From the heart of the blues
David Gogo’s latest album was inspired by a pilgrimage to the Deep South
David Gogo has always been fascinated by the Deep South, birthplace of the blues, but the B.C. bluesman had never spent much time there until he embarked on a pilgrimage of sorts last year.
“As much as I’ve spent my life listening to music that comes out of there and reading books about the area,” he said in a recent phone interview from his home in Nanaimo, B.C., “there’s something about being there and actually meeting the people and eating the food and breathing the air and driving down the roads that’s really inspiring.”
On a break from touring last fall, Gogo and his wife drove the Mississippi Blues Trail, a route that stretches from Southern Mississippi to Memphis, Tenn., with markers along the way to identify locations that are significant in the development of blues, such as the site of Muddy Waters’ cabin and the town of Rosedale, where Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads.
Travelling through Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama, Gogo was able to check a few items off his bucket list, including pouring bourbon on Robert Johnson’s grave, jamming with the locals in Clarksdale juke joints and visiting legendary studios such as Fame, Sun and Stax. The adventure also inspired a handful of songs on his 14th and latest album, Come On Down, including the haunting title track.
Recorded in Nanaimo, the album is rounded out with tastefully bluesy interpretations of songs by classic and contemporary artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Ray Charles, Robert Palmer and the Atlanta Rhythm Section, each track highlighting Gogo’s evocative guitar work and soulful vocals.
The album that was inspired by a trip follows an album inspired by home for the 44-year-old Juno nominee. Gogo’s previous outing is his 2012 Christmas album, a toast to the season that guides the family business. Gogo lives on a Christmas tree farm that’s been in his family for a couple of decades. Growing up there instilled a certain appreciation for the festive season.
“There are two months of the year I have to stop shooting rifles off the porch and peeing outside but besides that, it’s cool,” Gogo quips.
Still, when his record company suggested a seasonal release, Gogo recoiled at the notion.
“Then I thought about it, and realized it doesn’t have to be sucky,” he says with a laugh. “I started sifting through the Christmas blues tunes and found some really great ones, and I managed to write a couple as well.”
Let’s Get a Real Tree is one of the originals on the disc, all of it recorded in a mostly acoustic style, accompanied by an impressive roster of musical friends, including talented players such as David Vest and Phil Dwyer.
“I joke that it’s my first real blues album,” says the guitarist, who has a tendency to rev up the blues with his fiery playing. “It wasn’t something that I would ever picture myself doing, but it was fun and turned out really good.”
In other Gogo news, the musician was thrilled to learn that one of his musical heroes, blues legend Buddy Guy, recently recorded a song that Gogo co-wrote but never released. Another song, 2009’s Where the Devil Won’t Go, was selected as the theme song for Dangerous Flights, a Discovery Channel reality series about pilots.
Gogo is also nominated for a pair of Maple Blues Awards, with the prizes to be handed out Jan. 20 in Toronto, and is hoping to hit the festival circuit next summer. Key to maintaining a career in music, he says, is looking ahead and making the most of social media.
“There’s no relying on waking up Monday morning and punching the clock,” says the hard-working dad. “You have to be forward-thinking and constantly thinking about the future to book things. Keep it up and it’s consistent.
“It’s a challenge, but with the World Wide Web, there’s no longer an agent who holds the secret black book to where all the gigs are. And social media has been huge. If you can keep people interested in your page, it really helps. I try to keep it funny, keep it interesting, so people keep coming back.” (Check it out: davidgogo.com)