"Great blues is played and sung from the heart. You can't fake the blues."

Brad Wilson: The Sculptured Blues

Brad Wilson established the Rhythm Drivers in 2004 with an intent to play blues infused with a vintage rock edge. His vocals and blues harp lead the band and define the sound with influences of Texas, west coast, swamp, and Chicago style blues. Brad is committed to the tradition and has been influenced by his older brother Kim Wilson, James Cotton, Otis Rush, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo, and other exemplary bluesmen. Inspired by blues legends of the '50s and '60s, Brad Wilson grew up swooning along with his records of Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, James Cotton, Little Johnny Taylor, and others.

He cultivated his harmonica and vocal styles over the years and has created a unique style of his own. The band is Brad Wilson, Jim Stice, David French, and Carl Assmus. They’ve opened for artists like Kim Wilson's Blues Allstars, and Canned Heat. Wilson also leads another band, the Blues Drivers. Wilson’s singing career began humbly at age five when he obsessed, he says, over children’s songs he memorized and sang everywhere, even in the shower. He describes playing 78s on his pseudo-alligator-skin-covered record player. Their dad had crooned on the radio in the 1950s, but Kim brought his kid brother into the blues world. Detroit-born in 1956, Los Angeles-raised, Wilson got a Masters in Art and Design, and currently makes his living selling contemporary “sculptured” tables, from steel, wood and concrete, throughout the Bay Area and across the USA.

Interview by Michael Limnios

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you?

Great blues is played and sung from the heart. You can't fake the blues.

How do you describe Brad & Rhythm Drivers sound and songbook? What characterize your music philosophy?

My influences are from swamp blues, Chicago, Texas, and west coast styles. We lay an uptempo style but with an old school approach. It's a range from slow, shuffles, and danceable blues tunes.

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? Which memory makes you smile?

Playing with and opening for bands like my brother Kim Wilson, Canned Heat, Nick Gravenites, Mark Hummel, James Harmon, Corky Siegel, and Tommy Castro made a huge impression on me even when it was one song. Meeting blues greats like George Smith, Lazy Lester, and Billy Boy Arnold was also very inspiring. They all have their unique take on the blues.

Which memory from Nick “The Greek” Gravenites makes you smile?

Having known Nick for a long time he's a walking encyclopedia of Chicago blues. I attended his wedding years ago when he married Marsha Gravenites and at that time he was playing a lot with John Cipollina. His band played at his wedding. He's a man with many stories and a straight shooter even when I finally had a chance to sit in with him a few years back I was playing harp right behind him standing as he sat playing guitar and after a song he looks up at me and says, "back to the woodshed my friend". Not sure if you want to publish that story since its kind of a put down on my playing but it says a lot about Nick... (laughts) I'm sure I was doing just fine but he was probably comparing me Paul Butterfield.

"The player of the harmonica can bend notes to create and instinctively soulful sound which seems very natural to the blues."

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

Sitting in on one of Mark Hummel's Harmonica Blowouts with James Harmon perched side stage as I sang a Little Walter tune and played harp was very memorable. I have so respect for James.

One of my first performances on stage with great players was with Little Charlie and the Nightcats. It was around 1980 in Seattle when Little Charlie and Rick Estrin asked me to sing some songs with them. I was hooked before but this was a turning point for me and I thought much more about performing after that.

Sitting in at Biscuits and Blues with the legendary players of Kim Wilson and the Blues Allstars was a crash course in high end blues players that were living the blues musician lifestyle most of their lives and really knew the blues.

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

As much as I enjoy old school electric blues from the 1950's and at times loathe blues rock I do feel blues as any style of music must evolve and blues musicians still need to take risks and not be complacent.

If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

I would to see club owners respect musicians and see the value of the music. I'm not saying there aren't many great music venues but at a lower level of music venues some sort of measuring stick would be nice.

"My influences are from swamp blues, Chicago, Texas, and west coast styles. We lay an uptempo style but with an old school approach. It's a range from slow, shuffles, and danceable blues tunes."

Do you know why the sound of harmonica is connected to the blues? What are the secrets of Mississippi Sax?

The player of the harmonica can bend notes to create and instinctively soulful sound which seems very natural to the blues.

Why did you think that the Blues music continues to generate such a devoted following?

As Albert Collins once said "Simple music is the hardest to play and blues is simple music". One can learn say a 12 bar blues but taking it to another level of skill is challenging for the average player.

What is the funniest moment that makes you smile with Kim Wilson? What is the best advice ever given you?

Singing a blues standard on stage with Kim and having him laugh out loud at an inflection in my vocal of a past historic blues singer.

You are also a visual artist. What experiences in your life have triggered your ideas most frequently?

Repetition has been and important trigger in both music and visual art. When the act becomes muscle memory growth is inevitable.

Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really wanna go for a whole day..?

The early Chicago blues days in the Windy City.

Rhythm Drivers - Official website