"Be true to yourself. Don’t try to please the masses too much, especially in such a very personal music style like the Blues. If you get lucky and are suddenly making big money, make sure to save some for a rainy day. Success usually won’t last forever, neither will your health."

Christian Dozzler: Blues & Boogie (Images)

More than 45 years on the Blues scene have provided the multi-instrumentalist Christian Dozzler (vocals, piano, harmonica, organ, accordion), a.k.a. "Two Meters of Blues" because of his 6’7" height, with a musical background that is rarely found among Blues musicians coming out of Europe. In the year 2000 he relocated to the USA and is currently based in Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas. Christian Dozzler was born into a musical family in Vienna, Austria in 1958. Solo piano Blues and Boogie Woogie were the starting point and are until now a major part in Christian’s work. In 1976 he formed his first group, the “Backyard Bluesband”, where he also played harmonica and some guitar. 1980 was the year when he decided to make a profession out of his musical addiction, he also picked up the accordion after discovering Zydeco-music. The years from 1984 till 1993 Christian spent as the co-frontman of Austria’s “Mojo Blues Band”, and started recording and extensive touring throughout Europe. Frequently working with American Blues artists on their European tours widened his musical horizon and made him an experienced player in many different styles of Blues music.

(Christian Dozzler / Photo © by Tony Morrison)

From 1993 till 2000, he had his own band again, “Christian Dozzler & The Blues Wave”, where he could finally bring the whole diversity of his talent into play. Four CDs resulted from these years. In 1999 the band recorded their fourth CD “Louisiana” right in the land of the bayous, together with some legendary figures of the Louisiana music scene. In May 2000 Christian Dozzler accepted an offer that couldn’t be refused. He joined the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, based band of Larry Garner, moved to America, and toured the US and the rest of the world with Larry for two years. In 2002 he settled in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, and continued his solo career. Christian Dozzler performed on both sides of the Atlantic, or as pianist and singer with Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets. Early on, he specialized in black & white and travel photography, and received recognition in some local photo competitions and exhibitions.

Interview by Michael Limnios               Archive: Christian Dozzler, 2012 Interview

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

My 45-year career has certainly taken me to a lot of places, both geographically and socially. The diversity of people who like the Blues is amazing, I’ve played for millionaires and homeless people and anybody in between. I encountered many different cultures and noticed that even people who don’t understand the language have an appreciation for the music. The Blues has some sort of primal energy that transports emotions which many people can feel and understand, even if they don’t understand the lyrics or know anything about the history of this music.

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music? What has remained the same about your music-making process?

When I first started making music, I did it purely for myself. There were no plans for a career. The idea that anybody could make a living playing Blues music did not even occur to me as a realistic possibility. I was going to be an engineer and play music as a hobby, so I thought. But then I dropped out of university and at around the same time started making actual money with the music I loved. There were people who wanted to hear what I had played at home for my own pleasure for years. All of a sudden, I was a professional Blues musician. It just happened to me like that. Then, of course, you feel like you have to expand your performance, compromise stylistically to appeal to more people and draw bigger crowds. That comes with the territory. Now that I’m semi-retired, I’m sort of going back to my beginnings, I play what I want to hear. If you’re on the same wavelength and like it too, great! If you expected something different, too bad. I might play 2 or 3 slow songs in a row, if I’m in that mood.

"I encountered many different cultures and noticed that even people who don’t understand the language have an appreciation for the music. The Blues has some sort of primal energy that transports emotions which many people can feel and understand, even if they don’t understand the lyrics or know anything about the history of this music." (Christian Dozzler / Photos © by Frank Nielsen & Aigars Lapsa)

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

One of the big “Aha Moments” was when I first heard Blues and Boogie Woogie on the radio as a 14 year-old, and I immediately switched from classical music to Blues. Later on, it was the opportunity to perform with many of my heroes, who I had listened to on records for so long. My move to the US in 2000 was another big step that came with a lot of life changes. Some of the little highlights that I enjoy these days, might be when a young person approaches after a show, to tell me how they never thought they liked Blues. But they changed their mind, because they just realized that they had never heard the real thing before.

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

It seems like there used to be more appreciation for hand-made music. Just the basic honesty and simplicity of a musician and his/her instrument or voice. Many younger people that I meet have never experienced that concept, it seems to me. They grew up listening to music that is more or less coming out of a laboratory. Sampled sounds, autotuned voices. And now, to top all of that, AI is taking over in “composing” and “performing” music. Meanwhile, it is becoming practically impossible to make money from recordings. That used to be a big part of my income. Many musicians are struggling financially because the pay does not keep up with the inflation, and more and more live music clubs are disappearing, at least in the Blues field.

What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions? Why is it important to we preserve and spread the blues?

Personally, I’m not moved much by music that is mainly based on virtuosity. I get a lot more pleasure out of performances that offer more raw emotional depth, even if the abilities on the instrument may seem somewhat limited in comparison.  It is meaningless how many notes you can play in a second, it’s not a sport. Less is more, that’s in my opinion the golden rule when it comes to Blues.

"Some of the little highlights that I enjoy these days, might be when a young person approaches after a show, to tell me how they never thought they liked Blues. But they changed their mind, because they just realized that they had never heard the real thing before." (Christian Dozzler has two passions: Phography and Music / Photos © by Monica Babin Muil & Tony Joe Gardner)

What is the role of music in today’s society? How do you want the music to affect people?

In my observation, most people don’t appreciate music as an art form anymore. It is too often just called “entertainment” and has become a consumer product that is present in the background 24/7. At the store, in the elevator, on the car radio. Just one of the many distractions in daily life. At least in America that seems to be the case. I wish there would be more music education in schools again, where you learn to understand what you hear, to pay attention to the craft of music-making, learn an instrument yourself. Music can do a lot of good for you, mentally, if you approach it in a mindful way. That works for any style of music. Slow down and take the time to sit down and focus on just listening without any other distractions.

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

Be true to yourself. Don’t try to please the masses too much, especially in such a very personal music style like the Blues. If you get lucky and are suddenly making big money, make sure to save some for a rainy day. Success usually won’t last forever, neither will your health.

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

I think Blues per se is a timeless music. If you try to change it to make it more “relevant” for today’s audience, it may not qualify as Blues anymore. You’re only watering it down or blending it, and it becomes something different. Keep it real, honor the tradition, and hope that new generations, on their way “back to the roots”, will discover and learn to love this style of music. Just like I did back in the 70s, when I got hypnotized -in Vienna, Austria of all places- by this old style of music that the other kids made fun of. The Blues is what it is, don’t change it, keep it alive.

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(Christian Dozzler with Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets / Photo © by Kerry Langford)