"NORTHERN TERRITORY BLUES"
2006 INTERVIEW BY MIKE ZOLTEN.
MIKE ZOLTEN : After traveling around the World, so many tours after all these years since the late 70s, which would be your favorite countries ?
GERRY JOE WEISE : I'd probably have to say France and Australia. Even though France has some political issues, it still is one of the leading forces in the Arts. I've done so many exhibitions, countless Blues tours in France, and I've made great friends and had so much great support; you just don't realize how lucky you are until you move to another country. For me France will always rest an institution to the 7 Arts. Australia on the other hand is the last frontier, with great richness in the indigenous Arts, that is so very dear to me. The wide open spaces where it is very easy to get to, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It's great to travel and tour, so many breathtaking landscapes to discover. But Australia has an isolated thriving musical culture, which doesn't export so well, that's why I've based myself in Europe during the 1980s and the 1990s. It's been so hard to make up my mind where to stay, since 1999 I have been living in Australia and in the south of France.
M Z : You are busy performing about 100 concerts a year ?
G J W : That's right, and I still find time to go to the studio and record new songs, and organize my exhibitions of installations, paintings and photography. I generally divide my time up 50/50 between art and music.
M Z : In the beginning of the early 2000s, you stayed at a couple of aboriginal communities ?
G J W : Yes one of them was a remote, population of 50 outstation, called Manmoyi; the other a much larger community named Gunbalanya, incorporating the Injalak Arts Council. Both belong to the Kunwinjku tribe, and are situated east of Kakadu Reserve in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. I had a great chance to have highly interesting musical exchanges, as well as learning from aboriginal artwork. I gained in knowledge, the real deal, and I feel a little less ignorant these days. Many thanks to the Kunwinjku people, for allowing me permission to enter their land.
M Z : What equipment are you using ?
G J W : Well basically it's my old trusty 1963 Strat and 1960 Silvertone. I made myself a white rectangle guitar and a purple left-handed guitar (note: Gerry has been servicing his own guitars since the 70s - he has never put one of his guitars in a repair shop yet !), I use them mostly for extra open-slide tunings, like in A, G, E, D. I use Ibanez overdrive and distortion pedals; Carl Martin, Boss and Yamaha compressors, both vintage and new. The compressors are a pretty important part of my sound, they just seem to make everything else sound bigger.
M Z : And that's just what makes Gerry Joe Weise so special, making the guitar sound bigger than life on his latest 2005 release "Sydney-Paris Blues".
1967 Gibson 340, 1932 Dobro, 1963 Strat,
1957 Fender Super amp
"GERRY JOE WEISE AT THE GRAND THEATRE IN RHEIMS."
2007 : A conversation with Gerry Joe Weise by interviewer Paulo Rochefort.
I was at the famous Paul Personne and Gerry Joe Weise concert in Rheims (France), which was held at the Grand Theatre on thursday April 10th, 1997. An exciting evening of blues and rock given by French guitarist Paul Personne and his quintet, and Australian bluesman Gerry Joe Weise playing solo with two old vintage resophonic guitars from the early 1930s (a Dobro and a National). I have been a Paul Personne fan for years and have seen him play on many occasions, but the Grand Theatre concert in Rheims had excellent vibrant sound, witnessed by his soaring Paul Reed Smith guitar, sunburst in color and in sound. Paul Personne was in great form, and the thick leads pouring forth, sounding at times like Santana, supported all too well his coarse bluesy voice. More rough-and-tumble was Gerry Joe Weise's voice accompanied by his metal and chrome acoustic guitars. The Paul Personne tour introduced me to this fine Australian guitarist. As soon as Gerry Joe Weise set foot on stage, he immediately held the 1,000 strong crowd in the palm of his hand. All were singing to "Hey Bo Diddley" and Gerry Joe's own famous "Broken Hill Blues".
GERRY JOE WEISE - LIVE AT THE ZENITH, TOULOUSE 1999
"Down In Sydney" (Gerry Joe Weise)
"I Just Can't Make It" (Hound Dog Taylor)
"Island Sunset" (Gerry Joe Weise)
Here is an interview I had with the Oz-guitarist from "down under" at a Cafe in Rheims, on a sunny afternoon the 3rd of January 2007.
PAULO ROCHEFORT : I have been listening recently to your 2005 release "Sydney-Paris Blues", where track 3 "Down In Sydney (Weise)" and track 5 "I Just Can't Make It (Hound Dog Taylor)" were credited as live solo recordings at the Zenith in Toulouse (France). Were they recorded on your 1930s resophonic guitars ?
GERRY JOE WEISE : Yes they were. "Down In Sydney" I performed with my green 1930 National Triolian in normal tuning, and "I Just Can't Make It" in open B tuning on my chrome 1932 Dobro M15.
P R : Did you perform these songs back in 1997 at the Grand Theatre in Rheims with Paul Personne ?
G J W : No I didn't, but I did play "Celtic Blues (Weise)" and "Hoochie Coochie Man" in open drop D tuning on the Dobro, and "Voodoo Child" on the National.
P R : Tell me what you thought about the Paul Personne show ?
G J W : It was a magic night. All musicians were in great form, the sound system from the house P.A. was excellent, and stage lighting was very efficient. I enjoyed Paul's show which he performed with lots of feeling, so many great guitar solos from this humble man. I had seen him on T.V., but live in concert was a thrilling experience. The audience was very receptive, and very loud indeed. I did my best to warm up the crowd for Paul Personne !
P R : 1997/1998 were busy years for you. Usually you tour in a trio configuration, with bassist Peter Metzger and drummer Stephane Ehrhart from the Alsace region ?
G J W : Yes after the Grand Theatre in Rheims (10 April 97), I played with Peter and Stephane at the Espace Caussimon in Paris (26 April 97), before embarking on an European tour 97/98. Starting in May in Switzerland then going onto Luxembourg, Germany, France and Belgium.
P R : Then ending at the "Nuit Du Blues" Festival at the Theatre in St. Quentin (France, friday 10th April 1998), where you performed once again as a Dobro solo act ?
G J W : Yes, word got out, with lots of positive reactions from the Paul Personne concert in Rheims, that St. Quentin wanted urgently to do the same. So there I was with my Dobro and National, sandwiched and scheduled between two large orchestras.
P R : How did that turn out ?
G J W : Once again I tried my best, and by using the same repertoire as in Rheims, the local press said I "wowed the St. Quentin audience !"
P R : That led to another unique solo experience, this time as support act to The Scorpions at the 7,000 seater hall at the Zenith in Toulouse. Two of those songs can be found on your latest release "Sydney-Paris Blues", were they recorded on the same night (thursday 3rd June 1999) ?
G J W : Yeah that's right. Right you are. There is an anecdote. The rowdy audience were impatient for the concert to commence at 8.30p.m. As soon as I walked on stage in leather pants, the crowd went really wild, but when I sat down on the chair in the middle of the huge stage and took out the Dobro, there was a great silence. The audience then knew I had nothing to do with The Scorpions ! Nervous I had to work very hard to win the crowd over !
P R : And did you win the crowd over ?
G J W : Yes I did, by the time I played my ol' faithful "Broken Hill Blues", everyone was singing out loud with me. I got an encore ! And when The Scorpions went on stage right after my set, they were very happy to see the crowd singing along from song one !!!
Gerry Joe Weise moved from France to Switzerland in June 1997. In September 1999 after the Zenith concert, he moved to Melbourne in Australia. After a 33 concert tour in Australia 2005/2006, Gerry Joe moved back to the North of France.
DOBRO DUO - GERRY JOE WEISE & ALAIN VAZART
Live at the Croques Notes Jazz Club in Rheims
For further information :
PAUL PERSONNE & GERRY JOE WEISE Web site
