The Times Herald-Record (Hudson Valley, N.Y.)
February 22, 2008


Entertainment


Blues Musician Robert Cray Plays The Bardavon

By Sandy Tomcho
Times Herald-Record


Blues musician Robert Cray made a name for himself by playing the
blues, but going about it in a very innovative way.

He incorporated different genres into his style of playing, which
resulted in his music being received by a wider audience, much in the
same way that George Thorogood and Stevie Ray Vaughan did.

His unique approach resulted in five Grammy wins and 13 nominations,
and you'll get to hear his winning sound when he plays the Bardavon
1869 Opera House tonight.

Go! reporter Sandy Tomcho spoke with Cray via phone from his home in
central California about live recordings, his label and the show at
the Bardavon.

Q. You're one of the few blues musicians who managed to capture a
mainstream success. What do you think makes you stand out from the
rest of your counterparts?

A. Well, we're a little bit different because of what we add to the
music. We not only play blues, we play rhythm and blues and it's got a
little bit of rock 'n' roll in it and soul, a little jazz and a little
gospel. All the things that we grew up listening to or enjoy listening
to now.

Q. "The Robert Cray Band: Live From Across the Pond" is the first
release on your own Nozzle Records. Why did you decide to create your
own label?

A. I just started the label to release the live record, and that live
record was actually recorded in London at the Royal Albert Hall while
on tour with Eric (Clapton). We were in between labels, and the
opportunity was there for us to create that label. There are labels
now who are changing the way they do business because they're forced
into it, and so therefore the record deals are a lot better and they
split money a lot better and all that. We weren't signed to any record
company and we had the opportunity to record a live CD over seven
nights in one spot and we just took advantage of the opportunity.

Q. Did you feel pressure to perform a certain way because you knew you
were being recorded?

A. Normally, the situation is you set up to record a live show and
there's just too much pressure on you, We've done a lot of live
recordings and that pressure's always on you and I can listen to the
guys and myself and go, "Ya know, you guys know you're being recorded.
It's too stiff and you're not taking any chances and it's just not
right." So, recording over seven nights and being in front of somebody
else's crowd, you go out there to gain some new fans so you're working
a little bit harder and you're taking those chances.

Q. Are you going to be working on a new album anytime soon?

A. The plan was to do something earlier this year, but we moved from
Los Angeles to Santa Barbara County and so that got put aside, but
probably sometime this year we'll go into the studio.

Q. What else do you have going on?

A. Well, we just came back from Mumbai, India. We went there for one
night and it was great. There were people that actually knew what we
were about. We were invited to go back and there's this festival
called the One Tree Festival and Buddy Guy's been there a couple of
times, and so there's blues fans there.

Q. Have you ever been surprised at any of the places where you've
played where you don't expect a lot of people to show up and all of a
sudden there's all these people there?

A. Yeah. We played once in Corichiba, Brazil, and, we'd played in
Brazil before, but we hadn't played in Corichiba, and we went and did
our sound check in the afternoon and then we went to the hotel and we
came back for the gig. On the way back, like blocks away, there was
this line of people and I was like "Where are all these people going
to?" But, sure enough, they were coming to see us.

Q. What kind of show can people expect at the Bardavon?

A. What we do normally is go from word one to current. We do things
from all different albums and things from over the years.



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