“THE GUITAR IS BULGARIAN – AND REALLY CHEAP!”

BLUES MASTER ERIC BIBB DISCUSSES HIS NEW ALBUM DEARAMERICA – AND THE “GROOVY” EUROPEAN GUITAR PICTURED ON ITS COVER

You’ve described Dearamerica as a love letter, but it feels more complex than that...

I call it a love letter because, at the end of the day, I have a lot of love for my home country. America, as the world knows, is a unique experiment, with a bloody history and lots of challenges. We’re trying to overcome ancient tendencies towards violent tribalism and suspicion and fear. Love is the antidote, love is the solution. What I really hope to do with this album is reach a lot of people and stimulate a conversation that’s truly uncomfortable and truly essential if we’re going to get past all of these conflicts.

There’s an interesting looking guitar on the album cover – could you tell us about that?

It’s featured on Wholelottalovin’ and is the main instrument on Emmett’s Ghost. The guitar is a Bulgarian instrument, and was really cheap! It was made in Sofia probably in the 60s. It’s basically a plywood top - it’s really an inexpensive guitar. It’s got two sound holes, and what’s groovy about that is the sound comes out at slightly different moments, so there’s a kind of chorus/phase effect. It’s subtle, but it’s audible and I find it very fascinating.

Wholelottalovin’ references lots of musical genres. It’s as if you’re summing up your own sound.

It certainly is! I feel like the music that moves me and the music that I’m into composing and performing is really a gumbo of all of the things I’ve ever heard and loved. That means work songs from old field recordings to The Beatles, to Motown, to some of the most beautiful classical music. So all of that - calypso, doo-wop, jazz, blues - is in the mix. I also wanted to let people know that I don’t separate those ingredients to the degree that is usual. I think that musical segregation is a reflection of our tendency to want to categorise, and I think it’s time to talk about how connected everything is.

And the album has a guest spot from Eric Gales…

I met him on a Joe Bonamassa Blues Cruise. I’d known about him and read about him but hadn’t really gotten into his music until I heard him live. I was completely flabbergasted by his amazing specialness and technique. He’s the guy for the moment who’s really integrated all the beautiful old-school blues guys with a real modern sensibility and adventurousness that I just found totally irresistible. After his gig,

I went right up to him and said, “Listen, man, I’m in the middle of a record - would you consider guesting with me if I made the right moves?” And he said, “Man, it’s going to happen!”