The Portuguese BUDDA POWER BLUES 20 years tour!

By José Oliveira & Rosine Alleva  Rock At Night EU Editors 

RAN -The BUDDA POWER BLUES is on the road to celebrate 20 years of career. but how did this adventure began? When did you start thinking that music that you were hearing was something that you wanted to pursue?

BUDDA GUEDES – When I heard Nirvana for the first time i knew I wanted to be a musician. I started a band and started learning the guitar right away. I was 14 back then.

RAN – « Walking Shoes & Thinking Hat » is the title of your latest work. Is there a special meaning about that title? Where did the recordings take place and who were the other musicians involved?

BG – I love to walk in order to clear my head and for the peace of mind. So, I put on my walking shoes, and immediately I get a thinking hat. The recordings were done as usual by me at Mobydick Records’s studios, as well as the production and mixing. The master was done by Frederico Cristiano, as usual. We had two special guests on the record. The amazing Doug Macleod on “I don’t but I’ve been told” and João Andresen on harmónica in “Bluesman ‘till I Die” and “I’m Going Blind”.

RAN – What were your main influences on the Blues scene? Where does your Memphis and New Orleans musical flavor come from?

BG – We are very eclectic when it comes to music. Tom Jobim, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Caetano Veloso, Miles Davis, Dexter Gordon, Muddy Waters, The Beatles, Black Crowes, AC/DC, Stevie Wonder, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and many many more are part of our musical souls. So there’s too many places were we got our influences. In the blues i would say we are much more influenced by the British approach to the blues, than the early American one. But I feel, as a musician, I have to take care of the blues, making it fresh and new, as all the greats did. Muddy Waters, electrified it, Freddie King made it into song format, Albert King gave it a funky feel, BB King made it fancy, and orchestrated, Hendrix made it heavy and fuzzy, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones made it world famous. Being Portuguese, white and European, I have a different perspective about it, than my idols add. So I try to bring it to my blues and make it contemporary. But we never forget we stand on giants’ shoulders.

RAN – In 2016, The BUDDA POWER BLUES were chosen to represent Portugal in the European Blues Challenge in the European final, in Italy. It must have been a fantastic experience, right?

BG – It was a very different experience for us, due to the fact that it’s a competition, and we had never thought about competition in music. We make music because we love it and it’s in our bones. It was also a great honor to represent Portugal in a European convention about the blues. But most of all we made a lot of great friends there, and learn so much from watching other musicians take on the Blues.

RAN – On her European tours, SHIRLEY KING (the daughter of the legendary BB KING) chose your band to accompany her. Great privilege. Tell us how this happened and what you learned from this experience?

BG – We met in Urbana/Champagne at her show and immediately got along with her. She was used to travel and play with different backing bands so there was a challenge of touring Europe with us as her band. It was a great learning experience on the entertaining side of things. She is a stage animal that can move any cloud. Besides that, was a great honor to make music with her and listen to so many great stories about BB King, Albert King, kook Taylor, Robert Cray and so many others.

RAN– In Portugal, MARIA JOAO is one of the biggest names on the Jazz scene. You recorded two albums with her. A powerful moment, I suppose. How did that happen? Feelings of that recordings…

BG – We not only recorded those two records together, but we toured a lot together. It’s a great experience, because she is an incredible musician/improviser. It’s really magical when we are together on stage, because we all become a different being. We are mutually influenced by each other and it flows beyond our conscience beings. On top of that we got to write two full albums of original material and do it with a legend, who hasplayed with everyone in the jazz community.

RAN – Your main format is a Trio, with Carl Minnemann on bass and Nico Guedes on Drums. But you always have a lot of guests in your works. What’s the selection process?

BG – Usually the song dictates the guest. Sometimes we just want to have that person sharing the song with us so I write a song for that moment. That’s what happened with Maria João. But again, it is all about sharing. So having guests is just an extension of that feel. But the most common process is the song asking for that musician. It happened on “I Don’t Know but I’ve been told”. Carl said: “it would be great to have someone telling a story on this section”. I immediately thought about Doug Macleod. Is the master of storytelling. I called him and he recorded his vocals on an iPhone. The same thing happened with Paul Lamb. We had an acoustic delta blues song, and I was missing an harmonica there. So, I called our friend Paul Lamb and he recorded the harmonica on his cell phone while on tour in Germany. That’s what’s on the record.

RAN – With the three Kings gone (Albert, Freddy and BB), we are left with one true survivor: BUDDY GUY. Do you think the BLUES, as a musical expression, can continue to exist?

BG – I think the blues is a way of life, not a music genre. It’s a way of overcoming adversity through music and positive thoughts. Laughing at our misery, and facing the future with hopes for a better day. It’s all about the tone, the note, the feel. I think Blues is the root, the rest is the fruit. So there’s always room for the root. Buddy Guy is just the last of that ear, but before him were, Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Sony Boy Williamson, Ma Ramney, and so many others. And they all were fearless and made the blues about today, not yesterday. Now we have Dereck Trucks, Robben Ford, Robert Cray, Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, just to name a few, and within Europe we have so many talented musicians carrying the blues torch, and keeping it alive. The Cinelli Brothers, Eric Slim Zahl, The Boogie Boys, Danny Del Toro, Quique Gomez, Vitor Bacalhau, and so many others.

RAN– The legendary John MAYALL, the man who introduced the Blues to Europe, has just passed away. What’s your feeling?

Nico Guedes– My feeling is that we need to honor his legacy, on spreading the blues and keeping it not just alive, but fresh and contemporary. All he has done for music is incredible, and he’s an example for all of us.

RAN– You have a busy musical life, not only as musicians, but also in the field of Production. What projects have you been involved in lately?

BG – I’m always trying to make more and better. Faced with the scars number of Blues festivals, I organized two more (Braga Blues and Vilar Formoso Blues & Rock). But I’m also booking some bands to specific venues and I am the artistic director and consultant for other festivals and venues. I also organized the European Blues Challenge in Braga this year. Thats the most important blues event in Europe, for upcoming artists. I like to busy and I don’t like to complaint and stay still. If there’s something I can do to make the scene better I will do it.

RAN – BPB videos had always been very successful. What’s your part in that creative process?

BG – The videos are all done by Nico Guedes and it’s usually his own ideas. Sometimes I’ll pitch him and idea for a video and we will debate it, but it’s usually Nico’s job.We try to be humorous, smart and give you a cinematographic approach when it comes to photography, but we are almost never literal about the song.

RAN – What are your next plans? Are there already any preconceived ideas for the creation of a new album?

BG – We make a new record every year, so there’s always plans for a new record, but it’s still very shady and unclear to us. I know we will be releasing a new record in 2025, and we will be touring it all over. We’re planning an European tour for 2025, and playing more in Portugal too. We are always on the road and that’s what makes us what we are.

Many thanks Budda and Nico for this fantastic meeting !!!

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM