Dawson
looks back on his musical career.
As told to Karen Pirie of BBC OnLine, 2005.
I understand you come from South Wales?
Yes, a town called Abertillery, up in the Valleys near Newport / Cardiff.
How did you get into playing music?
Usual story, a friend gets a guitar and we go round his house and try
to play, then nag dad for a guitar for Christmas.
What was the music scene like in Wales
at that time?
It was thriving, there was live music everywhere. The Workingmens Clubs
always had live music and were always supportive to the youngsters
learning instruments and singing. I got to play along with the house
bands from the age of about 14 and the odd gig and jam session at about
16.
What types of music?
This was in the early 80’s but rock and roll still ruled The
Valleys so Johnny B Goode, Whole Lotta’ Shakin’ that’s
what Istarted on, some Beatles and Stones, Rock / metal was popular
with kids of my age, Purple, Sabbath etc. But it was the local R&B
/ blues bands that really got me into playing, there was / is a thriving
scene there all driven by the Cardiff mafia, there were some amazing
bands around such as Red Beans & Rice, Red Hot Pokers and some
great musicians, our local Rugby Club ran a Thursday night gig which
was the highlight of my week, all the best muso’s on the scene
in some brilliant bands doing blues, R&B, rock and roll, rockabilly,
you name it!
So you got into Blues / R&B quite
early on?
Yes, my first gig was Dr Feelgood at Cardiff Top Rank when I was 16
and then Led Zepplin at Knebworth when I was 17, mis-spent youth that
never stopped.
When did you move to Leicester?
I think about 1984, the band I was in had split up and I was doing
an awful factory job that was 7 day shifts so it was time to move on.
Why Leicester?
Well I had become friends with a great Dobro blues player whom I had
met at a gig in Wales, he lived in Leicester so I began coming here
for the odd weekend and decided it was a good place to try and live,
I could have gone to London but knowing what I know now I would not
have stuck London for long so I made the right choice.
How did you get into the Leicester music scene?
Going to gigs and acoustic sessions. The scene was good then but quite
small so I looked out for bands and sessions and kept going along.
I looked at joining a few bands but soon decided to get my own band
together so I advertised for musicians and did some auditions.
What
gigs did you play then?
Well, the auditions led to the formation of The Pink Cadillacs and
pretty soon we got a rehearsal room upstairs at a pub called The Cherry
Tree, the deal was we rehearse for free and do a gig there once or
twice a month. That worked out well as we built a good following and
started getting gigs around the county and beyond
What sort of music?
Goodtime R&B mainly, Feelgood’s, Yardbird’s, Them etc.
mostly 60’s British Blues boom stuff with the odd Muddy Waters,
Robert Johnson tune.
How did The Healers come about?
The Pink Cadillac’s gigged around for
a few years with an ever changing line-up.
We eventually settled down to a regular band
and when we got the chance to do an album of
original songs (Cross Hand Shadow) we decided
to change our name to The Healers.
How long were you in The Healers?
Must have been about 6 or 7 years altogether. We started as a pub band
and progressed to the blues circuit and then concerts and festivals,
we gigged all the time! Cross Hand Shadow came out in 1990 and things
really took off.
We were recording a follow up in 94 which showed up the cracks within
the band, we carried on as a trio for another year but it was time
to call it a day.
What did you do then?
I got involved in promoting in Leicester. I
had set up The City Acoustic Club for writers
and performers (which is still a highly successful
club, 12 years on) That led to setting up The Bayou Club which was
a weekly Roots & Blues gig, that led to running the music at my
home venue (The Royal Mail) and eventually to establishing The Musician
Venue. I kept playing with various bands and projects, just for fun
and to keep writing, I eventually settled down to fronting The Long
Horns which was a good time roots band playing Cajun, R&B and
Americana stuff.
When did your debut solo album come out?
Valley Boy came out in 2002, I had kept writing
after The Healers and decided the time was right
to bring a collection of my songs together under
my name.The Long Horns were the basic studio
band and I brought in loads of guest muso’s and played a lot of the instruments
myself. I was pleased with the results, it’s very much a writer’s
album, which makes it quite eclectic but it still reflects my musical
tastes.
And now comes the follow up?
Yes, May 2005. It’s called ‘The River Road’ I am
always picking up ideas for songs and writing when the mood hits but
I’ve done a lot of travelling over the past few years, which
has been great for song ideas. The big boost was going to Austin,
Texas in March 04, that re-ignited my love of blues and lead to a
very bluesy feel to The River Road.
Will
you be playing live with ‘The River Road’ ?
Yes, the album is due out in June and there will be some gigs around
that time, some sort of UK tour and some festivals.
Who is in the band on the album and live?
As usual its mix and match, I have a regular ‘pool’ of
musicians for gigs and jams, I get asked to do a lot of guest spots
around Leicester as well as charity gigs and party’s for people
I know, so I get on the phone and sort a band.
From that I started doing a few gigs with a great young guitar player,
Andy Wales, he started turning up at my gigs and I caught his covers
band a few times which led to him playing in my house band for jam
sessions. We get on well and like the same stuff so when recording
time came around he was up for it. Got a great young drummer called
Dan Fowler and Steve Cook on Bass, Steve and me have played together
over many years but he went to South America for 4 years as a teacher
so I’m glad he’s back and in the band.
I’ve also been working with a great musician called Paddy Hodgekinson,
he is what I call a ‘utility man’ he plays mandolin, guitar,
bass, lap steel, you name it, he’s a top muso to have around
in the studio, especially for writing and trying out ideas. Dan and
Andy are in a great rock band ‘The Traces’ I think they
will break big-time soon, so I am lucky to get them on the album. I
still work a lot with Howard Smith who is well known as frontman /
guitarist with Blues Move and The Razors. He’s an amazing player
and definitely one of the best slide players anywhere! I also play
with Graham Summers who is a great singer / songwriter and a superb
drummer. By the way, we gig under the name of Dawson Smith & The
Dissenters,
Tell me about your influences as a writer
and musically?
That’s a tough one! I am so eclectic in my tastes. Musically
I have always been a guitar fan, which must come from playing in blues
bands with great guitar players. All time favourites must be B.B King,
Stevie Ray Vaughn and Buddy Guy for the blues, other favourites are
Chuck Prophet and a great slide player from Louisiana called Sonny
Landreth. As a writer I must say John Hiatt and Steve Earle, both are
master craftsmen and not stuck in any musical genre, they taught me
a lot about letting the song dictate the writing and not to be afraid
of mixing styles and instruments. Songs tend to fall into 3 ‘loose’ categories
for me, the story song, the relationship song and the message / statement
song, there are hundreds of variations but it usually boils down
to those.
Any future plans?
Immediate plans are mainly gigging to promote
The River Road. The big thing on the horizon
is a commission from the Wales tourist board
to write a folk album of songs based on the historical
novels of Allexander Cordell. The books are set
in the South Wales Valleys in the 17th & 18th
century. They are marvellous stories that follow the Mortymer family
through their lives and are set against the backdrop of the awful working
conditions in the pits and ironworks and the rise of the Unions and
Chartism. I wrote 2 songs on Valley Boy, The Chartist March and Rebecca’s
Daughters. Both were based on Cordell’s books, these songs
attracted a fair bit of media interest and led to me being contacted
by the Cordell society and the idea of this album.
Sounds
a big challenge?
Yes it is! but a very exciting project, I hope
to work with a male voice choir and a children’s
choir as well as lots of Welsh musicians and
singers, the intention is to record in Wales. The
books are set in the areas I grew up and the album
is linked to a project called Cordell Country,
these are walks and tours in the valleys visiting
the sites mentioned in the books, hence the tourism
angle.
When will this album be released?
Hopefully Sept 05, that’s a tall order but a target to aim
at. More likely it will be early 2006.
read more about the Cordell Country project here...
