"I think blues is still popular and will always be popular because it’s a feeling that all people experience (Blues is the life you live!) I think in Europe the blues scene has a younger listening group. And the lovers of blues treat it like its more than a passing fad. It’s really cool to see several generations of family into the same music!"

Blues Fighters: Rockin' The Soul of Blues

Blues Fighters was founded in 2021 in Poznań (Poland), it is made up of musicians with considerable achievements and experience gained from cooperation with many artists. Vocalist and guitarist Chuc Frazier come from Houston, Texas. with Sonny Sharrock’s band. Bassist Robert Fraska is known from the bands Hot Water, Boogie Chilli and Żuki Rock’n’Roll Band. Drummer Dariusz Nowicki known from the bands Hot Water, Izotop and Boogie Chilli. Together with Robert Fraska, as Hot Water, they supported Joe Cocker, performed on one stage with artists such as Alvin Lee, Ten Years After, The Animals, Colosseum, Taj Mahal, Jack Bruce and Eb Davies.        

(Blues Fighters / Photo by Adam Wawrzyniak)

Guitarist Wojciech Kubiak is known for his cooperation with Grzegorz Kupczyk (Turbo, Ceti) as well as Brick House and Like The Stones. In 2022, the band released the album “Pretty Baby” with thirteen original songs. The band won the Grand Prix at the Suwałki Blues Festival 2022. Blues Fighters are: Chuc Frazier on vocal, guitar; Wojciech Kubiak on guitar; Robert Fraska on bass; and Dariusz Nowicki on drums. The Blues Fighters will be the participation of Poland at the European Blues Challenge, Chorzów in Poland (June 1-3, 2023).

Interview by Michael Limnios

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

Chuc: I started playing guitar at 13 years old and playing in clubs at 15. Blues has been with me my whole life. It was always on the radio around the house. My mom had a fantastic record collection and she was always so surprised that I loved music that was made years before I was born. Blues helps me define the road I’m walking through life and makes the hard bumps softer.

Robert: Music sensitizes, and blues music in particular. This influences the perception of a world full of social inequalities, human harm, injustice and discrimination. Perception of the world through the travels I have experienced has confirmed my belief that you need to have an open heart to the fate of another person and never become indifferent. In the music of Blues Fighters, we try to introduce some joy, make you reflect, just help you get through these hard times.

Dariusz: As a child I lived often with my grandparents and uncles (my mother's brothers) and there was always a lot of blues and rock music in this house. One of the uncles was a music maniac and wrote entire discographies of bands, in those years (70s) it was very difficult in Poland due to the lack of access to buy records, but he managed somehow. Thanks to him, I got to know a lot of great music, from BB King to Eric Clapton, ZZ Top, John Mayall to Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc. Since then, music has accompanied me throughout my life and guided my emotions, love treatment of other people, etc. Many songs are associated with specific situations in life. Music has also often helped me overcome some difficulties and unpleasant experiences in my life.

How do you describe Blues Fighters sound? What's the balance in music between technique and soul?

Chuc: Blues Fighters sound to me has a 70’s vibe with bands like Free, Bad Company, Mountain etc. I think soul is more important than technique but of course the two together makes music more amazing.

Robert: The philosophy of Blues Fighters music, in my opinion, is to dress the already existing blues energy with a bit of our energy and share it with the audience at our concerts and releases. The technique greatly supports the so-called soul of the blues, e.g. Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the most important thing is the soul which, in order to have a message and interest the listeners, does not need to be supported by technique, e.g. John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon.

When did the idea of BLUES FIGHTERS come about? What is the story behind band's name?

Dariusz: The idea for Blues Fighters was born in August 2021. It happened completely by accident. Me and Robert have been playing together for thirty years in different bands and for some time we wanted to create a new project. One day Wojtek Kubiak (now BF's guitarist) called us that there was a proposal to play a concert in the form of "Tribute to Jimi Hendrix", we gladly agreed because we had played some Jimi's compositions in the past. Chuc joined this and we met the day before the concert for a three-hour rehearsal, we quickly recorded the material and played the concert the next day. After the show we went back to the rehearsal room to unpack the backline. And that good we played together, something sparked, we decided to have a small party with bourbon. After a few bourbons, Robert and I decided to create a band with this line-up, we asked Chuc and Wojtek if they were in it, they expressed great willingness ... and that's how the band was created. The name was created after a few more bourbons as we decided to fight a bit on the blues and rock market, one core of the name was already obvious, i.e. Fighters, we added the second one, which was also obvious due to the fact that blues is the mainstream in our country, the second, or rather the first part of the name was chosen Blues ... and hence the name Blues Fighters.

"Music sensitizes, and blues music in particular. This influences the perception of a world full of social inequalities, human harm, injustice and discrimination. Perception of the world through the travels I have experienced has confirmed my belief that you need to have an open heart to the fate of another person and never become indifferent. In the music of Blues Fighters, we try to introduce some joy, make you reflect, just help you get through these hard times." (Blues Fighters / Photo by Jerzy Doroszkiewicz)

Why do you think that the Blues music continues to generate such a devoted following in Europe?

Chuc: I think blues is still popular and will always be popular because it’s a feeling that all people experience (Blues is the life you live!) I think in Europe the blues scene has a younger listening group. And the lovers of blues treat it like its more than a passing fad. It’s really cool to see several generations of family into the same music!

Robert: This is due to the fact that in the flood of artificial music generated from computers, the blues is real and authentic, you can hear sadness and joy in it, even if it is a one-chord form, we feel this energy directly under the skin.

Dariusz: I think because blues music is a sincere form of communication, flowing straight from the heart and more sensitive people need such a message. In addition, probably some people who listen to, for example, more powerful music, also want to know the roots, where it all began.

What would you say characterizes Polish blues scene in comparison to other European scenes?

Robert: In Poland, we have great blues musicians, especially in Silesia, but I think that we are too conservative, there are few bands that add something from themselves, they are not afraid to go beyond the scheme. Which is what we're trying to do with the Blues Fighters.

Dariusz: The Polish blues scene is quite similar to other European ones, there are some good bands. Unfortunately, there are also many who imitate bad patterns. In Poland, the blues began to be played quite late compared to the rest of Europe (western), this is due to the fact that our country was practically cut off from the sources for several decades, i.e. no access to foreign music because we were occupied by the Soviet Union, at that time it was full censorship and cutting off from Western culture.

"What I miss the most is music from the 70s/80s, such bands as Thin Lizzy, Cream, Nazareth etc. or even The Beatles... that's what I grew up on. Most of today's music is without soul, without madness, it's like from one cliché. It's hard to even tell which bands are playing. Same sound, similar compositions, etc. Of course, fortunately, there are a lot of exceptions. I hope there will be a next generation that will play more rock 'n' roll. " (Blues Fighters / Photo by Magda Zając)

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

Chuc: One memory that springs to mind-I was playing with Tim Scott McConnel (Ledfoot, Havalins)at a 1-200 capacity club and 3 people showed up! (Turned out the promoter did 0 (zero) promotion so noone knew we were having a concert)So we had them put a couple of tables on the dance floor, bought them a round of drinks and rocked out. I think it was one of our best concerts ever! On the road all kinds of silly things happen!

Robert: I played a concert with Darek Nowicki at the festival in Poznań, where the main star was the Taj Mahal, and suddenly, in the middle of the concert, Taj Mahal himself appeared on the stage with a guitar, saying, "You play so much that I couldn't just stand and listen, I had to come in and play with you" and in in this way he recorded the concert with us until the end.

Dariusz: Oh, there are many memories, the first thing that comes to my mind is a very nice situation when we played many years ago with Robert as a Hot Water band, a concert in the great Arena concert hall as a support for Joe Cocker. We had prepared material for this special and important concert, additional rehearsals because a friend played the Hammond organ with us, etc. So, everything was perfectly prepared for the performance. It's time to go on stage and we can't find our singer? guitarist ... nerves, we're looking for and after some time it turns out that he was in the toilet all the time, ok we quickly go on stage and he starts playing and singing completely different songs than we were supposed to play. Everyone in great shock, what to do here? ... we were left with nothing but full improvisation (at such an important concert). Fortunately, he played standards that most of the band knew quite well it turned out that he was so consumed with stage fright that while in the toilet he secretly anesthetized himself too much with alcohol, and he got everything mixed up (repertoire) but somehow everything ended well , even after our concert, musicians from Joe Cocker came to us and congratulated us on a great concert. And maybe the second situation when we played at a big concert together with Alvin Lee and the band Colosseum. The next day there was also Jack Bruce (Cream) with Robin Trower (Procol Harum) but of course they flew to Poland the day before, so he came to this concert. Behind the stage we had separate dressing rooms (well stocked). Seeing him, we invited him to our dressing room for a schnapps. We had a great time, we were fine, but after visiting us Jack came out purple on the face, the so-called. Checkmate. I don't think he was used to the rate of drinking we imposed. I hope he forgave us for the quick pouring of whiskey (may he rest in peace).

"The philosophy of Blues Fighters music, in my opinion, is to dress the already existing blues energy with a bit of our energy and share it with the audience at our concerts and releases. The technique greatly supports the so-called soul of the blues, e.g. Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the most important thing is the soul which, in order to have a message and interest the listeners, does not need to be supported by technique, e.g. John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon." (Photo: Blues Fighters, Suwałki Festival, Poland)

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

Chuc: I feel the music of the past was more true. It helped us walk a better path and gave us guidance in our everyday lives. It was in the front of us whereas the way its approached now is business, money, fame, ego, sex etc. Now of course all this was around back then but there was a more spiritual aspect that seems missing today. So much music sounds the same and doesn’t challenge the listener. There is great music being made but you really have to search for it because the mainstream is lame. I will continue doing what I always do, play music from my heart and the future will take care of itself!

Robert: From the past, I miss people more Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hendrix, Lennon, I often wonder how many wonderful sounds, joy we would have had if there were no senseless deaths. I hope that the future will bring us a renaissance of guitar bands playing live, that the tradition of club concerts will be reborn after the pandemic. I'm afraid that young people absorbed in the virtual world will prefer to spend time in cyberspace more than going to a good concert in a club or taking part in a festival.

Dariusz: What I miss the most is music from the 70s/80s, such bands as Thin Lizzy, Cream, Nazareth etc. or even The Beatles... that's what I grew up on. Most of today's music is without soul, without madness, it's like from one cliché. It's hard to even tell which bands are playing. Same sound, similar compositions, etc. Of course, fortunately, there are a lot of exceptions. I hope there will be a next generation that will play more rock 'n' roll. As Blues Fighters, we try to do just that, not imitate anyone, play the way we feel, etc. That's why on our album "Pretty Baby: you can find blues, rock or soul, because that's how we feel a given song and we don't try to force it, for example as classic root blues and we play it our way, what our heart tells us.

(Blues Fighters / Photo by Adam Wawrzyniak)