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Bluesguy
Schwartz
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"They had come to pay tribute to a Texas legend on his 50th birthday. It was quite a concert! Gloria Edwards, the soul queen of Texas sang one of Guy Schwartz' songs. Calvin Owens, who was B.B. King's band leader for 30 years, couldn't wait to blow trumpet on one of Guy's 14 chord blues ballads, and was introduced so spontaneously that the local radio jock couldn't get to the stage in time for a proper introduction. E.P. Vallejo, Kool B, Jimmy Deen.... They were all there - rockers, rappers, bluesmen, folkies and every type of musician, entertainer and songwriter one could imagine. Guy Schwartz had worked with them all, and anyone could tell that he was enjoying the party!" Guy gives us a little of his history on his web site, "For me, the largest musical fun comes from songwriting and performing with great musicians for enthusiastic music lovers. I love collaborating with other writers. Roger Tausz and I have written hundreds of songs together (several of which are good), and I cherish our working relationship." "Bass and guitar are the two instruments that I've played the most in my professional career. As a bandleader I play both, but I get most of my musical calls for work as a bass player. Those that have hired me to play bass in the past include Muddy Waters, Lionel Hampton, John Lee Hooker, Sam 'Lightning' Hopkins, B.W. Stevenson, Jimmy Reed, Freddy Fender and Chuck Berry." "These past six years years, as I've gotten the music geared back up after 7 years off to raise my kids and bury my dead, I've played bass for Milton Hopkins, Rick Lee and the Night Owls, Big Daddy Gumbo & the Sheetrockers, Chip Arnold & The Terraplanes, Heath Spencer Philip, Sandy Hickey, Gerald Gray, Michael Williams, Steve Radney, Don Sanders, Ashton Savoy, Opie Hendrix and Gloria Edwards. On Wednesday and Thursday nights, before I got the career jump started, I used to go religiously to jam with many Houston, Texas area cats at two great Texas Blues Jams. It was at these jams that the first signs of a my next band appeared, and bonds were formed between the musicians who would record and play Roger and my songs. We recorded and played around southeast Texas a lot, in a large revolving band and review called Guy Schwartz & The New Jack Hippies." Guy Schwartz's influence and support of the local music community in Houston is unsurpassed. One of the first "Home Grown" recording artists, Guy hooked up with Roger Tausz around '76 to make his first recordings, moving through such bands as The Zap Rhythmn Band, Western Beat, Buckshot and Z-ROCKS. Nowdays he and Roger record together under the name The New Jack Hippies, bringing in and out many local musicians to join the fun whenever possible. quotes courtesy http://bluesguy.com |
Guy probably has not recorded all of The New Jack Hippies (last count 254!) but he has put out the most records I've seen in the Houston area. Just check out Bluesguys Online Store and you will see what I mean. New projects include Guy's song 'The House Is Burning Down' as the title cut from Calvin Owens' new CD; the Weed CD (already released) entitled "Guy Schwartz presents The New Jack Hippies Homegrown Collective - 13 new songs about weed!"; The Wandering Poets (January release); a new Bluesguy CD that's half finished; and a New Jack Hippies studio album for which the rhythm tracks have already been cut. Having so many "members" at your disposal helps getting and playing live shows too. "The gigs we've played for the past year, as Guy Schwartz & The New Jack Hippies have had anywhere from 7 to 18 musicians, of which 3 to 5 are leaders of their own bands, and are fully capable of taking over the singing duties at any minute! Guys like Teri Greene, Jerald Gray, Albert Storo and Heath Spencer Philip have done much to help shape the songs." Guy can often be found at the Earthwire.net Studios or KPFT studios broadcasting and recording live music with the likes of Opie Hendrix, Kool B, and Little Joe Washington. He has a new book to be put out this spring by Sage & Woodway Publishers called 'NEWSLETTER:Reports From The Field' You can also read Guy's book 'KEEPING THE BAND TOGETHER' and his occasional columns in the Houston Music News under his pen name Guillermo Slazo. More info on these through the links below.
Bluesguy
Schwartz's Homepage |