Think of the Blues. What are your expectations? An old Black man from Mississippi? A young Turk with a Telecaster? Gruffness? Toughness? Meanness? Despair? Volume?
Mary Flower is none of those, but she’s been one of the top Blues guitarists and singers in America for quite a while. She does not shout, she does not plug in, her voice is not guttural. She does not even look like a Blues player…until she starts playing.
That’s when you understand.
Her new album is called Misery Loves Company (the company being the people she duets with. All of the songs are in duet, except the finale, from Curtis Salgado to Jazz legend Dave Frishberg to cellist Gideon Freudman to her son Jesse Withers who also plays with the popular Bluegrass band Jackstraw. And there are several others.
Her album release is Saturday, September 10, 8:30pm, Secret Society Ballroom, tickets $10 at the door.
So what’s this album about? I sat down with her in the room where she practices, guitars at the ready and a Dick Waterman photo of picture of Son House, Skip James and, Mississippi John Hurt over her shoulder.
Here’s the mean song she talked about, “I’m Dreaming of Your Demise,” with Dave Frishberg:
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Watch her sing, “Hard Day-Monday Blues from 2010:
Tom is Editor-In-Chief of Oregon Music News. He has worked in network and local TV as a producer/reporter including Oregon Art Beat and Inside Edition. He has written for national magazines and many newspapers, most recently Huffington Post and The Oregonian. He has network and local radio experience and currently hosts a show every Wednesday from 2-6pm on KMHD .
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