The son of a blues legend from another era, John Lee Hooker, Jr., has positioned himself as a bluesman for today. Patrons of the Blue Gator won't be hearing about sharecropping or working on the railroad when Hooker takes the stage Friday night. He has something more current in mind.
I'm not saying that old school blues is going out of style because it will never go out of style; it's the foundation for everything
Hooker said. A lot of people are singing modern. They can't help but sing modern because of what's going on today. We're singing about 9/11. We're singing about computers and chat rooms.
Hooker's new Blues With a Vengeance is as up-to-date as the genre comes, with hip-hop-referencing titles like Check Yourself and Keep It Real and a song about Goin' down to Baghdad to find me Saddam Hussein.
Though he covers three of his late father's standards including Boom Boom the record is no carbon copy of the elder Hooker's moody, swampy style. Rather, it's straightforward and electrified, and it has drawn its share of positive reviews and established that Hooker Jr. is his own musician.
I don't go out there trying to compare with John Lee Hooker... If you read the reviews no one says -no one will ever say -'He's trying to be like his dad
' Hooker Jr. said.
Indeed, in a four-star review on All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com), Alex Henderson wrote, Hooker Jr. isn't pretending to be his dad
and truth be told
they don't sound a lot alike.
Blues With a Vengeance features a large dose of Hooker's sense of humor, especially on Goin' Down to Baghdad and Blues Ain't Nothin' But a Pimp.
Of the latter track, Hooker explained, The blues motivates you to do something to get rid of it. It inspires you to do something that you might not normally do. I washed cars before 'cause I had the blues 'cause I was broke. I seen people put up a sign because they got the blues because they're hungry. They're motivated and inspired by that blues to get off their behinds to do something and get out of their current situation.
Humor tends to sneak into Hooker's concerts, too -he claims if he were not a bluesman, he would be a standup comedian -as well as interaction with the audience.
We do a song where we ask the audience to sing along with us
Hooker said. Right about midway they quit singing because they start listening and laughing.
His band includes bassist Craig Robinson, keyboardist Will Roc Griffin, John Handy Jr. on drums and 18-year-old Jeff Horan on guitar.
These are my weapons of mass destruction
Hooker said of the lineup that will appear with him Friday at the Blue Gator, 63 N. Court St. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $5.
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