Supersonic Blues Machine
The band head to London for their first ever headlining UK show.
Currently touring their second album, Californisoul, Supersonic Blues Machine are a trio comprised of guitarist Lance Lopez, bassist/producer Fabrizio Grossi and drummer Kenny Aronoff. Grossi reveals all about their debut UK headline show, which features a cameo from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.
What is Supersonic Blues Machine – a band, a vehicle for you or simply a concept?
It’s all of the above, the evolution of an idea that Kenny Aronoff and I had while working with Steve Lukather [of Toto]. It’s slightly unusual for the rhythm section to choose the collaborators, but what SBM does is allow us to play music with a whole host of friends and fellow players.
Warren Haynes, Walter Trout, Lukather, Robben Ford, Eric Gales, Chris Duarte and, of course, the Reverend Billy have all appeared on the band’s records. Who else remains on your wish list?
Lenny Kravitz is right at the top, followed by Steven Tyler. A more unusual one would be Bono and The Edge. I’m a big fan of U2’s music and their message.
Are you on a mission to reinvent or modernise the blues, or simply to celebrate it?
Not to reinvent it, because there are way too many fundamentalists. We love the original, traditional blues players but we’re not trying to emulate them. I can’t pretend to be an old black guy from Alabama. We’re a third or fourth generation of blues players, and we approach things with love and respect for our forefathers. A decade ago you made a string of melodic rock albums for Frontiers Records. Why the move from that genre and on to the blues?
I don’t like categories. To me it’s just rock. I’m very proud of some of those records from that time, but I’m a fanatic. I like to be eclectic. It felt a bit like working on a production line. My favourite bands – Queen, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles – never did the same thing twice.
Classic Rock described Supersonic Blues Machine’s slot at last year’s Ramblin’ Man Fair as a “revelation”. How was it for you?
I was just excited to be playing in the UK because those British bands I mentioned were among the first to inspire me to doing what I do now. However, up on the stage it was a nightmare – the sound was the worst I’d experienced in my life. But all of us were so thrilled to be there that it really didn’t matter at all.
“We approach things with love and respect for our forefathers.”
What should we expect of Billy Gibbons’s role in this show? Billy is the godfather of Supersonic Blues Machine – the band was his idea. He’ll be playing songs that we wrote together and we’ll do some of his famous songs. He’ll be on stage with us for a good chunk of the show. DL