Strongman has no need for a day job
Musician from Kitchener up for Juno Award
Among the many distinctive qualities embodied by Kitchenerborn blues artist Steve Strongman, one of the most notable is that in a shrinking market of musical niches, he’s never had to take a day job.
“I’ve had no back-up jobs at all,” confides the singer/guitarist whose latest album, “No Time Like Now,” is nominated for Blues Album of the Year at Sunday’s Juno Awards.
“Most people would assume you need a second job or a backup job, but this is all I’ve ever done. I started playing guitar at 10 and went on tour right out of high school.’’ Strongman was lucky. Growing up in Kitchener, where he attended St. Mary’s High School, he had access to one of Southern Ontario’s prime blues joints, Pop the Gator, the Queen Street club run by local blues impresario Glenn Smith.
“Glenn was friends with my friend’s mom, who invited me down,” notes Strongman, who recalls sneaking in through the fire escape as a teenager during Gator’s 1989-93 run.
“I had a chance to meet these incredible blues artists up close. I was hanging out in back and soaked it all in. I used to see Mel Brown every chance I could.”
Brown, the legendary U.S. blues guitarist who made Kitchener his home until his death in 2009, was a mainstay at the club, which also brought in American luminaries like Otis Clay, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, Little Ed, Marcia Ball, Kim Wilson, Lou Ann Barton, Terrence Simien, C.J. Chenier, Johnny Adams, Albert Collins and Champion Jack Dupree.
He also became Strongman’s mentor, and as the affable guitarist later learned, many others as well.
“I talked to B.B. King, who told me how amazing Mel Brown is,” recalls Strongman, who opened for the late blues great at Kitchener’s Centre in the Square in 2013.
“He said, ‘We all tried to play like Mel Brown!’ ... (laughs) ... it was just incredible.”
It was in this supportive environment that Strongman embarked on a stint with ’90s alt-pop band Plasticine, followed by a solo career that melded his love for the classic rock bands of his youth with the traditional blues stylings of his Gator influences.
“We really wanted to push buttons on what people consider blues to be,” notes the 44-year-old maverick who moved to Hamilton in 1997.
“I’d say we’re definitely more on the rock side of blues, but there are a lot of different influences.”
He laughs: “I hear Prince as a blues artist.”
Asked how a Kitchener kid became a disciple of an American
art form steeped in Southern black culture, he points out that, like many of the classic rock bands he grew up on, he was drawn to the music’s authenticity. “I didn’t grow up in the South. I’m not black. It’s the emotional component that resonates with me. It seems simple but it’s such a powerful music. I always try to find my own voice.”
He pauses thoughtfully: “If you’re a blues fan, the music gets inside you. You’re a blues fan for life.”
While a Juno nod may seem like no big deal after two previous nominations, including an album win in 2013, Strongman says in a niche category like blues, “it’s all about recognition.”
“Everybody in Canada knows what a Juno is,” he points out proudly. “I would like to think it continues to open doors in terms of festival dates. It means a lot that I got nominated.”
The Juno Awards air 8 p.m. Sunday on CBC. Strongman will represent Waterloo Region with fellow nominees Alysha Brilla (Adult Contemporary Album) and D.J. Demers (Comedy Album). He plays at Kitchener’s Rhapsody Barrel Bar on April 14. www.rhapsodybarrelbar.com