Blues Historian recently marked the 1 year anniversary from the date he first published a blog featuring a Taylor Hicks video. In that year, he published 40 blogs featuring Taylor's videos/music, more than any other artist (not something he told me, but something we found out)..... A GREAT SOURCE OF PUBLICITY FOR TAYLOR !!

When we are looking for ways to help promote Taylor, supporting sites like Blues Historian is something that is so easy to do, yet makes so much difference. Tom has a blog, a MySpace and a radio station.... all of which are helped by the number of hits they receive from readers/listeners.

Tom has a new CD out featuring his jazz band.... We have selections from it posted on the TTHC website, and will post them here as well.

PLEASE VISIT HIS BLOG AND MYSPACE .... HELP SAY THANK YOU TO SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN A GREAT SOURCE OF PROMOTION TO NON-TAYLOR FANS !!!



Keeping the Blues Alive…

Our interview with The Bluesman



How did a Bluesman in Iowa who really liked Keb Mo find Taylor Hicks?



When Bluesman went looking for a Keb Mo video, he was very surprised to find one with Keb and Taylor Hicks and realized that Taylor was the “real deal”.



“The whole Chitlin Circuit thing is what really sold it to me, because I know how hard it is to play that…If he pulled that off then he is the true definition of the blue eyed soul man, and certainly when you hear him sing, he is the real deal.”



Bluesman began featuring Taylor’s music on his internet radio station and blog and has been a staunch supporter of the blues, Taylor style. He has put up over 40 Taylor music videos, more than any other artist.



This college teacher and blues musician has recorded his own works from several years ago and recently, “Yesterday and Today.” “It is a great disc, full of jump blues, doo wop, and some funky soul.” He recently talked to TTHC about his music, Taylor and “jump blues.”



We are delighted to share his thoughts and music here, on the media board with more pictures, and our special webpage.



Thank you, Bluesman, for playing great music and for all you have done for Taylor Hicks! We applaud your efforts for keeping the blues alive! We’re ready for your jump blues, doo wop & funky soul!



From the Blues Historian:



1. How did you get started blogging?

I started Blues Historian for two reasons. One I wanted to blog about the two things I liked the most, blues and history. I also wanted a website that my college students could use to find some blues artists to write about. I was amazed when the website quickly became a favorite of the whole world! Talk about the world wide web! From the US, Canada, and All of South America, to all of Europe. I have had visitors from north and west Africa and a couple a month from South Africa. Of course Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. About the only place the blues historian has not reached consistently is the middle east and east Asia, including China. The blog started as something fun, but it gets to be a job more and more each day:-) I wish I made money off it, but I need more people clicking the ads!! (Hint Hint:-) However, I still have my day job teaching, and I suppose I will have to do it for a few more years:-)



2. What's the name of the new CD and where can we buy it.

The new CD is called Yesterday And Today. I started it over ten years ago with my last real working band. We recorded several songs, but only five of them were ready to put on CD. Unfortunately the band broke up before we could get back in the studio to finish it. When my new band started to gel, then I figured it was time to finish what I started. It is a great disc, full of jump blues, doo wop, and some funky soul. You can buy it at Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/content/3484071 it is 15 bucks for the disc and 12 bucks for shipping and handling. If you buy more than one you save on shipping! I just bought 100 and shipping was only 33 bucks:-)



3. What is the best song on the CD.

I think Holly Golightly Blues, is probably the most listener friendly song on the disc. It sounds like the Beatles, but it is really a Piedmont blues song speed up with a soul break:-) That’s probably why it sounds like a Beatles song since they used to do things like that all the time. It is also about Audrey Hepburn's character in Breakfast At Tiffany's. You need to read the book and watch the movie to get all the references. I saw the movie again last spring and I remember thinking that while most people think that the ending is the typical everyone lives happily ever after, I felt that why would Holly suddenly change and finally marry the right guy?? So when I read the Novella, by Truman Capote, I thought, Yup, that makes sense no wonder that ending seemed forced. Also, my own personal experience with a friend of mine who I think is channeling Holly Golighty right now, and has broke my heart a ton of times, is part of the song. Long story short you will love the song.



The best blues song on the disc is probably She Sings Like An Angel, which is about a cute waitress who I met at a bar I was playing at. She sang a few songs for us and had a great voice, so I wrote this song for her. Unfortunately she quit the bar and has never heard her song, which is unfortunate because it really, really rocks!



4.. Tell us about your station, how you select your playlists etc.

My station is really pretty simple. It is an internet station that I downloaded a ton of Iowa blues artist too. It runs itself, and it only cost me 20 bucks a month. This is another one of those things that people probably think I make a ton of money off of, but I lose money on it. It has been on the chopping block for awhile, but I keep getting people listening to it, so for now it is safe. However, if I don't sell any CDs I might have to pull the plug:-)





5 Why the blues?

When I was growing up my parents listened to swing, dixie land, and jump blues. I can also remember that when a great musician like Bobby Darin, Benny Goodman, (or the very cool Benny Goodman Story!!! with Steve Allen!!! Bad acting, but freaking awesome arrangement of Benny Goodman's greatest hits! ) or Dean Martin was on TV that my parents had it on. I especially remember watching Bobby Darin, and Dean Martin's variety shows on TV. They had some of the great Jump Blues and Jazz artists on, and that had to have had an effect on my mind. I had forgotten all of that great music by the time I was in school, and I played classical piano. However, in High School a friend showed me how to play a blues scale, and I worked on it in every key. I still didn't know how to play the blues, but I could solo pretty good. I eventually moved to Kansas City, where I really learned the blues. Mostly from listening to guys like Roy Serse, Larry Van Loon, and Dan Doran. I came back to Des Moines five years later, and started my own band, and things have just continued to progress to today.



What is Jump Blues? This is a question that I occasionally get, and I think it is a great way to explain the difference between blues and Rock And Roll. Jump Blues or Rhythm and Blues, is really just a swing version of the blues. If we decided that the Delta is the birth of the blues, then we can look to where the players moved from there and how the music changed from city to city. Jump Blues probably had its start in Kansas City down on the Vine Street area. Tom Pendergrast the boss of KC allowed drinking, gambling, music, and prostitution to thrive on Vine. The upbeat Jazz with the easy to dance to beat was called Kansas City style jazz. It was basically the blues with standard chord progression played with a jazzier back beat, and made use of minor 6th chords as comping. You can hear it in Count Basie, and the tradition was carried on by Pete Johnson, and Big Joe Turner. If you look at the early Rock and Roll hits, like Bill Haley and the Comets Rock Around The Clock then what you are really hearing is Jump blues played straight with a heavier back beat. The same thing happens in Memphis with Boogie Woogie and that also becomes Rock and Roll.



6. How do you attract listeners on internet radio?

I guess the music does all the work. I only have one ad on the blog, and that's it. People just seem to stumble into it when doing blues searches. I suppose they are interested in what Iowa Blues artists are like. Who would think that a state full of Corn, Soy beans, and Pigs could have blues! However, we have some great blues artsits. Who knew:-) It makes sense though that Iowa would have great blues since Des Moines is crossroads between Omaha and Chicago, and Kansas City, and Minneapolis. blues cats would play in one town then stop here before moving to the next. They certainly left their mark on our local music.



7. How did you become familiar with Taylor? What do you like about him?

I saw Taylor off and on when channel surfing. I really, really, really, really, don't like American Idol. I think it is against the laws of music to have a competition between artists. So I never really put much into the show. However, I must admit that I thought it was funny that the grey haired guy was winning!! When he won I was amazed, and I liked his commercial (for trucks?????) that came out (for the supper bowl????) However, I hate to admit it that he was still not on my radar. He entered my blog only because I was looking for a Keb mo video. I love Keb Mo, and I was looking around and found a video with Keb mo and Taylor Hicks! I was very surprised when I saw it and heard it. I was sold then, but it seemed the more I looked into his past, and listened to his music, I realized he was the real deal. The whole Chitlin Circut thing is what really sold it to me, because I know how hard it is to play that, especially a white guy, and a white guy who sings playing the Chitlin Circut is even rarer! If he pulled that off then he is the true definition of the blue eyed soul man, and certainly when you hear him sing, he is the real deal.



8. Do you have a favorite Taylor song or album?



I really don't have any favorite songs. To me they are like children how do you pick them. I just enjoy watching and listening to Taylor Hicks perform. He hasn't reached Otis Redding, or Wilson Pickett status on my list yet, but I am sure he will be up there eventually.



9. Is there anything you would like for the soul patrol to know about you/the station, your CD?



Yup, please help out a bluesman. to quote the words of the immortal bluesman Junior Wells, I'm broke and I'm hungry, tried and dirty too!! I have way too much money tied up in all of my musical enterprises, and with the big pay cut I took this year, plus money going out to keep the station alive, the poor blues historian needs help! What is nice instead of sending me money to keep my little blues empire afloat, you can buy my CD and get a 65 minutes of really great music. I know that you will find a lot of songs to enjoy. I don't have the voice of Taylor Hicks, but I can play piano!! So check it out.



Also you can hear some of the songs on my myspace page. http://myspace.com/tomgarybluesband and Holly Golightly Blues has a video both there and on Youtube.



I just want to thank you all for stopping by my website. I can always count on a big day whenever Taylor Hicks is on the blog. You guys make blogging fun! Keep on stopping by and helping me keep the blues alive!!!!!





Check out “Yesterday and Today” by Bluesman!

TTHC Blues Historian Page