Reviews

Happy Blue Year: Patrick Vining and the Blue Sharks Get Down-And-Dirty

by Allison Frank
From the Mountain Xpress Paper, December 31, 1999

If a blues category called "kick-ass, Southern-gentlemen singers" existed, Patrick Vining would be its poster child.

Dubbed by the press as a "big-throated vocalist," a harder-working musician is not to be found on the national blues circuit. Better known musicians exist, sure—but probably not one more committed to preserving a singular style of blues.

In the movie industry, under publicized films that emerge as hits are called "sleepers." Blues aficionados attending First Night Asheville presented by Mission St. Joseph's will discover that Vining and his gang are the musical equivalent of the phenomenon.

When asked about the driving force behind his music, Vining unabashedly admits that his primary focus is "doing right by my influences and giving proper musical credit to those who inspired me."

Like a formally trained musicologist, Vining displays a deep understanding of his vocation. "Louis Jordan, a big-band leader in the '40s and '50s — who wrote classic tunes like 'Caledonia' — is my number-one influence," he reveals. "Next, I like to credit Big Joe Turner — who penned 'Shake, Rattle, and Roll'. And I take my vocal style from Wynonie Harris, one of my favorites ... Back in the '40s and '50s, a guy could simply be known as a great singer ... There were lots of guys like that in the blues field."

Vining grew up on the outskirts of Atlanta, and his career evolved from the roots up. His father was a church music director, and his mom sang in the choir. "The earliest memory I have of singing in public was at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church ... when I was around 4," Vining relates. "The first solo I ever sang was at my grandparents' house, when I was 8 or 9. I sang 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' while my uncle played the guitar," he continues with a laugh.

Vining's first CD, Blues With Bite, was released in November 1998 by the Atlanta-based Ichiban Records. But the musician isn't particularly proud of that first effort. "The CD is not a true representation of my actual style, although it was the exposure I needed to get signed by (London-based) JSP Records," he says. "I wanted to be on a label whose roster has included blues greats like Buddy Guy, Professor Longhair and Jimmy Witherspoon — so I sought them out. I sent JSP my stuff and asked that they just listen to my voice."

And Vining was signed on the strength of his voice alone. Since he had no band at the time, he enjoyed the luxury of handpicking the musicians he wanted to work with when recording his first JSP effort, Ready Right Now (1999). As the backbone of his group, Vining hired the rhythm section of blues notable James Harman. Then, he hired the horn section of porn-star-turned-blues-singer, Candye Kane (yep, you read correctly) to complete the lineup.

He passionately contends that authenticity is steadfastly at the heart and soul of his music. "Delta Blues is certainly the blues to me; however, it's (also) blues to somebody if a guitar player truly believes in the notes he's playing," Vining explains. "He doesn't have to jump out of bed every morning and immediately begin playing a Django Reinhardt riff."

Although not a card-carrying music snob, Vining says he becomes frustrated by what he believes to be a prevailing bastardization of the blues. "A lot of people these days are calling the type of music I play swing, but back (in its heyday), it was called jump blues," he relates. "I'm doing my best to keep that tradition alive."

And alive it is. Ready Right Now (produced by legendary blues maven Jimmy Morello) is a testament to Vining's singular dedication to the blues. From the dinstinctive New Orleans funk of "Looking For Mercy" to the big-band flavor or "She's So Nice" to the West Coast swing of "Thank You Baby," Vining's songs cover an amazingly wide spectrum. (Vining and his guitarist, Jim Ransone, wrote 10 of the 11 songs on this disc.)

As a Georgia native, Vining is continually baffled by the fact that Atlanta's flourishing music scene has never embraced him. But he's a crowd-pleaser in the Midwest and a darling of European audiences.

The band that will entertain Asheville audiences includes Ernest Lamb on guitar, Marvin Mahanay on bass, Michael Boyette on piano, Michael Hughes on percussion, and Dave Watts and Linton Wages on saxophones.

When we asked Vining what king of show the local New Year's Eve crowd should expect, he quipped, "Asheville will see a bald-headed guy in a double-breasted suit having fun. I put my heart and energy into everything I play. I may not be the best there is, but if you give me two hours in front of an audience, I'll make a blues believer out of anyone."

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