Joanne Shaw Taylor has been wowing the Blues audiences of Europe this year with her electrifying performances. Recently signed up by Dave Stewart for a record deal, things certainly seem to be going her way. Steve Lally caught up with Joanne to see just what makes this young female guitarist tick. There are also comments from band members Jamie Little and Phil Kingston.

SL: Joanne, what made you choose Blues Music as your means of expression?

JST: Just before my twelfth birthday, I found a copy of ‘ SRV and Double Trouble Live from Austin Texas' . From the first track I was blown away I'd never heard blues up until that point and definitely nothing as powerful as Stevie's playing. I asked for a Strat for my Birthday and I went out and bought all of his Cd's. I read as many interviews about him as I could and learned all about his influences, That's how I got into Albert Collins who's my other main influence and all those other guys, Buddy Guy, BB King etc

SL: Did you listen to music other than blues, as you were growing up?

JST: Not particularly, My Brother and Father are both good guitarist's and big rock fan's, There was always a lot of Led Zeppelin And Hendrix around the house when I was younger but Stevie was the first person to open my ears to Blues Music really.

SL:I know you played classical guitar from an early age. Do you find this helped or hindered you in your blues playing?

JST: Both really, in terms of my left hand (my fretting hand) I found it gave me a head start because I already had pretty good motor skills. But learning to play with a plectrum after finger picking for 5 years was quite difficult. For my first year of playing, I didn't actually use one, I tended to use my thumb and index finger like Albert Collins and Albert King. Later on when I was building my own style I began using a lot of raking like Stevie did, which is quite wearing on your right hand so I started to use one.

SL: When you are playing during a gig, I noticed you seem to enjoy the company of your fellow band members. Has this always been the case with members past and present?

JST: Yes. I've been with this current Band for over a year. In my last band I wasn't singing and I had a front man. I got on with all them but we didn't do that many gigs and aside from the keyboard player they were all a fair bit older than me. The guys in my band now are quite young, we're all very close, which makes it easier when we're away for a few weeks at a time. It's like being away with Three Big Brothers!

SL: Your Band have a really good pedigree, I've done my homework so I know this is correct. Jamie and Roger have played with some huge stars. How did you attract these boys to your band?

JST: Yeah their great! They're classed as one of the best rhythm sections in the country! They're fantastic guys to work with, I've learned so much off them. I knew at the time that if I could play with them it would bring me on so much. Not only in my playing but just how they listen to music, their ideas about arranging numbers etc. Between them they've worked with some great blues artists.

Jamie: One night my girlfriend said she was going to watch one of her young singing students do a gig at Ronnie Scotts and that she was a 15-year-old guitar player. I went along with some scepticism, expecting to see a nylon strung classical player.... after 45 minutes of being nailed to the cross by Jo's incredible sound, I picked my jaw off the floor and took an interest. When Jo asked me whether I would be interested in being part of her new band I accepted. I was still a little unsure of what lay ahead.... Guess I just couldn't believe that this little girl could be making the mark that she was.

SL: Your Dad has been a guiding light in your career, do you disagree with him occasionally as to band decisions. (Most teenagers rebel to a certain extent!)

JST: There's no way I'd be playing the kinda of gigs I'm getting now, in fact I doubt I'd be gigging at all. We very rarely disagree. When I was younger maybe. My Dads very supportive, and he has a great knowledge of business and how to work with people so I've learned a lot off him. When I first started I was about 14 and all I wanted to worry about was whether my guitars were in tune! He tended to deal with all the agents and promoters etc. There are still times when we haven't agreed on certain things but I trust his judgement just as he trusts mine.

SL: When I saw you play at Colne on the Benedictine Super Roadhouse Stage, you played a great version of Born Under a Bad Sign , actually this is a favourite of mine. Do you like Albert King's music and style?

JST:I love Albert King. I cite BB, Stevie, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy and Albert King as the main influences on my music, there are thousands more but those are the guys I listen to every day! Blues Power is one of my favourite albums.

SL: You are known for your ability to play SRV tunes well. Do you find a similarity with Albert King's style and Stevie Ray's? The Dutch blues player, Julian Sas, thinks so. What are your views on this being someone who plays both artists' songs?

JST: Well Stevie always said Albert was his musical godfather! Albert King was a huge influence on Stevies playing so of course there's going to be similarities. You can hear it most on Stevie's slow bends, listen to Texas Flood then listen to Blues Power.

SL: Your rise to fame has been meteoric, Joanne. Do you find this easy to cope with, and do you still get the jitters before you go on stage. Nerves can spoil performance but with some people it can give them the polished edge. What is your angle on this?

JST:(laughing) I wouldn't exactly say I was famous! I don't really get nervous, -I used to. The only times I get nervous is if there's some added pressure, maybe somebody important in the audience etc, but often those are the best gigs. It gives you that little extra drive. Another thing is I'm just really comfortable with the guys I play with so if anything goes wrong I can depend on them to help me out!

Jamie :I think nerves affect people in different ways, some people deal with it, some people don't, nobody escapes it! I've never known Jo to have a problem with it. On a personal level, the only time I get a little shaky is when I don't know what I am supposed to be doing when I get on stage! That doesn't happen with this band.

Phil: I don't really get that nervous (maybe I should do!). I only tend to get a bit nervous on the bigger gigs, but a pre-gig-beer always helps! On stage, I normally have to face the rest of the band, and their faces make me laugh, so that helps.

SL: Joanne, I noticed at Colne that although you were top of the bill, and have a record deal, you still set your own gear up. I wrote in my review that you were still paying your "Blues-Dues". Do you mind the less glamorous side of gigging?

JST: No not Really, it would be nice to not have to worry about those kind of things but its not that much bother. When I do the gigs with Dave Stewarts DA Universal Playaz band its nice to have the luxury of a road crew and your own guitar tech, Dave told me when he was with the Eurythmics they even used to hire a Eurthymics tribute band to do their sound check for them! But its not that much hassle really, though carrying a Fender Twin can be a bit of a problem for a weedy 17yr old girl!

SL: You have been described as being part of the future of Blues alongside artists such as Danny Bryant and Tommy Allen. Do you think this could be a fair comment or would you disagree?

JST: There are so many young guitar players out there at the moment playing this kind of music, I guess we're all part of the the science and I'm sure those guys will make great careers for themselves! I guess the main two players who spring up in my mind are Aynsley Lister and Ian Parker. Like me they're both from the Midlands and growing up seeing them play. They've both been quite a big influence on me. Ian was actually the first guitarist I saw play! I thought I was the only young person in the world playing blues, then my dad took me to one of his gigs when I was 13. Needless to say I was blown away!

SL: Have you seen these young guns (Danny and Tommy) play and if so what do you think to their contribution to the blues scene of today?

JST :I haven't actually seen either of them play, I've met Tommy at a jam night, but not with his band, and I've yet to hear Danny Bryant! I think another two guys to watch out for at the moment are the Davey Brothers! I'm sure everybody knows the impact they made in the Hoax. Their part of the Artist Network as well, their new album's awesome!

SL: I've noticed that you play some really nice Fenders, particularly the Thinline Telecaster. What made you want to be a Fender player as opposed to being a Gibson player for instance.

JST: I originally started playing a Stratocaster as I was a big Vaughan Brothers fan. I have quite an aggressive style I find that Strats don't fight back enough, I do actually have a Gibson Les Paul but I find it to heavy to hold on stage. One of the disadvantages of being a girl I guess!.

SL: Was the amplifier you used at Colne a Fender Twin or a Bassman. I know the Bassman is your usual amp but I thought you used a Twin at Colne.

JST: My usual amp is a Fender Twin, I stopped using the Bassman as it was too clean! I do love the tone of the Bassman I've often thought about going back to it. I have a '66 Esquire that through the bright channel you can some lovely tones .

SL: The Fender Twin seems to be a very popular amp among the modern British Blues players. Alan and Steve Nimmo, Ian Parker and Jon Amor all seem to use these clean sounding amps.

JST: Right now I love the Twin, I can get some great dirty tones out of it with the Thinline, is great for the kinda of stuff were playing right now. For the real old school Jimmy Reed sound though, its definately the Bassman and Esquire!

SL: Before joining you, Jamie Little and Roger Inniss had played with some great artists such as the Climax Blues Band and Steve Gibbons. Did they come to your band as a "ready-made" rhythm section? Please join in Fellahs!

JST: Yeah they've both got great cv's. Jamie's home is in funk really but he's a great blues drummer. He's got the most amazing feel that's what I love most about his playin', and having that funk influence brings a whole different dynamic to the sound. I met Roger through Jamie they've played together for years with amongst others Adrian Byron Burns. Although when I first met Rog he was on tour with Elkie Brooks so I started working with Matt Kaye (Aynsley Lister). However I kept in touch with him and a few months later he came and joined us. Rogers fantastic, he's taught me so much. I've learnt so much in the past year off both of them just spending so much time with them and seeing how they approach things.

Jamie: I have known Rog since I was about 12 when he was playing bass for my dad (Curtis Little), but I have been working with him since about 1997. Rog and I were playing together regularly at the time but we weren't hired as a ready made thing, ….just coincidence that we were working together.

SL: Your Keyboard player Phil Kingston also impressed me at Colne. His piano and organ playing was excellent. I have it on good authority that Phil left a promising career in I.T. to play the Blues. Have you any comments on this Phil?

Phil; Well I've now got a degree in computers/engineering at the University of Warwick , (now 5th in the country, ahem!), and had actually been offered a pretty good job for a new multimedia company, but playing (musically)with Jo is just too much fun to miss out on! I haven't discarded my

technical skills completely, as I still do some occasional IT work (such as Jo's website), but it's certainly on the backburner for the time being. Maybe later in life, who knows.

SL: Joanne, as a seventeen-year-old female guitar hero, do you find you are attracting young men to this genre of music or do you think they are simply attracted to your womanly charms?

JST: (laughing) Womanly charms? Not so sure about that one! You'll have to ask the guys! (laughing)

You do occasionly get young people who come to the gigs or hear the music and because of my image it appeals to them more than maybe say Memphis Minnie would. Which is great, Artists in the states like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have shown that you can make blues appeal to a young mainstream audience and they've done it by playing pretty much standard contemporary blues. That's my main goal really to make blues music appeal to a young audience.

Jamie: I think blues has always been a man's thing (rightly or wrongly, probably the latter) so to have someone like Jo come on the scene is gonna cause a stir. As far as her attracting people for reasons other than her playing... I think there is always a percentage of people from any audience that have other motives for being there. Anyway, a bum on a seat is a bum on a seat.

SL: This brings me to the very delicate question of your love life! Do you find it difficult as a seventeen year old young lady to maintain a relationship or simply see boys with the obvious disadvantages of touring and gigging? No Comment will be an acceptable answer to this question!

JST: No not really, Though it would be nice to bring the average age of my audience down from 60 to say 18, maybe that would make things easier! (laughing). It can be a little difficult as all my friends who are my own age have so much more time on their hands, and now especially with my deal. I'm spending increasingly less time at home, I'm also moving to London soon to be closer to the Artist Network offices and the other artists. So it will be hard to be that far away from home but not many people my age get this kind of opportunity!

SL: Let's get back to music shall we! I've read that you like Albert Collins very much (so do I) and he was known as the Master of the Telecaster. Did Albert's choice of instrument have any bearing on your own choice?

JST: Yes definately, I love Telecasters, Albert had a very bright attacking sound, which is the sort of sound I have, I did used to play my Strat as my main guitar but they just don't fight back like Teles do. Plus I love the big chunky necks Telecasters have. But Albert was the reason I first picked up a tele. Songs like Too Tired off Ice Pickin', that's my favourite blues album and its one of the first I heard. His sound is so piercing. You can't get that out of a Strat!.

SL: Still with the great Albert Collins, God Bless his soul, what aspect of his playing do you like?

JST: He was so attacking, he's one of those guitarists that you hear five seconds and you instantly know who it is! Theres nobody else like him, nobody has that style. If you watch him play, his way of playing was like an acoustic guitarists. He used his thumb for the bottom strings and his index finger for the top. But he used to really hit the strings. Especially on his bends. He must have had really strong hands. His phrasing was great as well. Listen to something like Frosty . He had all the things I think a great Blues guitarist should have. A unique sound, Great tone, Great phrasing, and a Great feel.

SL: There's the question of Dave Stewart who is a great fan of the Blues. Do you like Dave's music and guitar playing and were you surprised that he, as a member of what is a pop band, liked your music?

JST: Yeah I didn't realise he was such a big blues fan. Did you know Dave actually discovered R.L Burnside while he was making a film about the blues, Its called Deep Blues if you don't have it go and get a copy and also what a good guitarist he is. When I first met him we sat in his kitchen just jamming, him on acoustic and me on my thinline. He's an amazing guitarist. The Great thing about Dave is he just wants me to be me, He's not worried about a ‘commercial' record so the album sales are higher, His whole way of thinking is if I do what I do best and make an album that I as an artist am most happy with, it'll be great!

SL: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? A housewife (blimey) or an entertainer, or maybe both. Ten years is a long time!

JST: (Laughing) well I'm never going to stop playing, I'll go mad, I'll have no way of expressing myself! But I suppose a family one day wouldn't be too bad, I just need to find a husband who's willing to stay home and do the cleaning and look after the kids while I'm away on the road!

SL: You are now signed to Dave Stewart's record label. How soon can we expect to see your debut album in the record stores?

JST: Were just about to begin recording the album, It'll will be in the shops around March or April!

SL: Do you have a title for the CD and will the content be all self- written songs, or covers, or a mixture of both?

JST: The album's going to feature about six original tunes as well as some re-works of some old blues tunes. We're also recording an old Hoax track with the Davey Brothers who are signed to Artist Network. They're going to produce two tracks on the album!

SL: Is Dave Stewart producing the album?

JST: No, not all of it. We will he will be producing a few tracks as well as some B-sides. I can't wait to get in the studio with him he's a fantastic guy to watch at work…and fun too!

SL: Thanks Joanne for a very honest and interesting interview. Good Luck with your new album and keep up the good work.

Steve Lally ©