Tmodel_jeff
T Model Ford talks with Broke & Hungry's Jeff Konkel in M for Mississippi
As a kid who grew up thinking the “blues” = Stevie Ray Vaughn rip-off artists played on drive time radio, finding my first Fat Possum compilation was a revelation. The guys on that disc—T Model Ford, CeDell Davis, Junior Kimbrough—had more in common (at least to my ear) with the very best punk bands, rather than the recycled wonka-wonka-wonka blues-rock on the radio. Nothing wrong with drive time blues, of course, but I think I can safely say that it’s more about fancy fretwork than the power of visceral expression.
Over the past few years, out of financial necessity, Fat Possum's shifted more toward the indie rock side of things. Though their taste is pretty impeccable, it was a shame that they couldn't dedicate more of their catalog to older blues musicians, since they will be gone far sooner even than J. Mascis, one of the hoarier-headed rock guys on the label. Luckily, about the time Fat Possum changed gears, a diehard country blues fan from St. Louis named Jeff Konkel founded Broke & Hungry Records. (See our 2007 profile on B&H here.)
Konkel works as a PR guy by day and calls B&H “an expensive hobby,” which means he can release what he wants—so he’s focused exclusively on older Mississippi Delta blues musicians, many of whom have never been professionally recorded or released. As Konkel and other hardcore blues fans will tell you, when these older musicians are gone, a whole segment of the real-deal blues tradition will be gone, too. Recording them is not just about releasing great records, but preserving an endangered cultural tradition.
On Saturday, Broke & Hungry added another accomplishment above and beyond their small but superlative catalog of blues discs (including releases from Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Wesley “June Bug” Jefferson and Terry “Big T” Williams), with the release of M For Mississippi: A Road Trip Through the Birthplace of the Blues. Produced in conjunction with Roger Stolle of Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art and Mud Puppy Recordings, the film follows Stolle and Konkel as they road-trip their way across the Mississippi Delta, interviewing musicians in their living rooms and backyards and filming them playing house parties and juke joints. Linking these segments together are humorous little “on the road" bits, including footage of a trip to Wal-Mart after the crew realizes they have left behind a bucket of clay meant as a gift for musician and folk sculptor Pat Thomas. Another galvanizing force in the film is the presence of blues musician and guerrilla recording engineer Bill Abel, who has installed a mobile recording studio inside his Volvo—all he has to do is pull up to a juke joint, stick the mic through the window, and let the tape roll.
Of course, just like B&H audio catalog, M For Mississippi is all about preserving the blues of the Mississippi Delta. The filmmakers ask the musicians themselves if they think the blues will survive when this generation of musicians dies out; most of them don’t seem so hopeful on that front, though the footage recorded in T Model Ford's house suggests otherwise. As the elderly Ford languidly plays his guitar, he’s backed up on drums by his grandson “Stud,” who looks to be all of 10 or 11 years old. At the foot of Stud’s bass drum, two kids, definitely under 5, dance and look into the camera with the utmost seriousness. As Pat Thomas, Terry “Harmonica” Bean, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and The Mississippi Marvel all explain during their interviews, learning to play the blues is not an academic process—you learn it by growing up with it, being around it, letting it seep into your pores; and if that scene is any indication, the music is doing some seeping, at least in certain households.
The big premiere was on Saturday, in (natch) Clarskville, Miss., and included a live show featuring Cadillac John Nolden and Bill Abel (I’m not going to spoil it for you, but witnessing Nolden and Abel’s relationship as friends and musicians is another remarkable moment in this film); a screening at Delta Cinema; and a blowout show at The Ground Zero Club with T Model Ford, Robert “Bilbo” Walker and Wesley “Junebug” Jefferson. Then hangovers be damned, Cat Head sponsored a Sunday “Delta Blues & Folk Art Mini-Fest," yesterday, with live performances by Robert “Wolfman” Belfour, L.C. Ulmer and R.L. Boyce, who are all in the film as well.
I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you didn’t make it down to Mississippi for the premiere. That’s OK: you can order the film through the movie’s website, or by being extremely patient and waiting for it to hit music store shelves on November 18; audiophiles should note that the movie soundtrack will be available as well. Ah, and this is also of note: the film crew included Damien Blaylock, the man who made the doc Hard Times, an acclaimed film on the life and music of St. Louis' Big George Brock. In fact, the film's title is taken from a Brock song (which features in the film, and in the soundtrack). The filmmakers state they hope this film will inspire viewers to make their own juke joint pilgrimage down South. For St. Louisans, I hope it also inspires us to appreciate and seek out the blues talent we have here at home. —Stefene Russell
