Every picture tells a blues story
Memphis-shot series a hit on YouTube
Back in January, Edmonton’s “doctor of the blues,” singer-guitarist Marshall Lawrence, found himself in Memphis, Tenn., for the first time, to play a showcase during the week of the renowned International Blues Challenge.
“There were acts from all over the world,” he recalls. “Just some mind-blowing talent and the streets were on fire with blues. There was just this electricity in the air. Everyone was stoked.”
Before he left Memphis, Lawrence was even commandeered to serve as a judge in the solo/ duo semifinal rounds of the competition. He found himself so impressed with the spirit of it all, he paused to wonder: “Why is everyone so passionate about the blues?”
Lawrence and his wife Toby Tellier had brought along their video equipment to record his performance and that gave him an idea.
“We decided to ask a couple of people about their thoughts on the music. In the end, we got over 50 interviews and hours and hours of footage.”
Lawrence asked the questions while his wife ran the camera. Back home, they started editing and a cousin helped with video graphics. What they got has now been distilled down into 13 webisodes titled Why I Love The Blues that he began posting on YouTube every Wednesday about a month ago (you can find the episodes at youtube.com/user/marshalllawrence).
Each episode runs about three or four minutes, with the streets and venues of Memphis as the backdrop. Musicians and fans, industry people and DJs from all over figure in the clips. Their “basement project” is cool stuff in its own unpretentious way and Why I Love The Blues has had more than 3,000 hits.
“Weeding through the foot- age, we noticed certain themes were popping up and that’s how we developed the 13 episodes. Some episodes revolve around the spiritual aspect of the music, the sound of the blues, or how the blues is the music of real life. Essentially, we just wanted to get the message of the blues out there but we’re hoping to crosspollinate with the fans through YouTube and social media.”
For many years and across two overlapping careers, the impor- tance of community has been his continuing concern.
Manitoba-born, Windsor, Ont.raised Lawrence got his first guitar at 10 and found himself playing in bands even as he was finishing his doctorate in psychology in California. He settled in Edmonton in 1997 and spent years counselling troubled teens and adults before moving into music full-time in 2010.
The notion of the blues as a healing force figures prominently in his tunes, the electric album Where’s The Party (2003), and three acoustic-oriented discs — The Morning After (2008), Blues Intervention (2010) and last year’s House Call. These days he leads both acoustic and electric bands.
Winning accolades on both sides of the border, House Call is his highest-profile set of “neodelta blues and roots” yet.
Lawrence hosts a live jam every week.