DJ Hairy Larry Presents John Shepherd Playing Blues Train
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2023-12-10
Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear an original blues song recorded right here in Jonesboro at HairyLarryLand.
There are two stories that go with this song. John Shepherd was a Blues Fest regular playing every year with his band. Then one year he started his set solo, with just guitar and vocals, before he brought his band onstage. Vivian commented on how much she liked the solo part of his set so I talked to John about doing an album that way, just guitar and vocals. We recorded the album on February 21, 2009 and March 21, 2009.
Now for the second story. When John showed up for the session he came in carrying a guitar case. When he opened the case he pulled out a Pignose amp.
That’s right, the amp fit right in the guitar case. The Pignose is a battery powered guitar amp that delivers 3 watts of pure blues power. As you will hear John could make it walk and talk.
I wanted to record the vocals and guitar tracks with good isolation so I stuck the amp in another room and close miked the little speaker. John’s vocal mic went into one channel on my Zoom recorder and the guitar was on the other channel. I have pictures and recording details on the albums webpage, I’ll post a link on the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
John Shepherd is from Wynne, Arkansas. The whole album was recorded live in the studio, right here in Jonesboro. All originals by John Shepherd. John sang and played guitar. We called the album “So Low”, two words, with the hidden meaning of solo, one word.
Ok now, here’s John Shepherd playing “Blues Train” from his album, “So Low”, recorded in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 2009.
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