"Don’t try to please everyone. Be honest with your choices. What you do is not always gonna be everyone’s bag. Now I sing across a lot of styles and some people have told me some are dogshit. That’s fine. But if you mean your music, you will build genuine and beautiful connections with your audience through music.  I love singing the blues and folks reach out to me to say keep doing what you do - we feel it … that means everything."

Pat Fulgoni:

Keeping the Blues Experience Alive

UK-based singer, producer, DIY musician, Pat Fulgoni has toured in the US, China, Europe, sung solo blues and for lots of large dance producers. He has many songs in film and TV inc Dirt (Courtney Cox), John From Cincinnati (HBO) Weeds (Golden Globe series ft Mary Louise Parker) and sung across various genres. Pat's been singing across many genres including performing some classic blues, rock and soul tracks with some amazing musicians. In 2021, released a solo album live from Prague called "Dark Side Of The Blues" and a band called "Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience". Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience features talented musicians from the Leeds scene including Jacob Beckwith on guitar, Rory Wells on bass, Sam Bolt on keys and Zebedee Sylvester on drums. The Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience set includes original compositions alongside glorious renditions of Ray Charles, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson and more!          (Pat Fulgoni / Photo by Richard Duffy-Howard)

Pat Fulgoni has his own band the Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience which gigs both across the UK and Europe. Their new album, simply called “The Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience” (2024), is a soulful, funky, psychedelic take on the blues featuring originals like Drifter and Keep The Blues Alive through to covers like Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven and Midnight Train.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What moment changed your music life the most?

As a young boy I was pretty much just into the odd track I’d hear on the radio top 40 chart show, maybe some pop stuff, some pretty mainstream rock like Queen, ELO maybe a bit of prog rock. But as soon as I heard Jimi Hendrix playing on the radio, things changed. Not just his guitar playing, his singing too. Not long after that I got into blues and jazz off the back of that discovery leading me to artists like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, jazz like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. It got my interest in music moving …

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? What is the driving force behind your continuous support for your music?

This band is a contemporary blues outfit but with a nod and a wink to soul, psychedelia, jazz and rock. The set includes covers like BB King, SRV, Hendrix, Ray Charles, Fenton Robinson and some originals. I want to keep this project soulful, varied and authentic. We ain’t turning it up for the sake of it, I don’t mind listening to hard rock but it ain’t blues to me.

To be honest singing is good for my own mental health. If the on-stage sound is comfortable, I like to go off on one and sing my heart out. It’s a healing process! It can seriously distress me and improve my mood by releasing endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. There’s a lot of research going on into the power of music and how it benefits all in society across social and health care. In the past I’ve put on multistage community music festivals, and you can just feel and see the community benefits developing in front of your eyes. So yeah, I feel music is very important…

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

Don’t try to please everyone. Be honest with your choices. What you do is not always gonna be everyone’s bag. Now I sing across a lot of styles and some people have told me some are dogshit. That’s fine. But if you mean your music, you will build genuine and beautiful connections with your audience through music.  I love singing the blues and folks reach out to me to say keep doing what you do - we feel it … that means everything.

What´s been the highlights in your career so far? Are there any memories from gigs and studio sessions which you’d like to share?         (Pat Fulgoni / Photo by Mark Ellis)

Definitely the Gil Scott Heron support gig I scored with my old band Kava Kava.  That was a fantastic gig at Leeds Irish Centre on a much larger stage than I was used to. His band were on fire and definitely influenced my music. During the gig he was talking about how his music should be “filed under miscellaneous” which made me laugh because Kava Kava had so many influences too, ranging from trip hop to blues to jazz to funk. Following a gig at the Marquee club in London, we had been signed by an independent label and it was hard to find our section in a record shop too. I’m glad to report one of the few covers on my new album is a Gil Scott Heron tune called “Lady Day & John Coltrane” I hope we do it justice!

Kava Kava was actually very much a touring band, so lots of highlights and fond memories there!  Live, it became a 6-piece including a brass section. I got to play in China. The slot at Beijing Midi Festival was wild. Other gigs included SXSW in the USA, Glastonbury festival in the UK, loads across Europe. I was younger and hell bent on reaching as many places as possible with that band. Although managing it myself DIY eventually meant I had to put the project down. But good times tho! When it comes to highlights from the blues scene, Blues Alive in the Czech Republic was a real turning point for me. I’ve played there a few times now. It’s an amazing festival. Go visit! Initially I played it with Czech musicians, one time Jonny Winter was on the same bill!  And later I was able to bring a UK band over in 2021 including my pal Chillo Angelini on guitar.

Special shout out to all the Czech musicians on my “Dark Side Of The Blues …. Pat Fulgoni Live In Prague” CD. Especially the father and son guitar combo of Jan and Lukas Martinek (both legendary Czech blues musicians) and studio owner Richard Mader of Faust Studios. These sessions sowed the seed for this year’s new album “Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience”.

This year’s blues festivals have been great too. Tenby Blues festival last month in South Wales was bluestastic! Other highlights this year included the Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in Colne and Buxton Blues Festival. Both amazing gigs to do. Festivals are where it is at for this band. If any promoters are reading this, book us! A few weeks back I took part in a really interesting project singing Champion Jack Dupree songs with Sicilian guitarist Paolo Fuschi and Justin Shearn on keyboards. Originally an American, Champion Jack lived for many years in Halifax (Yorkshire) which is just a few miles away from me and where the Cross Keys pub is co run by his daughter Georgie. A real honour to celebrate his life there in this way.

Definitely a massive highlight has been getting this album together. Having played a few gigs with 4 excellent Leeds-based musicians I decided the time was right and we were tight enough for an LP. I’m really happy with the response so far. I’m lucky to have some great musicians on there. Jacob on guitar (who thankfully just got past his 27th birthday in one piece!) Sam on keys, Rory and Zebedee on bass and drums. Its very early days but we’ve had some great reviews in magazines like Blues Matters (UK), Blues Magazine (Netherlands), Blues Blast (USA), ZicAZic (France), Blues In The South and its reached no 3 in the UK blues albums airplay chart. Over in the States Roots Music Report also had it at no 3 in their UK blues album chart. I understand lots of US radio stations report to that one.

"This band is a contemporary blues outfit but with a nod and a wink to soul, psychedelia, jazz and rock. The set includes covers like BB King, SRV, Hendrix, Ray Charles, Fenton Robinson and some originals. I want to keep this project soulful, varied and authentic. We ain’t turning it up for the sake of it, I don’t mind listening to hard rock but it ain’t blues to me." (Photo: Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience)

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

As far as hopes go, I want to play some more gigs outside the UK. I’d love to record this band some more, maybe guest on some other people’s releases too! As far as fears go, I’d say its very difficult for musicians to stay afloat right now. I am actually an ambassador for the Carry On Touring campaign set up to tackle the negative impact Brexit has had on the British music industry and we have been lobbying Parliament to fix touring in Europe. It would be helpful if the politicians supported this initiative as well as supporting our struggling UK venues and artists. Music was once the third largest export coming out of the UK. The music biz finds itself in a very precarious position right now.

Over the last few years music has become seriously devalued… Revenue from streaming does not fill the gap that falling physical product sales has left. As we chat here, bands are receiving their annual spotify statistics and being encouraged to hype them online whilst earning pennies for the privilege. It doesn’t seem right somehow … AI is worrying too. I’m not sure this can be a good thing for the blues scene either. I like hearing soul and human error. If you add this to the fact that the music biz is edging towards richer (not necessarily better) folks, I’m nervous the role of musician will slowly become something only for those who can afford it. In my opinion some of the deepest art came from those who struggled. It’s bound to be worse for it. Anyway, I’m sure Robert Johnson’s mum didn’t buy him like ten brand new guitars! As far as what I miss most nowadays from the music of the past, I guess I miss the times when it was easier to sell CDs and vinyl! I’d certainly also have loved to see Jimi Hendrix and Robert Johnson live.

Why is it important to we preserve and spread the blues? What is the impact of music on the socio-cultural implications?

For starters, I was just talking about Gil Scott Heron wasn’t I. Now Gil actually referred to himself as a "bluesologist", his own term for "a scientist who is concerned with the origin of the blues”. Gil took the struggles of racial segregation and combined them with the blues to create his blend of protest and melody. “bluesology” is literally the science of the blues. So, we have to remember blues is Music of Black Origin. I find it especially disturbing when some in the blues scene forgets this. Blues came from African American culture. I have run a few Love Music Hate Racism gigs to help raise funds for that excellent organisation and spread awareness, love, peace and unity through music in my hometown of Huddersfield. Proud to have had the Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience on the bill too. I’m happy to see similar antiracist statements going out from organisations like Blues Foundation and the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association over in the UK. Now then, hardship, stresses of life, the cost of living crisis, relationship breakups, mental health issues all seem to resonate when you play the blues even though it’s unlikely we’ll ever struggle anything like those who gave birth to the artform. I guess like many people, I had some dark times during Covid lockdown.

After many years I had only just started to perform as a bluesman again having been asked to play a benefit gig for a local food bank. Obviously I couldn’t bring my Czech blues brothers over to the UK for a charity event so I agreed to cobble a local band together. Which I did in a hurry, once I saw my name on a poster (the festival actually chose the name Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience btw ha ha). It was a great sound with Keira Kenworthy on bass for a few gigs (she has been playing with Troy Redfern recently). The gig went very well but a short while later we had lockdown and everything was on hold. I must say the lyrical content really did start to resonate during those dark months for a few reasons…                                          (Pat Fulgoni / Photo by Mal Whichelow)

"There’s a lot of research going on into the power of music and how it benefits all in society across social and health care. In the past I’ve put on multistage community music festivals, and you can just feel and see the community benefits developing in front of your eyes. So yeah, I feel music is very important…"

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

Lyrics wise, on the album I’ve written a few songs that I hope resonate with the new generation. The Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience LP is half covers and half originals. Lyrically speaking the originals are a very mixed approach. “Bleeding Heart” written on just piano and voice explores relationship loss, “Keep the Blues Alive” was written during covid lockdown and exhibits a whole range of emotions over the full 5-piece band. During that song’s lyrics I lose my mobile phone I guess just like Howlin Wolf before me “Drifter” is about materialism and mental health. I lose all kind of things in that song ranging from my trouser press through to my Lego set!  “Sticking the Knife in Blues” explores the nasty selfish side of society and politics over a straightforward 12 bar groove. Kinda hoping it’s a modern approach that will resonate with blues newcomers. For the last 2 years I’ve promoted blues concerts in my hometown including monthly Huddersfield Blues Club concerts and a special 3 day blues festival called Bluesbury Festival which was held on Dewsbury Train Station. Worked with some great bands and artists like Kyla Brox, Tom Attah, Emma Wilson, Paolo Fuschi, Dave Arcari, Crosscut Saw, Darnell Cole & The Vibe, loads. It’s been a grin. We have to keep the blues alive dammit. There’s even a song on the new album called “Keep the Blues Alive”.

I’m also currently working on a 2 x CD release for Honey Bee Blues Club over in Sheffield in memory of its founder my friend Martin Bedford (RIP). I’m also lucky to be involved in a few scenes. I’ve sung on quite a few releases by dance music producers. Many would be surprised at the crossover here. One of my favourite blues gigs has been at the 7 room Boombox Circus rave in Leeds that takes place at Beaverworks. The outside area is for live music, and it’s always been a grin singing blues to the young ravers. Many already get it. It’s actually not unusual for peeps in their twenties to appreciate loads of different genres. Especially in a place like Leeds where there is a big music conservatoire with an emphasis on jazz tuition. Others get turned on to it on the night too like (raver): “wow what’s that man?” (me): “It’s a drum kit.” (raver): “far out can i have a go?” (me): “not just yet man we are playing a gig right now. can you please leave the stage?”

I once had a conversation over in the Czech Republic when an oldish blues purist came over to me shouting loudly “hey you, your electronic music is bullshit” I was thinking oh shit is this my electric Bob Dylan moment? Then he goes “and here’s my son, he likes your vocals on drum n bass” …. It was actually the first concert they had ever been to together! Thinking about it, here’s one of my vocals on a “drum n bass” tune called “Sometimes” by Technimatic who are quite big in the game. It’s definitely a blues vocal and it really works well live in festival rave tents. I know for a fact that I’ve helped turn a few young ravers onto blues...

Why do you think that the UK Blues scene continues to generate such a devoted following?

It’s a hard call that. One thing is for the sure, the standard of artists that I have promoted at Huddersfield Blues Club is very good. Varied in style too. These aren’t necessarily festival headlining acts but their standard and love for the blues genre shines through. It’s only a small venue called Smile Bar but we have a regular audience now of passionate blues enthusiasts too. I’m aware of the hard work behind the scenes to keep the blues alive in this country from groups like the UK Blues Federation and Independent Blues Broadcasters Association. Grateful for all the blues radio shows, many of which have been going for hundreds and thousands of episodes. I’m chuffed some have played my album and know their recognition of independent blues artists is crucial.

Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience - Home

(Pat Fulgoni / Photo by Pete Woodman)