Meet John McNamara
The Bluesman Down Under
And the blues came a calling......
Every once in a while something intriguing addresses your
senses and you are mesmerized by its presence. This happened at the IBC Memphis
2015. Allow me to back up a bit: My friend Barry Maxwell who is a blues radio
show host extraordinaire down under has always been kind to me whenever I
have submitted music for air time consideration. Barry has an immensely popular
radio show and so I don’t take his kindness to review CDs from my clients
lightly. After all everybody wants their music to be on the BAZ man’s show. So
just before I left for IBC Memphis Barry drops me a note. It was a suggestion.
He invited me to take in John McNamara’s performance and then perhaps meet with
him afterward. Barry, as I say, has always been fair with me and by extension
good to my clients. So without any reservation I listened to John’s music
before arriving in Memphis and then did in fact meet with John while we were
both at the IBCs.
John and I were only about ten minutes into a one
hour interview when I realized that this young man was not wanting to be a
bluesman, this man was already very mature in that regard. I instantly realized
what Barry had turned me on to from afar. John's demeanor was one of a relaxed
artist confident in his own skin and yet steeped in honest to goodness real
humility. No airs about him, no salesman’s swagger, no pretentious under
pinnings, he was who he is John McNamara, bluesman. As every blues person, man
or woman will tell you - you either is or you ain’t. This cat is…and it's
visibly obvious to his audiences because of the inherent qualities that
illuminate his stage presence and his delivery. When you listen to John perform
you may think of such artists as Bobby Blue Bland, Sam Cook, Otis Redding, and
of the contemporary set perhaps Johnny Lang. But you will also note that he is
not a clone of any of them as his style is unique in and of itself. These men
however have indeed deeply influenced John McNamara. His appreciation of their
body of work is what fuels the depth of his thirst for the real blues roots
sound.
This just in
- John McNamara's song
Burn, Burn, Burn just won Song of the Year at the prestigious Australian Blues
Music Awards 2015. Barry is correct, this man is on fire. As a matter of fact
this winning track is on John’s debut CD is entitled Alone with the Blues, One Voice One
Guitar.
In our one
hour meeting John shared that he hopes people come away noticing a clean,
pristine sound as yours truly noted on the CDs very first track. He went on to
say that his studio goal was to record and release a stripped back format, a
presentation that highlighted the presence of the negative spaces between the
notes. Overall, John's goal was to share his originals on his debut CD but he
also felt an inner passion to add four cover tracks. I asked him if he was
happy with the end result and he replied yes, indeed.
Black Market
Music is the chosen distribution company and they are offering a
special opportunity for anyone from even the far reaches of the globe. Purchase
John’s CD from them and the shipping is free no matter where you are located on
this planet. Pretty cool when you think about it - a nice way to get to know
John’s music without going into hock. Of course you can also pick up the tunes
in MP3 format online as well if you prefer.
John touring
includes various European countries, among them Scotland where he performs
annually and Germany as well. The man down under has also completed a gig in
Singapore, Malaysia where he and his music were received extremely well.
Historically, John has graced the stages at such noted music festivals
as Narooma Blues
Fest, Echuca
Moama Winter Blues Fest, Edinburgh Fringe Fest, and Melbourne’s Docklands Blues Fest, an
impressive array of large music festivals.
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