Blues duo competes in international competition
Even though Bubs McKeg has recorded many songs over his decade-spanning music career, they rarely, if ever, go the same way in front of an audience. Whether it be playing with his current main band, The Aces, or siphoning off into a blues duo with accordion and keyboard player John DeCola, the songs are always growing to fit the mood and the audience in the room.
The duo traveled to Memphis, Tenn., in January to play in the International Blues Challenge, where they not only competed against blues players from around the world, but also networked with other musicians there to do the same thing.
According to McKeg, the blues challenge is a fun event to attend because it’s a chance to stretch musical muscles and demonstrate what blues music is all about.
“We’ll change the arrangements when the two of us are together,” McKeg said. “They live and breathe, they change all the time. If I had to be structured, I would probably be in a different style of music.”
Although McKeg and DeCola only made it to the semifinals at the International Blues Foundation event, they each said Tuesday, Feb. 25, that the event exposes them to blues talent new and old, and new interpretations of the classic genre.
“You’ve get the best of the best,” DeCola said. “There’s so much going on there, so many musicians and so much opportunity to connect — it’s almost overwhelming.”
In their duo setup, McKeg, of Pittsburgh, plays guitar and sings, and DeCola, of Slippery Rock, plays accordion and uses a device that acts like a kick drum. They normally perform with The Aces twice a month at the Pitch on Butler in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where they play covers and original songs. But playing a big city with a musical heritage like Memphis opens up a new world of blues interpretations.
“Our residency attracts a certain amount of people down there, a certain age group,” DeCola said. “Once you break away from that and you get into a place like Memphis, there’s a lot of young artists who have latched onto that style of music, and the blues has blossomed out into this whole genre.”
It’s true that making it to a competition like the International Blues Challenge takes practice, practice, practice, but McKeg said the acts that attend each year are chosen by individual blues societies and organizations. McKeg and DeCola went to Memphis to represent the Blues Society of Western Pennsylvania.
McKeg and DeCola played in the solo/duo category at the International Blues Challenge, which included more than 60 musical acts. DeCola said artists from Europe take the music into new directions, some of which performed at the challenge. He and McKeg said solo artists from Finland and Italy produced music that was miles away from what the Pennsylvania duo typically do with the blues genre.
“The guy from Italy had the strangest setup. He actually walked away from his instrument and turned on a boom box and sang with it,” McKeg said. “I didn't know you were allowed to do that.”
The strength of blues, however, is in its open-endedness. DeCola said that while McKeg writes original songs in the blues style, their structures leave a lot of room for interpretation and even different grooves and feels, which the duo can take advantage of thanks to the availability of sound space.
“It just provides a lot of room for interpretation, a lot of room for statement,” DeCola said. “What do you want to say? How do you construct your solo? That's kind of unique to blues. We never play the same thing every time.”
Even though the duo didn’t do anything as unique as playing and singing alongside a boom box on stage, their musical chemistry — and the presence of an accordion — helped set them apart from other performers. DeCola’s accordion can generate a variety of sounds, from the organ to bass guitar, which helps differentiate their songs from one another.
“The accordion was really cool because it put us in a different place,” McKeg said. “They weren’t ready for that. We got a lot of compliments on it.”
McKeg said each act that performed at the blues challenge was judged by a panel of three judges each, who evaluate performances based on some criteria, and their own opinions.
While each act is judged on their music and skills displayed, DeCola said the judges are also looking at the performers’ professionalism, including their set up and tear down.
“One of the things they judge you on too is timing,” DeCola said. “You’ve got five minutes to clean up and you have no wiggle room.”
And although the International Blues Challenge is technically a competition — winners in each category are awarded by the International Blues Foundation — McKeg said the acts are all supportive of one another and everyone is there to hear blues tunes.
“Pretty much everybody is rooting for each other,” McKeg said. “You might not make it far, but it’s a good experience to be there. You meet so many people.”
McKeg said taking part in the International Blues Challenge also offers the opportunity for musicians to perform in renowned venues, like Memphis’ Orpheum Theatre, which he played at the challenge in 2009.
“It was cool playing on the Orpheum stage, lots of very famous people played that building,” McKeg said. “It’s spooky when you play that stage too because it’s all black. The floor is black, the curtains, then they turn out all the lights and put a spotlight on and you can’t see anything, it’s like you’re playing at the bottom of a well. You have to imagine playing for people, there’s no eye contact. It’s a little intimidating but fun.”
Just being at the International Blues Challenge was a reward, DeCola said, because he and McKeg got to hear many different performances in the style of music they favor.
“There are tons of people there that just go to watch,” DeCola said. “It’s a fun way to watch music.”
