In Chicago (3)

 

Making a living as a blues musician is never easy. 

 

Chicago has more venues to play blues. However there are many good players looking for opportunities to perform. At the end of the day, many of them may end up sharing a small pie as anywhere else. 

 

The music I have a lust for is the traditional Chicago Blues, but it is hard to find nowadays even in Chicago. The down home style of blues that peaked in the 1960s remains in a minority, if not vanished. 

 

The old school blues seems to have transformed its style into contemporary blues with funky grooves over the decades. Flashy fast finger guitar with loud volume is commonly seen in Chicago now. 

 

Is my guitar style considered retro against the tide? I do not think so, because it is not that I am trying to go back to the old time, but it is how I started playing the blues in the late 1970s and my style has not changed since. 

 

In my younger days, I was heavily influenced by Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and early Buddy Guy's music. I also studied Robert Lockwood Jr and Eddie Taylor to back up harmonica blues. 

 

I will be staying in Chicago till the end of next month. Where do I go from here if I come back for a longer term next time? First I would need to find a band to join for steady activities and build a foundation. 

 

Then, ultimately, do my own thing to my content - integrating the squeeze guitar blues, the down home harmonica blues, and my vocals on the top. Then my soul can be satisfied for good.

 

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