Mick Taylor
recently joined
Stephen Dale Petit and his band as his Special Guest on a
short seven gig tour in May 2009.
I was privileged to photograph them at the famous
Cavern Club, Liverpool and interview Mick after the
gig:
Alan:
What were your first musical memories?
Mick:
First musical memories? Well, listening to music on the radio.
Alan:
Did you always want to become a musician?
Mick:
Yes, but I didn’t necessarily realise that it might be my destiny and I
might be blessed with a bit of musical talent until I was 12 or 13. And
that was when I started playing the blues.
Alan:
So you started playing blues straight away?
Mick:
No, not straight away. I used to listen to a lot of the music that the
Liverpool groups used to play like Tamla Motown but through listening to
that I started to have a curious and enquiring mind and tried to find
out where this music came from and I realised that Tamla Motown was
Detroit, Chess Records was Chicago and Duke Records was Houston. John
Mayall taught me a lot about that later. A lot of people of my
generation grew up listening to soul music, Otis Reading and a lot of
stuff made in Stax in Memphis. I had a lot of friends who went out and
danced to that music every Friday and I just happened to be able to play
the guitar as well.
Alan:
What was the best blues album you’ve ever had?
Mick:
Well, the first one I heard and it made a lasting impression and even
now it’s one of my favourites was Live at the Regal by BB King.
Alan:
Who are your favourites amongst the old blues artists?
Mick:
I can’t limit it to one person. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore
James, Earl Hooker – a wonderful guitar player who played on the
recorded version of You Shook Me for Muddy Waters.
Alan:
What about favourites amongst current blues artists?
Mick:
Present company excepted (gesturing to SDP), I don’t know. I’ve heard a
lot of the American guys but a lot of them sound like Jimi Hendrix
clones so I can’t really answer that properly.
Alan:
Who has influenced you most in your music?
Mick:
Probably John Mayall and Bob Dylan and the Stones.
Alan:
What is your favourite guitar?
Mick:
I know I’m mainly associated with the Les Paul but that’s not my
favourite. My favourite is a Fender Stratocaster. I used to have an
old one which I messed around with and customised, put different
pick-ups on it but I lost it sometime in 1993 in Florida and I haven’t
really ever been able to replace it. The white guitar I was playing
tonight is one of my favourites.
Alan:
Are there any particular songs that you play that have special
meaning for you?
Mick:
Loads! Blues songs? It’s not strictly blues, but definitely You
Can’t Always Get What You Want . I really like the lyrics and I
think Mick Jagger is a really underrated lyricist. People go on about
how rich he is and how many women he’s bedded but I’m sure he’d rather
have artistic recognition. That’s what most people crave really – how
much money do you need to be successful? I know him very well so I know
he would probably appreciate some sort of artistic recognition.
Alan:
With such an illustrious career, what has given you the most
satisfaction musically?
Mick:
I try to live in the present and I think I’d have to say that it’s
whatever I’m doing now.
Alan:
How healthy do you think the blues scene is in the UK compared with
the US?
Mick:
I don’t know, I haven’t been to the US since 2001. It used to be a very
vibrant blues scene in New York but I don’t know if there is now. It
does seem that the UK blues scene is starting to come to a boil again
though, which is exciting.
Alan:
How do you see the future of blues music?
Mick:
It’s got a huge future in terms of live performance. It was always
deemed to be an underground movement but now it’s universal. You don’t
have to come from the south side of Chicago to play blues, you can come
from anywhere. One thing I can say since playing with Stephen, the blues
is in good hands.
Alan:
Tell me about the Mick Taylor Band. When did you get together?
Mick:
You don’t want to hear about them – they’re really boring! I’ve known
Max Middleton since 1975 so I’ve played with him on and off since then.
And the bass player I’m using at present, Kumar Horila, played on the
first album I made after I’d left the Stones.
Alan:
Of your solo albums, which is your favourite?
Mick:
I don’t like to call them solo albums and I’m not a solo artist. To me,
a solo artist is someone who goes on stage and can accompany themselves
on the piano or the guitar for at least 45 minutes. I need an ensemble,
a group of musicians to play with. I don’t like that term. When you’ve
been part of a successful band and you leave, people automatically think
you are seeking a solo career but that isn’t necessarily true.
Alan:
How did you come to tour with Stephen Dale Petit?
Mick:
We met at The Real Music Club in Barnet, North London in 2008 and it was
my second show after a very long hiatus from not playing with my own
band. Stephen met a friend of mine there and she put Stephen in touch
with a guy called Jeff Allen, (MT‘s drummer & manager) who he happened
to know anyway. I got a good vibe talking with him that night, and then
I heard his music - we’ve been seeing each other off and on since then.
We’ve been in the studio together (recording for SDP’s upcoming album)
and we also did a live session for the Paul Jones Show on BBC Radio 2.
Alan:
This is quite a small tour.
Stephen: It’s quite a focused thing because Mick has his own stuff
going on.
Mick:
It’s 7 shows and it’d be nice if there were more in the future.
Stephen:
It is what it is, and it’s good. Everybody has done incredibly well
today.
Alan:
It was magnificent today. I really, really enjoyed it.
Mick:
It was loud! But he’s got songs which go from almost nothing to being
loud and he’s got so much material he could do any kind of show he wants
to. Stephen is the leader and we follow. I’m having a great time
playing with him, it’s great to do a guitar duo thing again, and all the
band are fantastic too.
Alan:
Future plans? Anything in the pipeline?
Mick:
I love gospel music. One of the earliest albums I ever bought (which I
still have, despite losing my entire record collection in a fire in the
1970s) was a gospel album by the Five Blind Boys of Alabama called
True Convictions. Most of the original Five Blind Boys are still
alive and playing. I’ve started choosing songs for my next album which I
hope to start recording later this year; I’ll be writing new ones,
looking at some I’ve already written, and figuring out which covers I
want to do – there may very well be some gospel songs on the new album.
Alan:
You’ve never seen my website, but it’s got lots of information,
essays and photographs on there and I try to get quotes on there about
what people think regarding and promoting the blues.
Mick:
You can’t suddenly stop being influenced by blues music or influenced by
the music that inspired your life. But as you get older, you tend to
create your own style, which is what Stephen has done, and they put
their own personality into it.
Alan:
Thank you. I really appreciate it, as it’s late and you must be
tired.
Mick:
Thanks for being patient.
Alan White
earlyblues.com
__________________________________________________________________________
The Mick Taylor Band and Stephen Dale Petit and his Band will be
appearing at the
The Great British R&B Festival, Colne, Lancashire on Monday, 31st
August - be sure to see them!
www.micktaylor.net
www.guitararama.co.uk
Stephen Dale Petit on
tour with Mick Taylor - Photos
Skegness Rock & Blues Festival 2009 - Photos
Stephen
released his new
single 'As The Years Go Passing By' on June 15th via 333 Records.
His last single A Better Answer has just been named Track of the Day
by Classic Rock magazine
Return to
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Website, Photos © Copyright 2000-2009 Alan
White. All Rights Reserved.
Text (this page)
© Copyright
2009 Alan White,
Mick Taylor &
Stephen Dale Petit.
All Rights Reserved.
For further information please email:
alan.white@earlyblues.com
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