"I do believe that blues is basically a genre, that to be blues (to me) it must reflect aspects of the African American experience, rhythmically or in the way the story is told. There are other wonderful musical genres that can talk about hard times or bad relationships, but that doesn’t make them blues. Molly Malone wheeled her wheelbarrow through Dublin in a hard life of selling shellfish, but that isn’t a blues song."

Mick Kolassa: Wooden (Acoustic) Music

Mick "Michissippi Mick" Kolassa is a lifelong musician and hardcore blues fan and an active participant in the Memphis Blues scene. Born in Michigan but resident in Mississippi, “Michissippi Mick” has been playing the blues a long time with a style he likes to call “Free Range Blues”. He’s not tied down to one style, be it Delta blues, country blues, Chicago blues, or Memphis soul blues. Mick Kolassa has once again teamed up with Jeff Jensen to put together a package of fun. In doing his new album "Wooden Music (July 2023 / Endless Blues Records), Mick wanted to really craft the songs, not just play them. We knew from the beginning that this would be another totally acoustic album, by choosing to restrict ourselves to just acoustic instruments it drove a cool creativity. We wanted to really show that an acoustic album can sound as big and full as one using the typical electric instruments – being acoustic doesn’t mean that it has to be sparse (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Mick is blessed with amazing musical friends, and many joined him on this album. Of course, Jeff Jensen came onboard, both as producer and as principal guitarist. Tom Lonardo and Carl Casperson, who added their magic to “They Call Me Uncle Mick” provided a rock-solid rhythm section that held it all together. Doug MacLeod also brought his special magic to the two songs that open the album and, of course, Eric Hughes was a critical par of the team. Eric is the only musician (other than Mick) who has played on every one of Mick’s albums – it wouldn’t be a Mick album without Eric!                       (Mick Kolassa / Photo by Donna Criswell)

This album also highlights the skills of two other harp players, and they really delivered! Bob Corritore and Mick had often talked about working together and this album provided the opportunity. You’ll see that Bob really delivered. The other harp player is Vince Johnson, who isn’t widely known outside of Beale Street but sure needs to be – and you’ll agree when you hear what he did. Tas Cru and Mick have worked together often, and Tas provides a beautiful guitar part to the song Memphis Wood. Tas has the ability to put himself inside the song and work to make it better, and he di just that! Another longtime friend, Libby Rae Watson, was the ONLY person Mick wanted to join him on the vocals for the song “Baby Took A Limo to Memphis” – not just because of her vocal talent (which is wonderful) but her attitude, which fit the song perfectly, as you will see. The remaining guests have worked with Mick on several projects, and have always made things better. Reba Russell and Susan Marshall are well known and respected in the music world, and if you don’t know who they are you really need to check them out! What they brought to the song “Hurt People Hurt People” is simply stunning.

Interview by Michael Limnios               Mick Kolassa @ Blues.gr 2018 Interview

How has the Blues (music and culture) influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?

From my point of view there are 2 blues cultures, one that gave us the music and the other is the blues fan culture - and they are very different. The culture that gave us blues music was (is) one of oppression and resilience, despair and hope. One of the best decisions I ever made was to move to Mississippi and really learn about this blues culture. It helped me to see the world in a very different way because it helped me to better understand the struggles - past and present - that brought blues to life. I travel a lot, especially in the Caribbean, where I’m able to see the different ways the people who experiences the horrors of slavery and oppression have been able to deal with the challenges they face, and music is always a big part of it. Realizing the similarities of blues, calypso and reggae - in the stories they tell and the way they are told - helps me to see it all as a wonderful, hopeful stew

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music?

Every time I get together with people to make music I learn a little more, and that’s simply wonderful. Probably the biggest aspect of my musical growth is to see the similarities across genres - actually to realize how much blues has influenced every western music style. Also, If you pay attention as a musician, you can’t help but learn some music theory along the way, and that sure makes songwriting a different thing - it frees you in a number of ways. In blues many people get trapped into the “1-4-5, 12 bar” structure that is so common, but there is so much more to and in blues than that, and I love to explore different way to deliver blues.

A very important thing for me is that once you acknowledge that blues began as and should still be a verbal art form - meaning it’s about the lyric and the story told by the words, not just the guitar licks - you find yourself working make sure the music advances the story - to me it’s the soundtrack of the song, not just the sound.

"Frankly, of the most difficult things for me recently is to see the number of musicians and fans who claim to love blues but seem to adhere to what I consider a racist philosophy (basically white nationalism). I don’t see how you can really love the music that was created by people you secretly hate There, I said it!" (Mick Kolassa / Photo by Donna Criswell)

What has remained the same about your music-making process?

It still has to move me, to inspire me! To me music is an emotional thing. If the song doesn’t tell a real story to me it’s not a song, it’s simply words to occupy the times between instrumental solos, and to me many of those solos also lack emotion - they may have blazing shreds and a thousand notes per minute but they don’t move me. That might be OK for some people but for me the best way to lose me is to sing a song that’s just a bunch of rhymes without a lot of meaning or to just ”recite” the words to song without really feeling it or by playing a blazing solo that could also be played well by a machine.

You’ve one new release with many guest. What touched you recording with friends?

Blues is more than a musical genre, it’s a community, where artists are also fans and supportive of each other. Jeff Jensen, who produced this album (and many others) and I have a great musical and personal connection formed over the years. The musical guests on this album are all friends, and we’ve often talked about recording and performing together. Doug MacLeod and I get together on a regular basis on a social basis, and we are also mutual fans of each other’s music – we’ve recorded and performed together before and he’s just a joy to be with. Bob Corritorre and I have talked over the years about doing something together and the song "Sugar In You Grits" seems to be custom made for Bob, in style and substance. Eric Hughes has appeared on every blues album I’ve done, so I can’t imagine not having that great friend and very gifted artist on an album. Vince Johnson is a Beale Street treasure and another great friend he often asks me to sit in with his band this was a chance for me to introduce him to fans who may not have heard his playing. And Tas Cru is another dear friend we’ve done so much together over the years and having him add his guitar magic tone my song Memphis Wood was just an obvious choice. And my dear friend Libby Rae Watson added her vocals to Guy Clark’s Baby Took a Limo to Memphis I chose that song specifically for Libby to help with. I’ve known and admired all of these folks for several years, and the chance to perform with them, to share our love of blues, is an honor and a pure pleasure.

"Blues, like most music, began as an acoustic art form, and most blues fans listen to and love the old stuff, so new music hat honors that legacy will always be appreciated. For me, offering up blues music without pedalboards and other effects just provides a more pure musical experience, distinctly different from genres, such as rock, that grew out of blues." (Mick Kolassa / Photo by Michael R. Bach)

Do you have any interesting stories about the making of the new album “Wooden Music”, 2023?

Because I decided, from the beginning, that this album would be 100% acoustic, it presented some problems and opportunities. Having that “limit” imposed makes you be more creative, finding new (or different) ways to do things. As we recorded the song "Hurt People" I kept thinking how much the arrangement could use an organ, just to fill it out. Because I’m not aware of an acoustic organ that would sound like a B3 (as opposed to a classic pipe organ or foot pedaled organ) I began to think about human voices to provide the sound, and it’s pretty difficult to find singing voices as great as Reba Russell and Susan Marshal, especially together! As they added their parts to the song I was smiling so hard that it almost hurt.

Why do you think that the acoustic music/sound continues to generate such a devoted following?

Blues, like most music, began as an acoustic art form, and most blues fans listen to and love the old stuff, so new music hat honors that legacy will always be appreciated. For me, offering up blues music without pedalboards and other effects just provides a more pure musical experience, distinctly different from genres, such as rock, that grew out of blues.

What's the balance in music between technique skills and soul/emotions?

That, my friend, is the key, having that balance right! When a skilled musicians can feel the song, the emotion of the story, the performance is always better. Skill without soul is boring, and emotion without musical talent is often frightening.  You have to be able to feel it AND play it!

Why is it important to we preserve and spread the Blues/Roots music?

The blues is the principal American music, it’s where virtually everything else came from. Failing to understand and appreciate the blues takes away the ability to truly understand and appreciate other forms – whether it’s jazz, hip-hop, country, rock or soul. Blues is to those genres what colors are to a painting – if you don’t understand how to use the colors the painting will be lacking – if you don’t understand how blues affects and colors those other genres, they just lack something.

"I know there is an audience for roots music, but I also know that it won’t ever be a huge audience, but this has been the roots music reality for the past 75 years or more. I work with young blues musicians all the time, and am thrilled and amazed by their dedication and love of the music  which makes me confident about its future." (Photo: Mick Kolassa with Jeff Jensen and Ted Todd at Ardent Studios)

How did the idea of Endless Blues Records come about?

Endless Blues was the idea of my late brother-in-law, Ted Todd. That was the name of the company he formed to produce blues events. I incorporated the company, with him, in Mississippi just before he passed away. As I did more and more recording it just seemed natural to create Endless Blues Records, in part to honor Ted. After a couple releases of my own I started reaching out to some other artists to see if I could help them get their music out. Endless Blues doesn’t operate like other labels, we work with the artist to help them succeed and to take care of things most artists don’t think about – my goal from the beginning was not to make money but to lose as little as possible – it’s purely about the love of the blues  not the green!

Do you think there is an audience for Roots music in its current state? or at least a potential for young people to become future audiences and fans?

I know there is an audience for roots music, but I also know that it won’t ever be a huge audience, but this has been the roots music reality for the past 75 years or more. I work with young blues musicians all the time, and am thrilled and amazed by their dedication and love of the music  which makes me confident about its future. But blues has never been huge  over the past 65 years only one blues song has EVER made the Billboard top 100 chart for a year was BB King’s “The Thrill Is Gone”, which charted at #98. It a MAJOR song with a minor track record – that’s Roots Music!

How do you describe previous album "Wasted Youth" (2021) sound and songbook?

This album came out of my 2020. By nature, I’m a positive and optimistic person, but 2020 hit me hard. My wife passed away in October after too many years of smoking and other addictions, and I lost so many friends to Covid that it was hard to keep my head up. It also forced me to realize how fragile life is, which can also bring you down But the positive part of me wouldn’t let that happen for long, so the album really deals with me trying not to let reality get me down - some sad songs, deeply sad, some more optimistic, and a couple that are just fun.

What touched you from War's Slipping Into Darkness, Youngbloods' Darkness Darkness and the old spiritual "Wayfaring Stranger"?

I’ve always loved all three songs, and have wanted to do something with Slipping I to Darkness for years. My wife’s addictions took her from me, and the 3 songs just seemed to line up to tell a story of slipping into addiction, moving to absolute desperation because of it, then finding peace in death - something that couldn’t be found in a life of addiction. The three songs have a very similar structure, in terms of chord progression, minor changes from one to the next, so one just seemed to flow into the next and tell the story. But I didn’t want it to sound like one song, so each has its own sound because of the instruments we used, the reggae feel helped to tie it together.

"From my point of view there are 2 blues cultures, one that gave us the music and the other is the blues fan culture - and they are very different. The culture that gave us blues music was (is) one of oppression and resilience, despair and hope. One of the best decisions I ever made was to move to Mississippi and really learn about this blues culture. It helped me to see the world in a very different way because it helped me to better understand the struggles - past and present - that brought blues to life."

How do you want your songs and music to affect people? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

I simply want people to like to songs, to enjoy or identify with the stories, to find something in the music they didn’t expect. I often inject humor into my songs, and I really hope they can bring a smile to someone’s face, while others might bring a tear to their eye. If they feel the music, I am very happy. I have found that after I write a song, I need to let the listener find it for themselves, to interpret it the way they feel it - it’s always interesting to have people tell me what my songs mean to them, I’m often surprised.

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

To quote BB King, you can’t judge a book by looking at its cover. First impressions can be so wrong, so whether it’s a song or a musician I always want to give them a few chances to prove me right or wrong.

Do you consider the blues a specific music genre and artistic movement or do you think it’s a state of mind?

I do believe that blues is basically a genre, that to be blues (to me) it must reflect aspects of the African American experience, rhythmically or in the way the story is told. There are other wonderful musical genres that can talk about hard times or bad relationships, but that doesn’t make them blues. Molly Malone wheeled her wheelbarrow through Dublin in a hard life of selling shellfish, but that isn’t a blues song.

How can the Blues inspire activism? What was/is the hardest part to be a blues artist nowadays?                                                       (Mick Kolassa / Photo by Donna Criswell)

Frankly, of the most difficult things for me recently is to see the number of musicians and fans who claim to love blues but seem to adhere to what I consider a racist philosophy (basically white nationalism). I don’t see how you can really love the music that was created by people you secretly hate There, I said it! But that has spurred many to really work hard to make sure that everyone in the blues community understands the very special nature of the blues - that you can’t really love the blues if you don’t love the spirit and tenacity of the people who first created it, and you can’t love that while trying to hold their descendants back.

What would you say characterizes Memphis blues scene in comparison to other US scenes and circuits?

Memphis, because of its geography, was the place a lot of blues passed through on its way to the rest of the world - I’ve often said that if there had been good jobs in Memphis in the 40s and 50s there wouldn’t have been a Chicago Blues! Memphis has blues in its roots, and Memphis musicians know it. As blues gave birth to rock and soul music, Memphis has always been able to bring it back to blues.

If I needed to put a blues band together in a cohort period of time to do a major show or festival, I could do it here in a Memphis minute. The city not only attracts blues artists, it spawns and develops them, it must be something in the water. If that wasn’t true you wouldn’t have to many bands and acts adding Memphis somewhere to their name, just hoping that some of the mojo rubs off into them!!

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