Bugs Henderson was one of my all time guitar heroes. I cn't count the number of times I saw him play beginning in the '70s until his passing on MArch 15, 2012. Te was a true Texas Bluesman. You'll not find a picker anywhere in Texas who doesn't hold Bugs in the highest esteem and reverence. He was a beast. The article is a little skimpy due to the fact Bugs never sought the limelight or the big time. The reflections kind of sums up his whole persona. Things are loosening up a tad. A few more acts are getting out and about. Hope everyone is staying safe if they venture out. I get my second shot this week and maybe I'll have the nerve to show my mug around town. I'm dyiong to see a live show.I know y'all are, too. If you're skeptical about the vaccine, there's really know reason to fear it. What have you got to lose? I'm in. Getting closer to the end. Hand in there. Have a week! Sincerely, Jim Crawford - PBS |
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Out & About Tuesday, March 16 Waiting out the virus: Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns The Sugar Thieves Gary Zak & The Outbacks Hans Olson Rocket 88s JC& The Rockers Carvin Jones Hoodoo Casters Rhythm Room www.rhythmroom.com
Nina Curri Paris James Mother Road Trio Blues Review Band Reverbnationbluesmanmike Mike Eldred www.mikeeldredtrio.com Big Daddy D & The Dynamites Facebook Cadillac Assembly Line Facebook Innocent Joe and the Hostile Witnesses Facebook Chuck Hall Facebook Pop Top Facebook
Acme Blues Band Facebook
Sweet Baby Ray
Tuesday, March 16 Waiting out the virus: Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns The Sugar Thieves Gary Zak & The Outbacks Hans Olson Rocket 88s JC& The Rockers Carvin Jones Hoodoo Casters Rhythm Room www.rhythmroom.com Nina Curri Paris James Mother Road Trio Blues Review Band Reverbnationbluesmanmike Mike Eldred www.mikeeldredtrio.com Big Daddy D & The Dynamites Facebook Cadillac Assembly Line Facebook Innocent Joe and the Hostile Witnesses Facebook Chuck Hall Facebook Pop Top Facebook Tommy Grills Band Facebook Sweet Baby Ray SweetBabyRaysBlues.com Wednesday, March 17 The Sugar Thieves, 3:30 p.m., Clancy’s Pub, Scottsdale Sir Harrison Band, 3 p.m., Murphy’s Law, Chandler Thursday, March 18 Hans Olson, 6 p.m., CANCELED Handlebar, Apache Junction Mike Eldred Trio, 8 p.m., Kazimerz, Scottsdale Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., The Living Room, Phoenix Friday, March 19 The Sugar Thieves, 8 p.m., The Revelry, Mesa Leon J, 11;30 a.m., DA Ranch, Cornville Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., Perch Brewery, Chandler Blues Review Band, 5 p.m., Fire Rock Country Club, Fountain Hills Saturday, March 20 Mikel Lander, 1 p.m., Marauders, Tempe Hoodoo Casters, 5 p.m., Mountain View Pub, Cave Creek Blues Review Band, 6 p.m., Voodoo Daddy’s, Tempe Carvin Jones, 3 p.m., Marauders, Tempe Leon J, 11;30 a.m., DA Ranch, Cornville Sunday, March 21 Mikel Lander, 11 a.m., Short Leash Hotdogs, Phoenix Leon J, 11;30 a.m., DA Ranch, Cornville Carvin Jones, 2 p.m., Heart & Soul Café, Cave Creek Monday, March 22
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| BUGS
by Richard Skelly
Henderson got his first guitar, a Montgomery Ward Airline, one year at Christmas when he was just six years old. Like Louisianan Sonny Landreth, also an exquisite player, Henderson began working in a record store in his teens. As a teenager, he would sneak out of the house to see live shows at local clubs, and he formed his first band, the Sensors, at 16. He later joined a friend, Ronnie Weiss, in a band called Mouse & the Traps, and they charted their first regional radio hit, "Public Execution" in 1966. Although he played in a procession of rock bands and studio sessions for country and rock musicians, by the early '70s Henderson realized the only music he was truly passionate about was blues.
His mentor and friend, the legendary Freddie King, advised him to form his own band and follow his heart. By 1978, Henderson released his first record, At Last, for Texas-based Armadillo Records. The album would be the first of more than 14 records in the ensuing three decades. By the late '90s, Henderson was recording for the Portland, OR-based Burnside Records. His albums for that label include 1998's Have Blues...Must Rock, and a later release, Backbop. Other releases include Electric Snow, Stormy Love, Adventures of the Shuffle Kings, and Gitarbazndrumz.
Henderson lived near Tyler, TX with his four children and has a simple, overriding philosophy of life: family first, music second, career third. As he explained in the biography accompanying one of his Burnside Records releases, "I couldn't have the life I have now and be a major star. Couldn't go to my kids' ball games. I wouldn't give that up for anything." For the limited touring he does do each year, Henderson takes his family on the road with him: son Buddy plays drums with his father, son Cody works as a sound tech for the band, and daughter Rose sells merchandise. Despite his limited touring and the limited distribution of his recordings over the years with smaller labels like Burnside, Henderson and his varying bands have shared stages with guitar icons including Ted Nugent, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. One of Henderson's guitars hangs proudly in the Hard Rock Café' in Dallas, alongside instruments donated by Chet Atkins and Lee Ritenour.
Henderson recently released a DVD, Live at the Grenada, recorded in Texas, and his website indicates he continues to tour Europe, select festivals around the U.S., and in clubs and theaters around Texas. He made a conscious decision some years ago to avoid grueling road trips, and said in a biography for Burnside Records, "I tell people all the time that I know you're supposed to stop and smell the roses as you go through life, but in my case I stopped and moved into the garden. Recollections I can’t count the times I saw Bugs Henderson play. There was a while in the mid- to late ’70s where, on almost any night in Austin or Dallas, you had your pick of seeing Bugs, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rocky Athas, Eric Johnson, John Nitzinger, or Too Smooth (with guitarists Brian Wooten and Jeff Clark).
Since I was at school at Baylor, in Waco, precisely and conveniently located halfway between Austin and Dallas, and since showing up for an 8 a.m. biology or Russian History class the next morning held far less appeal than staying up all night, getting to see one or more of those players for almost no money, I burned up a lot of highway miles.
I blame them, of course, for the fact that I eventually flunked out — as opposed to blaming me — but the musical education was world class. You’d have to be an idiot to pass up those opportunities, and I didn't. I also don’t know that such a confluence of guitar talent will ever be trotted out ever again in such an all-you-can-hear, buffet-style greatness.
Henderson passed away late last week, from complications of liver cancer, at the age of 68, and he was just one of the finest blues-rock guitarists ever. His was a unique fusion of tone and riverine speed, an appreciation of space and dynamics, and while he had a scholar’s appreciation of archival blues and rock ‘n’ roll, he played with wit and joy and effortlessly found ways to take blues and rock into the future. Here, for example.
A few random things I remember about Henderson:
-- At the relative dawn of Saturday Night Live, there was speculation that Henderson would be a musical guest on the show. He had no record deal and, this being way before the Internet, little public awareness outside Texas. But somehow the NY folks had heard about him. I remember being so excited, writing for The Baylor Lariat, that Henderson was being considered. It ended up not happening, but just the idea that Bugs was on that radar made us think he was on the cusp of national awareness and certain fame and riches. (It should be noted that Henderson’s relative anonymity, in the context of major label stardom, was perfectly all right with him. He did what he loved on his terms, and the important folks knew.)
-- Bugs joined Nitzinger for the One Foot in History album, released by Capitol in '73. Theirs was a great partnership that didn’t work for a lot of the usual reasons. But Nitzinger was a stunning songwriter and an innate rhythm player, and Henderson’s spinning guitar lines danced around and through the consistenly great songs on that album like fireflies. Nitzinger used to tell the story onstage about the time that Bugs was busted in the parking lot between sets at a gig. If I remember correctly, they were playing a biker bar where the denizens were assembled expecting to see Henderson's guitar explosions. Suddenly, Bugs wasn't there; he was in a squad car on the way to jail. Nitzinger looked out from stage at all the expectant bikers -- folks who didn't care why Bugs wasn't there, just that they had paid good money to see guitar heroics. "I learned to play some lead guitar real fast that night," Nitzinger would say. -- At the old Electric Ballroom on the south side of downtown Dallas, Bugs and Nitzinger would later share bills with their respective bands, and the evenings inevitably ended with guitar duels. In terms of flash -- despite the quick-lessons-learned in the biker bar -- Nitzinger was never in Bugs’ league. but Johnny had plenty of tricks and it was a blast to watch how Bugs’ effortless greatness pushed Nitzinger to new heights.
-- Before Henderson’s long-lasting group the Shuffle Kings, he had a band just called the Bugs Henderson Group. What a killer outfit. It was more straight ahead rock, in terms of material, and the experiment was probably doomed to burn out simply because, at heart, Bugs was more of a pure blues soul. But for a while, they were dazzling. Along with Bugs, slide guitarist/vocalist Stevie Davis shared front duties. I remember a song called “Poets,” I think, and I’d kill to have a copy of that.
-- For years, Bugs took the stage every night barefoot and wearing old-school gym shorts. I always loved that. Let’s face it, Bugs wasn’t exactly interested in throwing down the Steven Tyler or David Lee Roth persona. He had serious work to do — work that required a great deal of personal comfort.
He was a funny, kind soul and a musical giant -- always true to himself and The Music. |
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