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Marco Savo - A Solid Contributor To The Portland Blues SceneArticle by Rose Allen, BluesNotes August 2006 Photos by Greg Johnson |
Over the past half dozen years of interviewing various musicians while researching articles for this publication, the name Marco Savo has been mentioned several times. When I used this fact to "sell" Marco on the idea of being featured, he joked that the mentions were most likely derogatory. Not so - he is recognized for his skills as a musician. It was time for a feature, despite the fact that Marco initially turned down the offer.
Anyone who has interacted with this man has experienced his extremely eccentric wit and totally offbeat sense of humor. Most have simply observed his quirky onstag mannerisms.
Marco discovered the guitar at 14 years of age during a nine-month stint in Denmark, where his father had taken a temporary teaching position. He describes the situation: "It was near total isolation. There was lots of snow and only one channel on television. Some guitars were lying around, and there was nothing else to do. We had less than 10 records with us, and we heard them thousands of times.” Marco ticks off the list of those he most remembers: "Grateful Dead Live," "Best of the Kinks," Carol King’s "Tapestry," The Dillards, and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee.” While in Denmark, Marco had the opportunity to catch this last pair perform “in a little tiny place. It blew me away.” So that was this particular musician’s introduction to the Blues.After those months in Denmark, the family returned home to Pacific Grove, California, Marco's birthplace. “Mostly I just listened to my parents’ records, which were primarily a lot of jazz, but there was always a good Blues cut, with jazz-oriented chords. Jazzy Blues is what I had heard most of my life. I started goofing around with that on guitar.”
In his late teens, Savo devoted himself to pursuing that interest in jazz guitar. He signed up for music theory classes at Monterey Peninsula College and performed with the school Jazz band. Marco attended a couple semesters, but really didn’t want to be in school any more. “I hated school.” He also quit guitar shortly after that. “I wasn’t trying to go for a degree or anything, I just wanted to learn the music stuff. I realized how much work it was to play jazz guitar. It was too hard, so I quit - I just put it down."
It was a full 13 years before Marco would pick it back up again. “I started thinking about playing guitar again and finally figured out I wanted to play Blues. A friend who is a very accomplished player in L.A. told me to go see Chris Cain. His show freaked me out so bad I only stayed for two songs and left. He was so intense, just climbing all over the guitar; it blew my mind. He was doing exactly what I wished I could do. He was playing again the next night, and so I went back a little more prepared for the playing I was to experience.
"From there, I spent $100 on an electric guitar and basically started bootlegging. Chris gave me permission to record his shows. So, I remember this time frame because I wrote the date on the tapes - it was 1989. I started going up to San Jose to see Cain perform there - that's where he's from. I would record every night and study those tapes. I wasn't interested in any other guitar players, really. But, once in awhile I would listen to Albert King, B.B. King, and Freddie King. I had seen Freddie King in Denmark too; it was extremely intense. But, after I saw Chris, it really changed things. He played lines that I heard the horn players play on my Dad's Jazz records, combining it with Blues Funk.
"I started practicing like a fiend after being inspired by Cain and stealing, honestly, too many licks. At some point, a tribute becomes a rip off. I can't say what the defining line is, but if a musician takes too many licks to the point where it just isn't right - there are too many of one guy's ideas in your stuff. I worship Chris Cain - Junior Watson too.
"I bought a lot of Blues guitar records that I listened to and got rid of immediately; names aren't even important. The other stuff just didn't stimulate me. So, I stopped buying them. Two or three years after that time period, I went and saw Junior Watson for the first time and had my mind blown again. Watson was completely different than any other – very complex, melodic, changing the course of his ideas, breaking in with new ideas while playing. That string of interrupted ideas becomes a solo. Both Chris and Junior share some common threads, one of which is knowledge of some Jazz training and Jazz study. They both look for that really complex, really melodic playing style. They are the two most influential guitarists for me. There are a couple of great Jazz guitarists that have impressed me too, but nothing like those two players." (Marco wanted to be certain I used the word "worship" in reference to Cain and Watson. He also included Little Charlie Baty in this category.)
Marco first started performing publicly in the early '90s. "I started going to Sunday jams on Cannery Row and bands were formed out of that." He is embarrassed by the name of his first band, "The Next Blues Band." "We played for about a year or two around Monterey and Santa Cruz. We had the only real shuffle drummer in town.
"I came up to Portland to visit an old girlfriend who had moved up here. My second parent had died, so I really had nowhere to go. I didn't want to stay in Monterey. This gal and I hit it off real well and she invited me up here. We had this whirlwind tour of the Blues scene in town - like seven nights in a row. People were going out in the wintertime and seeing bands and going into the clubs. This was in 1994. I sat in with D.K. Stewart somewhere, he offered me the guitar gig, and I accepted. That lasted about three months. What happened was, I was so stressed from my parent dying, moving to a new place, and joining a new band. I was just so distracted and stressed. So, here was the big guitar hero from out of town who couldn't play his way out of a paper bag. I really admire D.K.'s playing and wished I could have performed better at that time. I only played well one night, my last. D.K. asked why I hadn't played like that the whole time. After the night I played well, everybody asked, 'What happened to you?'
“Right off the bat, I played for two or three weeks with Margo Tufo Phil Haxton, Benny Wilson, Renato Caranto, Jeff Frankle. I was fired with no notice three hours before a gig one night. I played with Mel Solomon for a bit, Jim Wallace. Wallace and I formed the Lucky Devils. I played guitar, bass and then took up drums late in the Lucky Devils incarnation – that probably lasted five or six years. We were almost the house band at Kelly’s Olympian."
I placed a phone call to the Wallace residence to get some input from Jim. "Right. Marco played with The Lucky Devils for a few years. He's a crazy, crazy guitar player and lots of people should go out and hear him play. He is approaching things from a much different angle than most guitar players and it's something that people should experience - sort of a be-bop direction. he's playing all the notes that nobody else is using. It's a completely refreshing take on the same old Blues guitar bag."
In no particular order, Marco mentions some of the other musicians with whom he has performed during his dozen years in Portland, whether on guitar, bass or drums. Jack Cook, Johnnie Ward, Bill Rhoades and the Party Kings, and Jimi Bott. "I remember once when Jimi had to break in the middle of a set to pee and I had to sit in for him; talk about pressure. there were several months with Jimi's band at Hopper's on Monday nights; there were some hellacious nights out there."
Marco then developed his interest in the drums. "I needed a break from the guitar and had never played drums before. But, I know exactly what the guys up front want from the drummer. And, that’s not what the drummers necessarily want to do, which is why I did well. I practiced hard, worked with a metronome and listened to countless hours of music. I listened specifically to the drums, to what they were doing, and what they weren’t doing. I got gigs because of that. I wasn’t a real drummer; the drummers hated me. Once, I had a guy try to take the sticks out of my hands. But, sometimes that’s what it gets down to if a band needs a drummer: ‘Well, let’s see . . . who do we know that owns a drum set?’ I played drums, bass, and guitar with LynnAnn Hyde & Stu Kinzel, then with the Dover Weinberg Quarter for a couple years.”
“I still own my drum set and think about taking it up again but it takes a lot of maintenance, regular practice to keep up the drum chops. Drums are the toughest instrument because people are depending upon you. A terrific band won’t get off the ground with a poor drummer. The drummer is the most important player in a combo-type band. You just can’t get anywhere with a lousy drummer. A good one can take a poor band up several notches. Drums helped me learn a totally different perspective on what could and should go on with the other instruments of bass and guitar.
Marco describes his love/hate relationship with the guitar: “It gives me tremendous anxiety, but I can’t put it down. A lot of times it feels like the guitar is playing me. I drifted into bass out of necessity for a bass player; it was easier to find a guitar player and play bass than play guitar and find a bass player. I don’t have that anxiety at all playing bass – there’s more emphasis on the feel and how you meld with the drummer. Generally, the guitar has a different role. I eventually bought a bass guitar and bass amp. The thing is, you can’t stop and take a break while playing bass. It was at the Gemini that I first played bass. The first three or four gigs on bass I would just stop playing, to rest, you know. Everybody looked at me! Somebody said, ‘You know the bass is not supposed to stop playing.’ I forget. But I’m used to that now. I really enjoy it – I love the feeling of turning my ears toward the drummer and finding a place to put my note with the drummer’s note.”
When asked about stepping into the role of bandleader, Marco said: “I would never be a bandleader! It’s just not for me.” But, did he admire them? “How can I admire them? They’re the bandleader! Everybody hates the bandleader. Seriously, I admire anyone who can do what they do. Not what they do specifically, but just manage all us children in the band, the excuses, booking the gigs . . .it’s just not a job I would ever want.”Marco offered up his listing of some favorite guitarists in town: “Lloyd Jones because he is just groovy; Jim Mesi because he is wild; Chris Carlson because he is accomplished and kinky; Suburban Slim because he explores and plays ferociously; and Jim Wallace for his lack of sophistication and emphasis on Blues music on the guitar." In discussing other local musicians and the scene in general, the name Boyd Small comes up. “Boyd has true charisma – I have seen that in very few people. I am the anti-Charisma, joking around on stage.”
“The jam at Duff’s is one of the most consistently well-attended gigs I have ever had. Attendance is either good or great. I started that gig on drums for the first six months or so. Phil (Wagner, aka Suburban Slim) is the best jam host I have ever seen. He takes the time to combine the right people. Only two guys have been ‘86ed’ in the three years we’ve been doing it, and they had to behave really badly to get tossed. Basically, they were bullying their way up onto stage.”
I wanted to get Phil's input: "We've been at Duff's about four years now, and we played together a few years before that too. Marco's playing style is completely unique. He knows what he likes and diligently works toward obtaining his goal. He's a man on a mission - a madman! I enjoy playing with him because he brings a totally unique perspective to the table. Marco is completely creative and very entertaining. Sometimes I can't believe what is going on from the other side of the stage when he is over there! As a great bass player, he knows what he needs to do to make the music good on bass. It's a real team effort. He is a talented drummer as well. Anything he puts his mind to, he can do. His technique and feel are phenomenal. I just know that whenever I hire Marco, he is always going to give 100%. He is a fun guy on stage and likes to yuck it up. He makes the groove happen, but we always have fun at the same time. Marco is a great friend, lyal and true."
Marco proudly mentions two soon to be released CDs that he has recorded on, "Havin’ My Say" with the Suburban Slim Band, available at slimscombo@yahoo.com. It is a combination from some of those live performances at Duff's. The second recording will be called, "Bott & Paid For" recorded live at Duff's. Another Jimi Bott production, it has a host of local talent. "It's kind of like three different bands; quite a mixed bag. I’m super happy to be on it." That will be available in late August on www.cdbaby.com or pick one up at Duff’s on any Wednesday night to pick .
I’ve noticed that most times I’ve seen Marco perform, he usually wearing Converse sneakers. I asked about that. “Well, it’s a matter of familiarity and I always like to have them. I can’t say that I am really superstitious, but they are my ‘playing shoes.’ They remind me of being a kid. Every time I look down I see the stupid kid shoes and it lightens my heart. It’s part of my childhood identity – I wore them as a kid. If I get self-conscious with all these people looking at me, I’ve got the shoes as a reminder to lighten up. Plus, they go with all the other dowdy outfits I wear. But, I do wear black wing tips for a gig if necessary.”
In dealing with music fans, Marco noted that his threshold for patience is lower now, but he respond differently: "Not as harshly, but more quickly. I just won’t tolerate someone invading the band’s space. If you handle it professionally – the audience appreciates it.”
When I asked Marco who he most likes to perform with, he replied: “It’s so much fun with Slim. We’re so low key toward each other and so forgiving, yet the expectation is high at the same time and we bring all the intensity we can to bear on it. It’s not even my exact kind of music, but I feel comfortable with these guys. We have an unspoken agreement – we get up there and do the best that we can. Nobody is on a trip. If they are, they work really hard to hide it. We just have tons of fun and have had some of the local guys come in on that first set, like Jim Mesi and Lloyd Jones. They just jump in. Curtis (Salgado) has come in a few times. These guys have a ton of fun with us because there is no baggage. It’s a different atmosphere – we want to back them the best we can. It kicks our thing up a notch. It’s like a demilitarized zone; there are none of the usual responsibilities of their own band.”
“I love playing with (Paul) deLay because you never know what he’s going to do. He never gives you the name of a song. ‘Let’s do this in A, kind of a mint julep sort of thing.’ Then he starts counting, stops and says: ‘Let’s try G.’ It’s like jumping around banana peels – that friendly kind of test. Can you get through this little obstacle course? His creativity on harp and singing is amazing. He’s got the charisma. I’ve done a handful of gigs with him. I’m pretty proud of that.”
Marco Savo certainly has a good deal to be proud of, having established himself as a "serious" - let's just say "well-respected" - musician in this town. I’m glad he had a change of heart and allowed us this brief glimpse into his life as a musician.