Since arriving in Toronto from
rural Quebec in 1990, Brian has been performing locally as a solo artist, occasionally teaming up with Scott "Professor Piano"
Cushnie, Suzie Vinnick or Paul Reddick and he even had the opportunity to play gigs with blues luminaries Gene Taylor of the
Fabulous Thunderbirds and the late Long John Baldry. On occasion he's assembled a full-blown blues revue called "Colorblind
Brian and the New Blainettes" featuring the all-star backup band from Toronto's Women's Blues Revue. His year-long residency
at Toronto's Tranzac Club featured a succession of Canada's greatest blues artists, Morgan Davis, Michael Pickett, Carlos
Del Junco, Madagascar Slim, Papa John King and many others. His after-hours blues jam at the 2005 Toronto Downtown Jazz festival
had jazz stars Antonio Hart, Russell Malone and Roy Hargrove sitting in. He’s even an active member of the Toronto Blues
Society team.
Crossroads Blues thanks Brian Blain
for letting us get to know him a little more about his fascinating life in the music world…
CB: Hi Brian. Thanks for speaking with us at Crossroads Blues. You are originally
from Quebec, but are now based in Toronto. Where did you grow up? When and why did you move?
BB: I was born and brought up in Sherbrooke, Quebec adopted into a music-deprived household where I heard the occasional
blues tune on the AM radio - usually French CBC. Once in a while an R&B band called the Dynamics would swing through Sherbrooke
and I would sneak into the club. At 14, I ordered Jerry Silverman's instructional LP and book called "The Art of the Folk
Blues Guitar" and learned every tune in the book - many of which I’m still
playing today (on the same guitar). That’s the closest thing to a guitar lesson I ever had.
I
started out playing in high school rock and folk groups - made my first record in 1964 at RCA's 3-track studio in Montreal.
It was for a local label called Disques Match. The song was “Les Marionettes” and the group was Le Trio BAK, myself,
Allan Fraser (later of Fraser & DeBolt) and Karo Vallee, who later became a big star in Quebec. Our payment was a trip
to Montreal and a steak dinner.
I
lived in Hamilton from 1967 to 1970 but was mostly into the folk scene so missed out on a lot of the great blues that was
happening there at that time. In 68 or 69, Allan and I jammed with Bukka White under a tree at the Mariposa Folk Festival
on Toronto Island and I was permanently hooked on country blues (though it took me 35 years to get a resophonic guitar and
I still can’t play slide).
During
the 70s I played with and produced records for two pioneering groups who were based in Quebec's Eastern Townships: "Fraser
& DeBolt was the original alt-folk group and Oliver Klaus was the first genuine "indie" band in Quebec (if not Canada)
according to the leading promoter of the day, Donald K. Donald. I also toured almost all the provinces of Canada and a dozen
states playing bass for various groups… country, rock…sometimes tuxedo gigs in fancy hotels. In the 80s I got
married and had a kid and lived an idyllic life in the country – playing at local ski resorts as the “One-Man-Blues-Band.”
When the marriage broke up, I moved to Toronto in the early 90s to play music full time.
CB: I’ve heard you referred to as Brian “Colorblind” Blain. How’d
you get that name? Are you indeed colorblind?
BB: The “Colorblind” moniker is as much a disclaimer to my printing/publishing clients as a blues nickname.
Yes, I am really colorblind – they don’t leave it to me to proof the colour jobs. I have been working in printing/advertising/publishing
as long as I have been playing guitar and it has often supported me through the tough times. In Toronto, even when I wasn’t
playing much, I was lucky enough to stay involved in the music scene by becoming the resident desktop publisher for the Blues
Society, the Jazz Festival and the Musicians’ Union
CB: You are involved is various aspects of the music business, as a player and also behind the scenes. Let’s
talk about the player first. Tell us what we can expect to hear (Sounds, styles, subject matter) on your latest release, "Overqualified
For The Blues"?
BB: It’s a laid back approach – all original tunes, most with a story to tell. At first I recorded a solo
acoustic album, but that was a little too laid-back so I gathered up some of the
people I had been playing with and went back and re-cut most of the tunes with a band. Then I thought some of the tracks were
too heavy, so, upon the recommendation of Derek Andrews, I gave Michael Jerome Browne a call and went down to Montreal and
recorded a few more tracks with him and that made for a nice cohesive album. The engineer on those Montreal sessions was Rob
Heany and the fellow who recorded the Toronto sessions was Paul Benedict. Both very sensitive artists.
CB: Some of the guests that make an appearance on "Overqualified For The Blues" are Michael Jerome
Browne, Jim Galloway, Harry Manx, Paul Reddick, and members of Downchild. How did these collaborations come about?
BB: I have not been very pro-active in pursuing my music career. I don’t hustle very much. I play when I’m
invited. The fact is, I enjoy listening as much as playing. I enjoy playing bass in the background as much as being the front
man. I enjoy handing off a solo as much as taking one. But a lot of great musicians have gone out of their way to encourage
me because they thought I was doing something worthwhile and those are the people I invited to play on the record.
CB: If I understand correctly, "Overqualified For The Blues" was not an overnight project.
Tell us about the process of recording and ultimately releasing the album.
BB: Here’s the story (as related by Fred Litwin at my 60th Birthday celebration last month): Fred heard
my first indie album when I was helping him get the NorthernBlues Label established (I was helping him with a media list,
web design, etc). He wanted to put it out but wanted me to record something new as a “bonus track”. I went up
to the Studio at Puck’s Farm and recorded seven new tunes and then it became the beginning of an entirely new album.
As mentioned, I re-recorded several of the tunes and it did take quite a while. The release was number 011 in the NorthernBlues
inventory but in fact didn’t come out till after 030. But to his credit, he stuck with me and to my credit, I stuck
with it.
CB: When did you begin writing your own material?
BB: The first song I wrote was “The Family That Cared” (one day I’ll record it). I was living in Westmount
and playing with a group called Rings & Things
CB: How has your approach to writing changed over the years?
BB: I don’t bother writing a song if I don’t have a story to tell. By the same token, writing a song is the
best way to remember a new lick or chord change.
CB: How would you say "Overqualified For The Blues" compares/contrasts it to you first release in 1973, "The
Story of the Magic Pick"?
BB: No comparison. Well, they’re all stories.
CB: Now, the "behind-the-scenes Brian Blain" has worked as a producer, manager, music writer, editor, publisher, director,
and so on. How do you manage to balance all these different aspects of your music career?
BB: The last week of the month (that would be right now) I’m totally preoccupied getting out one or more publications.
The rest of the month I can sleep in and play music or tour (just back from Germany and the Czech Republic last night)
CB: With such an extensive involvement in the music business, you must have some great stories to share.
Do you have one for us?
BB: You referred to “The Story of the Magic Pick” earlier. The drummer on those sessions (at André Perry’s
Studio at Carré Amherst) was Jim Gordon of Derek and The Dominoes (co-writer of “Layla”) and he was an intense
and troubled individual. We were recording a tune of mine called “Don’t Forget Your Mother” and I could
tell Jim was not having fun (though the drumming was phenomenal). Anyway, we got through the sessions – two of the other
tunes were released on Good Noise Records but “Mother” never saw the light of day. Many years later I ran into
a Montreal musician named Chris Kearny who informed me that shortly after those sessions, Gordon had killed his mother with
an axe and was now incarcerated in a prison for the criminally insane. I think
he may still be there, though I also heard that he died. I just hope it wasn’t my song that put him over the edge.
CB: Tell us about your involvement with the Toronto Blues Society?
BB: When I got to Toronto I thought it would be easy to get work as a desktop publisher (I knew it would not be easy to
break in as a musician – it never is in a big city). After almost a year of getting no printing/publishing work (though
I did pick up some music gigs with a band called Blue Willow), I finally volunteered to help the Blues Society with their
newsletter. After volunteering for a year or so, they got a grant to buy a computer and I was hired to do the newsletter.
Later I was invited to sit on the Board of Directors and nowadays I am an active member of the TBS Musicians’ Advisory
Council.
CB: Quebec has the relatively new Lys Blues awards, and Toronto is the home of the Maple Blues awards.
Lets talk a bit about the Maple Blues. Last year we saw a couple of Quebec artists receive their first Maple Blues nominations.
What tips can
you give artists from Quebec and the other provinces to help them get themselves seen and heard - and ultimately be considered
for a Maple Blues nomination?
BB: I just received the list of nominees. Seems like a good representation from across the country, including Quebec.
The nomination panel is 30 or so blues DJs & journalists from across the country. Their names will be published in the
MBA programme and the list does not change a whole lot from one year to the next. If you don’t have a national profile,
none of them will ever hear of you (or nominate you). That means sending them
your CD and going to play in their town.
CB: Let’s end with a couple of questions for Brian Blain, the player. What’s the story behind
your old beat up Epiphone guitar? If it could speak, what would it say?
BB: It would probably say “Why did you bang me around like that?” Every dent and scratch and glue-job has
a story. I intend to create a web page that will use photos of the guitar as a bio of my musical life. People ask me how I
get my sound on that guitar. I tell them it's a combination of the soapbar pickup,
the porcelain saddle and a good nail technician. Though, as a guitar player yourself, you know “it’s all in the
fingers”. I saw Robben Ford play at a workshop last summer, and his gear
had not arrived – he didn’t even have his own guitar. No custom amp, no custom pedals. He played one tune to get
his legs then by the second tune, there it was, that signature Robben Ford sound. It’s all in the fingers (and the nails).
CB: With song titles like "Blues is Hurting" you have some thoughts on the state of the blues.
What do you think the future of the blues holds?
BB: When will we ever see a gig where you get to play
in the same place for three (or more) nights in a row? That’s when a band gets tight. One night here and one night there
doesn't cut it. It’s not just the blues, all roots music and jazz, too is hurting. I will let the song speak:
The music business sucks these days, Look what we're going through.
It's times like this my heart goes out to folks who sing the blues
Blues is Hurting, Blues is Hurting
My favourite club is closing, CD sales are down
And to get a decent paying gig you've got to drive way out of town
Blues is Hurting, Blues is Hurting
And the money hasn't changed much in the last thirty years
And there's still clubs downtown expect the band to play for beers
It's enough to make a grown bluesman break down in tears
Blues is Hurting, Blues is Hurting
If you ask any kid on the street who he'd like to hear sing
They only blues singer he ever heard of is B.B. King
What about all the great bluesmen still out there doin' their thing
Blues is Hurting, Blues is Hurting
But those of us that love it we know it's here to stay
And we're not discouraged if the blues is having a bad day
Blues is Hurting Blues is Hurting
Blues is Hurting Blues is Hurting
© Brian Blain Blainco Music/NorthernBlues Music
CB: What’s next for you?
BB: Hopefully a tour of Quebec and the Maritimes. I’m starting to write
the next album. Just put me in front of an audience and let me brighten up their day. And if the audience won't come to me,
I will bring myself to them.
CB: Any final thoughts for the Crossroads Blues readers?
BB: I’m glad I can do something besides play guitar, though I intend to finish my days playing more guitar and doing
less of the other stuff.
We kinda hope you do, too! For more information on Brian Blain, please check out his
info over at NorthernBlues Music by clicking HERE.
