During the CBC Music Guitar Month festivities, Montreal’s Paul Deslauriers cited Steve Strongman as one of his favourite guitar players. And wasn’t it Strongman who picked up the 2012 Maple Blues Award for guitar player of the year?
On the heels of his third solo release, A Natural Fact, Strongman is in the running for six Maple Blues Awards, the most of any Canadian blues performer this year. Entertainer, electric act, acoustic act, recording, guitar player and songwriter of the year awards could all have Strongman’s name on them by the time the festivities are done on January 21 at Koerner Halll in Toronto.
AUDIOI spoke with Strongman on the phone last week. Though he is very happy with his newest offering, he concedes that six nominations was quite a surprise.
When he was starting out, Strongman, like many aspiring blues artists, went through a process of discovery. It was some icons on the rockier side of the road, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin, who drew him to the blues.
AUDIOBy digging a little deeper into the influences of his heroes, Strongman was led to their musical roots. However, he is adamant about making his own music, and his blues sound draws from the diversity of his taste.
When Strongman was a teen sneaking into blues clubs, one of the heroes who mentored him was Mel Brown. In 1990, Brown, an American jazz and blues guitar player who had worked with folks like John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins and B.B. King, settled in Kitchener, Ont.
AUDIONever forgetting the encouragement and support he received from Brown, Strongman makes an effort to reach out to young blues players he encounters . As he says, “I wouldn’t be able to be doing what I am today if it wasn’t foe Mel that’s for sure.”
With the exception of the guitar player of the year category, all of Strongman’s other nominations are open to voting by the public. Voting is open until Dec. 8 at midnight.
Related:
Maple Blues Awards 2013: Colin James, Matt Andersen, Shakura S’Aida up for entertainer of the year
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