Ya know I reviewed his album "Blues with a Vengeance", shortly after that I read, on the Blindman Blues Forum, that he was scheduled to play in East Peoria on August 6th 2005 for the 1st Luther Allison Memorial Blues Fest put on by the River City Blues Society. The music was so good I just had to see the guy in person. Hence we have an interview.
I asked him his favorite color, he was having dinner with his lady when I called his cell phone. He replied, "Purple" then said , "wait, can I have two?" I said, "sure man". He then said "Gold and Black", I said, "as in like a combo?" he said "yeah". I let him get back to dinner. So now ya know his favorite colors.
When I finally got into the trailer John Lee was making some tea with honey and lemon. And when Bob Keiser, President of the Blues Society popped in Jr. asked for a battery for the microphone just incase anything went wrong. I was so excited to be there.
Jeffery Jones, the 19-year-old guitar wizard, was sitting on the couch messin his get-fiddle. Craig Robinson, bass player, was sittin at the kitchen table making a sandwich and Spiderman, keyboard player, was around. Dudes were coming and going much of the time. He was about to do his show and I tried to be considerate as possible.
The Answer is .........SCOTCH..........
That might have been the best question.
They laughed out Loud when I asked it.
The Question was, "Did your dad prefer Bourbon, Scotch or Beer?"
John Lee Jr. said "Only 1 bourbon", "I remember
him asking for Scotch all the time. My dad was a Scotch man."
Then he imitated his dad ordering a scotch.
I asked him , "When you were drinkin what was your choice."
We all had another laugh and Johnny said "Shit, I didn't really care for any of em'", then said, " I ought write a similar song about drug choices".
John Lee was incarcerated for a while, that's a pretty well known fact. He was jailed on drug related charges. I felt that might have been an inappropriate question to ask, but I asked it anyway. He seemed pretty ok with it and wants everyone to know that there was nothing hurtful to others, (such as crimes of violence, burglary, or predatory type crap) it was strictly based on his use and pursuit of drugs. John suggested that it was to bad that his dad is not here to see how he has turned his life around because he was really on him about that stuff. I said, "John, he sees, he knows".
I asked what his favorite sport is, John said "I don't really get into sports to much", then he said "Boxing" and told me that he used to be a boxer. I asked if he had a favorite boxer? "Yeah, it's Bernard Hopkins. I really like that guy, we've been through the same type of situations and both of us have made it to the top"
I asked John Lee if he gets upset sometimes when people constantly ask about his dad?
John said, "Yea, it gets tired, when an interviewer constantly asks 'your dad this, your dad that', I start lookin at my watch thinking, interview over". He is grateful and loving for his dad, but says, "Ask me about me". He says, "Ask me about My Handy Award, and ask me about my Grammy nomination. Shoot, its my first time out and I'm up there with the likes of Eric Clapton and Pinetop Perkins. Ask me about my other awards.
I asked John how long it took him to get his debut CD out. It took him 7 months to get it done, but a lifetime of learning to do it. Many of the songs he says were written on the road. Incase you don't know, John Lee does not play an instrument; he is the singer, performer, songwriter, producer and band-leader. He has been singing since about age 10 or so, also there was a long period where he was out of the scene all together. John Lee did say, "There was an enormous amount or pressure to make sure that this would be right because of the Hooker name". This is a pretty significant point. After all, it ain't easy havin the blues, and being a son of the blues makes expectations that much higher.
I asked John where he would go from his debut release and did he envision other spectacular projects. He said "Man, this is just the beginning. Its like a launching pad for me"
I asked John how old he is. He answered, "53", I said, "Shit, no way, man you look great for 53". Everything else I've read said he was in his 40's, the man looks great, and is in very good shape. Later, on stage, he showed with his dancing and energy that he is (in great shape).
I asked him if he ever hangs out with any other Sons of The Blues. He said that he does not get the chance to as often as he'd like to. He does see his man "Big Bill Morganfield (Muddy Waters) and Shirley King (B.B.King). He was happy that Luther's Family was there but to bad that Bernard could not be there. He basically said, "It ain't like we are in high school right now, we can't just hang-out". I agreed saying something like , "the Business of the Blues". We all nodded.
The man was dressed to the 9's if not the 10's. John Lee Hooker Jr. is a Styling Cat. This is what he was wearing:
1 Karat Diamond stud earrings.
Diamond neck broche.
PYTHON BOOTS.
Dressed in Silk , (I'll guess boxers as well, never got to ask "boxers or briefs").
Black Fedora, (red feather).
Black and Silver sequin vest.
He calls himself the " 'Black Liberachi', except Liberachi did not have the diamond in his ears"
I know he took one look at me and knew I was not a dedicated follower of fashion, so he made sure I knew what he was wearing so I could tell Ya'll. It actually started out with me asking what type of boots he wears.
I asked an essay question of John: Compare the time you were on the road in your youth and how that compared with today, and now that you are the band leader how did that time in your youth help you today?
John thought a minute and said "I remember riding in the back seat with my father and that was the best schooling I could have had for what I'm doin now". We talked about it a bit and the basic answer was that he learned the good and bad and remembered them both to help him make his own decisions as leader of his own group of Blues Globe-Trotters.
I asked what he travels in, he said "Van, plane, car, truck, just about anything". He looked over at Craig and said, "The only thing we ain't done yet was hitchhike".
I asked John if he ever goes to gigs and locations specifically because he and his dad played there together. John said, "I get sentimental some times about things like that, I mean I'd love to go tour Mississippi and the place where my dad grew up". "Sometimes I'll go to those places with the band and we'll just play for the cover charge." "I have a booking agency and I'll tell them I want to go here or play at a particular place and they make it happen".
I asked him his favorite number, John Lee said "5". I asked "why", he quickly responded with, "Because that is the grace of God". Then John said "3 also", I again asked, "why", and he said, "Because that's how many days it took him to raise". I found that interesting. He said "Why", I said, "Well I guessed your favorite number would be 53 and it does take a 5 and a 3 to make it". (I had guessed his favorite number would be his age, what ever it was). John Lee is a man of God, that is no surprise. I know this man can write and sing some gospel after all he has seen, done, heard, saw, lived, and experienced.
We ended the interview with Johnny waxing religious and me saying, "Well I guess it was in ya and had to come out". He laughed and John Lee said, " Yeah that's Boogie Chillin, I remember that one." I concurred saying how I always liked that line.
Johnny offered me some food, so I grabbed a sandwich, a bottle of water, and I had my first beer of the day from the hospitality tent on my way out and it was on to the show.
He started the show by offering thanks to the Luther Allison Family and The River City Blues Society and how he is honored to be the headliner of the event. At some point John mentioned how he knew his daddy and Luther were up there playing the Blues together.
I believe his first song was, "Can I Walk You to Your Car", very clever song of seduction.
Then he warned everyone to step back from the platform unless they were wearing grease repellant pantyhose or blue jeans because we were about cook with the hook.
John said parts of the show was being recorded live for a new CD.
He played "Suspicious", "Blues Ain't Nothin' But A Pimp", "She Wasn't Nothin' But A Devil" Boom Boom, "All Night Long" and a number of great songs. What a great show. Catch him if you can and definitely pick up his music.
Before I submitted this interview for publication I called John Lee and asked him if he would like to review, edit, or change anything about what I have written. He said, "No, that would be kind of like messin with voter registration process, and that just wouldn't be right." He said, "We take the good reviews along with the bad, we just want your honest opinion".
I thank John for the offering of his time and answers, I thank Blues on Stage for the opportunity, and I hope you have learned something new and good about John Lee Hooker Jr..
Keepin the Blues Alive, Dave, Dog of Madness, Madlener!
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