Original-Cin Q&A: Blues great Joe Bonamassa talks about circumventing camera-shyness to make his doc Guitar Man
One of the greatest guitar players on the planet, Joe Bonamassa has been turning heads since age 12, when he opened for B.B. King.
The new documentary Guitar Man tells the extraordinary story of this legendary bluesman, from average Joe by day to guitar hero at night, and follows the rise of a musician whose hard work and determination have made him one of today's top-selling blues artists.
With more No. 1 blues albums than anyone else in history, Bonamassa pulls back the curtain on his career, allowing us to see his remarkable musical achievements and pioneering style. Featuring behind-the-scenes interviews and live concert footage showcasing some of the biggest names in music, the is a doc to kick back and enjoy, an exhilarating soundtrack of his phenomenal life.
Joe Bonamassa at Albert Hall
Guitar Man is available on video-on-demand and for digital purchase and is a must-see for any guitar aficionado.
Our Bonnie Laufer caught up with Joe to talk about his success and the new documentary.
ORIGINAL-CIN: Your parents recognized your talent at a very young age and have supported you ever since. Do you think that is a major key to your success?
JOE BONAMASSA: “Absolutely! I think having supportive parents, who never pushed me but they always encouraged me to follow whatever dream, was so important.
“It’s funny, father still gets on his soapbox and says, you know, ‘We stole your college. We will pay for your college and we will pay for your sister's College!’ I'm like, yeah, calm down! I think I’ve passed that point in my life. (Laughs). But they've always been very supportive and I will always cherish that.
“When you do have a talented child, you have to allow them to go to it, let them try. Don’t make them feel guilty by saying, ‘I've spent $500 on this guitar, you better play it!’ Just let them go at their own pace, and if they really love it and want to pursue it, then that is fantastic.
PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN
“Kids will tell you right off the bat whether they are into it or not. In my case, I grew up in a 900-square-foot house with an unfinished basement, a family of four who were lower middle class in upstate New York. I'd be playing something in my room and my father would come in and say, ‘Is that you or the record?’
“I kind of developed quickly on the instrument and they gave me this platform to kind of just do what I wanted as long as I did my homework. I turned pro when I was 11 and I haven't looked back.”
O.C. Well, that’s a good thing because have given us some pretty extraordinary music, and this documentary really showcases that. You are a private guy, so what is it like to have cameras following you around all that time?
BONAMASSA: “The good news is what you don't see is that a lot of the footage that we use in Guitar Man had been shot because of all the DVDs that we had done. We had extra footage of things that were applicable to the story and hadn’t made the actual DVDs.
“So it wasn't like a camera crew that was with me 24/7. I did do interviews and there was definitely some new stuff added, but it wasn't constant.
“I don't like attention, so I’m happy that they were able to piece together the story. It gives people an insight on how the deck is stacked against someone like me. Not that I am playing the victim, but you don't fit in the music business “box,” if you’re not both good and good-looking.
“So if you're not, then what do you do? The prevailing narrative would to break out the DeVry literature and go away. Because it's always the hip kids that get noticed first.”
“ Sometimes you’ve got to throw your own party, so that’s what I did. I was about 10 years ahead of people throwing their own parties and realizing that was the only way to do it.
“So, as the music business changed, we slowly got invited to the party. But I still wasn't the hip kid because I didn’t comply with what a lot of musicians had to do to get noticed.
“You'll never see me on the red carpet, I don't do that because it's not something I enjoy and I think it’s a huge waste of time. I’m all about the music and at the end of the day that is really all that matters.”
O.C. What I love about you, and what people will find out from the documentary, is that you ARE all about the music. By day, you are this average guy, wearing your baseball hat. And then, when you are about to go on stage, you put on your suit, throw on a pair of sunglasses, grab your guitar and you literally transform before our eyes. What takes over and what makes you that person?
BONAMASSA: “I tap into that blind belief in yourself that is required to flourish in any career. If you don't believe in yourself, and it's not ego, It's just blind belief that you can do it.
“If you don't believe in yourself, how do you inspire others to believe in you? So that's what I've tapped into for 30 years.
“The only people that believed in me wholeheartedly were my parents and my manager of 30 years. So I tap into that blind belief. Just give me a guitar, an amp that works, a crowd and our songs and I'd be reasonably optimistic about how the night was going to come together.”
O.C You have played with so many greats over the years including B.B. King. But watching you walk on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London and introducing Eric Clapton was extraordinary to watch. That had to have been the pinnacle of your career so far.
BONAMASSA: “Hands down, that was the pinnacle of my life. The thing about that moment and the fact that there were cameras there to capture that was a minor miracle.
“I always wanted to play that venue in London, so walking on to that stage was a lifelong dream. But to have Clapton there was beyond what I could have ever imagined. I knew Eric was coming, but that was a really big moment for me and it was a really big moment for my family.
“I cannot thank Eric Clapton enough for showing up and playing, because that was the validation that I needed in front of his crowd.”
O.C. The pandemic has been hard on you because you had to stop all of your touring, but you certainly found a way to keep yourself busy!
BONAMASSA: “Yes, I produced two albums A New Day Now - a 20th anniversary refurbishing of my first album - and Royal Tea, which I recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Plus I set up a charitable foundation to help other musicians struggling during this time called Fueling Musicians Program.
“So we've kept busy with different things in the last eight or nine months. Which is good, but the problem is there's a point where I'm going, ‘Okay enough.’
“It's enough pivoting. This is not what I signed up for. I'm a road dog. I'm a traveling salesman as they say, because I love to travel, and I love to play live. So at the end of the day, that's a real thing for me. I absolutely love traveling, I love playing gigs and hopefully we'll be able to do that again real soon.”