SOLEDAD BROTHERS

Dim Mak Releases:
DM040: Soledad Brothers "Live" CD/LP

Discography:
Singles
Soledad 7" (Italy Records, 1998, IR-007)
The Gospel According To John 7" (Estrus, 1999, ES 7142)

Albums
Master Supertone CS (self-released/no label, 1998, no cat.no.)
Soledad Brothers LP/CD (Estrus, 2000, ES 1271)
Steal Your Soul And Dare Your Spirit To Move LP/CD (Estrus, 2002, ES 1289)

Compilations
Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit LP/CD (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2001, SFTRI 623)
Shaky Puddin' X-Mas Surprise Package Volume 4 7" (Flying Bomb Records, 2001, FLB-118)
The Estrus Double Dynomite Sampler Volume 3 CD (Estrus, 2002, ES 1288)

Press and Reviews

SPIN
August 03, out in early July, profile of Johnny.
July 03 issue, out early June, review Soledad Brothers "Live".

Rolling Stone
June 26 issue,issue #925 on sale June 6, review of Soledad Brothers "Live".

NME
Kick out the jams brotherfuckers
Attempting a proper physical examintaion would be an unforgiveable breach of interview etiquette, but NME is willing to bet that all three of Detroit blues fetishists the Soledad Brothers have all their own teeth. Furthermore, none of them are blind, or even nearsighted, while their obvious good spirits suggest that none of their women have done gone left them recently. Indeed, taciturn sax/keyboard player Oliver Henry's current squeeze, Meg White, turns up at the west London pub where our interview takes place. So why have these personable, middle-class white boys got the blues so bad?

"You don't", announces mophaired singing guitarist Johnny Walker, "go to a doctor who's sick all the time, so why go to a bluesman who's sad all the time? You go to a show to have fun. If you come to our show and don't have fun, then shame on us."

The Soledad Brothers live in a strange world. A world where prehistoric blues records are praised for their "honesty", where veteran wailer John Lee Hooker is just called "Hooker", and those smack'n'Memphis-obsessed late- "60's Stones are the high-water mark of musical evolution.

Much of their backstory reads like fantasy, while the band constantly smudge the line between truth and fiction. Johnny Walker is really the not-at-all-glam-sounding Johnny Wirick, while drummer Ben Swank used to be plain old Ben Smith and claims to be a student of the Gnawi tradition of North African percussion. What we do know, however, is that (a) Ben is Jack White's flatmate and (b) Johnny trained to be a doctor: "I'm qualified, but I can't practice. I can't write prescriptions, but I can diagnose people. I won't go into detail, but I've identified a few, er, funguses recently." Oliver, meanwhile, used to play music on street corners with vagrants and spent time in jail for panhandling.

The three are so retro-minded that they even recorded chunks of their second album, "Steal Your Soul And Dare Your Spirit To Move" live, direct onto wax cylinders to capture some of the rawness of old blues 78's.

Of course, all this well-meaning romanticisation of the past invites criticism, especially when the Soledad Brothers are fiddling around with such potent imagery. The band's logo, for example, is nicked directly from the political wing of garage rock fountainheads the MC5, the White Panthers, a perma-stoned party whose manifesto was 'rock'n'roll, dope, and fucking in the streets'.

They've also been attacked by some people who see their name (a Soledad Brother is the term given to African-American men doing time in California's maximum-security Soledad Prison) as an appropriation of black culture to lend some skinny white kids a bit of osmotic cred.

"We did a show in Oakland and (founder of militant civil rights activist the Black Panthers)Bobby Seale's widow came down as a goodwill gesture," says Walker. "So if those people aren't going to give us shit for it, then neither should anyone else.

"We get crap off people, like 'How come a buncha white guys name themselves after black activists?' But that's ridiculous. We all live in the 'hood, so it's not like we don't understand anger."

Their Detroit "hood" is hugely important to the Soledads. "The first show we played was as a two-piece," says Walker. "Just me and Ben- and in the audience was Jack White, someone from The Detroit Cobras, someone from The Dirtbombs, Jason Von Bondie."

It's to document those nights that the band are releasing a live album, recorded at scene hub the Gold Dollar, now sadly closed. This time, at least, the memories are first-hand ones. "People criticise our music for sounding like it could've been made at any time during the last 50 years," reckons Johnny. "But if something's worthwhile, it's going to stand the test of time."

sfburning
Soledad Brothers
Live
Dim Mak Records
This is the new rock revolution. This is how rock and roll sounds today, right now. All time is circular: we are in the repeating moments of now. If it is not broke, why fix it? Why add keyboards? Why write about a kid named Tommy? The Soledad Brothers are about excitement. Sometimes they play with Meg White on drums. They are part of the rock and roll shrine based in Detroit right NOW! These are people who know who Mississippi Fred McDowell and John Lee Hooker are. All songs need a beat. All songs need to rock hard or they are meaningless. Why record in the studio with a bunch of suits looking at you. Rock and roll is an experience that cannot be captured, oh yeah! Johnny Walker is one of the most captivating lead singers in rock and roll. This CD is a document of that. "Teenage Heart Attack" sounds like they mainlined some exile on main street. "Up Jumped The Devil" is like rockabilly blues. This is party record. Get it today.

Neumu
Soledad Brothers' Brand New Old Time Borrowed Blues
Tapping the roots of blues, snipping segments from '60s rock and topping it off with an original spin, the sophomore release from Soledad Brothers - Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move (Estrus) - simply carries on the blues tradition.

"Some of it's borrowed and some of it's original - nothing is new under the sun, and that's the beauty of playing the blues," lead singer, guitarist and harmonica player Johnny Walker said during an interview last week. "Songs have always evolved. You hear people saying, 'Oh, that's a Robert Johnson song,' but Robert Johnson didn't write it, he borrowed it from somebody else - he learned it from Charlie Patton, who learned it from somebody else. So, some of the stuff is completely original, some of it is loose interpretations and some of it is complete covers.

"[On] 'Break 'Em On Down,' for instance, the guitar line is inspired by Mississippi Fred McDowell and the lyrics are half original and half Big Joee Williams and Sonny Boy Williamson I," Walker explained. "The guitar line isn't necessarily entirely Fred McDowell. [We] laid down a walking bass line on the guitar underneath it - that completely changed the dynamic of the song. If you listen to it you can tell that it's got the flavor of Mississippi Fred McDowell and one of the verses is borrowed, but for the most part it's a rough interpretation of another song, which is essentially what blues players, for decades, have done."

Speaking quite frankly, Walker said, "If any musician ever tells you that something is entirely original, they're lying," adding, "because there's nothing new - everything is inspired or derived from something else; you just add your own little twist."

Jack White of currently red-hot The White Stripes produced the first two songs on Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move, which Walker calls a mix of "old blues with loud rock ... that's not very polished (and) off-the-cuff rough." Detroit producer Jim Diamond - known for recording The White Stripes, Dirtbombs and The Go - worked with five tracks while Ruben Glazer and the band produced the remaining six.

Half the album was recorded in Detroit and the rest in Cincinnati. Total recording costs? About $400. "We recorded about half that record when the riots were going on in Cincinnati," Walker said. "We had to sleep on the floor of the studio because we weren't allowed to leave 'cause of curfew. It came through on the record, 'cause there was a lot of tension, which is good.

"This one is more love songs, and [there's] more playing going on," he continued. "The songs are a bit more arranged than they were on the first album, [which] was recorded in Jack [White]'s living room on a four-track; it was completely live. For this one we used an eight-track so we got a chance to do overdubs."

While most of the album marks a small technological step forward (recording-wise at least) for the band, for one song they headed back in time. "We recorded ['Hammer Me Down'] on an old acetate cutter, which is like an old record player that etches directly into the record, like how they recorded stuff in the 1930s," Walker explained. "And we only had four acetates, so we didn't have much room for error. We got a bunch of guys together in Cincinnati and rehearsed it for a half-hour and we got it in the first take - it's pretty cool, it turned out good. It sounds authentic."

The gritty, Delta blues-inspired band formed in Toledo, Ohio, and consisted originally of just Walker and drummer Ben Swank. They have since expanded to a trio with the addition of pianist, guitarist and saxophone player Oliver Henry. Currently touring the U.S. with Detroit's the Von Bondies, the band is on the road for the first time. Walker spent the last four years living in Cincinnati to attend medical school, from which he recently graduated - call him Dr. John! "You have no idea how many questions I've fielded from the Von Bondies about health issues - totally sick stuff," he said with a laugh. "But it's all right, it gives me a chance to show off all the education I have."

For all but the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco dates, The Soledad Brothers have again shrunk to two because Henry is in jail on panhandling charges, according to Walker. Walker and Henry often play with street musicians on city corners in Cincinnati. "It's a good way to keep on your toes," Walker says.

The Soledad Brothers, whose Rolling Stones influence is quite stand-out, also find that improvising and jamming onstage without plan or direction helps them stay on their toes. "We don't have a set list," said Walker. "We usually do a couple songs from the first album and a couple from the new album and then we just mix it up. We've done those songs for so long we like to mix it up. We don't rehearse - nothing is really rehearsed, it's all pretty much from the cuff.

"It's different every time we play. We try to change things constantly - variety is the spice of life," he continued, laughing at the cliche. "It's completely spontaneous."

The band plays Spaceland in Los Angeles tonight (Tuesday, April 9), then head north for a show at the Justice League in San Francisco (Thursday April 11) before heading back through the Midwest and closing the tour with dates on the East Coast and in Canada. For tour dates listing, see http://www.estrus.com/bands/Tours/Tours.html.

"If people enjoy what I'm doing, that's great, let's throw down," Walker added. "But if they don't, everybody's entitled to their own opinion - everybody's entitled to go to hell in their own fashion." - Jenny Tatone

Now Online Review
SLOWER SOLEDADS. DETROIT BLUES PUNK TRIO DEMONSTRATE THEIR MATURE SIDE BY TIM PERLICH
Detroit's soledad brothers areway ahead of the curve. It usually takes garage punks three or four albums before they're overcome by the need to demonstrate their musical sophistication. But the Soledad Brothers' self-titled sophomore disc indicates that they've already given up the snarling blues stomps for tender love ballads.

There's still a raw, Stonesy side to some of the material, so they haven't pulled a Blues Explosion and gone completely soft, but dividing up the album into Side Of Love and Side Of Understanding indicates that there've been some changes in the Soledads' approach.

Their label didn't bring in a clueless producer to mess with their sound. So what did happen? According to guitarist Johnny Walker -- currently finishing up his psychology studies at the University of Cincinatti -- it's just a result of the members' natural maturation process.

"When I'm at home," confesses Walker, "I just don't listen to much rock music any more. I tend to put on jazz or slow blues. And when I've picked up an acoustic guitar lately, I find myself writing these sappy love songs. I accumulated so many mellow tunes that it seemed like it was time to record them."

You'd expect there'd be a number of Soledad Brothers followers upset by being tossed the slow sucker ball, but Walker claims he's heard nothing but positive comments. You know, "At last, a blues album I can knit to" -- that sort of thing.

"I thought there would've been a backlash because of the slower songs, but that hasn't happened. Maybe the people who listen to our music have gotten as sophisticated as us."

Possibly, but it's a safer bet that the Soledad Brothers' close ties to press darlings the White Stripes could be temporarily shielding them from a critical skewering. They've certainly benefited from Jack White's patronage.

"It's kind of strange that we're getting more White Stripes-related attention now than with our first album, which he produced entirely.

"I'm sure that some ears are perking up because Jack is always talking us up in interviews. We're really tight. Our drummer, Ben (Swank), actually lives with Jack, but we're all good friends."

That's the interesting thing about the currently hot Detroit scene: the bands have maintained an unusual camaraderie.

"Four or five years ago," Walker explains, "the only people in Detroit going to shows by the Dirtbombs, the White Stripes, the Go and the Detroit Cobras were the members of the other bands on the scene. You'd look out from the stage and it would be like guitarist, bassist, guitarist, drummer, guitarist, singer, etc. "We'd all hang out and play music together at after-hours parties. It became a tight-knit little clique, and we've remained close ever since."

Ox Fanzine
Soledad Brothers? Who is familiar with the history(story) of the radical black citizen's movement of the USA, will prick the ears with this name - and to whom he says purely nothing at all, the Liner-Notes of John Sinclair help him in the CD-Booklet. Shortly: " Soledad Brothers " were three black prisoners from the Black panther's-surrounding field which served a sentence in the California Soledad's-prison because of murder of a jail-keeper.

With a dubious "attempt to escape" three were shot, among them George Jackson who has also written two books - one " Soledad Brother " was called - and this refers to this history(story) naturally - white! - duet from Toledo, Ohio. The other calls one, Johnny Walker Ben Smith, and they plaid together economically arranged - guitar, drums and mouth-organ must hand - " Trash to blues ", always beautifully dirtily and noisy. Obviously, this has another quality than the "originals" Releases from the house Fat Possum, not only for the fact that the both a) know youngly b) and c) are well trained, they fight bravely. Unfortunately, the texts are not enclosed, but Arwork and choice of name speak a clear language, and are only interesting SOLEDAD BROTHERS more than.

Amazon.com
Really solid, bleeding rare rock That could go head-to-head with anyone on the Fat Possum roster. Hard blues, and what's great to hear is that this record actually has a deep end to it -- the sound's nice and thick and not shrill at all. Like the White Stripes/Gories/Screws/Cramps/JSBE? You'll love this. Disappointed by the North

All Music Guide
The dark blues duo Soledad Brothers began in early 1998 after guitarist/vocalist Johnny Wirick (a.k.a. Johnny Walker) asked drummer Ben Smith (a.k.a. Ben Swank) if he wanted to play a show. Since then, they have recorded for Detroit's Italy Records and Bellingham, Washington's Estrus label. Wirick and Smith's partnership can be traced back to their days in the Toledo, Ohio blues group Henry and June, which existed from 1994 until 1996. After that group broke up, Wirick continued playing with drummer Doug Walker in the two-piece blues outfit Johnny Walker. Before one of the band's shows in early 1998, Walker decided to leave the group. Looking for someone to fill in for the gig, Wirick turned to Smith, who agreed to play. Developing from what was supposed to be a one-off show, Wirick and Smith decided to continue as the Soledad Brothers. After a few performances around the Toledo, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan areas, Dave Buick, owner of the Detroit-based Italy Records, approached the Soledad Brothers about cutting a single. This turned out to be their first 7", released in late 1998. Around the same time as the release of the single, the national independent label Estrus began distributing some of Italy's catalog. Upon hearing the Soledad Brothers, Estrus signed the group in early 1999. With the label, the band recorded their second single, which was released late that year. Jack White, a member of the Detroit band White Stripes, produced the 7". White had known the Soledad Brothers since their first gig and was a labelmate of the group during their time with Italy. White also assisted the band for two years recording their self-titled debut. It was during those two years that the group opened a show at Cleveland, Ohio's Pat's, located in the famous Flats, for legendary MC5 manager John Sinclair. He enjoyed the Soledad Brothers so much that he invited them to be the backing group for his part of the performance. This led to a friendship with Sinclair that resulted in him writing the liner notes for the band's 2000 debut album. Their sophomore effort, 2002's Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move, added several new instruments including a second guitar. - Stephen Howell

Epitonic.com
OK, get this. The Soledad Brothers are a white garage-blues duo named for a group of black felons who became martyrs and revolutionary heroes of the Black Power movement when they were gunned down trying to escape from California's notorious Soledad Prison in the early '70s. There's no irony involved in the duo's choice of name, nor in its stripped down, soulful garage-rock take on blues. In spirit and occasionally in sound, The Soledad Brothers fascinating musical and political identity recalls the great MC5 and the "White Panther" movement they participated in three decades ago, right around the time of the Soledad shootings. There are no contradictions here, just two white brothers who have assumed the struggle for black liberation, and the struggle for all oppressed people.

The duo's approach is a stripped down, raucous urban blues attack that's equal parts MC5 and John Lee Hooker. Singer Johnny Walker has the charismatic squall of an impassioned street corner minister and he uses it well, taking only occasional breaks for harmonica solos or instrumental asides. He accompanies himself on guitar with down-and-dirty rock and roll licks and Delta blues style fingerpicking. Drummer Ben Swank provides the rhythms, which usually come fast and furious, but never without deep nuanced feeling. The duo got their start when they played what they thought would be a one-off show in Toledo, Ohio. That performance led to a fruitful songwriting partnership, and in 2000 the Soledad Brothers released their self-titled debut full-length on Estrus Records . It features "Front St. Front" and "I-75 Boogie."

Fakejazz.com
The blues can come in many shapes and sizes, many forms and fashions. Whether it's gritty two-chord slide guitar stomps or quiet mellotron-infused tearjerkers, the Soledad Brothers are ready to try it all. They demonstrate this willingness by filling their latest with blues that show both focus and breadth, touching on many styles over the course of the record without ever losing the flow of a long-player.

Johnny Walker, guitar and vox, leads off by crowning himself a "Prince Among Thieves" on a slow-burner that sets the tone for what's to come. This is followed by "Prodigal Stones Blues," a tune so derivative of a well-known Rolling Stones riff that you expect a chord change that never comes. Yet the Soledads give the lick a fresh twist, inspiring hips to swagger and shake in response. But the real barnburner comes on "Break 'Em on Down" as Walker declares, "My name is Johnny, you'll deal with me now," before lighting into a churning stomp that never fails to elicit a reaction from my timekeeping feet. Place that song right next to "Michigan Line" as highlights of the album, another jam best played on repeat while ripping down a back road with one shoe on the gas and the other pounding the hell out of the floor mats. Walker also does his best Jon Spencer on the cut ".32 Blues" by taking the time to do shout-outs to several people before sending special thanks to "all y'all who bought the record." However, the Blues Explosion are on the rock end of the blues-rock spectrum, whereas the Soledad Brothers are rooted squarely on the blues side. They rarely stray from a 12-bar format, but that doesn't prevent them from excelling.

As a whole, the album provides respite after the songs with punch, adding to the power of the stronger numbers. There are several instrumental interludes that pepper the record, but they never seem to detract from the vocal tracks that carry most of the weight. Often spoken in the same sentence as their Detroit compatriots, The White Stripes, the Soledad Brothers have a similar appeal but are consistently more bluesy than rocky. They are far more likely to groove than to grope, more likely to stammer than to shout. Recommended if you like bluesy JSBX, White Stripes, or slide guitar.

Nada Much interview with Ben
Detroit Rock City.

It's been a heck of a long time since Michigan's largest burg has been able to live up to that nickname (Bob Seger anyone?). Sure, there have been some post-Iggy highpoints over the past 25 years, but the last time the city could honestly boast about a strong, identifiable rock scene the White Stripes were in diapers and the MC5 were still kicking out the jams.

But that all seems to be changing. Led by the suddenly MTV-friendly Stripes, a crew of Detroit bands are re-introducing the world to the brand of raw, dirty, bluesy punk rock that returned the city to national prominence in the '70s for the first time since Motown ruled the charts. About a year ago a bright-eyed member of our promotions team handed me a self-titled debut album by one of these groups, the Soledad Brothers, and asked me to give it a spin Ð It stayed on my turntable for three months. Dripping with amped up harmonica, slow psychedelic blues jams and passionate lyrics that at times come across more as a call-to-action than a song, it was the kind of record I hadn't heard inÉ wellÉ a long time.

The band released their second album, Steal Your Soul and Dare Your Spirit to Move, in March. Like its predecessor, it's chock full of Stonesy blues nuggets and fuzzy guitar and harmonica, but this time around the boys introduce horns, flute and acoustic bass to their bluespunk formula. If you live in the Midwest, you'll have a chance to see the band play tracks from the new album live, as they play several dates with Omaha's Fireballs of Freedom this month.

It's our custom here at Nada Mucho to reward one good deed with another, so when the Soledad Brothers recently came through Seattle for a show at the city's famed Crocodile CafŽ, the Nada greenhorn who introduced me to the band, Eli Langlo, joined me in chatting with drummer Ben Swank prior to the show. It went something like this...

Nada Mucho: How long have you guys been together?
Ben Swank: We've been in this band about four years; we've been playing together in other bands for about seven years, though.
NM: How'd the band get together?
BS: It kind of came out of our last band Henry and June. It was a blues/rock thing that broke up. Johnny had a different drummer for a while. But when it all blew up and they started fist fighting on stage, I stepped in.
NM: List some major influences.
BS: Fred McDowell, Hound Dog Taylor, The Stones, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Dr. Ross, John Lee Hooker, anything with soul.
NM: How'd you get hooked up with Estrus?
BS: A postcard from (Dave, label owner and former Mono Man) Crider. What a guy. NM: What's the deal with the new record? It seems a bit more laid back. Was that intentional, or did it just come out that way? Were there any major differences in the recording process?
BS: The feel of the album is definitely intentional. It has a very warm, and I think varied sound, which comes from it being recorded in three different places. We try to get as laid back as we can in the studio Ð just hang out, play and record it. This music should never feel forced. We did all of the last record at Jack's (White Stripe Jack White recorded most of the band's two albums at his home studio) but very much in the same way, a lot of separate sessions.
NM: Educate the masses on what, exactly, a "Soledad Brother" is.
BS: I would love to, but people need to educate themselves I think. I don't do the story justice in retelling it. Everybody should buy the book Soledad Brother. And read Soul on Ice while you're at it.
NM: Dirty, blues-based rock and roll is the best music ever. True or False?
BS: True, but throw soul music in there as well.
NM: Is the cover of the first album a tribute to that Thelonious Monk album that we can't remember the name of right now?
BS: It is. The record is Underground. We changed it from France to the ghetto. Chinese take-out instead of grapes. 40 oz. instead of wine. Uncle Sam for the Nazi.
NM: Brilliant. Is it weird seeing bands you've played/toured with like the White Stripes on MTV? Do you see yourselves making that crossover?
BS: It is a little weird, but it feels great. Everything they have has come natural, and they're great people. I don't think we're in any danger of any sort of crossover success.
NM: Phew! So I listened to "Weight of the World" every day when I woke up for nearly three months. Is that wrong?
BS: Only if you started stockpiling weapons after those three months.
NM: Did you grow up with music? Did your family play music and/or influence you with their musical tastes?
BS: Nobody in my family is too musical. John's either. They didn't even listen to much music. But they encouraged me to play.
NM: Tell us about your experiences with that nasty little phenomenon we call High School. What kind of cats were you guys at that age, and what were you into?
BS: Johnny was a punk rocker; I was just a pothead. We were both way too obsessed with music, which is pretty healthy for a teenager. I think we were like most kids. We hated everybody, and imagined everybody hated us. You need that as a kid.
NM: What's your drug of choice? Marijuana, music, milk, speed, coffee, booze, life?
BS: All of the above Ð Johnny can't do much livin'; he's a doctor you know. NM: What's your favorite city to play?
BS: Detroit.
NM: Got a favorite show story?
BS: There are a lot of them. Once in Toledo Johnny jumped up on there bar and took out all of the glasses. That was great. I like the shows where people fight, or dance.
NM: Who's your favorite band right now?
BS: Do you mean new bands? Reigning Sound is great. Don't listen to too much new music.
NM: What five CDs get the most play time in the tour van?
BS: Public Enemy, Jack McDuff, Exile on Main Street, Detroit funk 45 compilation, Otis Redding.
NM: So what's with this band Creed anyway?
BS: Bunch of fuckin' losers.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY WALKER FROM THE SOLEDAD BROTHERS

These guys: Johnny Walker & Benny Swank hail from Toledo, south of Detroit & they form the wondrous, upright outfit the Soledad Brothers. Encompassing a primal fire outta the day of atonement, could be detrimental for most bluesman, but they seem to keep the rockin' mule on the track. Their debut album is the sound of drunken melodic glass & leery ulcers caused by harps not broken in. If rock n' roll is an inflamed stomach lining, then the Soledad Brothers have the celestial night of judgement sewn up, just above their own intestines within a spitting flame of blues - & a microphone that contains blood & boast.

When The White Stripes were in Melbourne, Australia for a week of gigs during the month of November 2000 - I asked Jack White about the Soledad Brothers. This is what he said about Walker & Swank & the blues: 'It's not a joke to them or anything'. Later he commented: 'They know where the dirt is on it'. He also mentioned that when it comes to electric blues - he detests shit like Stevie Ray Vaughan. He confessed & testified a lot of other things about this particular potent duo - but a lot of it is similar to what takes place in the following interview.

This interview was conducted in January 2001 - & before you know it we'll have a new album by them. The debut Soledad Brothers album is available on Estrus Records. It's a delightful, tortured rabble of high preachin' & human ammunition. You'd be playin' the fool if you passed this mess on by.

You have a great understanding of roughed up blues - spoken / played - shit stirring enthusiasm - Where did this come from?

Personally, I don't feel like I have a good understanding of the blues. I'm a damm sight from where I need to be. If you wonder where it comes from, catch a trip to South Toledo. There is nary a way to stay out of trouble, unless you find something to be passionate about. To me, that passion was playing all kinds of music with all kinds of instruments. Not necessarily playing well, but feeling it none the less. I also found rhythm is the purest way to make someone feel better, physically or headwise. It's been said that rhythm is the translator of dreams to reality. The way I understand this is that it is the realization of all things that are able to make a person whole. It makes living easy and worthwhile.

Jack Whites recorded all of your stuff - in his house I believe - How'd you come about working with the Messrs White? - Any bland anecdotes to tell?

I was playing at a lounge in Detroit when Jack struck up a conversation about slide guitar. He was really pumping me for information. I could see that he was really enthusiastic about playing blues, and he had good taste. For many years after we would talk smack and play guitar on his front porch. We recorded a lot of good stuff on his front porch. Jack White is worth his weight in brilliance. He played snow shovel on the Italy single. He had to stand 20 feet from the mic, on the sidewalk, because the shovel was so loud. You are still able to hear his hollerin,' "In My Time of Dying" on the record. We also recorded a version of "Little Red Rooster" on his porch complete with distant Southwest Detroit gunfire. Very tasteful.

Can you tell me about the following songs?

St. Ides Of March
I wrote St. Ides Of March in a motel, when my van broke down in Podunk, Arkansas. I was on my way to a sabbatical in a Mexican town because of a girl.

Rock Me Slow
Rock Me Slow was inspired by T. Rex, or was it Hooker? The lyrics remind me of my sister jumping rope when I was a kid.

Weight Of The World
Weight Of The World was just a piss take slide line that Jack (White) demanded on the spot. It evolved nicely.

How'd John Sinclair come about to be doin' liner notes?

We were offered a gig in Cleveland backing him up. At first I think he was a little apprehensive about us on the account of us being so young. However, we arranged all his music at sound check in a bout an hour and a half. It goes without saying that the man has an impeccable taste for soul music. I gave him a ride to Ann Arbor and we hit it off. He later invited us to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. Hats off to John Sinclair. He validated our album.

Curious as to why you chose to call yerselves 'Soledad Brothers'? - for you guys 'I'm gonna give it to you Soledad Style' - for you personally define Soledad Style?

'Soledad' is Spanish for 'lonesome'. Can you think of a more appropriate name for a prison? John Lee Hooker played there and had his electricity cut off because he changed 'Boom, Boom, Boom' to 'Bang, Bang, Bang'. That's how I would describe Soledad Style. It's about playing until 4 in the morning, and only quitting because you are exhausted and loaded. It's about being born with the umbilical cord wrapped round your neck several times. It's about being arrested for buskin' at an outdoor 'rock, rhythm and blues' festival. It's about meeting the Mayor of your hometown and having him refuse your handshake... after playing at his fund-raiser... for only a case of beer. But most of all, it's about looking like a million bucks and not a dime short.

So what happened at this fund-raiser for the Mayor?

I played, as a favor for a friend, at a Democratic Party fund-raiser for the mayor of Toledo. When we were done he avoided eye contact with us and wouldn't shake our hands. I had to call that favor in. I got in an accident with a police car and got my charges reduced to "improper bumper height", by an ace lawyer. So guess I got a little more than a beer and a laugh out of it.

The back cover shows you both shooting a cigarette choofing / blindfolded / pimp lookin' Uncle Sam - Is it a metaphor for the state of play in America these days - 'The time of reckoning is at hand'

I'm not too sure what you mean by 'play in America'. I'm sure the play you are referring to is lacking. The truth always hurts more than the rabble. As for Uncle Sam, who pumps dope into poor neighborhoods to keeps folks down? Who taxes the hand that feeds and ignores the man who needs? Who forces their will on subordinates and dares the insightful to usurp? Don't you want to ruin Uncle Sam? If it were only so easy. Don't get me wrong. I'm more patriotic than most. However, I refuse to support a government that incarcerates more people per capita than any nation under the sun ever has. More than Mao. More than Stalin. More than Hitler.

Back to the cover - Whose joint was it all photographed? - your house? - rehearsal space? - I'm a fan of Eddie Cochran & guns me'self.

As to the cover, it is a tribute to Thelonius Monk. It mimics the cover of my favourite Monk album. The film was shot in my friends apartment in the Cass Corridor in Detroit. There are fantastic amounts of weapons in that photo. It matches the Monk album almost perfectly.

OK insert stupid biographical question - but how'd you both meet and form?

There aren't to many rock n' rollers in Toledo. It would be hard to miss one in a crowd.

Describe a Soledad live show - lots of spirits? - Holy Spirit and dancin'?

Live show: there is a lack of play in America. Holy Spirit: there is a lack of play in America. Dancin': there is a lack of play in America.

In regards to lack of play in America, more specifically music. At no time has there been more hack musicians in America. Myself included. The difference is that I put forth an honest effort I can't tell you how many bands, in every genre of music, think that getting on stage is a right, not a privilege. I don't own a TV. Do you know why? I play music. For what I lack in natural ability, I try to compensate with dedication. It might piss a lot of musicians off that a snot-nose kid from Toledo would say that the overall quality of musicianship has slipped. Prove me wrong. Put your Playstations away and practice 8 hours a day. I dare you.

Any new ideas for the new album or is it not even worth thinking about yet?

We have a very special guest playing with us, in the form of one Brian Olive, of the Cincinnati Greenhorns. He has been playing sax, guitar, organ and electric piano with us as of late. Jack White has an 8 track reel-to-reel. Anything's possible. We have many songs, probably thirty or so, originals and good standards, to choose from. We have a lot of friends playing with us. It's more of a full band sound than lo-fi.

You've worked with Jim Diamond (engineer at Ghetto Recorders / member of the Dirtbombs) on the 7" for The Gospel According To John?

Actually Jim is a good guy to just hang out with. He goes to all the good rock shows, drinks all the good domestic beer. He appreciates all the good things and yes, he is recording us as we speak.

What or who is the worst musician - music or band - alive - fucking up today?

Glass Tiger.

Sorry - I'm not familiar with their work?

Don't ever buy a Glass Tiger record. They were a very 80's Canadian pop band (see Loverboy). I like to use them as an example of how bad 80's theory of recording, is so bad. Unfortunately, it is still pervasive. Don't buy this record.

What would you all be listening to now? - What would be some sounds that are influences?

I have been listening to a lot of Jack McDuff lately. I play in a lot of alternate tunings. I started playing in alternate tunings because I had read that Keith Richards partook in the voicing on many of my favourites. Everybody is entitled to go to hell in their own fashion, mine with giants as my copilots. Glass Tiger.

How d'ya feel about those bloated Seventies bands playing the blues that ripped off many musicians?

Oh no! I think you have been terribly misinformed. The only thing that makes 70's supergroups like Zeppelin and the Stones bloated are the tired old turds than can only focus on them. Standing on their own, I think that these two bands in particular did some fantastic blues letting. Richards is on the wall of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi. During one of my visits there (make sure you take a tape with you. All their records can be taped in their library!), an old English lady said 'Keith Richards. What does he know about the blues?' My response was 'You Got To Move.' Of which, Fred McDowell is given props. He introduced me to Fred McDowell. I learned how to play slide because of Keith Richards. There is no questioning his, or Jimmy Page's integrity. Both of them truly love the blues, and would still be playing for the love in spite of the money.

Any free rants - soothing words - general comments?

There is no truth in any generality, including this one.

Working or is music full time?

I am a medical student at the University of Cincinnati. No, really ... I'm going to be a doctor ... You can stop laughing now ... I'm seriously going to be a doctor. (racketeer)?

shane jesse christmass copyright 2001

Interview by BirdmanSound with Ben
ONLINE PHOTOS Live at Dominion Tavern
http://www.birdmansound.com/soledadlive2.htm

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