“There were a lot of blues bands in Los Angeles at the time, Bonnie Raitt with her band, Albert Collins, John Mayall, and up and coming (artists) like James Harmon and William Clark. It was just blues city, and maybe people don’t think that about Los Angeles, but at that time it really was,” says Davies.
As
exciting a time as it was to be in Los Angeles and a blues guitarist, it was
not without its challenges as Davies relates, “I was broke and living on a
floor in my sister’s apartment. I was going out to jams every night and
practicing during the day. There were some really awesome blues jams that were
sort of celebrity jams, where in other words, all of the players who weren’t
out on the road with Etta James, or Albert Collins, would come to these jams.
I met all kinds of players. I sat in with everybody, and that is how I heard
that Maggie Mayall was putting together an all female blues band.”
It was during the joint tours between Maggie and John Mayall’s bands that Davies first met and became friends with Coco Montoya who was playing with John. After awhile they would team up and do some side gigs of their own.
The list of musicians who at one time or another played in the legendary British blues man John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, includes, Eric Clapton, Walter Trout, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie (who also played with Fleetwood Mac), and Peter Green. That is barely scratching the surface of the artists that Mayall influenced or mentored.
Davies says, “I felt like he was trying to add me to that list (of musicians) and mentor me. When the Blues Breakers would do their finale, he would bring me up on stage with them every night. I felt like he was really making a statement and boosting my confidence by saying that I was one of the players. He also had a great collection of music, and he made me cassettes of live shows that nobody else had, such as shows of Freddy King. It was a great time and a great opportunity.”
Two decades later Debbie Davies has indeed hit that sweet spot in her career. She says, “I feel like my guitar and I have become one. I don’t think anymore when I play; it is just about whatever comes out. That is what I like the best about what I am doing. I feel more connected, and more deeply into what I am doing, which is hopefully what happens in the blues. That is what blues is. It is not pop music, where you just jump up and say, ‘Here’s my song (at which point she imitates a guitar riff), and here’s my chops.’ When you are young, you are thinking all about your chops. You are trying to learn as much as you can. All players have done that. It is a really relaxed feeling to be past that stage, and just trying to connect with the people each night. You are not worrying about yourself, and you are just trying to put it out there.”
Interview by Joe Montague ©
First Photo by Shona Valeska, protected by copyright
November 2007
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