r
gg
Nov 2017 - p.21
Samantha Fish knows that all too well,
and it’s been evidenced in the music
she’s made her entire career. While
she’s well known as a purveyor of
blues, having been lauded by such
legends as
Buddy Guy
, the
Royal
Southern Brotherhood
and
Luther
Dickinson
, her real love is simply raw, scrappy
rock and roll. “
I grew up on it,
” she insists.
“
Working with Luther on my last album further
instilled that spirit in me. It made me realize just
how much that basic, unfettered sound means
to me, and how well it ties into soul music, R&B,
country and so many other forms of music that
are essential even today
.”
It’s little wonder then that when it came time to
record her new album,
Chills & Fever
(released
March 17, 2017), Fish ventured off in another
new direction, one she was exploring for the first
time in her career. She traveled to Detroit and
joined forces with members of the
Detroit
Cobras
, a band whose insurgent ethic has
made them darlings of the Midwest punk/blues
scene. The two entities — which included
Joe
Mazzola
on guitar,
Steve Nawara
on bass, and
Kenny Tudrick
along with
Bob Mervak
on
keys, and the
New Orleans
horn section
featuring
Mark Levron
and
Travis Blotsky
on
trumpet and saxophone — bonded over a
common love of classic soul and rollicking
rhythms, so much so that the results testify to a
seemingly timeless template. Covering songs
from the ‘60s and ‘70s — indelible melodies
from the pens of legends like
Jackie
DeShannon, Jerry Ragavoy, Bert Berns
and
Allen Toussaint
— and revisiting some earlier
demos she cut along with producer
Bobby
Harlow
, Fish and the Cobras created an album
that’s best described as a pure slab of rocking
rhythm n’ blues.
“
I listened to a lot of soul music, and I dug deep
into people like
Otis Redding
and
Ray Charles
,”
Fish recalls. “
I was also influenced by people like
R.L. Burnside
and North Mississippi’s
Junior
Kimbrough.
It’s a lot less restrained style of
music than the sound people may be used to
hearing from me, but it’s definitely a different
facet of my personality. It’s far more straight
forward.”
The fact is, Fish has never been bound by any
expectations whatsoever. Growing up in Kansas
City, she switched from drums to guitar at the
tender age of 15. She spent much of her time in
local watering holes listening to visiting blues
bands. Samantha caught the attention of
Ruf
Records
. The label subsequently released her
album,
Girls with Guitars
, which found her
co-billed with
Cassie Taylor
and
Dani Wilde.
That led to her forming her own trio and
recording three more albums,
Runaway
(2011),
Black Wind Howlin’
(2013) and
Wild Heart
(2015), as well as reaping an award for Best
Artist Debut at the 2012 Blues Music Awards in
Memphis. Along the way she found herself
working with other artists as well —
Jimmy Hall,
Devon Allman
, and
Reese Wynans
, among
them.
Still, nothing she’s done before can prepare her
faithful fans and followers to the seminal sounds
of
Chills & Fever
.
“
I don’t think I ever enjoyed making a record quite
as much as I enjoyed making this one
,” Fish
insists. “
I love the sound of the brass and the
edgier intensity.”
One thing’s for sure. Nothing ever felt so
authentic.”
r
gg
21
YEARS
1995-2016
Whether one leans towards the blues, opts for Americana or ignites
some special fervor by playing with a garage band, there’s a
common bond that suggests a reverence for the roots.
Looking back towards an earlier template - no matter what the genre -
proves the point that appreciating what came before can be
a stepping stone for what comes next.
