Page 23 - From Talks with Matt Minglewood

ISSUE : Issue 49

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1988/8/1

Cream earlier. When I heard John Mayall from England, with Eric Clapton--this was pre-Cream, right? And there was a friend of mine, Diago Gunn, who ended up being the drummer in the Sam Moon and the Universal Power thing. He had--I don't know where he'd find these albums, but he'd find them. We went through a whole funk era--James Brown and (all). I was still playing with the Rocking Saints, but I was turned on to John Mayall and all these old blues songs. Eric Clapton playing all this blues stuff that John Mayall would either write, or-- I'd see the names, like Huddie Leadbetter (Leadbelly), MacKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters). Howlin' Wolf was Chester Burnett. I discovered these old blues guys. So then I went out searching that, and discovered A PART OF YOUR FAMILY FOR 25 YEARS I'ptiict'EtiedCaiicksn CHICKEN CHALET LTD. FIVE LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU: SYDNEY SHOPPING MALL (564-6322) C. B. SHOPPING PLAZA, SYDNEY RIVER (564-6646) 2A STERLING ROAD, GLACE BAY (849-6689) 7 BLOWERS STREET, NORTH SYDNEY (794-3534) PLUMMER AVENUE, NEW WATERFORD (862-2111) all the Kings--B. B. and Albert and Fred? die. And I just started playing the blues, , and that's what I was doing with the Rock? ing Saints. And I got a lot of the blues, too, from the Rolling Stones. They were do? ing Chuck Berry stuff, they were doing things from the old American blues guys. (Chuck Berry--it's tough to say he's old blues, though.) No, he wasn't. But, I mean, they were doing Chuck Berry. Well, he was, in a way. No, not the old blues, you're right. His was totally new. (You were a young fellow and you're obvi? ously trying to get yourself together. You're looking at maybe the priesthood, but still you've got questions. You're a fight? er. How did rock-and-roll help you shape your life?) I don't know if it was rock- Iand-roll--it was blues that really-- I really discovered passion in music, from that. The en? ergy I discovered from rock-and-roll. But the passion I started getting-- I'd sit down and listen to John May- all or some B. B. King. John Mayall doing "The Death of J. B. Lenoir." Like, I mean, I'd sit in my room and cry, you know, over this--'cause it seemed so real. He'd do "Hard Road" and things like that. I'd get all choked up listening to it in my bed? room- -'cause I couldn't play the stuff downstairs. Had to get my own little phonograph up in my bedroom, you know. At this time I was not into country. Although I grew up with it, therefore I understood it. There was a time in my life when I shunned the coun? try, because it was uncool to like country music. You know what I mean? But after awhile, you grow up from that stuff--and you can do it because you've heard it all your life. It was a 23

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