Talking with Johnny Winter – HuffPost 2.28.14
Mike Ragogna: Johnny, how the heck are you? Let’s talk about your four-CD box set, True To The Blues: The Johnny Winter Story. This is a celebration of your triumphs and highlights. As the artist, what are some of your proudest moments?
Johnny Winter: Playing with Muddy Waters was the most fun I ever had. I loved that.
MR: I’ll bet you’re one of the artists who recorded exactly the way you wanted to, right?
JW: Yes, definitely.
MR: What’s a studio session like for Johnny Winter?
JW: Well, we just try to make it sound as good as we possibly can.
MR: What’s the process?
JW: We usually have a mic in the middle of the room to pick up all the room sound and make it sound a little bit more like mono. We just about always do that. We have everything mic’d individually, but we always have a room mic.
MR: Obviously, a lot of this was just jamming, but there was a certain amount that had to be arranged, right?
JW: Oh yeah, we always rehearse before we go in and figure out what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it.
MR: How does the recording evolve between what you begin rehearsing and the final mix?
JW: It was pretty much the same as when we rehearsed it. We didn’t change too much. Once we figure out what we’re going to do, we stick to it.
MR: Johnny, your family has a lot of energy though you and Edgar took kind of different paths.
JW: Edgar wanted more of a jazz sound and I don’t like jazz at all. He can play blues, he just doesn’t really care about doing it.
MR: Yet you’ve played together often, right?
JW: Oh, we played together for years.
MR: When you guys were growing up, did you listen to the same types of music?
JW: No. Not at all.
MR: And you always gravitated towards…
JW: …blues and rock ‘n’ roll.
MR: Johnny, who were some of your favorite artists?
JW: Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Little Walter, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Reed, B.B. King. There were a lot of people I loved.
MR: A lot of artists start out, basically, playing from their influences. Was there a point where you really felt, “Now I’m playing Johnny Winter music?”
JW: Well, I try not to copy anybody.
MR: Right, but did you never mimic any of your favorite artists, maybe in the very beginning, you know, for the sake of learning?
JW: No, I learned their stuff and how to play it the way they played it, but I tried to sound like myself.
MR: Do you see how some younger blues artists have been influenced by you?
JW: Yes, definitely. It’s real nice, too. I really like that.
MR: When you look at your body of work, especially through True To The Blues, what are your thoughts?
JW: I don’t know how to describe it. It’s so hard to put music into words.
MR: Have you’ve been playing music and making more music beyond what’s on this package?
JW: Yeah, definitely.
MR: Considering the material on the box set, has your approach to music changed significantly over all those years?
JW: I haven’t changed that much, really. I’ve played pretty much the same way I always have.
MR: What speaks to you creatively or musically these days?
JW: Blues. [laughs] Definitely blues. It’s still my favorite music.
MR: Are there artists that you listen to that make you go, “Oh my God, that’s cool.”
JW: Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, I like both of them.
MR: And of course, you’ve played with them.
JW: Yes, I have.
MR: What do you think about the future of blues?
JW: I think it’ll always be around. It’s not as big as it was in the fifties and sixties, there’s no Muddy Waters or anyone around.
MR: Do you think their lifestyles made the difference?
JW: They had things harder back in the old days. That probably made them feel more like playing blues. It’s not as rough as it used to be.
MR: Is that a legitimate question? If someone is playing the blues these days and they haven’t had a lot of the historical hardships that a lot of other blues musicians have had, where do they draw from?
JW: Just from the older people that came before them, mostly.
MR: From understanding their music?
JW: Yeah, exactly.
MR: Where do you see blues in another five years, given all the electronics and stuff a majority of artists out there are incorporating?
JW: That doesn’t work for blues. That doesn’t work for blues at all.
MR: These days, does blues still need a bar room?
JW: That’s a good place to play blues.
MR: And what about major concerts?
JW: Sure, yeah.
MR: Do you have a favorite concert that’s like, “I can’t believe that ever happened!”
JW: I don’t think so.
MR: How about a recording where you listened back at the end and said, “Wow, did I play that?”
JW: Oh yeah, “Be Careful With A Fool” is great. I really like the way I played on that. A lot of the stuff I did I was really happy with.
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
JW: Listen to all of the people who came before, play as much as you can, practice as much as you can and try to do it your own way.
MR: That’s what you’re doing to this day, I’ll bet, right?
JW: Yep!
MR: Where do you see Johnny Winter in five years?
JW: I’m going to be doing the same thing I’m doing right now. I don’t have any plans of changing things around much. I’m happy with the way they’re going right now.
MR: Might there be a Johnny Winter, Tedeschi & Trucks album?
JW: Yeah, that could happen.
Transcribed By Galen Hawthorne