Hey everybody, this is Kevin Sonny Gullich from
Sonny and the Blues Grooves, and y 'all are listening
to My Weekly Mixtape with Brian Colbert. And
you know what? It's gonna be a whole lot of fun.
Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
On tonight's special album dive edition of the
show, I'm joined by Kenny Sonny Gulledge, whose
debut album, Go Be Free, drops next week via
Blind Pig Records. Sonny, thank you so much for
joining me on my weekly mixtape. Man, thank you
so much for having me, Brian. It really means
a lot. Well, I'd like to start by asking you
the same question I ask all my first -time guests,
and that is, what does the word mixtape mean
to you? Oh, man. Great question. You know, coming
from a backdrop of many, many genres of music,
that word is really packed, you know, like whether
we're talking about that classic, hey, I made
a mixtape for you when you meet somebody and
you make a little playlist of songs that you
want to express your feelings to and you have
a little bit of everything in it, a little country,
a little, you know, check yes or no mixed with.
A little bit of love, Kishko. There you go. You
have a whole bunch of everything. Or even if
you say it from a hip -hop aspect where you have
the word mixtape and that meant, hey, this is
my new stuff. This is what I'm putting into the
world and I want you to check it out. Back then
when it was actually a tape. It was everybody's
just raw demo. When I hear mixtape, I think this
is your raw emotion like the demos. where you're
expressing what you want to express to people.
Like the meaning of, I made you a mixtape. Love
it. Well, before we dive into the album, Go Be
Free, I'd like to talk about how you got here.
And I think a good place to start would be the
fact that your family surname was originally
Ledbetter, as in blues folk legend and Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Ledbelly Ledbetter.
I guess it's safe to say that blues runs in the
family genes. Man. So let's break it down all
the way back. You know, let's get back there.
Let's do it. I have a big family of musicians.
I mean, really big. And most of our history as
a family is passed out through the oral tradition.
We tell each other, hey, you had a cousin who
did this once. You had an uncle who was king.
You had a, that's what most people get. We on
the other hand, we're like, yeah. You had a great
uncle, a great, great, great uncle. Before there
was any gullage, you had a great, great uncle
who was a musician. That's what I always grew
up knowing. I had a great, great, great, great,
great uncle who was a musician. I had a lot of
music in the family. Music been our thing for
generations on generations. And, you know, church
and music went hand in hand for so long. So always
I was like, oh, another gospel musician in the
family. There's another gospel musician or a
bunch of gospel musicians. Another one. And then.
And about 2017, I want to say, my uncle goes,
oh, I'm playing at BB King's Blues Club. And
he goes, oh, see that face on the wall right
there? Yeah, you know where you related to him,
right? I look, and right there, it says Ledbetter.
And they're like, there's no way that this just
went over my head for that long. I said, yeah,
Gulledge, before there was Gulledge, the last
name was Ledbetter. Yeah, that's what we've done
for a long time. Yeah, that's it. That's how
I did it. Yeah. And then, you know, the more,
and I mean, it comes from a huge tradition of
music. My father's a bass player. He's actually
my bass player. But my father has 11 siblings.
Now, in gospel for a long time, when you said
the word quartet, that meant four or more performers.
So boys, six boys, six girls, boys had their
own gospel quartet. The girls had their own gospel
quartet. And before that, there was my grandmother.
who was a recording artist. And in 1965, she
recorded an album. And it was always known, yeah,
she used to record. And one day we found the
album. And in the liner notes, you saw Sister
Alberta Gulledge. And I go, I know who that is.
Right under it, Sammy Burfecht. So it was always
having a run of like, hey, musicians, not just
gospel, but blues musicians were always around
this family. And I never understood how it went
so hand in hand all the time. And then we find
out, hey, you go all the way back. There's a
name that you probably know named Leadbelly.
And I was like, Leadbelly Leadbetter? Yeah, you
know, his last name was Leadbetter. Yeah, that
used to be our last name. So it's just going
back and knowing that that's your tradition in
your family. And it goes all the way down and
all the way back. And now you're looking at me,
I guess, trying to carry on that side of the
tradition. Without knowing I was carrying on
that side of the tradition. How did growing up
with music throughout your family and in your
family lineage strengthen your love of all kinds
of music growing up? We weren't encouraged to
just listen to just anything in my house. We
were encouraged to listen to everything. There's
a big difference. Yes, there is. You know, anything
is saying, hey. Whatever comes on the radio is
just as important as listening to something that
might be detrimental to you becoming a musician.
So I was growing up listening to so much gospel
music and so many gospel artists. And at the
same time, my dad was playing for blues musicians
like Vashti Jackson, Henry Butler. I was around
him as a kid. So we'd be encouraged to say, hey,
check this out. Hey, check this out. And you
might hear it, especially in New Orleans, you
know, where New Orleans is a big melting pot
of all humans. You'd hear a little bit of everything.
I'd hear my dad up at 12 a .m. practicing Henry
Butler's Henry's Boogie. And then I'd hear my
dad up at 7 in the morning practicing some blues
for Vashti Jackson. And then I'd wake up and
I'd hear my brother was in the next room over.
blasting at some hip hop song that he found.
And he was like, yeah, this is really cool. And
then I'd hear country music all growing up in
South Louisiana. And I come from a small town
on the outskirts of New Orleans called Luling.
And in Luling, I call it the perfect center because
on one side, 45 minutes to the east, you'll find
New Orleans, Louisiana. And when you find New
Orleans, you know what you're getting. You're
getting that hip hop. You're getting that army.
You're getting that gospel. You're getting that
all that. But 45 minutes in the opposite direction,
you find the swamp pop, as I'll call it. You
get swamp pop. You get Zydeco. You get traditional
Cajun music. Yes. And having that with a family
full of musicians, you were always pulled in
so many different directions to check out this,
check out this, check out this, check out this.
And even sometimes in the silence. Between all
of these things, you heard new things that were
just important to check out. You know, a lot
of the way I even write comes from just sitting
back and listening to absolutely nothing. So
you were encouraged to listen to everything,
not anything. Because anybody can hear anything,
but not everyone can hear everything. Amazing.
Now, we're going to fast forward a little bit
here. You're out. You're on the road. You're
doing your thing. I'm going to fast forward to
2020 because you're out and about. You and the
Blues Groovers have an artist residency at BB
King's in New Orleans, and then the pandemic
hits. Now, a lot of people went in different
directions with the pandemic, but you went in
the direction of American Idol season 20 of all
places. As the first person who has been on my
weekly mixtape that has had experience in the
AI machine, and by AI, I mean American Idol,
I'd love to know what that experience was like
for you from the inside looking out. You learn
a lot. That's the first thing I can say. You
learn a whole new world of, not to be corny,
but a whole new world of... musicians and a whole
new world of music. And the world as you grow
up being a musician from the time of your child,
a lot of us. But that level of professionalism
is not commonly expected or experienced. So when
I got to American Idol, I looked around and saw,
see in the audition, one audition I saw over
a hundred other people who were just great and
did what I did with the same passion that I did.
Past my audition, I saw 74 other people who were
doing it to the level that I was trying to do
as well. People who had that drive and passion
that all the other people who didn't make it
didn't quite have established yet. And then you
were expected things. You were expected to wake
up at 6 in the morning to be downstairs in the
lobby for 7 in the morning to be at the Orpheum
Theater for 7 .30. You were expected to have
your clothes pressed, and you might end up wearing
the same outfit three days in a row because of
selling. But the truth is, you were expected
to have that outfit looking the same every single
one of those days. And you were running on schedule.
You were always go, go, go, go, go. And you needed
to know what you said you were going to know.
There's so many levels of professionalism that
a lot of people never get to see, and they're
never expected to even know. So seeing the other
side of that, I always thought of myself as professional
as like, you know, all those top level. I'm a
high functioning professional. You know, I always
thought that when I realized I was like, wow,
there's a level of professionalism that I'm trying
to get used to at this point. And even having
the chance to sing in front of Lionel Richie,
Luke Bryan and Katy Perry, that was a whole experience
in itself. Sing in front of them. You got to
perform with them. Man, they were just, oh my
gosh. I saw Katy Perry sing without any effects
for the first time ever. And I tell everyone,
she is like a female Steven Tyler with how free
she is in her voice. And Lionel Richie. I'm not
sure how old he is, and I'm not going to even
disrespect him to try to guess it. But he is
an older fellow who still sings with that push
that most young people are trying to reach still.
And Luke Bryan, I was thoroughly surprised just
how talented he is, not just in singing, but
he also plays piano. He plays guitar. And, you
know, you learn these things about people. And
these are the things you think, hey. Why isn't
this what is selling? Why isn't this what people
are putting out there for others to see? And
you're just like, wow, that means that there's
another level of professionalism that I still
don't. And funny enough, I learned about that
level of professionalism while trying to work
on the album Go Be Free. Well, did your experience
on American Idol? lead you to the folks at Blind
Pig for this album? How did that connection come
together? Actually, it came from touring. Well,
after American Idol, a lot happened. I accidentally
got a Hammond endorsement, which was hilarious.
That's a good endorsement to have. I'm a Hammond
artist, and I set my Melodion on top of the piano
during my audition, and in big, bold red letters,
you see, Hammond Melodian HP -2. And on the Monday
after my audition, they called me and said, hey,
we want you to be a Hammond artist. We want you
to be part of our family. And then they looked
at clips of me and saw my organ player, Brandon
Adams from Blues Groovers. And they go, hey,
we want him too. Nice. Two in one. So, so much
had happened. I got a Hammond endorsement. I
released my first independent album entitled
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed
Blues, which led to my first distribution deal
with Basin Street Records out of New Orleans,
Louisiana. And after that, I'd gotten some pretty
good reviews from that. And I ended up touring.
I went to Austria. I went to Brazil. I went to
Austria again. And next, you know, someone calls
and says, hey, we want you to do a summer tour
next year. At this point, it's 2020. I want to
say 2023. And they say, hey, we want you to do
a summer tour this year. OK, we'll do it. We
did 13 cities in 15 days. Wow. And most of the
time of the tour was spent in the van, of course,
because we were driving all over. And I think
we did Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Germany, Austria,
and Belgium. And they, but we were, we were like,
we'd get off the stage, pack up and we'd be gone.
Try to make a 13 hour drive into a seven hour
drive. So one of these shows that I think. If
I'm not mistaken, it was the Grosche Blues Festival
in Skopje, Germany. And a man named Bernard saw
our show. And he calls his friend, the Eleanor
of Blind Pig, Jeff. He calls Jeff Schrader and
goes, hey, there's this young guy that you got
to see. There's this young guy you got to check
out. And I know you're bringing Blind Pig back.
Why don't you check him out? He might be a great
artist. So after we did a 13 city tour, I get
another phone call and I think this speaks to
how random life can be. I get another phone call
and they go, hey, we're revamping Blind Pig and
we want you to be one of our first artists back.
Now that call was such an honor because when
we were first releasing Something Old, Something
New, Something Borrowed Blues, we were looking
for a label to partner with. Blind Pig, at the
time, Blind Pig was like, hey, we're not up and
running right now. And I understood, you know,
that happens sometimes, especially in the economy
of music. That happened. So to hear years later,
hey, this is Blind Pig. My name is Jeff Schradel
with Blind Pig. And we want you to be one of
our first artists back. That hit me like a truck.
I couldn't describe how not ready for that I
was. Because I was just taken aback. So that's
how I got connected with Blind Pig Records, actually.
Well, Go Be Free drops August 23rd on Blind Pig
Records. So let's dive into the album. And because
I'm a sucker for album opening tracks, we're
going to kick things off tonight with the album
opener, Just Kiss Me, Baby. Shakin' bacon down
the street It's good to feel you next to me Music
blastin' down on the bill And later on when things
get real I want you to come on over here and
sue me, baby When you smile like that it drives
me crazy Just kiss me, baby This song is funky,
soulful, and just an all -around fun way to kick
things off. The band sounds absolutely locked
in. Is this the Blues Groovers playing on the
album? I'm going to be honest. No, it's not.
Really? And I'll explain that, actually. let's
talk about just kiss me baby i love i love it
love it love it so this song came to be this
is the one song i think that was written completely
from scratch as in here's a blank piece of paper
let's come up at first it was hey kevin for this
album bring in some ideas i'll bring it and let's
see what we get this is the one that was a blank
piece of paper in the middle of the writing and
tom hambridge who co -wrote with me on this album
and produced on this album as well as played
drums on this album he She said simple words
that every young musician, especially from New
Orleans, loves to hear. Hey, Kevin, could you
play something funky for me? And I go, sure.
He has this whirly. He goes, here, just play
it on this. And I just go, all right. And he
goes, yeah, yeah. And I'm thinking like something
like shaking bacon down the street. Riding, but
we were riding. It's such synchrony that like
everything was just bouncing off the walls. The
energy was just everywhere. So it was always
it was about saying, hey, let's write something
that feels good. Let's talk about it. And it
went shaking, breaking down the street. Good
to be next to me. Music blushing down on me.
It laid on when things get real. And it was just
so natural that we were just like almost joking
with how we were writing it. Just like, hey,
what would you say? Come on over here and soothe
me, baby. And when you smile like that, it drives
me crazy. Just kiss me, baby. It became such,
it was just like a fun time writing. So we tried
to capture all the energy we had writing that
song and put it into recording it. And when we
got there into the session, it wasn't the Blues
Groovers. The Blues Groovers are, well, it's
a group of some of the baddest musicians you'll
find in my opinion. But if you're recording an
album in Nashville, you have access to guys who
make albums, guys who do Nashville sessions,
you know. So I walk in a room full of Nashville
musicians. And all of these guys, they hear the
track, just the sample track and go, oh, OK.
And they make it come to life. Now, that's something
that you can't always do with with guys who even
perform as much as the Blues Groovers and I.
When we perform together, every single time,
it's always just right on it, right into it.
But in a studio session, you want things to be
as crisp, as real as you can get it. Raw, but
real. And these guys, Rob Churitone, Tommy Mac,
Kenny Greenberg, Kevin McKendry, and Tom Hambridge.
They came in and they made this track sound.
They helped it come alive. Because writing it
and playing it, we can do that all day. Making
it say, hey, this is a real living, breathing
thing. Listen to it. That's something that, yeah,
it does take more guys to do sometimes. So that
was a whole nother experience that just was new
to me. And what I love about. this song is it
truly feels like you're sitting in a room in
a circle, jamming it out and playing it and having
fun live. Even during the breaks where you blow
the kiss, it feels like it's being done very
improv and on the fly. And it really gives that
song this, Hey, this is happening as you're listening.
It's a very live environment on this track. A
lot of that actually was very, what is it? We
recorded live. It was like, it was, most of these
songs were done in, in max two tapes. Wow. And
it was like, we'd be singing or I'd be singing.
And then I'd do something like. And we'd look
at each other and crank up and then crank right
back into it. So, so yeah, that was, it was very
much a, Hey, let's jam on this, but make it,
make it, you know. A studio quality jam. A record
jam, you know? And that it certainly is. And
the next song I want to highlight on the album
is the title track and lead single from the album,
Go Be Free. My daddy said, go be free. I remember
back in school, was no fan of the schoolhouse
rules. Teacher asked me, what do I want to be?
I said, well, at 3 .30, honey, I'll be free.
He said, go be free. Now you talked about your
grandmother's roots in gospel music. And I feel
that shining through on this track. I mean, lyrically,
the last verse really struck me. I heard a band
marching down the street. Carrying a casket and
a green pine wreath. They weren't crying, saying
rest in peace. Just heard a choir singing, go
be free. I'm getting the hair on my arm standing
up just saying it. There's a musical concoction
in this track that to me is a perfect mix of
soul, gospel, and blues. And it's so delicately
balanced in this song. Is that something that...
you're thinking about when you're writing or
is that just all of the music that you grew up
with kind of coming through as who you are musically
that's exactly honestly that's the best way you
can put it it's all of the music that i grew
up coming into this this symphony of how can
i put this the symphony of reaching a point that's
the best way i can say this symphony of reaching
accomplishment, reaching where you want to go.
Not saying that you've made it there, but saying
reaching as in like, hey, I'm walking in the
right direction. Because it started off with,
when I first started writing it, it started off
with just guitar. And I thought, I want to play
something real gospel, which is where the main
line that just straight, just that almost shout
chorus. And when you got a shout, You want to
put your hands together. You want to go like
this all the time. And then it went into, now
this is gospel, but the way I'll sing it, I want
it to sound real bluesy. I want it to have that
blues edge. So I remember back when that sound,
that real pinch, but it's sticking at you. And
then I had to put that rock influence that I
grew up with. Don't go. And have that choir in
the background at the same time. So when all
those together, you end up with something that's
a mixture of all the little elements that create
who you are. And that's how I do go into a lot
of writing. I go into it with just like, hey,
who am I? Where do I come from? What am I doing?
And that's actually the purpose of Go Be Free.
It's to show people, hey, this is who I am. This
is where I come from. So it's giving a sneak
peek for a lot of people into not just who Sonny
is, but also who's Kevin, you know, who's Kevin
Sonny Gullich, not just who's Sonny Gullich.
Well, as I'm listening to the album, I'm hearing
that story because there's moments where I'm
sitting there going, wow, I'm feeling some dirty
swamp rock here. And then a few minutes later,
I'm going. Ooh, this is getting bluesy. We're
getting dirty here. And then a few minutes later,
it's soulful and it's got that gospel touch and
all these different genres coming together in
this melting pot, if you will. But then you like
to throw in a little bit of the funk things.
I can't control. to this life Red, brown, black
and white As someone who personally struggles
on and off with anxiety, I feel like this is
the kind of song that I need to hear every now
and then, because the message in the lyrics,
such as the world outside could be so cold, but
I got music in my soul. I don't think there's
a lyric on this album that I identified personally
more with than that one. Lyrically, I have to
say, on songs like Go Be Free and Things I Can't
Control, these are very positive, uplifting,
and affirming lyrics, which are usually not the
three words someone would use to describe a blues
album lyrically. Can you talk about the message
in your lyrics overall and what you'd like listeners
to maybe take away from them? Yeah. You know,
I grew up listening to a lot of blues, like a
lot of blues. And one of those people that I
listened to, and I feel like everyone at some
point listened to, was B .B. Chang. Yeah. B .B.
had so many different styles when he was writing.
And when you look at certain songs, you're like,
man, this is real sad. This is the blues. How
blue can you get? Yeah. Yeah. I bought you a
three -course dinner. You said, thanks for the
snack. You know, that kind of, that's what a
lot of people think of when they hear blue, the
word blues. They think of the emotion of blue.
Blues is sad. Blues is, but then you also look
at other B .B. King tracks. Like, I'm so excited.
I got fire in my, you know, that, that real happy.
take it home way down south there's a cool stream
running in the night i can feel my heart turning
feel someday i like to come back to the place
i started from take it home that's happy for
upflips that's inspiring and you know everyone
identifies with the blues different a lot of
people identify with the blues into that that
you're talking about how how your car got stolen
on monday and and wednesday things just didn't
go right neither And that's all well and good,
but the blues isn't about one feeling. The blues
is about all feelings. The blues is about all
you like. All the, you know, a blues song could
be a love song. A blues song can be a sad song.
A blues song can be a mad song. A blues song
could be a happy song. But the blues is just
the expression of feeling. So when I was writing
what I write, it's just, let's express it. Let's
put it out there. And, you know, even when you
look at Just Kiss Me Baby, that's one thing.
But when you look at Worried About the Young
or Tattooed Wings, it's like, whoa, these are
that blues that you think, oh, the blues. But
it's all blues. It's all the feeling. Well, I
first want to ask if you're looking at my notes,
because you actually just rattled off the next
two songs we're going to talk about. But I'm
going to put a pin in that for a second. Because
you mentioned B .B. King, I've actually told
this story one other time on the show. When I
started in radio back in 2000, I was talking
with my boss, and I'm carrying a large stack
of reel -to -reel tapes to one of the studios.
And it's stacked right up to the tip of my nose,
and she's telling me what she needs me to do
with them, and I'm walking backwards listening
to her. And next thing I hear is, whoa, whoa,
whoa, and I get a hand on my shoulder. And I
turn around, and B .B. King is standing there
holding Lucille in his hand. And he's going to
one of the other studios. And I'm like. Mr. King
is literally the tapes are covering my face.
So you can't see my jaw on the ground. And I'm
like, Mr. King, I am so, so sorry, sir. And I
turned, I said, Lucille, my sincerest apologies.
And BB King looked at me and he said, you could
knock me down and I'll get right back up. But
Lucille doesn't know how to take a fall. And
I literally said, I backed up and I said, after
you, sir. And I let him walk by and. That 15
seconds was my brush with the great one. So I
had to talk about that when you brought up B
.B. King. I'm not going to lie to you. Those
15 seconds mean so much. And I think people don't
get that because it's such a little peek into
what you're going to do one day. It's such a
those little moments matter. I was behind Eric
Gales at the opening B .B. King's New Orleans.
And back then I was in high school playing jazz
music. And I'm standing next to Eric Gales, didn't
even know. Just saw some guy wearing a nice red
tracksuit, wearing some chains, wearing a goatee.
And he looked all nice enough, you know. And
I was like, oh, wow, just another guy. And then
I get home and my dad's watching it because it
went all night long. He goes, man, and they even
got Eric out there. I was like, what? He's like,
yeah, Eric Gales. Pulls me over. I was like,
oh, I was standing behind him. You know, it's
those little 15 -second moments mean so much
in life. It's great to hold on to those things.
Those little brushes with greatness are just
peeks into what the next thing might be sometimes.
Because I didn't know I was going to be playing
blues. I was at the opening of BB King's Blues
Club in New Orleans and standing next to Eric
Gales and didn't even know I was going to play
blues one day. So those matters. And here you
are doing it. And I want to remind people now,
listeners that don't know. Kevin or Sonny is
25 years old. Am I correct? Yes, sir. Okay. So
the maturity that you're hearing on these songs,
both musically and lyrically, give me hope for
the future of music, especially when a 25 year
old is writing a song like worried about the
young. Kids are starting out already deep in
debt. Can't find a decent job. They take what
they can get. I'm worried about the young when
I see what's going on. The way this world is
turning might not be alone. This track features
Kristone Kingfish Ingram, who brings his amazing
guitar style and tone to this track. Can you
talk about how this collaboration came together
and what it was like working with him? It was
said while we were writing it. Four people were
in the room while we were writing it. I was in
the room. My father was in the room. Tom Hambridge
was in the room. And Rich Fleming was in the
room. And we were writing this song and it was
just speaking, you know, it was speaking even
from the page, it was speaking. And the question
you get is, you know, with an album like this
or a label like this, they're looking for features.
They're trying to figure out who's going to be
a feature. And the whole time thought was with
a song like this, there are a few names in young
blues right now that are really doing stuff.
There's Ally Venable. There's Dylan Triplett.
There's DK Harrell. And we can keep going because,
I mean, I have lots and lots of favorites. Marcus
King. Oh, that guy. We actually have an entire
episode of My Weekly Mixtape dedicated to blues
rock with Jax Hollow, who's another amazing player.
Highly recommend checking that episode out if
you're a blues fan listening. And if you're listening,
I'm going to check it out. So I think everyone
should. When you're thinking, okay, we're trying
to see where our future is going to sit. And
then you have a song about young people. Well,
you think, okay, we have a great deal of young
names in blues right now. And one of the biggest
is Kingfish. And when you hear Kingfish's voice,
when you hear Kingfish's playing, you hear all
the emotion that's in it. You hear all the emphasis.
And when I was playing it, I was just like, man.
Know who would have a burning solo in a song
like this where you're expressing your concern,
you're expressing your emotion. Chris Stone,
Kingfish Ingram. Now, Tom Hambridge works with
Chris Stone, Kingfish Ingram, a good deal. And
Rich Fleming as well. And I'm sitting there thinking,
wow, they work with Kingfish. Possibly, maybe
Kingfish could be on the album on Word About
the Young. And that moment, it became just like
the dream. This is the dream. For me, it was
like, this is the dream. Good scenario. This
is the great case scenario. Kingfish gets all
worried about the young. And we started throwing
little hints. And by little hints, I mean, we
start blatantly saying, hey, you know who will
be breaking off this song? But you don't want
to seem very, you know, hey, put Kingfish on.
No. So Kingfish would be great for this song
because it's about being young and it's about
voicing. the issues we see as young people. The
thing that a lot of older people, and where we're
from, we say grown people, don't necessarily
think we think about. We have that live free
thing, but hey, it's hard to have a live free
thing and a worry free thing and have that immortal,
the idea that we're all immortal. And it's hard
to have that when you know what's going on, when
you're aware of what's going. So to communicate
that by myself, would be one thing. But to communicate
that with someone who's just as in touch with
what that means, that's where Kingfish came in.
To be able to say, hey, if you don't take it
from me, take it from this guy. Take it from
this guy as well. For him to even come and be
on my debut album like that meant so much to
me. Because we couldn't link up in the studio.
His schedule, was so busy. We were recording
this around the same time as Fender's Strat Month
series, the Strat series month. And all those
festivals were also happening, jazz festivals
happening. Just everything was happening all
at once. Buddy Guy, his farewell tour has also
been happening. So it was hard to link a schedule
of, hey, we're going to be recording in Nashville
at this time while Kingfish is in Chicago or
Milwaukee or something like that playing somewhere
else. But back in Mississippi, it was hard to
like that. So what ended up happening, saying,
hey, we're just going to put trust in this. We're
going to trust that Crystal King Fishing Room
is going to record this. And sure enough, there
were times where it was getting sort of scary
and like, oh, no, are we waiting too long? Are
we? But then it went back to saying, hey, trust
that this is going to happen. Leave it in God's
hands. Just hope and pray for the best. And next
thing you know, we get an email that says, yeah,
Kingfish is going to record on it. He's going
to do it. And we're like, yes, perfect. And one
night I'm in bed and trusting still. Okay, nice,
nice. And I go on Tom Hambridge's Instagram and
I see sitting with Kingfish just recorded in
New Orleans. Can't wait for this. And I'm going
to go. My face is just, my mind's blown. My face
is, like you said, jaw floor. So I'm just, whoa,
this just happened. I run to my dad, I'm down.
Kingfish just recorded. And he just recorded
the, I think he just recorded Word About The
Young. And next thing you know, we get another
email that says, here's Kingfish's cut of Word
About The Young. Tell me how you like it. It
was amazing. And I'll say this anytime I get
a chance to. Chris Stone, Kingfisher, man, thank
you so much for even recording on this album.
It really means a lot to me. And thank you for
recording on a song that means so much to me.
And I hope it means so much to everyone else.
It certainly does. It's an amazing track, a great
collaboration. And he killed it. He slayed the
song. so to pivot from that i want to talk about
a song that you personally slayed on my friend
and that track is tattooed wings i thought you
were an angel looks like i was wrong about that
i thought you were an angel I was wrong about
that And I should have seen it coming With the
tattooed wings on your back We've talked a lot
about your vocals and your lyrics. throughout
this episode. But I want to talk about the piano
for a moment because between the nuanced fills
that you were playing throughout the verse as
you're singing and then transitioning into the
song's piano solo, I was absolutely hypnotized
by this track. Play it now. Good God. Can you
talk about your piano background? Because while
this is a blues number, I hear hints of jazz
in some of the runs and fills you're incorporating
in the song. And to me, it's, again, all part
of that musical stew of genres coming together
in your music. Well, you got to accept your help
from everyone. That's the truth. I mean, I'm
from New Orleans. And I grew up around great
pianists. Henry Butler, DeVille Crawford. My
dad played for Dr. John. My dad's like, I grew
up around great pianists. And then I went to
Noken. I had the same exact teacher as John Batista.
I had Michael Pallera teach me. And I had so
many others, Matt Lindler and so many more. And
then you get to Nashville, you think you're all
ready to move forward. And then someone says,
hey, check this out. That's where Kevin McKendrick
comes in. with just saying hey check this out
just sometimes you just gotta learn you gotta
learn even more when you get there you gotta
you gotta check out somebody and see exactly
how great they are so that they can teach you
how to do so i can't i can't even take i can't
take that kind of credit for it and kevin mckendry
is the is the man and really put some work behind
you know i'm because my natural sound i'm a heavy
-handed blues pianist from the south man And
to see and learn how to be that airy and how
to how to put spills like that in there. Man,
that's that's where you really got to you got
to give it credit. You know, that's where you
got to say, man, sometimes you think you got
it. You just don't got it yet. Now you got to
check it out and learn so that you can get it.
So, yeah, I mean, it's an accumulation. I think
the word is this an accumulation of all of the
pieces and then some even. Well, I also want
to give a personal hat tip to Tom Hambridge's
production on the album, because the mix on the
album is so immersive. There's moments where
I hear your. organ in my left ear and the guitarist
in my right ear when you're listening on a good
set of headphones the band is truly encircling
you musically and i think that is a very unique
production style for blues music because blues
is very much kind of meant like older blues albums
if you think about all the way back it was always
kind of front center in your face everybody playing
at once This opens up a soundscape that I think
is just very encapsulating as a listen. When
I, and I'll say, I'll be very clear about it.
When I first heard it, that was the very thing
that sort of put me in a place where I was like,
man, this is a new sound to me. When it comes
to blues, like you said, you're so used to, all
right, here's the blues, everything. Everything's
just there. And then it was Gobi Free that sort
of spelled it out to me. go be free and uh hot
house those songs were i knew i wrote them but
at the same time i started hearing hearing the
placement of my story those songs that are very
descriptive and they're writing it and very then
i started hearing each part of it where it's
like i hear one side of the story then another
side of the story and then another aspect and
a little aspect here and a little aspect there
and that I thought that was just amazing. And
I mean, Tom Hambridge, I don't know how he thought
to do it or how he just said, OK, this is how
it's going to sound. But he made the album like
and I keep emphasizing he made it alive. And
that's the I think that's the hardest thing.
A lot of people put out music to put out music
and it's not alive. It's just, hey, here's something
I can put on tape. But Tom Hambridge did a special,
a special. And like you said, tip that. He did
a special tip and say, I want this to be somewhere
that you're stepping into. And that's the magic
of it, if I'm going to be honest. Absolutely
succeeded at that. And being you mentioned Hot
House, let's take a moment to hear a sneak peek
of that. By judgment day, tell the hot house
that I'm on my way. Burn down, burn down, burn
down, burn down to burn it. Burn down, burn down,
burn down the hot house. South of New Orleans
where the blues runs free. The sky's on fire,
you can barely breathe. When nightfall comes,
the daylight fades. The hot house. Now, from
the first moment of inspiration to the finished
album, Go Be Free, was there a lesson you learned
making this album that you'll take with you throughout
your continuing career? Yes. And it was something
that I already knew and I already told a lot
of people. But seeing it play out, even for me,
was gigantic. There is a world of musicians between
where you currently are and the place you say
you want to be. That was the big, big takeaway.
It's not that you're not close to going where
you want to go, but there are so many more people
who are going to help you and help you learn
along the way. And you might not know their names,
but you might have heard them a billion and one
times, never even knew. Bigger names. I mean,
bigger names than me. They've played for people
like Hank and Anthony Hamilton and Chris Stapleton
and Buddy Guy. But where you might not have thought,
okay, there are these people between me and where
I say I want to be. There are. And for every
one of them that you meet, there's about 20 more
that you don't know. You don't even know they
exist. But they might be the very ones who help
you create. your first album that's on a major
record label. They might be the ones that get
you to say, okay, I need to lock in even harder
in piano. I need to train harder as a guitarist
as well. And I mean, that was a humbling experience.
And if you don't go into experiences with humility,
that's going to be a big shocker. There was a
moment in one of the songs where I thought, I
was ready to tackle another solo. You know, I
was like, all right, I feel good about this.
Let me try this now. And I got in there and played
very heavy hit and very, very New Orleans live
style. Live is great. Live, that's exactly what
people want to hear on a record. That can make
the difference between a record sounding real
and a record sounding too perfect. You know,
now that's where I came back in the booth and
I looked at my dad and said, that was humiliating.
And I told him, I said, my dad understood what
I meant, but everyone else in the room was sort
of taken aback by what I said because they were
like, no, that was great. I'm like, no, that
was humiliating. And my dad knew it. I believe
there are three words that describe the same
thing. Humiliation. Embarrassment. And being
humble are three that are all synonyms. But the
truth is, in embarrassment, you didn't learn
any lessons from what you just did. If you say,
this embarrassed me, you didn't learn anything.
But when you're humiliated, that's showing, hey,
not that you're not good. It's showing, hey,
there's still more you have to go through to
be there, to be there. You're not. Just because
you're in the room with five to six great artists
and great engineers and everything, that doesn't
mean that you're there yet. And then mix that
with saying, okay, I understand that these guys
are just, they've been doing it for years and
years and years. They're better at this right
now. One day I'll be there. Well, that's called
being humble. And that's saying, okay, the lesson
I learned from being humiliated, I'm holding.
And I'm taking that with me everywhere I go,
you know, and that's I think any time I can tell
people about an experience that humbled me, you
know, anytime I can do that, that's saying, hey,
that's the lesson I took away. So, yep, if I
can say if there's any lesson I took away, it
was, hey, just because you're in the room with
these greats doesn't mean that you're there.
Don't stop. Don't even get close to the thing
that you are. Because you have a million miles
to go before you get there. And a million people
to meet all the way. So yeah, that's what I learned.
Absolutely profound. Go Be Free is available
via Blind Pig Records, which I'll make sure is
also linked up on the episode page at myweeklymixtape
.com. So you could pick up a copy on CD or vinyl.
You can also stream it wherever you're streaming
music. Sonny, it has been an absolute pleasure
talking music with you tonight. And I can't wait
to catch the band next time you run through New
Jersey on one of your tours. Amen. Thank you
so much, Mr. Bryan. And also, thank you all the
listeners for listening to My Weekly Mixtape.
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