Unique piano playing makes blues player John B. Main talk of the town
New CD ‘Blues on Main Street’ combines covers, originals
John B. Main may live in Halifax, but he’s fast becoming a staple on the Wolfville music scene thanks to his unique style of playing, classic voice and love of the blues.
The piano player and vocalist is regularly seen at Paddy’s Brewpub in Wolfville, where he brings the house down nearly every Monday open mic night with classic and original tunes often accompanied by electric guitars and a horn section.
It’s a new sound for the practiced player and was heavily featured on his new album, ‘Blues on Main Street,’ a tribute to that classic big band sound he fell in love with seven years ago.
“Music is something that comes naturally. I don’t know that there are many other things I’m good at, but music is it – this is what I do,” he says.
Matching melodies
Main is 21 and has been playing the piano for nearly two decades, having first starting to play at three years old.
His love for music full of soul was prompted by his parents’ music collection that included the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Dire Straits, among others, and got him feeling good when he played along, matching melodies with one hand on his piano.
“I had the desire to try to recreate all these melodies to kind of like these classic act tunes. I would take a listen to the song, and then try doing it from memory or try playing along with the song,” he says.
And when he heard a ditty by the well-known Joe Murphy and the Water Street Blues Band, he found himself buying into the blues.
Something clicked inside of him as he played the blues scale on the John B. Main is a blues pianist and vocalist who brings down the house at Paddy’s Brewpub in Wolfville, where his original songs off his new album “Blues on Main Street” are so well-known people sing along when he plays.
piano, using his unique style of playing – runs and rhythms with his right hand. His left hand is partially paralyzed, but with full use of his index finger, he’s able to add a punching base line to support the melody.
“I found a way to play that works for me, and the rest is history, I guess,” says Main.
“So caught up in how it sounds”
His hands are something that immediately catch the eye when people watch him play.
With melodies that sound like they’d take two hands and 10 fingers to create, Main flies through them with six fingers that do the job as good as 10, and perhaps a little better.
He started capturing melodies with his right hand alone, and says he figured a bass line would add a little something extra to his sound. While he admits to wondering how his sound would be if he did use all 10 fingers, he’s happy with the style that works for him.
It’s something that’s helped the musician get noticed as he plays regular gigs at Halifax’s Your Father’s Moustache and Loose Cannon pubs.
When people notice how he plays, the reactions can vary, he says, noting some people think he’s made a stylistic choice to play that way, and some who apologize immediately after pointing it out.
“When that happens, it’s like, well it’s ok – it’s curiosity. It’s not like you’re asking me anything offensive,” he says.
“What’s even more funny is when they don’t notice. They’re so caught up with how it sounds they don’t even realize I’m only playing with one finger on the bass,” he says.
Finding a new take on an old sound
Main describes the time and effort he’s devoted to learning to play “like the old blues piano, like the old famous blues piano musicians” he so admires.
People like Muddy Waters, BB King, Howlin Wolf and Memphis Slim are idols of Main’s, and he can’t quite put a finger on why each one has been such a source of inspiration for his style of music.
“Muddy Waters sounded like an electrified version of the delta blues, Howlin Wolf had that booming voice… and Memphis Slim, now he’s got some of the most beautiful piano playing in blues’ history,” says Main.
His own style is that of a blues pianist working on an urban style of playing – making sure the electric guitar, bass and horns section are a big part of the band’s sound.
Main also aims to capture the style of an electric guitar, especially when he plays solo, and is determined to continue making a mark in what he calls a “guitar-dominated scene.”
“You have to play crunchy and loud – those are the main things that contribute to my style,” he says.
What to expect
The style is featured on his new album and is the result of a collaboration between Main, Wolfville and Switzerland musician Andy Flinn and a horn section from Acadia, a collaboration that came together exactly one year ago.
After Main spoke about how much the horns added to his sound, Flinn convinced him to book some studio time, and get to work.
The album, produced by Kimberly Matheson’s Ruby Throated Records, is a combination of classic covers and original songs written by Main, including two classic blues-themed tunes called “No Scotch, No Gin” and “I Don’t Have You Anymore,” about booze and heartbreak respectively.
The first was stirred up by Main’s wanting for a drinking song to play at pubs, along with his drink of choice – vodka, not scotch or gin – which inspired the title.
The second looks at the confusing times that follow the end of a relationship with someone. And both are on their way to capturing his audience, with several singalong moments having already happened at Paddy’s. “I don’t want to toot my own horn, but if I find the right kind of inspiration at the right time I can write a decent song,” he says, laughing.
A CD release is set for June 8 at Bearly’s House of Blues in Halifax. For more details, check out John B. Main’s Facebook page at https:// www.facebook.com/john-b-mainmusic-264251540674048/.