“Contemporary instrumental music played with self-discipline rather than self-indulgence, with real melodies rather than vague moods, and with roots that are respected rather than diluted.”

~ The Washington Post

Most of my life I’ve played music that was born in the blues. Starting with the Beatles and moving on through Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Led Zeppelin, my introduction to blues was through the rock guitar heroes of my time. Later on, I learned more about the acoustic side of things and even tried my hand at acoustic Jazz, Folk, Bluegrass, Swing and Ragtime, all close relatives of Blues, although of vastly different hues and shades. My discovery of open tunings on the guitar led me to Folk Blues from the American South and Great Britain, as well as the various Celtic styles and their Appalachian offspring. When this music is played from the heart, it resonates deep down in our souls with a power that transcends flawless technique and virtuosic performance.

There are only a few carefully constructed compositions on this recording. Most of the tunes were improvised from basic ideas and grooves that defined my idea of the blues on a particular day. One of the joys of playing the Blues is the ability to improvise and let the music take you where it will. I wanted to create the sound of a rhythm section laying down a groove for a lead player all on one solo fingerpicked guitar. My wife Amy White would normally help create this musical bed, but on this recording she acted as my musical consultant. Each morning, I would get up and play for a couple of hours while she handled the daily business of being an independent musician.

When I stumbled on an idea that was worthy of recording, I’d hear a shout from our office upstairs to “go in and record that one.” (Amy knows better than anyone, that my memory doesn’t always serve me well and that there was a high probability that I would forget my most inspired ideas if I were to wait until later that day.)

As a result, many of the tunes on this recording were written and recorded on the same day. For past projects, I worked on refining my pieces until I was ready to record them without any mistakes. This time, I wanted to experience that feeling deep inside of letting my body take over. So I played the tunes just enough to get them under my fingers, but not enough to limit my imagination once I started playing. Other than the addition of some reverb, these performances are pretty much in their raw form and were done in single takes without overdubs. Even though I was tempted to use the modern technology at my command to fix all of the little noises and flubs, I found that they really were an essential part of the music in their own way. They make the music more immediate and real for me. Blues with the sheen of Pop or New Age music would sound watered down and too sweet. I wanted my listeners to experience all of the many shades of blue from sky blue to indigo in the same way that I did when I sat down with the guitar. I hope you enjoy it.

– Al Petteway

Gratitude

David Cullen:

Indigo Blue

Donohue & Dowling:

Two of a Kind -

Groovemasters 8

Doyle Dykes:

Gitarre 2000