Canada's top blues guitarist never felt he was at a musical
crossroads. 'I just try to follow my instincts, and lately it's been
working pretty good.'
By BRAD WHEELER
Friday, August 26, 2005 Page R20
As record companies and musicians do their various things, the blues
makes its own way. In the early nineties, EMI Records signed a young
blues guitarist out of Nanaimo, B.C., and, naturally, strongly suggested
that he put out a rock -- not a blues -- record. David Gogo did as
he was instructed, but in an insurgent stroke, included one blues track
on the album, B.B. King's It's My Own Fault, a slow burner
that was a staple of King's live shows in the sixties.
After the release of his self-titled debut in 1994, Gogo was driving
through Toronto when he heard his work on the radio. The local FM rock
station had spurned the album's rock single, playing instead the seven-minute-long
blues track. "Not that I was trying too hard to be a rebel," Gogo
explains over the phone, "but it was nice having the blues song
sneak through. It got us some airplay and recognition."
And it has kept coming. Although awarded the prize as the country's
top blues guitarist twice over the past three years, the singer-guitarist
has veered back and forth between genres, to the point that the boundaries
are no longer so important to him. "I find that I'm just writing
now," the 36-year-old Gogo says, referring to the material that
graces his latest albums, 2002's Skeleton Key and last year's Vibe. "I'm
not saying, 'Okay, this is a blues song and this is going to be my
attempt at a commercial song.' I just try to follow my instincts, and
lately it's been working pretty good."
Gogo's instincts direct him to write material that is more bluesy
than blues straight-up (Colin James would be an apt comparison). Vibe features
the southern-fried first single Love in the City, the fat-riffed,
bruising Hit Me from Above and the languid acoustic 300
Pound Shoes. Other tracks lean to soulful classic rock.
On the road, Gogo makes set-list decisions in accordance with the
venues and audiences. On opening slots with a headliner such as the
Tragically Hip, Gogo might stick to more rockish material. On the other
hand, organizers at blues festivals might prompt him toward the bluesier
numbers. Often though, intentions give away to voices from the audience. "The
Edmonton Blues Festival people wanted more blues from us, not the rock
stuff," Gogo says, referring to an appearance last weekend. "But
while we were playing, people were yelling out for the single."
Not only does Gogo need to keep his repertoire straight, he also
keeps his eye on not one, but two separate touring bands -- one based
on the West Coast; the other in Ottawa. "It's the best thing I've
done," he says, noting that the double-band setup cuts down on
touring costs. "I get enough work to keep both bands loyal --
it's worked out great."
Gogo has led bands for some time, but on occasion he's shared the
stage with players with heavy legends attached to them. As a teenager,
he met Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was something of a mentor to Gogo. He
has played with Chicago great Otis Rush, and he has even traded licks
with King at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in 1992. The
experience was unnerving to a 20-year-old kid from Nanaimo, but he "bit
the bullet" and got through it.
And now, 13 years down the road, Gogo meets up again with the acclaimed
guitarist, playing on the undercard of King's 80th-birthday show at
Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre on Wednesday. If he is invited to share
the stage with the man known as the King of the Blues, Gogo will be
do as he has done in similar spots. "Basically, you just respect
the fact that it's their stage -- you're a guest. When they're playing,
you keep it quiet, you keep it down."
"But you've been invited up there for a reason," he continues. "I
wait till they point to me, and I do my thing."
David Gogo opens for B.B. King on Aug. 31, at the Molson Amphitheatre
(7 p.m., $10.70 to $69.50, 416-870-8000).
