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Moss keeps it old-school on Sadie Mae as he did on two previous W.C. Handy nominated releases Count Your Blessings and Got A New Plan, and on his debut First Offense. And he's bringin' his learnin' nationwide too: You can find him in just about every corner of North America in 2005, layin' down what the masters themselves taught him during his many years of "internship" with Dawkins, Rogers, and Smith.
BluesQuest.com caught up with Moss just before his performance at the 2005 Chicago Blues Festival and between a West Coast and MidWest tour, and before a swing to points closer to the Eastern seaboard. Find out what Nick had to say about the legends he toured and recorded with, the gear he uses, his favorite old blues records, and more.
Also, opt-in to the BluesQuest mailing list from our homepage, then send an email to info@bluesquest.com with the subject line "Give Me That Nick Moss CD" for a chance to win one of five copies we've got sittin' right here in the office.
Now on to Nick:
Moss: Hey Adam, it's Nick Moss.
BluesQuest.com: Hey Nick, how are you?
Moss: I'm doin' all right.
BluesQuest.com: I've been listening to your new disc, Sadie Mae, and it's very cool.
Moss: Thank you.
BluesQuest.com: Nick, I think we share the same guitar tech, Joe Campagna, who used to tour with Survivor and REO Speedwagon.
Moss: Yeah, both my brother Joe and I have been using Joe for years.
BluesQuest.com: Yeah, I ran into your brother at Joe's one time. So tell me about your plans with this new record. You're based in Chicago, but you do get out on the road quite a bit, right?
Moss: Yeah, we're always on the road (laughs). We're trying to get wherever we can get to. Our agent has us playing close to 200 dates per year. We're trying to get to some different venues which we haven't visited yet.
BluesQuest.com: Do you concentrate on the Midwest?
Moss: No, we go everywhere. I just got back from the West Coast this week. We did Seattle, Portland, and all the way down to San Diego and back.
BluesQuest.com: And you're playing the Chicago Blues Fest this year too.
Moss: Yep.
BluesQuest.com: You've probably played the Blues Fest in the past.
Moss: Yeah, I've played it a couple times. This is the first time I've played it under my name.
BluesQuest.com: Who had you played it with in the past?
Moss: The first time I played it was with Jimmy Rogers, for his birthday.
BluesQuest.com: That must have been a cool gig.
Moss: That was a great gig. And then I played it with other artists. And then when I first started my band I played the Route 66 tent but they don't do music in there anymore. They use it for discussion groups and stuff like that. They used to have music in there. I've played the Best Buy stage a couple of times. This is the first time in the past couple years that I've actually been hired by the Chicago Blues Fest and Barry Dolenz.
BluesQuest.com: Well that's got to be an honor.
Moss: Oh yeah.
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BluesQuest.com: Do you hit a lot of festivals?
Moss: Yeah. In the summertime that's our bread and butter, both in Chicago and all over the country.
BluesQuest.com: I've lived all over the country, and Chicago has an incredible number of summer festivals, in just about every one of the 200 or so suburbs. I've never seen anything like it.
Moss: Yeah, every town has it.
BluesQuest.com: You probably hit a couple dozen of those every summer.
Moss: Actually I don't play those too often. I'm usually on the road in the summer, I'm gone. And when I come home it's a couple club gigs, then back on the road again. It would probably be more advantageous to sit around here in Chicago and do all these suburban summer festivals.
BluesQuest.com: It would be easier for you.
Moss: Yeah, it would be nice. But for the most part, they either hire their local bands, or the aging rock stars. You don't see too many blues acts at the outdoor festivals, at least the neighborhood festivals.
BluesQuest.com: So you've played and recorded with quite a few other blues artists. Give us a rundown of your background where you got started, who you first started touring or recording with.
Moss: I first started playing around town when I was a kid. The first guy who actually hired me was Jimmy Dawkins. I toured with him for about a year and a half. I was just learning then. I was still pretty green then. And then I played around town with some guys, like Buddy Scott and the Rib Tips, with my brother Joe. Then I got hired by Willie "Big Eyes" Smith to join the Legendary Blues Band.
BluesQuest.com: Were you playing bass or guitar?
Moss: Bass. That was right when Calvin Jones retired and moved down to Mississippi. I stayed with them for about four years, and that was probably the beginning of my learning experience for the real deal of Chicago blues. Especially playing alongside Willie. A bass player and a drummer have got to lock in. To me that's the heart and soul of the blues, the rhythm section. I learned a lot playing with Willie. And being on the road with him I got a chance to back up tons of people: James Cotton, Junior Wells, Pinetop, Johnnie Johnson
. Wherever we would go we'd end up doing our show and backing up someone too.
And that inevitably lead me to my gig with Jimmy Rogers. I ended up playing guitar with Jimmy for about three and a half years. I had switched over to guitar my last year with Willie and the Legendary Blues Band. Then we were on the road doing a Muddy Waters tribute tour and Jimmy had to go out on the road on his own, and was without a guitar player. And Willie said, 'Why don't you use my guy, he's at home doin' nothin'.'
BluesQuest.com: What year was this?
Moss: That was probably '95, or '96.
BluesQuest.com: Had you always played guitar?
Moss: A little bit. I started getting into guitar later on. I'm mostly a bass player. I always noodled with guitar. I liked guitar and wanted to get more into it. So the last year with Legendary I was playing more guitar, and the guitar player in the band, Willie Greeson, was really good and really cool. He was showing me stuff, and we'd switch off: he'd play bass and I'd play guitar. And then he eventually had to leave the band, and left the spot open. So Willie Smith changed me over to guitar.
BluesQuest.com: And after a year you went out with Jimmy Rogers?
Moss: Yeah. And playing guitar with Jimmy Rogers was really an honor, and another learning experience. Everything Jimmy's ever done, every recording he ever made he was like my favorite rhythm guitar players of all time. He wasn't much of a lead player; he didn't play much lead. But all his rhythm work the way he backed up Muddy in the '50s, and backed up the harmonica players
and even his own recordings, the way he interacted with the musicians around him I loved all that stuff. It's not easy to play with some of these guys, because you can easily step on these guys toes and get in the way.
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BluesQuest.com: So was Chicago blues always what you were into, right from the start? Or did you grow up listening to Led Zeppelin and stuff like that?
Moss: I grew up listening to all kinds of stuff. In our house we had all kinds of records. My mom and dad had a nice record collection when my brother and I were younger. But there were a lot of blues records in there, and I was exposed to it early enough that it wasn't real foreign to me.
BluesQuest.com: Was there a point at which the '50s style Chicago blues really started to be so important to you?
Moss: I can't recall. I like all kinds of blues, including contemporary blues. I like to keep doing my homework though, and keep working on the traditional stuff.
BluesQuest.com: Besides the people you've played with, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Jimmy Rogers, etc., are there a handful of really essential CDs you think people should check out, in relation to the early Chicago blues style?
Moss: Oh definitely. Everyone knows about the Muddy Waters stuff and the Jimmy Rogers stuff, and those are all cool albums. But some others are like "Cool" John Brin there's plenty out there. And J.B. Lenoir. And some of the supporting characters, like Sunnyland Slim guys that were mostly sidemen, but did great solo stuff. Sunnyland Slim was one of my favorite piano players. He's one of the guys that got Muddy and Jimmy their recording contracts, even though he was a sideman. He's the one who brought them to Leonard Chess, and who brought them to the recording studios.
BluesQuest.com: Was he from Chicago, or was he one of the earliest guys to come up here?
Moss: He was probably one of the earliest guys to come up here. And then you've got Big Bill Broonzy and Memphis Minnie and stuff.
BluesQuest.com: But every time I read about the '50s Chicago blues scene, it's always, 'and he stayed with Sunnyland.' It seems like everyone stayed with Sunnyland at one point.
Moss: He was kind of the welcoming guy. Jimmy Rogers used to tell me that he was a really great guy. And even though I didn't know him well, from the times that I met him, what Jimmy told me rings true. The guy was just a sweetheart, and every one I've ever heard talk about Sunnyland says he was the most open and gracious person. He liked helping the younger guys, and if he saw that you had some talent, he went out of his way to help you out.
And then if you move up to the Chicago scene in the '60s, and the West Side Chicago Blues
Artists started changing the blues so that it wasn't so much centered on the harmonica and piano, it was more focused on guitar. Everyone knows about Otis Rush and Buddy Guy. One of my favorite guys from that era was Earl Hooker. I've talked to Buddy, and Jimmy, and Dave Myers and I've asked them all, 'Who is your favorite guitar player?' And inevitably, everyone says, 'Man, if you could have heard Earl Hooker!' Every one of those guys would say Earl Hooker was one of the best guitar players they ever saw.
And there's killer Earl Hooker records out there if you search for them. One of my favorite Earl Hooker records, from a little later on, is called There's a Fungus Among Us. I love that record. His early stuff he recorded in the '50s on Sun but the '60s stuff from Earl Hooker has killer slide work and killer fret work.
And there are some unsung heroes of Chicago blues. My favorite guys, even as you get into the late '60s and early '70s: Lefty Diz is one of my favorite guitar players. He used to play with Junior Wells back in the '70s, and he recorded a lot of stuff on his own. Hip Linkchain another killer guitar player. There's a record label, and I'm not sure if it's still in business, is called Storyville. Storyville did this great series in the '70s. The guy was from Belgium or France, and he would come to Chicago and record all these guys live in clubs Like Theresa's. He put out a whole series by guys like Big Mojo Elam, there's some early Jimmy Johnson stuff. There's Hip Linkchain, Bobby King. Those are some of my favorites. If you wanna talk about really raw Chicago blues, you've got to find that Storyville collection.
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BluesQuest.com: It looks like they're on the Internet. I think they're still around. Storyville-Records.com
Moss: I always find these records at BlueBeatMusic.com. That's a great website. A friend of mine out in California runs it. If you've got a credit card, lock it up, or you'll spend shitloads of money at BlueBeat. And he's got really fair prices, but he's got everything. I get everything from him. I bought one Storyville record at Tower, and loved it so much that I called Charlie and he had pretty much every one of them. The only one I'm missing, or two there's a B.B. Odom record, and another one I've forgotten. There's about 14 of them.
BluesQuest.com: That's all cool. So let's talk about your new disc, Sadie Mae. Sadie Mae is your daughter, right?
Moss: Yep.
BluesQuest.com: And you wrote a song about your wife Katie on a previous recording.
Moss: Yep.
BluesQuest.com: So this new stuff is showing a new chapter in your life, your daughter is only one?
Moss: Yeah, she just turned one.
BluesQuest.com: That changes a lot of things, doesn't it?
Moss: Yeah, it makes it harder to leave, and nicer to come home.
BluesQuest.com: And then it probably also makes you feel like, 'Wow, I'd better start making some money!' (laughs)
Moss: Yeah, it sure does.
BluesQuest.com: I know that feeling: 'I am actually an adult, so I'd better get on with it!'
Moss: Oh yeah.
BluesQuest.com: And this recording was largely done in your own studio, right?
Moss: I built my own studio in the past year.
BluesQuest.com: What kind of gear are you using?
Moss: It's half analog and half digital. I use Pro Tools, but I run everything back through old tube preamps and everything.
BluesQuest.com: Do you use tape at all?
Moss: Nope.
BluesQuest.com: I've heard of some guys recording on Pro Tools, then running it back through tape to get more of the analog sound.
Moss: That's another way to do it. We run all our tracks back through this old Bogen tube pre-amp after they're recorded.
BluesQuest.com: So you go from Pro Tools, through this pre-amp, then back into Pro Tools?
Moss: Yeah.
BluesQuest.com: And are you also using the pre-amp on the mics as you're recording?
Moss: Yep.
BluesQuest.com: So what's your favorite mic for recording your vocals?
Moss: If I had my way, I'd have an RCA 44, or a Neumann U-87, but I don't have $15,000.
BluesQuest.com: Right.
Moss: We used what I had. I've got a couple of old Shure's from the '60s, some old ribbon mics that were in my price range. And then I found these microphones online at MusiciansFriend, and then we were in Kansas City, and they have a big warehouse there. And it's open to the public. They have a damaged goods side and a catalog side. So we usually stop in there every time we go through Kansas City.
So I went and checked out these microphones from a company called MXL. They make knockoffs of old tube mics like the Neumman, the RCA 44. They make really good condenser mics, and dynamic recording mics and they're cheap as shit! They use the gold Mogami wiring, which is what everyone is using now, but they're made in Asia so they can get them made cheap. They're like $70, $80, $100 each. The tube mic is about $200 or $300, but compared to buying an old Neumann for $6,000 or $10,000
There is no comparison.
Even some of the other companies, like that mic company called Blue you're still spending $1,500 or $2,000 on a mic. And these MXL mics are what I recorded my mics on. You tell me if you can tell the difference.
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BluesQuest.com: And what about guitars what are you playing?
Moss: I tend to change up all the time. My main guitars are my 1966 Gibson 345, and a '68 Fender Jaguar. I'm playing that a lot lately. I love that guitar. I've got a couple of SGs from the early '60s. Mostly Gibsons. I've got an old Les Paul from the '50s, and a couple of old, weird, off-the-wall guitars: Nationals, Silvertones, old Danelectros. For the most part, either the 345 or my Jaguar or my SG are my main guitars.
BluesQuest.com: And what do you run those through?
Moss: I have a '66 Fender Super Reverb. Occasionally, I use a mid-'60s, piggyback Bassman. I've got about 16 guitars and about 15 amps. Every time I buy a new one my wife wants to shoot me. But I am looking for a Jazzmaster!
BluesQuest.com: Well, we'll keep our eyes out for you! Hey Nick, thanks so much for your time, and good luck with the CD and out there on the road this year!
Moss: Thank you Adam!
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