Not just another 'Guy' - Contemporary Blues Men

Not just another 'Guy'
3/18/2011
By GARY DEMUTH
Salina Journal

When Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle met at an open mic night in Wichita 10 years ago, it was musical love at first sight.

Guitarist Moreland and harmonica player Arbuckle found they shared a passion for the Mississippi and Delta blues of the pre-World War II era.

After jamming together at the open mic, Moreland and Arbuckle decided to form their own blues band.

"We were interested in playing traditional blues -- that's what drew us together," Arbuckle said. "Now, in the last 10 years, we've gone from playing a few random club gigs to traveling all over the world, doing what we love to do."

The duo, accompanied by drummer Brad Horner, also has opened for some of the greatest rock and blues guitarists and performers in the world, a list that includes Jonny Lang, Robert Cray, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Z.Z. Top, George Thorogood and Buddy Guy.

Moreland & Arbuckle will open for Guy during a concert Thursday at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.

Buddy Guy is one of the most acclaimed and influential blues guitarists and singers in music history. A pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, Guy, 74, has inspired some of the greatest rock musicians of the past 50 years, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

He was my 'Elvis'

"(Buddy Guy) was for me what Elvis was probably like for other people," Clapton said at Guy's 2005 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "My course was set, and he was my pilot."

Guy began his career in the 1950s backing such blues greats as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and Koko Taylor.

"He did an album ('Folk Singer') with Muddy Waters in 1964 that may be my all-time favorite blues album," said Salinan Chad Kassem, owner of Acoustic Sounds and Blue Heaven Studios and producer of the annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads concerts. "(Guy) has been out doing this for a long time."

Despite being a major influence on famous rock guitarists, Guy spent many years in relative obscurity until the release of three albums in the 1990s -- "Damn Right, I've Got the Blues" (1991), "Feels Like Rain" (1993) and "Slippin' In" (1994) -- all earned Grammy awards and a new level of popularity for Guy.

Kassem said he is not surprised Guy remained unknown by the general public for so long.

"Almost all the blues people are like that," he said. "A lot of people have heard of B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, but that may be where it stops. But (Guy) is right there at the top. He's still out there playing and still sharp."

Moves like he's 22

Moreland & Arbuckle, who have opened for Guy nearly 30 times in the past year and a half, are impressed with Guy's longevity and his continued skill and showmanship onstage.

"I had already been a Buddy Guy fan since I was a teenager," Moreland said. "He's 74 and moves around like he's 22. He still tears that guitar to shreds onstage and is still a great singer. He's a living linchpin from the old-school blues to the new school."

Moreland & Arbuckle are part of that new school of blues, and they hope to have the same kind of longevity as Guy.

"I hope to be doing this in my 70s," Arbuckle said. "It would be a huge accomplishment even in my 60s. In roots music, people respect you more as you age. It's great to know you can have a perfectly good career in roots music in your 50s and 60s and beyond."

This will be the fourth time Moreland & Arbuckle have performed in Salina. They previously played at the Smoky Hill River Festival in 2009, Salina Parks and Recreation's "That's Entertainment" summer concert series at Oakdale Park in July, and the October Bluesmasters at the Crossroads concerts.

"We love all the art and diversity happening in Salina," Moreland said. "We've been treated great there."

Good times at the Stiefel

Arbuckle said he's especially looking forward to performing in the Stiefel Theatre for the first time.

"We're super excited to play there," he said. "Buddy puts on a great live show, and we try to put a lot of energy and passion into what we do. We want the audience to have as good a time as we do."