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The Good Girl Blues, the second album by the Soul of John Black, puts a modern, soulful spin on blues music.
It's the latest project by John "JB" Bigham, a talented Hollywood-based musician who has shared the studio and stage with the likes of Miles Davis, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Bruce Hornsby and Nikka Costa.
We caught up with Bigham, who performs in Tempe on Wednesday, by phone while he was visiting San Francisco and hanging out at the famed Golden Boy Pizza in the North Beach neighborhood.
Question: You use the aliases John Black, Blackjohn and JB at times. Why so many?
Answer: That's what people have called me, so I've taken it on. They call me Blackjohn, JB. John Black was the one I made up; I wanted to have an alter-ego that had a dark mystery to it.
Q: The Soul of John Black's self-titled 2003 debut album was musically diverse. Now you're focusing on the blues.
A: I did a short film called A Single Rose (2003). It was based in the 1920s, in a juke joint. I wrote all the music for it, did a lot of blues songs. I saw it was something that appealed to me, so I just went for it (on Good Girl Blues).
Q: You put all types of spins on the blues, including soul, rock and hip-hop. Are you trying to modernize the genre?
A: I'm not trying to follow any rules. The one main thing about the blues is the feeling and the intent. I like to use more of a modern songwriting formula.
Q: You handle all the guitar work, and it's largely low-key. Shredding like Eddie Van Halen doesn't seem to be a goal.
A: No. I'm playing with a trio now, so I take lots of guitar solos, because it's open space. But naturally I don't take any solos except a little melodic interlude in the middle of the song. Back when Missing Persons brought in the whole minimalist idea (in 1981), I was into that.
Q: You recorded and toured with Miles Davis in 1987-89. What did you take away from the experience?
A: More than anything he taught me to be myself and just do what I do. He'd tell me little things like, "Don't be so typical, be yourself. You can turn into wallpaper if you're doing what everybody else is doing."
Q: What's your live show like?
A: It's a power trio (guitar, bass, drums). We're going to work our way up, probably add keyboard and (more) percussion along the way.
Q: What do you enjoy about live shows versus the studio?
A: The interaction between the musicians and the people. It's great going out to these places where people are so into live music. I feel like I'm just coming out to the club, like it's a night out.
Q: One of the most powerful tracks on Good Girl Blues, called Moanin', features non-verbal vocals - moaning, really - and an acoustic guitar. It shows how seminal the blues can be.
A: That's real blues for me. It's a feeling, you don't have to say anything. You know what happened. If you don't get that, you probably haven't lived long enough or had any hardships yet.
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