Bnois King Speaks:The RI Return of the Blood Brothers

It may be a little hard to believe that most of Rhode Island's best blues shows are held at Chan's in Woonsocket, but don't just take my word for it - check it out for yourself, especially when Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King are in town. The Blood Brothers' latest Blackstone Valley gig happened last Friday night (November 6), featuring penetrating guitar solos as Bnois and Smokin' Joe traded leads on standards like "Two Trains Running", "Ain't Superstitious" and "Stop Drinking", which is on their latest Alligator CD "Blues Brothers". BSRR caught up with Bnois between sets:


BSRR:
Tonight sounded a lot like fusion to me.


Bnois King:
It was kind of fusion a little bit, you know. Some nights you just play differently. It's got a lot to do with how you feel each night, you know.


BSRR:
So how do you pick what you're going to play?


Bnois King:
We have a set but we don't necessarily go down the set depending on how we feel - we might not go verbatim down the line, you know.


BSRR:
Are you heading back to the studio?


Bnois:
We were supposed to go back this month but I don't think it'll happen. It might happen in December.


BSRR:
Will it be a lot like what we heard tonight?


Bnois:
We probably won't be doing any of the stuff we played tonight. We haven't had a chance to really rehearse them with the band, you know. The material has been presented to the record company and they're reviewing it, they're checking it out.


BSRR:
We talk about Chicago blues, Memphis Blues, but if somebody asked you how to describe Texas blues, what would you say?


Bnois:
I would say more high energy, more aggressive.



The Blood Brothers are in the area twice a year, according to Bnois King, so make sure you catch them next time around. The combination of Bnois' melodic vocals, Smokin' Joe's spine straightening slide guitar, and the stinging riffs they trade off during sets is blues at its best. Chan's offers a year round "buffet" of blues -check Chan's website to see who's next. For more Blood Brothers' music , visit the gator - http://www.alligator.com/.