Mark May

By Kevin Wildman Blues musician Mark May has just released his seventh album, Deep Dark Demon, on Mike Zito’s Gulf Coast Records. The new album is bringing some great reviews to the Gulf Coast legend. Deep Dark Demon debuted at #2 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart, as well as scoring great opening slots on the Living Blues Charts, and The Roots Music Blues Chart along with several others. It should come as no surprise to many, as his previous album, Blues Heaven hit #6 on the Billboard Blues Chart and remained there for 5 weeks. Mark has been performing his own special style of the ‘Blues’ for over 20 years on the Gulf Coast, and made quite a name for himself over the years. When it comes to the blues, Mark just oozes it. His guitar work ranks among the best, and his songwriting skills have just gotten better and better as time goes on. When it came time for the Allman Brothers Band to pick an opening act for their 1997/98 Amphitheater tour, Mark was the choice. When Dickey Betts and Great Southern needed an additional guitarist, Mark May was the choice. In fact, Mark performed on several tours with Dickey and went on to record on one of Dickey’s solo albums. Mark has created such a name and following for his music, that prestigious publications, such as Blues Review, Guitar Player, Guitar World, Tone Quest, Vintage Guitar, and several other magazines have featured him within their pages. That’s quite a feat for any guitarist to muster. May and his band have also racked up quite a track record for performing as well. After honing his skills in the smoke-filled Blues bars of Texas, he has moved on to even bigger and better gigs. Maybe you’ve seen him at one of the many festivals that he’s appeared at, such as the Telluride Blues and Brews, Mississippi Valley Blues Fest, King Biscuit, Tremblant International Blues Festival, Dallas International Guitar Show, and Chenango Blues Festival, not to mention countless more. The man literally tours non-stop. If you haven’t seen him perform, you’re definitely missing out and you will need to include this on your bucket list. You’ll be glad you did. Now Mark is back again with his newest masterpiece, Deep Dark Demon, and eleven of the best songs he’s every written, not to mention some of the best guitar playing of his career. The songs on this new album feature incendiary licks, great melodies, and some really heartfelt lyrics. Believe me, they really are. The song, “For Your Love” will literally melt your heart. Mark tells us that it took a little over a year to record, produce and issue. Deep Dark Demon was recorded in Houston, Texas at West Room Recorders, which is also owned by one of the members of his band, Geronimo Calderon. Geronimo is the drummer in his band and also performs on the album. Also performing on the album is Darrell Lacy (bass & vocals), Billy Wells (guitar & vocals), and Brandon Jackson (drums). Mark tells us that one of the unique things about this album is that it includes some great three-part harmonies and has a bit more of a blues-rock sound. “Well, you know,” says Mark, “when I first started out, I had more of a traditional blues sound back in the 90s with the harmonica player and all that kind of stuff and it’s slowly kind of creeps its way back more towards a blues rock thing. I think this album, probably more than some of the other ones has that. that sort of thing. We have more three-part vocal harmonies on this album than I think I’ve ever had, which is R & BI: How about “Back”? something new. I’ve had two part vocal harmonies on some my songs, but I think this Mark: “Back” is just looking back at is the first one where I’ve had three parts on times and things that you used to do. There’s quite a few of the songs.” several songs on this album that have that Mark puts quite a bit of thought into theme. It’s about just getting older and his songs, and those lyrics turn out to be looking back at things. Looking back at the something extremely personal to him. We sat time when you really had it going on and you down with Mark to get a little more insight to were on fire. Wishing you could go back and Deep Dark Demon and his take on several of revisit it, and get it going again like that. the songs. R & BI: Do you have any regrets in Rock And Blues International: Give particular about “back then”. me an idea what some of these songs are about Mark. “Harvey’s Dirty Side”, What is Mark: Oh, I think everybody has that one about? regrets. There’s all kinds of different things... You could say, ‘What if I would have done it Mark: I think everybody knows what this way, or that way. Whether it be your Harvey’s dirty said is around Houston. It’s music career or in your love life or whatever. all about, of course, the hurricane (Harvey) Would things have been different if you that about drowned us all in 2017. It just went would have just decided to do one thing on for days and weeks, so how can I not write instead of the other, or not screwed things up a song about it. Right! Yeah, a lot of my yourself somehow. musician friends lost their stuff. A lot of people lost their houses. Some people lost R & BI: All right now, the title track, their lives. It was a crazy time. Until Covid “Deep Dark Demon.” What is Mark May’s came along, it was the craziest time I’ve ever “Deep Dark Demon”? That’s kind of an seen. interesting title for both the album and the title song. R & BI: “BBQ And Blues”, now that seems pretty self-explanatory. Mark: Oh gosh, that’s a good question. Really! I mean, there’s so many. Everybody Mark: Yeah, there are lots of festivals has things they have got to deal with in life, around the country that are called Blues, you know, back in the old days. I wanted to Brews and Barbecue Festivals. I kept seeing write a blues song for the International Blues it over and over as a theme for these festivals. Competition that we we’re going to be in. I I thought it would just be nice to have kind of wanted it to be an old school kind of Blues a song to go with that theme for the fans, song, but I also wanted to tell a story. It just because that’s kind of what a lot of their talks about problems that we all face weekends are like, whether it be in their everyday and some of them are a lot bigger backyard or at a festival. It’s kind of a celebration of just the music and the fans and continued on next page September 2020 • Rock and Blues International 11

than others. It’s just basically about what everybody has to deal with. Some of them are worse than others and I just decided to sit down and write that song so I’d have a good, older style blues song for the International Blues Competition.

R & BI: How do you think the song measured up?

Mark: Well, it’s the title track of the album. I think it’s a pretty strong track. We get a good reaction out of it. It has gotten a lot of radio airplay so far. So yeah, it’s going good.

R & BI: “Sweet Music”. How about that one.

Mark: All right, well “Sweet Music” Mark: That’s “For Your Love.” You kind of an R&B, Soul,

is basically about my love for what I what I do... for my music. It’s something that we all need in our lives and I’m lucky enough to be able to do this for a living and make music for people. I like to try to make them happy. I’m grateful that I can do something that I The Temptations, were so good... all those bands like that. I’ve Blues, Blues kind of Soul song.

like. A lot of people have to do jobs that they don’t like and I get to do what I want to do, so I’m just grateful for it. And so I’m playing music man, great music specifically.

R & BI: Now what about “Rollin Me Down”? I’ve never heard that phrase before.

Mark: it’s just a good old Louisianastyle Blues song. It’s a love song. I got the title from my girlfriend’s mom. We were over at her house and her parents live in Louisiana. She said something about ‘rollin me down’ and I didn’t even know what she was talking about at the moment. I just thought that’d be a good hook line for a song. So I just brought it back to Houston and sat down and kind of wrote it in a Louisianastyle song. It’s just a good ‘ole love song.

To me it sounded like it gave a bit of a nod to The Allman Brothers band. right. It’s funny. Somebody even asked me. Hey, are you sick or something? Are you saying goodbye? I said ‘no!’

R & BI: Now we’ve made it up to must have been in a strange mood for this one. That’s kind of one of those ‘love sick’ kind of songs.

Mark: Right. Yeah, it’s just another Blues, love song.

R & BI: It’s a little bit different from the other songs on the album.

Mark: Yeah, it’s a little bit different. You know, I’ve always liked Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and all those R&B singers that always liked that style of music and always kind of wanted to do a whole album of stuff like that. If you remember back to Telephone Road, I had that song called “Took me by surprise.” I don’t know if you remember. It’s so long ago. It’s been a while. It also is a similar style song that I had the Memphis Horns on, so I’ve done a couple things like that over my career. I just slip them in here and there. But yeah, it’s just a good oldfashioned kind of, like I said, a Rhythm and R & BI: How about “My Last Ride.”

R & BI: And now you’re “Walking Out That Door.”

Mark: That’s another one about just Mark: The actual line is ‘I won’t be growing older and looking back at things that walking out that door,’ but it’s too long for a you could have done differently. Even title. I guess it’s another love song about if different decisions you could have made and you like somebody you’re with and you don’t you had to try to figure out a way to right think there’s any chance you’re leaving and your wrongs and make up for things that you you’re telling them not to worry about it. did, even if it wasn’t on purpose. It’s just one of those things where I think every musician R & BI: The next song on the album is has a time where they just kind of think, “Something Good.” ‘well, this is my last album or my last tour if things don’t start going better. You know, Mark: Well that one there is basically like this and that, You’re always kind of just about the world we live in today. There’s thinking. ‘All right. I got to get this thing a lot of lot of sadness and grief and once going’, so it’s about a combination of things. again, back to the ‘everybody has their It’s about growing older and just trying to demons’, the problems, like how are going to right the wrongs, kind of look over your deal with them. Everybody needs something career and your life, and trying to analyze to look forward to. I’ve seen this a lot with what’s going on. Whether or not you’re on musicians, where they just can’t buy a break. the right track or just never know. There’s several guys that I know are like this. If that guy could just get a break and see the R & BI: Well by sound of this album, light at the end of the tunnel, that there’s 12 Rock and Blues International • September 2020 something out there, that he’s got a chance to do better. Some people just can’t seem to get a break like that, but everybody needs something good to happen to them in their life or their career, their love life, their family life, just do just to keep them keep them going every day in the world, you know. So that’s what that sounds about.

R & BI: Last song on the album…. “Invisible Man.”

Mark: Okay, “Invisible Man.” Actually my bass player came up with the idea for this one. He had kind of a shell of a song and had that hook line. Basically the song’s about a guy who really likes a girl a lot and she just doesn’t see him at all. She’s goes out with all these other guys and he has a strong feeling for her and she just can’t see him. I mean, he’s just invisible to her. It’s a song about trying to try to show somebody that you care about them, but they’ve not really seen it.

Yeah folks, if you haven’t experienced Mark May, you really need to take a good listen to Deep Dark Demon. This is his best album to date, showing a new side to both his writing and performing ability. It contains some of the best songs he’s ever written, and performances that you will want to listen to over and over again. Also if you get a chance, take a listen to any of his previous releases. They include Call On The Blues, Telephone Road, Doll Maker, In Texas Live, Release My Soul, and Blues Heaven.