"I think music is one of the most equalizing things in this unfair world. I just hope that my music, and music in general, can make as many people as possible happy. And the best thing that can happen: inspire someone to do something, to say something. Give a message and have someone to receive and interpret it in his own way."

Federico Verteramo: The Blues Is Alright

Federico Verteramo is a young Blues musician born in Buenos Aires, Argentina who since 2013 has carried out his solo project as a singer and guitarist, with two albums released. Providing an electric Blues show with the guitar as the main condiment, as well as collaborating with prominent musicians of the international Blues circuit, he has toured in more than 15 countries. He started as a guitarist in Los Huesos de Gato Negro in 2007 and since then he has worked with a large number of Blues artists from Argentina and abroad. In 2013, he began his solo career when he was invited to participate in the album “5 guitars de Blues”, produced by the association “Blues en Movimiento”. In2019 began with presentations in Mexico City, continued with a 60-day tour in Europe and more than 40 shows distributed in Austria, Germany, Belgium, Spain, France and Italy with Jorge Costales and in August continued with a tour in the state of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where he gave 9 shows, including participation Blues Festivals Ibitipoca Blues and Blues na Floresta. Simultaneously in Buenos Aires the year was spent working with his project FV and The Downbeats.      

(Federico Verteramo / Daemonkarl Photography)

During the period of isolation inspiration has come. Homero Tolosa and Federico Verteramo, companions for years in different groups, materialized this spontaneous partnership to shape an EP titled “Lockdown at Home” (2020) with curious peculiarities. In its third year established in Toulouse, France, Federico Verteramo unveils his new album «In My Own Time» (2024), a collection primarily composed of original songs and three carefully selected pieces from Tampa Red, Lazy Lester, and Magic Sam. This work marks the first discographic project realized in France with the collaboration of talented musicians such as Abdell B Bop on double bass, Eric Petznick on drums, and Anita Fabiani on piano – a harmonious fusion between French and Argentine talent that has garnered praise since its inception in March 2022. The album was recorded in November 2023 and features some tracks with the participation of special guests such as Nico Duportal on guitar, Victor Puertas on harmonica and vocals, and Sylvain Tejerizo on saxophones.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the Blues and Rock Counterculture influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?

Blues and the profession of musician have been crucial in determining how I understand things today. Thanks to the Blues I traveled, and I got to know common places but also hidden places and you can meet real people, with different realities and experiences that allowed me to put many things in perspective. The simplicity of the genre, transferred to the different aspects of life is a great teaching that I appreciate.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

I think my sound and style is simple and direct. My greatest sources of inspiration are the early Bluesman who electrified the style and those who developed the style a few years later on the guitar. My creativity is born from the need to express what happens to me. In this sense, it is interesting to think about how the composition or interpretations change depending on how one feels, the physical place in which you are, if you are working under pressure or calm.                          (Photo: Federico Verteramo)

"I think the show I most want to see is Elmore James. So, I would choose someday in 1959 in Chicago. Visit Chess Records during the day and maybe find Muddy Waters recording. Get out of there and find a Howlin Wolf show with Hubert Sumlin. Ending the night at an Elmore James show would be all for me."

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started and what has remained the same? What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions?

Not much has changed in the technical resources I have applied since the first time I stepped on stage at the age of 14 to what I play today as a professional. My fundamentals are still the same pentatonics, some basic chords, and a simple picking technique, and not much more. However, what has evolved is my confidence, the choices I make, and how I manage moments and intensities on stage.

I do believe it's important to have a certain level of mastery of an instrument, but I would say that 90% of what we convey comes from emotions.

How did your relationship with the blues come about? What does the blues mean to you? What is the driving force behind your continuous support for your music?

The blues resonated deeply with me when I first started listening to it at the age of 13 or 14, and since then, it has become the most important thing in my life, guiding my most significant decisions. My major choices, travels, and non-family relationships have all been shaped by my connection to this music. While I am a guitarist, I know that what truly motivated me to become a musician wasn’t a passion for the guitar, but rather my love for the blues. Today, the driving force behind my work is the need to stay true to myself and to always hold on to that youthful passion that first moved me when I discovered the blues.

Do you have any interesting studio sessions stories about the making of “In My Own Time” (2024)? Why do you think Tampa Red, Lazy Lester, and Magic Sam legacy continues to generate such a devoted following?

The recording of In My Own Time was a very special experience for me, as it involved recording for the first time in France since I relocated here in 2022. I initially set a radius of 200 to 300 km to find a studio, and finally, after weeks of searching, the ideal option turned out to be just 1km from my home in Toulouse. Fortunately, I found a highly professional team at Studio de la Manne that made it possible to record the core of the album in just two days with my band, which included Anita Fabiani on piano, Abdell B Bop on double bass, and Eric Petznick on drums. Later, I added horns and organs at my friends' studio, Sur Records, in my hometown of Buenos Aires. In total, we recorded 8 original compositions and 3 covers of Tampa Red, Lazy Lester, and Magic Sam. The legacy of these artists is incredibly powerful and continues to generate a devoted following because, despite the passage of time, their music still resonates with deep emotions. The authenticity of that music is an infinite source of inspiration that never tires me, whether I’m listening or trying to interpret it.             (Photo: Federico Verteramo)

"Today, I believe that the most important pursuit in my music lies in composing my own songs and working hard to record and defend them in every performance. To this day, is playing live concerts where I have felt most comfortable as a musician and where I believe I can connect best with a young audience."

What has been the hardest obstacle for you to overcome as a person and as artist and has this helped you become a better blues musician?

A few years ago, I realized that I had reached a ceiling in my music career in Argentina and had to choose between prioritizing my path as a musician or pursuing another type of job. While my life was spinning between these two worlds, I traveled to other countries looking for opportunities. That's how, in 2022, after a two-year delay due to the pandemic, I emigrated to France. This process has been difficult and intense, and it certainly continues to this day. However, this decision has allowed me to dedicate 100% of my energy to music and to continue growing as an artist. The experience of emigrating and stepping out of a circle where I felt comfortable to try to integrate into a new one—culturally similar yet different, and in another language—has been a challenge. It’s still too early to make an artistic assessment, but I hope this phase will be nourishing for my development as a musician.

What music moment changed your life the most? What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it and present it to the new generation?

The musical moment that changed my life the most was in 2016 when, at the age of 25, I went on a month-long tour of Europe with my own band for the first time. Of course, I didn't know what to expect, but encountering such a positive reception, venues with an engaged audience, colleagues happy to meet us, and opportunities for the following year was a true awakening for me.

Today, I believe that the most important pursuit in my music lies in composing my own songs and working hard to record and defend them in every performance. To this day, is playing live concerts where I have felt most comfortable as a musician and where I believe I can connect best with a young audience.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

We cannot please everyone. Striving to be honest with oneself and leveraging our strengths seems to me the best path forward. Instead of obsessing over formulas or industry standards, it’s essential to focus on what makes us unique as artists. This authenticity is what will truly resonate with the audience and allow us to build a genuine connection through our music.

"However, this decision has allowed me to dedicate 100% of my energy to music and to continue growing as an artist. The experience of emigrating and stepping out of a circle where I felt comfortable to try to integrate into a new one—culturally similar yet different, and in another language—has been a challenge. It’s still too early to make an artistic assessment, but I hope this phase will be nourishing for my development as a musician." (Photo: Federico Verteramo & Tail Dragger)

Which meetings have been the most important experiences? What was the best advice anyone ever gave you?

The most important meetings have been with the musicians who, when I was launching, had already been there for 1 or 2 decades and they received me very well to transmit knowledge. Truly there are many to name, but it cannot fail to highlight Mauro Diana, Roberto Porzio, Junior Binzugna, Adrian Flores. This last, in addition to being a musician, is a producer who has been bringing Bluesmans for 30 years to South America.  It has given me the opportunity to play, tour and record records with Bluesmans like Rip Lee Pryor, Bob Stroger, Dave Riley and Tail Dragger. And was Tail Dragger who I remember when we were in a dressing room before a show: "Take it easy, like the tortle". I understand the message and how important it is to keep it in mind when interpreting the genre in the 21st century. Finally, Erik Trauner from the Mojo Blues Band from Austria, has been a great source of inspiration for me and a beacon of how to interpret the genre and to compose for someone who like him was born in Europe or like me in South America, where realities are completely different from African American in the 20th century.

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

I would like to share my most recent experience with you. In March I was about to start a two-month tour in Europe with more than 40 confirmed shows. Then I was moving to France. The Covid crisis arose and of course my plans were canceled, leaving Argentina. After the first quarantine I had a strong expressive need as I had rarely felt, and after making a video collaboration playing  duet from home with my colleague Homero Tolosa, drummer, we liked the result and decided to start composing music in that style: guitar, drums and vocals. Nothing else. For this we were inspired for weeks listening to Mississippi Hill Country Blues: RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Robert Belfour, among others. In a few days we had composed 4 songs and we decided to record, each from his home an EP. The experience was incredible, we were able to express what we were feeling, at the same time we learned many things about recording and we were happy with the result. Today the EP is already uploaded to all digital platforms.

"Blues and the profession of musician have been crucial in determining how I understand things today. Thanks to the Blues I traveled, and I got to know common places but also hidden places and you can meet real people, with different realities and experiences that allowed me to put many things in perspective. The simplicity of the genre, transferred to the different aspects of life is a great teaching that I appreciate." (Federico Verteramo at Hall Blues Club, France / Photo by Jean-Philippe Porcherot)

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

I miss the great masters of the genre. I know that others will not come, and it is because we are in another time and space. However, I know that the genre is alive and that it will never die because when you start playing a shuffle for people who maybe in their life never even listen to BB King, and you see happiness in their faces or they start dancing. Well that's hope.

Make an account of the case of the blues in Argentina. Which is the most interesting period in local blues scene?

Argentina has a relatively long history with the Blues. In the 60s, at the same time that the English began to play it, the same thing was happening here but with the difference, determining for its worldwide non-diffusion, that it was done in Spanish. (artists like Manal and Pappo, who in the 90's would have a highlight when invited by BB King to Madison Square Garden´gig). Then something unprecedented happened in the 90s: the most important figures of the genre begin to arrive, such as BB King, Albert Collins, Albert King, Taj Mahal, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, but at the same time, Adrian Flores opened a blues club in Buenos Aires, where a once a month, a Chicago Bluesman brought to play the club from Friday to Sunday, but with the particularity that they traveled alone and were accompanied by local musicians. Thus, passed names such as Dave Myers, Hubert Sumlin, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Billy Branch, among many others. This opportunity to play with them led many Argentine musicians to form deeply and firsthand in the genre. I was born in 1991, so I wasn't there in the 90s, but when I joined the scene in 2007, I met all the musicians who participated at that time and they are the ones who provided me with records, anecdotes, and of course teached me to play. Then over the years I would have my chance to live those kinds of experiences with Bluesmans.            (Federico Verteramo & Xime Monzon, Argentina / Photo by Flor D'Andrea)

"I think my sound and style is simple and direct. My greatest sources of inspiration are the early Bluesman who electrified the style and those who developed the style a few years later on the guitar. My creativity is born from the need to express what happens to me. In this sense, it is interesting to think about how the composition or interpretations change depending on how one feels, the physical place in which you are, if you are working under pressure or calm."

What are the differences between Argentinian, other Latin American (Mexico, Brazil) and European blues scenes?

I have shared stages with great musicians from Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and I can attest that there is a great scene in each of the countries, with highly developed musicians.  Regarding the scenes, I think that the differences are mostly in the structures to develop. Every time I go on tour to Brazil there is always at least one big festival on the agenda, with great stages and crowds. They can be Blues, Jazz or even beer or cars festivals, but the live music is there.  I think this, added to the fact that it occurs in all the states of the country and not only in its capital, is the biggest difference with the rest of the Latin American countries. In Argentina, and the times that I have gone to Chile, Uruguay, and Mexico the activity is mainly concentrated in the capitals and it is not common to find many great festivals.  I think that has a strong impact on the scenes, since festivals and that level of federalism allow professional development that in other cases is very difficult.

What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications? How do you want it to affect people?

I think music is one of the most equalizing things in this unfair world. I just hope that my music, and music in general, can make as many people as possible happy. And the best thing that can happen: inspire someone to do something, to say something. Give a message and have someone to receive and interpret it in his own way.

Let's take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?

I think the show I most want to see is Elmore James. So, I would choose someday in 1959 in Chicago. Visit Chess Records during the day and maybe find Muddy Waters recording. Get out of there and find a Howlin Wolf show with Hubert Sumlin. Ending the night at an Elmore James show would be all for me.

Federico Verteramo - Home

(Federico Verteramo / Photo by Ximena Schleh)