I recently took some time to talk to the one and only Bob Log III the other day in an interview for Examiner .com, and the results were pretty interesting. Anyone reading this in Boston should drop the ten bucks and go see him tomorrow night at the Middle East. You won’t be sorry.
Some live shows need to be seen to be believed.
One part Mississippi delta blues, one part dirty, old school rock and roll and one part Evil Knievel, Bob Log III’s crazed one man blues show is hard to put your finger on. But the Tucson guitar slinger has built an earnest cult following for his anything goes live show, which on a good night can include anything from playing with a girl saddled on each knee and complimentary shots of boob scotch (see below).
Prior to his Tuesday night show at the Middle East, Examiner caught up with Bob to talk about life on the road, how his persona and music coexist and some of his strangest onstage memories.
Examiner: I read somewhere that you do upwards of 250 shows a year. Are you still keeping up with that pace these days?
BL: That’s a good question, but someone’s got their math all wrong. I used to do that many shows a year, but for the past few years I’ve been doing about 150 shows. I basically tour six months out of the year. Those heavier touring days are over, because what happens is you don’t remember what happened the night before or a few nights before or weeks before that. You can tour all over, but if you go at it like that all you have to look back on is pictures. The way it’s set up now at least I can remember most of it.
Examiner: So it’s six months on, six months off until the next thing comes up?
BL: Well I do other things at home than just that (laughs). But it’s not quite six months on. I’ll do a month and then go home and recooperate. Any longer than that and you get back into that “What the hell just happened” mode.
Examiner: Probably not the best mindset for touring.
BL: No, not if you have to drive.
Examiner: How long have you been on the road on this stretch?
BL: I’m not quite in the middle. I’ve done about a week, week and a half and till have another two or three weeks ahead of me. Then I hit Australia, but that’s only for five days. The states are cool because you can get in 30 or so shows over a couple of weeks. Wherever there’s people drinking beer I’ll go over in the corner and make some noise.
Examiner: It seems that whenever people talk about you they gravitate toward a lot of the aesthetics: The fact that you perform solo, the cannonball suit or the motorcycle helmet. Was there ever a concern that any of that would overshadow the music?
BL: I don’t know. The thing is you guys have a job and have to write about music, but you can’t just write about music. You can’t just put down on paper that there’s this guy and he goes “Boom, boom, bang, bang.” You’ve got to write about something you can write about. It’s easy to write about a helmet or a suit or the fact that women put boobs in my drink. You can’t really write about what someone sounds like in words, because it just doesn’t work. I’m just giving people something to write about.
Examiner: What were your first influences and introductions to blues music?
BL: I’m really more into rock and roll. Screaming Jay Hawkins and AC/DC made me want to pick up a guitar, then Mississippi Fred McDowell helped me learn to play slide guitar and fingerpick.
Examiner: How did you come about performing as a one man band?
BL: It’s just music. I play guitar and learned to play the drums with my feet. I don’t think I’m the first person to ever do it, it’s just rock and roll. You can stand up there and be boring, but I grew up listening to AC/DC and Screaming Jay Hawkins, you know? Jump around, throw a bone through your nose. That’s what I’m into.
Examiner: Have you always wanted to play solo and go at it yourself? Could you ever see yourself playing in a more traditional blues setup.
BL: I was in a two man band, but then my drummer split. I panicked. I could have gone home that night and shut up or I could have gone forward with the show in Chicago and figured out what to do. I was opening for Ween, and I just showed up with my guitar case and a helmet on my head. It was just sheer utter panic that made it happen.
Examiner: And you just decided to keep going with it?
BL: The band I was in was called Doo Rag. As crazy as he was, that drummer was not replaceable (laughs). Check it out on Youtube and see what he does and you’ll see why.
Examiner: You’re known for for some comparatively risque onstage antics, namely the boob scotch and tit clapping. Has that ever gone wrong or got you in trouble during a show?
BL: Not really. First off, nobody ever claps their tits at me except for this one fat guy in a wheel chair once, a girl in Portland and maybe three other times. But the girls putting their boobs in my drink, I’ve never really gotten in trouble for it. Although one time a club got shut down in Madison, Wisconsin.
Examiner: What happened?
BL: Well, in my defense it wasn’t really my fault. This girl put her boob in my drink, and the crazy owner of this club, I guess she was one of his ladies somehow, he was all coked up and got really mad and locked her in his office. Then she called the cops and they came down and arrested him for kidnapping. I think they shut the club down forever. I just played the show and left. I didn’t find out about it until later.
Examiner: Should we brace ourselves when you come to Boston next week?
BL: Most of the time what happens is when I play my songs, people just smile so much their face hurts the next day. That’s about the worst trouble you’re going to get. Either that or someone gets pregnant.
Examiner: What can fans expect who haven’t experienced a Bob Log III live show?
BL: A guitar party.
Bob Log III with Molly Gene One Whoahman Band. Tuesday night at the Middle East Upstairs (472 Mass Ave, Cambridge). Show starts at 7pm, tickets are $10. For more information call the Middle East box office at 617-864-EAST.
RB
