"The only thing I can say I really miss from blues of the past is the songwriting, specifically the punchlines. I feel like blues these days is all about being or becoming a guitar-god. Nothing gets me more than listening to Seeds of Reed by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells."

Emanuel Casablanca: 

Strung Out on (blues n' rock) Thrills 

Blues guitarist/singer/songwriter Emanuel Casablanca will be released in February 2, 2024, his new album, Strung Out on Thrills, coming from the Vinyl Recording Group. The new record, produced by Casablanca and Paul Howells, is solely blues/blues-rock based and truly owns the sound of minor blues. Several of his peers are featured on this album including Elliot Sharp and Blues Music Award Nominee Joanna Connor. Emanuel Casablanca is an outlaw-bluesman, a Brooklynite with a brave, modern style and a work ethic like none other. He doesn’t just want to keep the blues alive; he wants it to thrive. Emanuel Casablanca is an ideal example of an artist who possesses the ability, ingenuity and the passion that drives him to succeed. Casablanca credits his artistic nature to his mother, who was an arts advocate and educator in his formative years. Although at the time he didn’t appreciate the gifts she was instilling in him, he has always stated that he wouldn’t have the creative insight he has without her.

(Blues guitarist/singer/songwriter Emanuel Casablanca / Photo by Natalija Bubalo)

In June of this year, Casablanca began filming his first lead role in a feature movie, Mookie & Worm, an Onur Tukel film, which will debut in 2024 in many notable and international film festivals. Mookie & Worm is a film about a blues superstar who has fallen from grace, and instead of playing to 30,000 fans at festivals, is now playing small clubs and trying to work his way back to blues-rock stardom with the support of his manager, “Worm” (Casablanca). Casablanca has also appeared in numerous commercials. He appeared in season two of Showtime’s Billions and is currently preparing for a second feature film which will have a fall ’25 release date. To add to his artistic portfolio, Casablanca paints, both abstract and mixed-media paintings. His work has shown in New York City’s famed Black Wall Street Gallery, amongst many other art viewings and shows in NYC, Los Angeles and Mexico.

Interview by Michael Limnios                           Special Thanks: Mark Pucci Media

How has the Blues/Rock music influenced your views of the world? What does the blues mean to you?

Music as a whole means the world to me. Blues music to me is the center of expressionism and is the foundation of all contemporary American music. When I listen to Hip-Hop/Rap, Jazz, Soul, Pop, etc., I hear blues music in all of the above. Everyone expressing themselves through song in modern day American music, has utilized the efforts of both the African and African American slave. Slaves were denied instruments, specifically the drum in an effort to keep them from communicating with one another (as many southern slave owners had issues with this). Therefore, they would chant and sing songs both to communicate and express themselves. Post-slavery, now with the opportunity to add music to their words, coming from an unjust system, the blues was born. There is a common theme in the development of Jazz, Dubstep, HipHop and other forms of music. People just wanted to express themselves.

Furthermore, blues has allowed me to view the world as one. No matter where in the world I am playing, it has been proven to me time and time again, that music is the universal language. Given that blues is my genre of choice, or rather the genre that chose me, it allows me to communicate to all races, religions, etc.

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

My sound is blues-rock. There is a lot of Chicago Blues, Rock, Soul, Singer-Songwriter and Delta Blues in the mix, but it all comes out as Blues-Rock. I wouldn’t call my creativity a drive, it is just a part of me. Some days I am driven and others I am not, but the creativity remains the same. I hear music every day, especially when there is none playing. I walk down the street writing songs in my head, most of them never come to life, but I do believe that there is a song in every place, every situation and in every person. Some are blessed with the gift to develop and sing them, others aren’t.

"Music as a whole means the world to me. Blues music to me is the center of expressionism and is the foundation of all contemporary American music. When I listen to Hip-Hop/Rap, Jazz, Soul, Pop, etc., I hear blues music in all of the above." (Emanuel Casablanca / Photo by Natalija Bubalo)

What moment changed your life the most? What´s been the highlights in your life and career so far?

The life changing moments are continuous for me. I cannot honestly say that there is one specific moment that altered my life or made me want to be or do something to land me where I am now, but I will say there are various moments, which have landed me in my position. There was a time that I met Ronnie Woods from the Rolling Stones at his art gallery on Mercer Street here in NYC. He invited me to see Bernard Fowler perform the next night. I did go and met a great deal of amazing musicians and I realized at that time that this life was for me. Additionally, meeting various other musicians, most of them local to the New York City music scene, and not very popular, really allowed me to have hones interactions and conversations that allowed me to put my musicianship, business amongst other things in perspective.

The highlight of my career has genuinely been having Paul Gilbert play on my In Blood track from my debut LP, Blood on My Hands. Honestly, I heard Paul for the first time on Guitar Center Sessions when I was a student in college and he was playing Muddy Waters’, Got My Mojo Workin’. It blew my mind mainly because I couldn’t understand what he was doing on the song. It was definitely, Got My Mojo Workin’, but he wasn’t playing any of the parts the way Muddy played them. Much later, I after picking his version apart in comparison to Muddy’s version, he was actually playing all of the harmonica notes, which made the guitar playing extremely intrinsic on his version. From then on, I was a huge fanboy. When I finished tracking In Blood, I sent it to him, with the expectation that he wouldn’t care to work on this song. I received an email back in less than a half hour saying that he really dug the track and he wanted to work on this. The rest is history.

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

Sure, I remember many years ago, when I first went to Big Ed’s Blues Jam at the Red Lion in the West Village of NYC. This jam happens every single Monday for probably since before I was born. This was one of those make-or-break situations. I signed up to jam at around 7:30PM and probably didn’t get on until around 10PM. It was my very first time playing out in front of anyone, ever. Long-story-short, I choked. I was embarrassed and nobody wanted to play with me. Big Ed actually came up to me and told me, “this is one of those situations where you either stick at it or give up.” I just knew I wanted to keep playing and I never wanted to feel that way ever again, so I got to work!

"Realistically, in New York City, everything is big to a certain extent. Musicians of all musical backgrounds come together to play the blues, and jazz and rock, bluegrass, and other forms of music. There is 9.5 million people in this city, so whatever your drug of choice is, you will get your fix." (Emanuel Casablanca, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, painter, and actor / Photo by Natalija Bubalo)

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

The only thing I can say I really miss from blues of the past is the songwriting, specifically the punchlines. I feel like blues these days is all about being or becoming a guitar-god. Nothing gets me more than listening to Seeds of Reed by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. Junior’s delivery and expression on that track only adds to the quick punchlines “you ain’t so big, you just tall, that’s all.” It was even somewhat comedic. I think the only genre(s) of music that you still find that wittiness in is Rap music and Country. Otherwise, I don’t like looking back. Nostalgia is great, but we have to continue to move forward in life in all aspects, so why not music? I don’t want to keep the blues alive. I want to see the blues thrive. It’s not good enough to just be living because it is currently remaining stagnant. In the future, I would like to see crossbreeds of the genre. I want to hear more punk-blues or blues-rap or something of that nature. But the powers that be need to allow it to evolve. That is the only way we will, in all honesty see it grow and become a mainstream genre again. I know some people will look at it as a sacrifice of quality, but I think that we need to start hearing and understanding the quality of other genres and being creative enough to blend them. Eric Gales is a powerhouse blues musician, no doubt, but my first interactions with Eric were from playing with contemporary R&B singer, Lauryn Hill, not from blues. So to limit someone of his music acumen to just being a blues powerhouse would be doing him a disservice. He is an all-around music, guitar playing powerhouse. The genres can meet and connect, we just have to allow it.

What would you say characterizes Brooklyn Blues scene in comparison to other local US scenes and circuits?

There is no blues scene in Brooklyn, per se. There is a New York Blues scene that caters to many blues’ music icons including: Shameika Copeland, Saron Crenshaw, King Solomon Hicks and many others. Realistically, in New York City, everything is big to a certain extent. Musicians of all musical backgrounds come together to play the blues, and jazz and rock, bluegrass, and other forms of music. There is 9.5 million people in this city, so whatever your drug of choice is, you will get your fix.

"My sound is blues-rock. There is a lot of Chicago Blues, Rock, Soul, Singer-Songwriter and Delta Blues in the mix, but it all comes out as Blues-Rock. I wouldn’t call my creativity a drive, it is just a part of me. Some days I am driven and others I am not, but the creativity remains the same." (Emanuel Casablanca is an outlaw-bluesman, modern style and a work ethic like none other/ Photo by Natalija Bubalo)

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

Personally, like every other singer-songwriter and musician in this world, I would like my music to just be enjoyed by others. However, they choose to enjoy it, doesn’t bother me one bit. Tapping into a bit of a more moral stance, I would like people to individually appreciate what I am presenting, but that could be too much to ask.

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

I have learned a million lessons.

• Firstly, when it comes to music business, do your homework! Whenever dealing with anyone in this business, I make sure that I do my personal due diligence before even having a conversation with them. There are so many people in this business who prey on the artist with the intent to essentially rip them off or just bullshit them. I
• have learned that the music matters. I try not to put too much attention into the content creation and social media trends, but to focus on picking up my guitar and spending honest time with my instrument to improve and become a talent worth discussing.
• Socrates said, “A wise man knows he knows nothing,” which I translate to, always be a student. I try to always remain a student of my craft. When I was in grad school, I studied journalism and one of my professors was Rob Levine, who at the time was the Executive Editor of Rolling Stone Magazine. I will never forget him asking us if we had read, I forget what it was, but he was asking us if we read something. Nobody responded in the affirmative and his response was, “How can you want to write, if you never read?” Translating to today, I make sure I listen to more music than I attempt to write.

There have also been a plethora of other lessons that I learned, but I would return this back to you in book form if I did so.

Emanuel Casablanca- Home

(Emanuel Casablanca / Photo by Natalija Bubalo)