BLOWIN' OUT REEDS WITH LESTER BUTLER : BLUES HARP PLAYER/SINGER SAYS THE BAD LUCK MADE HIM BETTER.Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer Blues harpist Lester Butler says 13 is his lucky number, even though it spells bad news for others. ``There's lots of symbolism behind it - bad luck and that whole deal,'' Butler said. ``But it's always been lucky for me. All the bad things that happen make you stronger. The 13 thing is where the worst stuff can happen, but you can turn it around, and it actually helps you survive.'' Butler, who sings the blues with conviction and blows a mean Chicago-style harmonica harmonica. 1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called his instrument the Mundäoline. , has been through the music-biz ringer. In the early '90s, he led the Red Devils, a popular local combo that scored a deal with producer Rick Rubin's Def American label. The band recorded an EP and a well-received live album titled ``King King,'' after the then-jumping club. On Mondays, the Devils played to star-studded, packed houses at the now-defunct La Brea Avenue La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. After Hawthorne Boulevard intersects with Century Boulevard in Inglewood, La Brea Avenue is formed. La Brea passes north through Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, and Ladera Heights. night spot. ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons Famous people named Gibbons include:
Jagger, Michael Philip Jagger often dropped by. Queen's Brian May, members of the Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz and Peter Wolf sat in with the band. Angelo from Fishbone would recite spoken word when he wasn't playing saxophone. ``The Hollywood crowd showed up along with our skateboard punk-rock friends,'' recalled Butler, who now leads the five-member Lester Butler and 13. ``Then, it was time for the Red Devils to go on tour. But King King was only surviving because on Mondays there would be a line around the block for us.'' King King closed, and the Red Devils weren't having an easy time on the road, where the band opened for the Allman Brothers and Los Lobos. ``The Devils left for five months,'' Butler said. ``On the first night in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , our guitarist slugged our drummer in fun and gave him 28 stitches. Boys will be boys. Before long, the bass player had a broken leg. People were looking at us like, `What are these guys?' The bass guitarist had a leopard skin cast and the drummer was sporting a big Frankenstein scar over his left eye.'' Butler describes the nightmarish scene like it's something from ``This Is Spinal Tap spinal tap: see spinal puncture. .'' At one point, the Red Devils were called into the studio by Rubin for separate recording sessions with Jagger jag 1 n. 1. A sharp projection; a barb. 2. a. A hanging flap along the edge of a garment. b. A slash or slit in a garment exposing material of a different color. tr.v. and Johnny Cash Noun 1. Johnny Cash - United States country music singer and songwriter (1932-2003) John Cash, Cash . Butler and band recorded an entire album of blues covers with Jagger that was never officially released, but is available as a fascinating bootleg titled ``Nature of My Game.'' ``He blew my mind because when I went in, I thought, `Oh yeah, Mick Jagger, that old English Old English: see type; English language; Anglo-Saxon literature. Old English or Anglo-Saxon Language spoken and written in England before AD 1100. It belongs to the Anglo-Frisian group of Germanic languages. dude,' '' said the 37-year-old Butler. ``We were strict Chicago blues This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since June 2007. guys. But Mick came in and sang the tunes by Howlin' Wolf Howlin' Wolf, 1910–76, African-American blues singer and composer, b. White Station, Miss., as Chester Arthur Burnett. Exposed to blues performers from childhood, he sang locally and organized his first band in West Memphis, Tenn., in 1948. , Muddy Waters, Little Walter Little Walter (born Marion Walter Jacobs) (May 1 1930 - February 15 1968) was a blues singer, harmonica player, and guitarist. Biography Early years , Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (11 January, 1924 – 31 January, 1970) was a blues musician. Born James Moore in Lobdell, Louisiana, the eldest in an orphaned family, Moore worked as a longshoreman and building worker during the late 1930s and early 1940s. and Elmore James in the actual keys they were written in with all the right nuances. I always loved the Stones, but as a blues singer, Mick really knocked us out.'' With the Cash sessions, various musicians were called in for what eventually became the stark 1994 solo project, ``American Recordings.'' The Red Devils cut seven unreleased tracks with Cash. The Devils broke up three years ago due to various differences. Butler's new outfit, Lester Butler and 13, recently issued its self-titled debut on HighTone. The group - Alex Schultz (guitar), Andy Kaulkin (keyboards), Mark Goldberg (bass), James Intveld (drums) and Butler - appears at a record release party April 10 at Bar Deluxe in Hollywood. The album is an authentic Chicago-style effort that features several heartfelt Butler originals including ``Sweet Tooth,'' ``Black Hearted Woman'' and ``So Low Down.'' Beck guitarist Smokey Hormel turns up throughout the disc. ``When you're talking about blues, you're talking about storytelling,'' Butler said. ``You have to bring something to the table. You have to have a story to tell.'' Butler has been known to go through a series of Hohner Marine Band harmonicas on stage by blowing the reeds out. ``As far as the L.A. blues scene, you've always had to go to Long Beach for gigs,'' he said. ``But the scene has gotten so much bigger now. We have a major venue on Sunset Strip booking blues. When has that ever happened before?'' Butler began playing harmonica as a child, but began taking it seriously at age 13, when he befriended influential local guitarist Hollywood Fats (born Michael Mann), who died in 1986 soon after he was hired by Phil Alvin for the Blasters. ``Fats stopped me one day, took me under his wing and turned me onto Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson Sonny Boy Williamson may refer to either of two 20th-century American blues harmonica players:
Butler admits life as a professional musician can be difficult, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. ``It's a hard life playing music for a living,'' Butler said. ``But on the other hand, I'd be happy being poor and playing music for the rest of my life. Blues, to me, is a sort of healing thing.'' After the Red Devils split, Butler spent the next few years traveling to Europe with local musicians to play the blues in Amsterdam, Paris and London. ``But it's all good now,'' the harpist said. ``That's the thing. When you come through the hard times, you come through them wiser.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: ``On the first night in New York, our guitarist slugged our drummer in fun and gave him 28 stitches. Boys will be boys. Before long, the bass player had a broken leg,'' says Lester Butler, recalling a tour with the Red Devils. Jeremy Greene/Special to the Daily News |
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