Define Blues. Can you? Is it a style of music that can be defined? I've never really had much of an exposure to Blues, so I asked myself that very question as I headed downtown to Neon's on Friday night to hang out with local Blues band, Greg Schaber and High Street. Here's what I found out.
Eleven years ago, the band started out as The High Street Rhythm Rockers. Guitarist and vocalist Greg Schaber is the only original member in the band now known as Greg Schaber and High Street.
Schaber, along with bassist Ron Esposito and drummer Craig Comer, have been playing together for about four years now. They play locally at venues like York Street Café, Stanley's and Mansion Hill, and regionally in places in Indianapolis and Dayton.
According to Esposito, one of the initial goals of the band was to expand regionally. They've done that, and then some, having played regional festivals and opened for some well-known Blues acts around the Midwest.
"Blues is a lot like Bluegrass in the sense that there's a small but ardent audience, and you have to go where the audience is," explains Schaber.
They enjoy playing in Cincinnati, where there is a strong Blues following. But they also recognize the advantages of appealing to a larger, regional audience.
"We go over with audiences who have been listening to Blues for a long time," says Schaber. "The great thing about this kind of music is that it never really goes away. It's a music that you can get old playing because life experiences add to it."
"It's not a faddish music," adds Esposito.
"This is the kind of music you play first because you love it," adds Schaber.
That's one aspect of Blues that became very apparent to me -- it's a very passionate, personal style of expression.
"It's the kind of music that has to come from inside anyway," Schaber says.
Each member of the band has an extensive background in music -- and not just in Blues. Among the three, there's a history that includes Folk, Latin and Jazz music. They all took their turn in Rock or Jazz Rock bands, Schaber and Esposito have done lots of solo gigs, and Comer traveled the world in the 82nd Airborne Division Band.
There's an unmistakable trend in their music, a sound that comes from a long history with all kinds of musical styles and influences.
"There's some Jazz influences that creep in that might not be as apparent," says Schaber. "But there are all kinds of influences that come together and surface in the music in odd ways."
"Everybody has a fairly strong personality, and that's really what comes out. Everybody plays with their heart and soul. Take, for instance, Craig's style of drumming. He can play a good, steady backbeat, but also can swing in a Jazz sense when it fits."
"Greg possesses Jazz chops, as well as Blues chops," Esposito says, "and that adds spice to the music."
According to Esposito, Schaber writes the music and the band work together on arrangements.
"One of the good things about Greg's compositions it that he pays a lot of attention to lyrics," says Esposito. "They tell a story and they have depth."
Greg Schaber and High Street recently released their second CD, Live at York Street Café, available around town at Borders, Phil's Records, Everybody's Records, Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Shake It Records. You can also buy it or their first CD, Gypsy Moon, by e-mailing Comer at ccomer@cinci.rr.com.
After an evening of Blues, my question was answered: The Blues can be defined, but the meaning will change from person to person. Whether you're a musician, a connoisseur of that style of music or an inexperienced listener, Blues is what you make of it. It's what you can dig around and pick out from the music.
