www.ourcommunityfocus.com
Page 24
November 2012
In the Mix with Jim Caroompas The Contra Costa County Blues scene is alive and well, thanks to musicians such as Martinez resident, Jim Caroompas. If you have lived in the area for the last few years, I am sure you have heard or seen him in his various bands such as Caroompas Room, Jim Caroompas & The Sisters of Mercy and The Very Bad Boys. Born in La Jolla, California in 1954, Jim soon after moved to Louisiana, where he soaked up the sounds of the south. Growing up, Jim said he never “had a second thought about a career path� after listening to the likes of The Beatles and Elvis. But it would be the sound of the late 60’s Blues icons such as Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton that led him down “to the crossroads� path of the Blues. In his senior year of high school, John Lee Hooker came to his school and performed. Afterward, Jim told Hooker how much he admired him, so John Lee casually invited Jim to visit at his East Oakland home. Accepting the offer, Jim knocked on his door. When Hooker heard him play the guitar, Jim became his guitar player for three years. As a result, Jim also got to meet some great Blues masters such as, Albert and Freddie King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Cool Papa and Lowell Fulsom. Jim also has a journalism career and has worked for the Martinez News
By Paul Cotruvo, Cover2Cover pretty dreams, no “I love you forever,� or “I’ll never love again,� silly teenage love song fodder. Blues is life as it is, raw and unedited. I love all forms of it, including country Blues, Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, and early country stuff by Jimmie Rogers and Hank Williams. PC: Which do you prefer, solo, trio or the full Band? JC: No preference there. I love solo because I can let loose with whatever tunes seem appropriate for the moment without checking with anyone to make sure they know the song. The trio is great, because my two singers are so Gazette, Oakland Tribune and Contra gorgeous and inspiring, and they just elCosta Times. He is presently the editor evate the show enormously. The band is of the Martinez and Pleasant Hill Patch when I can really get my mojo working, and graciously took the time to accept because we’re truly a family and the love the following interview. just flows when we play. PC: At what age did you first get interPC: What are some of your biggest influested in music? ences? JC: I’ve loved music ever since I heard JC: Because of my particular childhood “Volare� on the radio, and then all those situation, I consider John Lennon, Bob amazing sounds in the south. My mom Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchwas a huge Ray Charles and Elvis Presley ell to be my moral guides. I really looked fan, so I soaked up a lot of that in addito them for guidance growing up. I still tion to Hank Williams and the Platters. do to some degree, though I’ve since exPC: Do you play other instruments panded my guidebook quite a bit. I play besides guitar? guitar because Eric Clapton is such an JC: I play enough piano to embarrass elegant poet of the six-string Blues form. myself. I am secretly an amazing drumI have always aspired to stand slightly in mer in my mind. his shadow. PC: Why the Blues and what style do you PC: What are some of your musical prefer? career highlights? JC: I have always been drawn to the JC: One was jamming with Neal SchBlues because it’s an expression of life as oen (then just starting Journey) at the it’s truly lived, not a dream or an ideal. Warfield Theater in SF, when my band It’s just reality in the key of “G�. No Colefeat was headlining there. I had seen Neal play “Key to the Highway� with Derek and the Dominoes, Eric Clapton’s band, and I heard that Neal turned Eric down to join Journey. I invited Neal to play that song with us. I had the rather overconfident notion that, since I was
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a self-appointed apprentice to Clapton, that I would show Schoen a thing or two about the Blues, as Eric had. Unfortunately, Neal pretty much wiped the floor with me that night, and I have since made it a point never to invite anyone to jam if they’re better than me. Another highlight was meeting Freddie King in John Lee Hooker’s home, and watching him literally cook and wolf down two steaks within 10 minutes. He died of a heart attack at 47, to no one’s surprise. He was an astounding and inspiring human being. PC: What are your views of the music scene here in Contra Costa? JC: There is a growing and robust music scene in Central County, thanks to efforts by people like yourself. Restaurants are realizing live music on the weekends is good for their post-dinner business. Armando’s in Martinez has raised the bar for music clubs everywhere. Things are getting better all the time. PC: If you were a song, what song would you be and why? JC: “Bird on the Wire� because I have tried, in my way, to be free. And the lines, “I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch. He said to me, you must not ask for so much. And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door, she cried to me, hey why not ask for more?� That dichotomy sums up the ongoing conflict of my life. Be sure to check Jim out. You will not be disappointed. (To read Paul’s entire interview with Jim Caroompas, visit the Focus website at www.ourcommunityfocus.com and click on the “columns� tab and click on “In the Mix�) Quote of the Month “The Blues ain’t nothing but a good man feelin’ bad.� --Leon Redbone
PAUL’S PICKS FOR NOVEMBER November 1 - Chris Cain Band, Armandos, 707 Marina Vista, Martinez, 8pm November 2 - Petty Theft, Dan’s Bar, 1524 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, 10pm November 3 - Cover Story, Dallimontis, 1932 Oak Park Blvd., Pleasant Hill, 8:30pm November 3 - Sin Silver, Rocco’s Pizzeria, 2909 Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, 8:30pm November 9 - Roy “Armando� Jeans Birthday Party and Fundraiser featuring Caroompas Room, Hopeless Romantics and more, Armandos, 707 Marina Vista, Martinez, 8pm November 29 – Lumberyard, The Roundup Saloon, 3553 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, 9pm