Friday, October 14, 2016

Dee Curtis Our Canadian Guitar Player Consultant is Back!!

I've known this Detroit bluesman for 20 years now.

I actually met Dee in London,Ontario Canada where I'm located,and I was at an American Federation Of Musicians Workshop for local musicians. I got up and talked about my foray into the business as a writer and booking agent,along with my fuckups as well.  Dee and I started talking because I was involved with blues cats mainly,and we hit it off,and I found out Dee had worked with some well known musicians over the years.

He grew up with one of John Lee Hookers sons,played in a duo with Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations,and played in a number of groups with Bill Laswell who went on to become one the best independent producers in New York. Dee has been a treasure trove of golden nuggets of information,from what he knows about top musicians,to an encyclopedic acumen on recording,gear playing,rehearsing and working with the right session players.

Dee played here in London for many years until heading back to Detroit in the last 5 to 10 years. We've been friends since the start,and his knowledge just amazes me, and if you want to interview a great musician who's helped many a musician become great musicians,then Dee is your guy.Dee is a master at interviews with the media.

I was talking to him yesterday and talked about the best Drummer he ever had. Carlos La Torre. Carlos is what I call Dee's "John Bonham."

We always agreed Carlos has ability more than most drummers,and is an astute player who knows that understanding the history of blues and rock is also important,along with playing different types of music. Carlos is the type of player who should be a session player with the top players in the game.

Dee is back in business and hopefully will get back playing here in Canada in the new year. For now he's in the studio cutting a new album. Actually he's come out with enough material for a blues only album,and a soul and jazz flavored one.

Dee gave me a bloody boatload of info from our recent phone conversation,and I'll have more on Dee soon.

So stay tuned blues and rock lovers of Dee!

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