Enough about blues artist Ryan McGarvey being a wee lad. And please, don't call him boy. He's old enough to produce a respectable beard, and he's damn sure grown enough to play some gritty, deep and dirty blues like a juke-joint-rockin' old man.
Ryan McGarvey IS young, he's a wee lad of 22. But when McGarvey and his band (K.C. White on drums, on bass, Kevin Kraybill) take the stage on Saturday evening at NMJW's Jazz and Blues Under the Stars, we guarantee you won't be thinking about McGarvey's age-- you'll be thinking about the power of the blues getting thrown on ya like a relentless Mississippi storm with a mind of its own if you can think at all. We recently caught up with McGarvey in the throes of a tour that has him criss-crossing the West and believe us, we had to catch him!
Name the first song you learned on guitar? You know, that song that you struggled to teach yourself, while listening to a recording, or hearing it on the radio? Tell us a little about that. . .
Well, the first thing that I EVER figured out on the guitar was the opening riff to the classic rock song "Barracuda" by the group HEART. But, the first song that I learned all the way through from start to end was Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child." But, of course I learned it more along the lines the way Stevie Ray Vaughan had covered it.
When/how did you find your voice? How/When/Why did the Blues find you?
The first time I ever really sang was when I was about 15 years old. It was kinda just because it was a necessity. The little high school band I had together was only playing long instrumental tunes. So I began singing the Jimi Hendrix blues song, "Red House." I sang it maybe once at a practice, then the next time was at an audition for a city wide talent search which we won, (then I'm sure there had to be 1 or 2 more times after that) but our prize for winning was a slot at Sandia Casino's Outdoor Amphitheater opening for the Latin group SPARX. Well little did we know, it was already sold out- so my first time really singing to an audience was in front of a crowd of near 5,000-- which was basically a wall of people. As for the blues, it was just what reeled me in. All the early classic hard rock stuff I grew up listening to and loving, was all very blues based, and I kinda just traced back everything from each artist I was loving. Like Led Zeppelin for example, my first favorite song from them was "Gallows Pole" which was actually a really old Leadbelly blues tune. And it was the same case for everyone I loved, so I ended up loving all these "new" blues guys, because they were basically what my favorite rockers were playing.
How does the South West feed your Blues style? How has the landscape, the people, the food, influenced your art?
I think it's a great location. Of course the natural beauty found in all those things is influential, however I think it's the other places, the places I visit playing and whatnot-- they are the ones that really get to me and probably feed my style of music the most. I think it's because I don't live there, it makes the visit more special- so it seems like a bigger thing to me. The experiences, and the people you meet along the ride and all. But I can't ever forget home.
The typical question-- who are some of your influences, living or otherwise?
I listen and like to think I am influenced by literally everything. I think the biggest influences are everything from traditional early delta blues like Robert Johnson, classic hard rock like Jimi Hendrix & Led Zeppelin. I really like some really great singers/songwriters like Dan Dyer, Jeff buckley, and Malford Milligan. But, I actually think some of the later more contemporary blues/rock artists are what really captivated me. In that category I would easily say my biggest influences were Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ian Moore, Chris Duarte, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Joe Bonamassa. I would have to say everything influences me to a degree, but definitely those were the hugely influential artists.
What's the one constant you can depend on while traveling on the road? The one inevitable thing that occurs at nearly every gig?
Just seeing the first timers and the loyal followers inter-twine. It's great seeing someone that has never heard/seen us perform before, and their response. But, it's also so great to see some of our most loyal followers that will even hit the road with us just to see us in different venues. I'm really lucky to have some of the fans that I have.
On some of your tracks, we can hear the highway, the train on the rails-- what sort of things/ideas inspire your song-building?
I like to think any, and everything inspires me. I like to take an idea, or even just a thought or phrase and work around that. A lot of songs are from personal experience, which I think is better because it helps you connect to the song in a much deeper way. And, if you have been through something, chances are others have too, and therefore they will connect better in the same way.
What's your guilty music pleasure? Is there a genre of music (or even a song) that you can't get enough of, but might be wildly off the music path?
It's really hard to say. I listen to just about anything. Of course there are some exceptions to that. But, I really don't know what would even be considered off the musical path for me. It ranges from all sorts, but I enjoy most anything if it has creative artistic depth to it.Which can even include a good marketing visual. Or, if I can just see that they are really masters of what they are doing. Some country, some pop, bluegrass, punk, etc.. Everything kinda just blends together in my musical pallet.
What other art forms inspire you?
I really love music photography actually. I have really been digging it as of lately. Particularly the work of a good friend of mine Robert M. Knight. He's incredible, and very legendary. Just check out his websites, or his newest movie "Rock Prophecies" and you'll see what I mean. Chances are good you know his work. Karen Kuehn is another photographer I'm lucky to be friends with that does some amazing work.
There's definitely, "Something Wicked This Way Comes" about the Blues, and its history-- the selling of one's soul, at the crossroads, and such. Have you had brushes with "the unusual"? If so, what happened?
We have had a few incidences where the strange and unusual perhaps had some play with things. But never in such a dark way as a "deal with with devil" would be considered. I'm definitely not a Robert Johnson. If anything it is the other way around. This last year heading to Lubbock,TX from a gig at SXSW in Austin,TX- my dad and I were totalled by a speeding 18 wheeler semi-truck that ran a red light in an extremely small town. It was the general consensus there that there must have been some real guardian angels riding with us right then, because we were literally one half a second away from being wiped off the face of the earth.
In your opinion, what's the future of the blues? How does the blues mingle and mix in a world dominated by electronic music?
The blues is constantly growing, and expanding in the hands of the right people. There are purists that don't like to see this happening, and don't want it to grown or change. But that's what it does-- [blues] evolves. Muddy Waters took the blues and electrified it. Jimi Hendrix distorted the blues and made it psychedelic. Guys like Kenny Wayne Shepherd infused with more contemporary rock and made blues somewhat a bit more mainstream. The future of the blues is in good hands with MANY artists out there today. As long as the youth of today are introduced into blues in a right way, and not constricted to keep it TOO traditional, the blues will ALWAYS be around, and forever growing. It can't help it, because you can find blues in ANY music there is out there today."
[marya errin jones]
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