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It‘s about a feeling he had when he saw blues legend John Lee Hooker at the Commodore in Vancouver when he was only 17. And when you hear the song Power of the Blues, you know those emotions are still alive and well. “I‘d just worked a 24-hour shift and was falling asleep on my chair,” he said. “But when Hooker got up on stage, it was like a lightning bolt; he made us get up out of our chairs and dance, and we had no power . . . he was like a witch doctor. “Now that‘s the power of the blues.” Power of the Blues is one of 12 tracks on Doucette‘s second studio CD, Blowin‘ Through Town. Recorded this past Easter, it features his gravel vocals and down-and-dirty harp playing front and centre. He is joined on the release by a band consisting of longtime bass player Grant Jones and studio ace Duris Maxwell of Vancouver on drums. Rick ‘Poppa Dawg‘ Halisheff, from his live outfit TANKful of Blues, adds some stinging guitar tracks, with Jim Guiboche also contributing on guitar. It‘s blues all the way, make no mistake about it, and to celebrate the CD, Doucette is holding a CD release party at the Blackbox Theatre in Kelowna on Thursday. Blowin‘ Through Town‘s tracks are all originals, written over the past few years. “I usually get a lyrical hook,” he said. “A great song is catchy, something you can remember, and once you get that, the rest falls into place.” The CD covers styles ranging from the gospel blues of Love Will Shine to the blue country of New Sheriff through to the swing of Gator Stew (written about a certain local blues haunt), to the hard edge of Cold Steel and the big-band swing stylings of the title track. The latter showcases the melodic playing of Halisheff. As a bonus, Blowin‘ Through Town also includes the track Blues for Christmas, written, naturally enough, about that festive time of year. The CD is available at the release party, as well as at Beadiful Arts and at Wentworth Music. Sherman “Tank” Doucette got his nickname the hard way – he earned it, and by the skin of his teeth, too. At the age of 23, while employed in a Prince George mill, Doucette was working in small paint shack when there was an accident. “I was inside this building with 200-gallon drums of paint, when suddenly the whole thing exploded,” he said. Lucky to survive at all, he spent more than six months in a Vancouver hospital burn unit recovering, but he gained from the experience. “The road was clear from then on and there was no compromise,” he said. For Doucette, that road led straight to the blues. Originally from North Battleford, SK, he grew up in a musical household – a grandfather played fiddle and harmonica – and embraced his Metis heritage. Part French Canadian and part aboriginal Cree, Doucette picked up the harmonica at an early age and knew immediately that‘s what he wanted to play. “You don‘t pick the harmonica . . . it picks you,” he said. Influenced early on by the deep blues of harmonica masters Sonny Boy Williamson II, Little Walter and George ‘Harmonica‘ Smith, he has spent 40-plus years steeped in the blues. He has become a regular on the blues scene in town since relocating to Kelowna from Vancouver in 1999. Besides playing the instrument, Doucette is also a student of the harmonica and a collector. He maintains what he calls ‘Harp Town‘ upstairs at his home. A museum of everything harmonica, he has amassed a collection numbering between 600 and 700 of the instruments, in all manner of keys and styles, some dating back as far back as 1910. But as far as playing the tiny palm-sized ‘harp‘, Doucette has learned well from the masters and his gritty playing speaks as well as any vocal can. Perhaps when all is said and done, that‘s also one of the raw secrets of the blues and the key to it‘s staying power – that‘s it‘s not so much about what you say, but how you say it. “The songs are stories about my life,” he said. “A lot of people don‘t know how to get to their emotions, but I say get all that bad stuff out.” What: Sherman Doucette CD release party for Blowin‘ Through Town Where: The Blackbox Theatre, behind the Kelowna Community Theatre, facing the back of the RCMP police station When: Thursday, June 25, doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Tickets: $15, available in advance at Beadiful Arts, 510 West Ave., and at the door Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 2:48 pm |