Is this the end of music as we know it? So asked a music writer from the south after hearing the Bad Thing cd. He feels that the band is ‘taking this music in an entirely new direction’. This writer has a feel for the blues, as well as an understanding of the role that blues music has played in shaping the music of our time.

Blues was the fuel that propelled the rock revolution. From the blues, rock took the beats, the tonality, the blue notes, the stage antics, and the lyrical themes. These were the elements that would revolutionize music. The early blues players didn’t have electronic tuners, they tuned their guitars to an open chord and played with a slide. They were microtonal at a time when most American music wasn’t (and still isn’t). Musicians like Charlie Patton and Blind Willie Johnson had a keener sense of pitch than is displayed by most modern day musicians. Patton was like an early rock star, playing guitar between his legs and behind his back, living life in his own way, and finding refuge in the music from the pain of his Black/Indian mixed heritage. Many forget how revolutionary this music was in its time. The shuffle rhythms, the 13 1/2 bar forms, the bent notes he would hit with his slide and voice, had not yet found their way into mainstream music. The blues was, from its inception, a rebellious and progressive musical style.

There are some, known as blues nazis, who profess that they like only the ‘old fashioned blues’. These people really have no perspective on the music, and limited knowledge of the early masters. Then, blues was not restricted to 12 bars, or 12 pitches. And being hammered into a formula is a sure way to kill the music. Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf kick started Rock and Roll by bringing their music to Chicago and plugging in, setting the template for the rock bands to follow. The Rolling Stones named their band after one of Muddy’s songs, (a one chord stomper) and used old blues songs for their early repertoire. Hendrix started off his Monterey Pop Festival performance with Wolf’s Killing Floor. Led Zeppelin used Water’s version of Willie Dixon’s You Need Love for Whole Lotta Love, (and eventually paid Willie for it). These facts also derail claims by supposed ‘new music’ people who feel that the blues can offer nothing new to music. In truth, the blues has always been fertile ground for musical innovation. Cranked tube amplifier distortion first heard on blues records is now standard, as is the tonality established by the early blues players. Today, the 13 O’Clock Blues Band is playing Harmonic Music with Harmonic Rhythms that have seldom if ever been heard before. And a simple blues album by Willie McBlind may turn out to be the most harmonically advanced release of the year. Maybe this is the start of the end of music as we know it.

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