Haus, Travis Turner, Johnny Black & Aaron Black
Photo by Michelle Reuss
Haus, Travis Turner, Johnny Black & Aaron Black
Photo by Michelle Reuss
2000 Best New Act
by Rick Hall
Article Reprint from the April 2000 BluesNotes
Portland's hottest new Blues band has taken fans by storm. Nowadays, it's not unusual to have new Blues bands crop up in this town from time to time. After all, time keeps marching on and for every band that retires or breaks up, there needs to be one to take its place in order to perpetuate the genre. And, there are new young people getting turned on to Blues music everyday. What's unusual about this group is that it's a father and son taking on this venture together, both fronting a band and sharing their love of this American art form we call the Blues!
The Aaron Black Band featuring Johnny Black is comprised of Aaron Black on guitar and Aaron's father, Johnny, on vocals. The rhythm section of the quartet is made up of Travis Turner on drums and Haus on bass. The band is a relatively young group of musicians; all are in their mid-'20s (except, of course, for Johnny). They've only been together since last fall, however, if you saw them when they played last December's CBA Monthly Membership Meeting, or if you've seen them at one of their recent gigs around town, you know right away that these guys are seasoned, well-schooled musicians who have quickly molded themselves into a solid working unit which knows their music and knows how to entertain.
Johnny says that music has been a part of his life from the time he can remember. He recalls listening to all the great British bands of the '60s, groups like The Stones, Cream with Eric Clapton and The Beatles. But, for Johnny it was the American artists that really appealed to him. Artists like The Everly Brothers and Bobby Darin; great vocalists. Elvis Presley was somebody who was played a lot around his house he recalls.
Johnny grew up in Southern California and sang in a few bands when he was in junior high and high school, mainly party bands. In 1970, he got married, and he's still married to the same woman today. He and his wife had two sons, Adam and Aaron, both whom were born in Southern California. Before either boy was in school, the family moved to Ashland, Oregon where Aaron and his brother were able to complete all of their schooling.
Aaron recalls a time in Ashland, "I remember I'd come home from school and dad would be jammin' on the electric guitar playing the Blues and Cream tunes cranked up to 10. Music was always happening around the house." Aaron and his brother, through their dad, were continually exposed to music all the time they were growing up. However, Aaron didn't really start playing guitar until he was 20 years old. He played violin in the orchestra in school, but his dad had many musical instruments around the house while the boys were growing up: saxophones, guitars, a piano, and the likes, and he encouraged the boys to play them.
In 1993, Johnny and his wife moved to Portland. Aaron came with them, and while Johnny worked a day job, music continued to be a huge part of his life; his hobby. Aaron's interest in music escalated after the move until he finally wanted to play guitar. Aaron continues, "I picked up the guitar and started listening to everything dad listened to, which I hated when I was a kid. I was too busy listening to everything else. I remember the first time I heard Stevie Ray Vaughan I hated it. Dad would be playing it in the car and I couldn't wait to get home and play my music: Punk, Rap, Hip Hop, and stuff like that. Eventually, I started to listen to dad and to other guitar players. I liked the guitar so much and the Blues was so dominant for me it became my favorite style of music. I took a few lessons but most of the stuff I learned from just sittin' in the basement at dad's listening to all his old records." Johnny says, "Aaron used to go into the basement and you wouldn't see him for days on end. I would have to go down there to literally see if he was still alive."
In the mid-'90s, Aaron started going to the Sunday jam at The Trail's End Saloon in Oregon City. He would jam every chance he got, honing his skills with some of the best Blues musicians around the area. Doug Rowell would have Aaron come down every Thursday to the Trail's End and play with him. He'd drag Aaron through every Blues song he knew and then they'd start on (Jimi) Hendrix material. Eventually, Aaron got a chance to join The Cobalt Blues Band with guitarist Robin Gibson. That was his first band.
Johnny explicates, "The thing about Aaron is that he sees it and he hears it clearly. Me, it's a little foggy with the guitar. I love the guitar and I've played it for years, but some people have that natural, built-in timing thing and a great feel for it. They also have an intellectual sense of how music actually works and how to put it together. I think Aaron has that!"
Aaron now writes his own material and he and Johnny are working on many songs together for their upcoming debut CD. Their focus right now is playing as much as possible, staying abreast of their music and steering things in more of an original direction as soon as possible. Johnny states, "There seems to be a little bit of a roadblock. Covers are great, and a lot of people have become famous on covers, but everywhere you go people are asking, 'do you have your own CD? Do you have your own originals?' So now, that's become such an issue, we have to make it more of a priority in order for us to move on." However, they are taking some time to make the right recording. Aaron says, "We want it to be 'killer' Blues, but we want it to have its own flavor too."
When starting out, Aaron was going to the jams and always having to sit in with other bands playing a lot of the stuff he wasn't really comfortable with. He approached his dad saying, "Well, you can sing all those Blues tunes, why don't we work something out." They worked up three or four songs together and then went down to the local jams and told the jammers what they wanted to play. That's how this father-son gig started. Johnny learned, "Tell Me What I Done Wrong?", Howlin' Wolf's, "Ridin' In The Moonlight", and a couple of others and it grew from there. After awhile, they had 10 or 15 songs, so they said, "Let's find a drummer and a bass player and put this thing together". Johnny continues "That's really what we wanted to do. And, with our relationship, as close as we are and as well as we get along together, there was no problem there. I mean, I'm the dad, but it's more like we're brothers."
Aaron states that his guitar influences are legends like Albert King and Ronnie Earl, as well as two of his favorite local axe-handlers, Doug Rowell, and 10-time CBA "Muddy Award" winner, Robbie Laws. On the vocal side, Johnny likes the big, bold vocals of Bluesmen like Kim Wilson, Sugar Ray (Norcia) and Darrell Nulisch. Their influences are very apparent in the material the band performs. They've "gone to school" on the talents of these stalwarts of the Blues, but they still maintain their own identity and originality when they take the stage. This is a band that is truly very tight and very professional.
The rhythm section has jelled together for the group. Both Haus on bass and Travis Turner on drums are relatively new to the Blues. But, being continually exposed to all kinds of Blues with this band, they're learning fast and lovin' it. "Both are educated well in playing their instruments. Haus has been playing bass for a while, but not really in club bands, and Travis has a natural ability which he gets from his father who's a drummer also," states Johnny.
What's up in the near future for this dynamic new group? The band would like to perform at the prestigious Waterfront Blues Festival this summer, and they want to have their CD project wrapped up by then also. They would like to open up for several national acts and get that needed exposure which all new bands need. Then, they would like to take the band on the road and really season it.
In the short term, the band is booked locally around the area performing as often as possible. Check out their ad and the calendar page in this issue of BluesNotes for all their upcoming dates.
Of special note, this month, are the band's performances the second weekend of April with special guest, CBA "Muddy Award" winner (as a member of The Strat Daddies), Kenny "Blue" Ray. Even though Kenny is from the Bay Area, he has become a very good friend of both Aaron and Johnny through his many performances here in the area. Kenny will be their guest for four gigs this month. They'll get the weekend off to an early start on Thursday night, April 6th at The Candlelight (downtown) for a 9:30 pm performance (The Norman Sylvester Band will be off that night). On Friday night, April 7th, the band moves on to The Cascade Tavern in Vancouver for a full evening of Blues. Then, on Saturday evening, April 8th, the Cascade Blues Association will cosponsor The Aaron Black Band featuring Johnny Black with special guest Kenny "Blue" Ray at Hopper's (112th & SE Division - see the article in this issue on that show). And, one final evening with Kenny is scheduled for April 9th at The River Roadhouse in Milwaukie for a Sunday evening jam. Check out any or all of these special performances. It will be a chance to see one of this town's favorite out-of-town Blues guitar heroes along with one of the area's fine new Blues ensembles.
In closing, both Johnny and Aaron want to thank Adam (Johnny's other son), who his contributed so much time, energy and money towards getting the band started on the right track. He has contributed the poster, the ads, the CD inserts for their demo recording and is responsible for their new website which is at aaronblackband.com on the web. They call Adam the fifth member of the band. They also want to express thanks to "The Big BA", Bob Ancheta, from KINK Radio's Sunday Night Blues Show, and CBA Supporting Member, Terry Odor, for their help in promoting the band.
© 2000 Cascade Blues Association