Anyone who only knows 38-year-old Joe Bonamassa from his concerts will be surprised how casually the American backstage is dressed. The stage suit ("because it's good blues tradition to dress decently on stage") looks American through and through with baseball cap, jeans and T-shirt. But there's one thing about him that isn't ami-typical at all: Joe rarely gets lost in niceness phrases. "Have a nice day" and "I'm fine" do not belong to the standard vocabulary of the exceptional guitarist.
When asked before the interview how he is feeling today, after he had been marked by jetlag a few days before the gig in Dortmund, he answers: "I'm totally tired, I woke up at four o'clock today and couldn't fall asleep anymore" So Joe Bonamassa's glamour factor is limited, only on stage does the singer and guitarist become a highly acclaimed star. To the musician who has brought blues rock back into the limelight from a niche not only in Germany.
eclipsed: Blues Of Desperation, you've come up with some news. You've mixed up the band a lot and formed it anew. So you got a second drummer into the studio next to Anton Fig: Greg Morrow. In addition to bassist Michael Rhodes and keyboarder Reese Wynans as well as brass players and background singers. Plus, you didn't rely on the usual Marshall amps, but had Tweed Fender amps built in the studio in Nashville. What's the matter with you?
Joe Bonamassa: The reason is certainly not that I no longer felt like the typical Marshall sound or the former musicians were no longer good enough. I'm not saying that anything new is better than anything old. Only, after several albums it was just time to approach things differently. So as not to allow routine to arise. Besides, they're not completely new musicians, I've worked with almost everyone live or in the studio before.
eclipsed: With the new album it is noticeable that the style changes from the middle. While the first songs sound more like arena blues rock, the second half is traditional and bluesy. Was that the plan?
Bonamassa: There was no plan behind it, it rather reflects what I like to hear myself. I just like starting the album with the big rock songs. I always like to listen to such songs on other albums at the beginning. Besides, it is clear that a Bonamassa album is not aligned from beginning to end. That wouldn't be me, and I hope my fans don't expect that from me either.
eclipsed: You recorded Blues Of Desperation in five days. That speaks not only for good musicians, but above all for a good preparation. Now don't tell me it took you months..
Bonamassa: None of us would have fit the schedule. Pre-production and songwriting took about three and a half weeks. That's neither particularly fast, nor extraordinary for an album of mine.
