally recorded by actor and singer Tim Curry, 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:36.620 as well as Prisoner, which was originally recorded 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:40.860 by Barbra Streisand. What makes you say to yourself, 00:08:41.240 --> 00:08:44.639 that's a song that's a great cover to add to 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.879 my arsenal? Slow Gin was Kevin, Kevin Shirley, 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:51.860 my producer. And Prisoner was also Kevin's idea. 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.360 But Slow Gin was a hit in South Africa. He heard 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.620 it in South Africa. And it was written by Bob 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:02.580 Ezrin, legendary producer, and Michael Kamen. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.899 And I know Bob. And I said, Bob, when were you 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:11.779 aware that I had cut Slow Gin? He goes, when 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:14.700 the royalty checks started coming. I was like, 00:09:14.779 --> 00:09:19.379 well, fair enough. And I was like, okay. He goes, 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:22.960 somebody cut Slow Gin? And it's a great desperate 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.600 booze. Same thing with Prince. It really inherently 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:31.299 is a death threat. Somebody stinging their ass 00:09:31.299 --> 00:09:34.360 off trying to get themselves out of emoting. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.659 But yeah, I mean, the thing is, all of us are 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:44.279 interpreters. There's not many people that you 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.500 can really, especially modern ones, that have 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:50.440 never done a cover, that have never recorded 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:52.539 anything other than their own music and never 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:55.320 co -wrote with anyone. So we're all interpreters 00:09:55.320 --> 00:09:59.159 in some way, but it's not, you know, I mean, 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:02.179 look at the jam band circuit. I mean, the bands 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:04.779 will learn the entirety of the Beatles' White 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:08.100 Album and then play it at a night, and then the 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:09.820 next night they're doing something else. And 00:10:09.820 --> 00:10:13.220 it's like, you're taking your fans on a journey 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:18.539 that is, you know, worth it. And that's knowing 00:10:18.539 --> 00:10:22.269 how to read your fan base, for sure. And that's 00:10:22.269 --> 00:10:24.950 something that you do a lot in your live shows 00:10:24.950 --> 00:10:29.279 because I own. probably more Joe Bonamassa live 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.519 albums than I do any other artists. And that's 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:34.240 because every single time you release a live 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.679 album, it's a completely different experience 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:39.899 going back to when you used the Royal Albert 00:10:39.899 --> 00:10:42.179 Hall, where you use the Doobie Brothers dual 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:45.519 drummers approach. You had the four night tour 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:47.679 de force where each night you did a different 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:50.500 venue in London. You've done acoustic evenings. 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:53.220 And then the two songs we mentioned, Slow Gin 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:56.100 and Prisoner are on your latest release, which 00:10:56.100 --> 00:10:59.000 is. live at the Hollywood Bowl with an orchestra. 00:10:59.779 --> 00:11:03.600 Are there other live avenues that you feel like 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:06.080 you want to tackle in your career? Because I 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:08.340 feel like each time you put out a live album, 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.179 it's truly a unique and different experience 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:13.799 for the fans. Well, we're running out of ideas, 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:15.980 to be honest with you. It's the Hollywood Bowl. 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:19.419 And yeah, there's only so many live adventures. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:22.059 I mean, we will revisit the orchestra at some 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:25.460 point. I want to do an ancient Greek amphitheater 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:28.240 one day, like a theme show. We have this thing 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:30.519 coming up next year that we're doing in Ireland 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:32.840 that's yet to be announced, which will be really 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:36.860 exciting. And maybe that's it. I don't have many 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:40.080 years left in this thing. Maybe a decade before 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.620 I just retire. I've done this 36 years. We're 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:46.779 taking this thing up to maybe a 45 -year career, 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:51.019 and that's great enough. We go enjoy. my life 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:53.879 and not work every single day you know and that's 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:56.080 and everybody goes no you're still a young man 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.740 you can go for another 35 40 years that's not 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:01.960 me that is not gonna happen there's only so many 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:04.799 pitches in this arm and use them wisely from 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:07.600 here on out well digging just a little bit deeper 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.500 into the orchestra album watching that blu -ray 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:14.700 and seeing that show unfold That truly brought 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:18.200 a unique level of dynamics to the songs that, 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:20.740 while it's there on the studio album, is even 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:24.620 more amplified in that setting. What was that 00:12:24.620 --> 00:12:27.600 like rehearsing and getting the orchestra ready 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:31.379 for that show, for that performance? It was union 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:34.679 -rific. We rehearsed the day before. We had the 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:37.779 charts. We had been doing shows with Jeff Bova 00:12:37.779 --> 00:12:40.899 and his Bova Orchestra, as he calls it, a keyboard. 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:43.759 He's got all these crazy sounds in there. And 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:46.480 he orchestrated a bunch of the Hollywood Bowl. 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:47.700 And he was nice enough to come tour with us. 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:49.940 Jeff doesn't tour. Yeah. He just doesn't tour. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:51.840 I go, how do you get Jeff Bowler to come on? 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:54.340 He asked him. And we've been working together 00:12:54.340 --> 00:12:57.919 almost 20 years. So we had the grid. And then 00:12:57.919 --> 00:12:59.860 just putting the orchestra. Then it was the challenge 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:02.299 of getting the volume. The volume right for the 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:04.720 orchestra is very difficult. They don't like 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:08.419 loud guitars. I'm kind of a loud guitar band. 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:14.159 So I think we definitely. came to a good compromise. 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.820 And you hear it on the film. You know, I mean, 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:20.379 it's wonderfully mixed by Kevin, and it was just 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:22.480 a major project. Like, even over a year ago, 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:26.940 we did this. And so, yeah, that was a big show. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.340 Now, I actually have to bring up back in the 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:33.940 90s when Metallica did the first S &M tour with 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:36.259 an orchestra. I went to the Madison Square Garden 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:40.179 show. And the one thing I remember was the challenge 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:42.500 you talked about, because during the first set, 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.899 nobody heard the orchestra because the band was 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:49.120 so loud. And then during the second set, they 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:52.100 had figured it out. You guys had one crack at 00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:54.559 this and you guys really nailed it. We nailed 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.399 it. These DVD things, there's always something 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:00.080 that's going to go wrong on the night that never 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.440 has happened before in 35 years of touring, especially 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:04.659 when you have all the money on the line. And 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:08.120 luckily, we did a thing with the orchestra where 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:10.539 I opened for myself at the Hollywood Bowl. The 00:14:10.539 --> 00:14:13.919 Hollywood Bowl required us to have an opening 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.940 act. And I said, well, we don't usually have 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:20.080 an opening act. And we have a lot of lines out 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:25.019 and it's critical all these get recorded. We 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:26.700 didn't really want to move anything, especially 00:14:26.700 --> 00:14:29.639 at that gig. So I said, you know what? Narcissism 00:14:29.639 --> 00:14:32.360 101. Who better to do it? So we opened for ourselves. 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:36.679 So we went out there, did 45 minutes of just 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:38.940 like straight seven piece and then took a half 00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:41.340 hour break and then came out and played 90 minutes 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:44.220 with the orchestra and called it a day. Unbelievable. 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:47.639 Well, your latest studio album is the companion 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:50.460 to Blues Deluxe entitled Blues Deluxe Volume 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:53.919 2. It's now a year old. So I have to ask, as 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:56.940 somebody who's constantly putting out new material, 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:00.259 are you in the studio right now working on the 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:02.840 follow up to Blues Deluxe Volume 2? I mean, we 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:04.620 have tracks recorded, but I don't know when it's 00:15:04.620 --> 00:15:05.879 going to come out. I don't know when it's going 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.059 to be finished. The world doesn't need another 00:15:08.059 --> 00:15:10.159 Giovanna Monster record right away. So we got 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:11.899 the Hollywood Bowl. We had Blues Deluxe last 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:14.750 year. We'll put out some singles this year or 00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:16.889 maybe next year, and then we'll just date. I 00:15:16.889 --> 00:15:18.409 mean, I don't know how many albums I have left. 00:15:18.590 --> 00:15:21.950 I mean, it's like how many – I'm not even sure 00:15:21.950 --> 00:15:24.429 if the album format is going to be relevant in 00:15:24.429 --> 00:15:26.929 10 years. It's like who's making CDs? Who has 00:15:26.929 --> 00:15:30.309 a CD player? I mean, I'm on a tour bus. Music 00:15:30.309 --> 00:15:33.649 tour bus. There's no CD player in here. And it's 00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:35.629 like I don't have one on my computer. I don't 00:15:35.629 --> 00:15:38.149 have one out here. You don't even have them in 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:45.570 the new cars. 59 minute record i'm seeing it 00:15:45.570 --> 00:15:48.250 become less and less relevant you know so i think 00:15:48.250 --> 00:15:52.009 we're back to you know a and b side singles you 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:54.490 know because even the general notion when you're 00:15:54.490 --> 00:15:56.429 dealing with a streaming kind of business you're 00:15:56.429 --> 00:15:59.129 releasing 10 of the 11 songs anyway before the 00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:01.570 album comes out to keep the algorithm or whatever 00:16:01.570 --> 00:16:05.610 spotify thing is and and and so you're you're 00:16:05.610 --> 00:16:07.429 basically just turning out singles and then the 00:16:07.429 --> 00:16:10.330 12th song or the 11th song is your that was a 00:16:10.330 --> 00:16:12.899 full -length album like Who cares at that point? 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:14.899 They've heard most of it. And you're going to 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:16.659 dump the junk at the end, and you're going to 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:18.440 put the good songs first. I mean, that's just 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:22.399 how it's going to work, you know? So, I don't 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:25.110 know. I don't know in the next one. Well, I know 00:16:25.110 --> 00:16:27.649 you have recently released Better the Devil You 00:16:27.649 --> 00:16:30.649 Know, which is to mark the 10th anniversary of 00:16:30.649 --> 00:16:33.230 your Different Shades of Blue album. This was 00:16:33.230 --> 00:16:35.909 a song you co -wrote with Jonathan Cain, A Journey. 00:16:36.230 --> 00:16:39.649 I have to ask, it's such a wonderful song, and 00:16:39.649 --> 00:16:41.889 I hope this doesn't come across as flip, but 00:16:41.889 --> 00:16:44.149 how did this song not make the original cut of 00:16:44.149 --> 00:16:48.409 the album? I don't remember. I truly don't remember 00:16:48.409 --> 00:16:51.090 the thought process. I think it may have been 00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:54.240 just redundancy of groove. you know we got one 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:55.940 that sounds like that or one that's in the same 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:59.480 kind of you know whatever uh every record has 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:01.840 extra track and sometimes you regret not putting 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:03.779 them on there and sometimes you carry them over 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:08.059 and i think that's been our you know i mean there's 00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:09.940 never a record that doesn't have an extra track 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:12.819 or two there's some i want deleted but but yeah 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:17.460 Well, along with recording and touring, you recently 00:17:17.460 --> 00:17:20.660 launched Journeyman LLC alongside of your longtime 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:23.980 manager, Roy Weissman, which is a one -stop shop 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:26.519 with the goal of building awareness for independent 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:29.440 artists worldwide. Can you talk about stepping 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.640 out of the role as the musician and performer 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.900 and kind of going into this role as kind of bringing 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:40.059 up and fostering new up and coming talent? Well, 00:17:40.099 --> 00:17:42.380 we've always done that. Journeyman is basically 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:46.160 my career. applied to somebody else the vertical 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.359 integration of it all you do your own merch you 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:50.960 do your own records you do your own touring you 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:54.160 do your own marketing and you know we're doing 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:55.940 that with robert john in the rack and we're doing 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:58.099 it with joanne shaw taylor and it's been working 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:01.420 out you know things are happening and joanne 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:03.099 feels like she has the wind in her back you know 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:04.839 for the first time and that's that's a great 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:08.440 feeling she's really a super talented artist 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:10.140 and same thing with robert john on the rack you 00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:12.180 know that you put some marketing money into this 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:14.819 thing and And hopefully, you know, they get it 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:16.980 to the point where they can start popping good 00:18:16.980 --> 00:18:20.319 numbers on the road and self -sustaining, pay 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:23.019 for it all. And then, you know, make a profit 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:26.400 and build a career and a business. You know, 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:29.480 it's really a business building event. Not as 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.519 much as a situation where you can, you know, 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:36.160 you can't apply it to everyone, but it does apply 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:39.049 to more artists than you think. Because recently 00:18:39.049 --> 00:18:42.630 I did an episode with a female blues guitarist, 00:18:42.650 --> 00:18:45.509 Jax Hollow, on modern blues artists. And there 00:18:45.509 --> 00:18:48.990 are so many out there that are making a name 00:18:48.990 --> 00:18:51.230 for themselves. There is a blues scene out there 00:18:51.230 --> 00:18:54.029 that continues to thrive. And I'd like to know, 00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:56.710 do you have your eyes on other artists to maybe 00:18:56.710 --> 00:18:59.170 bring on to Journeyman moving forward? We're 00:18:59.170 --> 00:19:02.990 concentrating on two, you know, because when 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:05.609 we came up, when I came up, we had our entire 00:19:05.609 --> 00:19:08.509 mechanism was concentrated on one artist. And 00:19:08.509 --> 00:19:11.250 it was me. And it really does take a lot of people 00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:14.609 to do that, you know. And, you know, our office 00:19:14.609 --> 00:19:18.430 is 22 people. And we're bringing on more people 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:21.130 to run these things. And it just becomes, you 00:19:21.130 --> 00:19:24.170 know, we want to make sure that nobody falls 00:19:24.170 --> 00:19:28.430 through the cracks. So less is more. Well, Joe, 00:19:28.589 --> 00:19:31.210 this has been an absolute honor. Been a fan for 00:19:31.210 --> 00:19:33.769 so long. I love what you're doing out there. 00:19:33.930 --> 00:19:36.589 Thank you for keeping the blues alive. And thank 00:19:36.589 --> 00:19:39.069 you so much for joining me on My Weekly Mixtape. 00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:41.130 I appreciate it, man. Thanks for doing this. 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:43.950 And for those of you listening, I've created 00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:46.890 the ultimate Joe Bonamassa playlist, at least 00:19:46.890 --> 00:19:49.309 in my humble opinion, that you could listen to 00:19:49.309 --> 00:19:53.210 over at myweeklymixtape .com. And remember, you 00:19:53.210 --> 00:19:56.009 can also find My Weekly Mixtape on all the social 00:19:56.009 --> 00:19:59.589 media haunts at My Weekly Mixtape. You can also 00:19:59.589 --> 00:20:02.049 head to myweeklymixtape .com to check out the 00:20:02.049 --> 00:20:05.509 full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. And 00:20:05.509 --> 00:20:06.910 if you like what you're hearing on the show, 00:20:06.970 --> 00:20:08.809 you can help me out by either telling a friend, 00:20:09.029 --> 00:20:11.309 leaving the show a five -star review wherever 00:20:11.309 --> 00:20:15.029 you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper 00:20:15.029 --> 00:20:18.950 at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. 00:20:19.250 --> 00:20:21.589 That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening. 00:20:21.670 --> 00:20:24.049 And until next time, enjoy the tunes.