Blues Wax Sittin' In With Nathan James & Ben Hernandez

2007 International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo Winners
by Mark Hummel

Nathan James and Ben Hernandez took home the top prize at this year's International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo category in Memphis, Tennessee. After a strong showing in 2006 (the eventual winner, Eden Brent, came out of their venue) the duo blew into Memphis stronger than the previous year and left little doubt that they wanted the Blues Foundation's IBC title. Their showing has landed them on top of the up-and-coming duos in the Blues and has gained them the reputation as a "must see" show. BluesWax's Mark Hummel caught up with James and Hernandez and this is what they talked about...


Mark Hummel for BluesWax: What did it feel like to win the IBC in 2007? Didn't you enter in 2006 as well?


Nathan James: It was a big surprise that we won. We really didn't take this thing too seriously, but just did it to go out to Memphis and have fun. We did enter in 2006 as well and didn't make it to the finals though.


Ben Hernandez: Well, it felt pretty good to be recognized among so many other great musicians. After we lost in 2006, neither of us were very keen on entering again. I think it's just way too difficult to judge music in the Solo/Duo category. There are just too many different styles to cover.


BW: How long have you been playing and when and how did you two hook up together?


NJ: I have been playing professionally for about eleven years now. We met through a mutual musician friend and have been playing together for maybe six years, I think.


BH: I've been playing the harmonica since I was about ten years old, although I really didn't get into playing around with Blues until about 17. We got together about six years ago, I think. A mutual guitar player buddy, Tom Harkenrider, took me out to see Nathan play at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach. He was playing solo. He let me sit in for a few tunes and he found out I could sing. And that's probably the only reason he's kept me around.


BW: Ben, who are your favorite harp players?


BH: I'd have to say my top favorite harmonica player would still have to be Sonny Terry. Although back in the day I really dug Junior Wells and Big Walter. Right now I'm listening to a whole lot of Noah Lewis and Will Shade. I really love that string/jug band sound. It's a style of playing that few people can or are willing to tackle. My favorite duos: Sonny & Brownie, Sleepy John Estes & Hammie Nixon, Blind Willie McTell & Curly Weaver, T-Model Ford & Spam.


BW: Nathan, who are your favorite guitarists? Who would be your favorite Blues duos of all time?


NJ: Man, there are so many of them! Of course all the Country Blues masters from the Twenties to the Forties like Big Bill Broonzy, Tampa Red, Son House, Blind Boy Fuller, Lonnie Johnson, on and on. But I take a little from all the guys I've listened to through the Fifties and Sixties, like Robert Jr. Lockwood, Muddy Waters, Myers Brothers, B.B. King, Mance Lipscomb, to Steve Cropper! My favorite duos of all time include Sonny & Brownie, of course, Memphis Minnie and Joe McCoy, to Cephas and Wiggins, and Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan.


BW: Do you see younger audiences coming to your shows or do you get mostly an older audience or a mix of both?


NJ: I think we have a pretty good mix of old and young in our audiences. It seems to cross over to all kinds of folks. I think the younger crowd can relate to us in a way because of the fresh approach we have to the music and because it is new music to them. But then there some of the non-believers that look at us like we are aliens! We always want to turn on more people that are our peers, the twenties and thirties age group.


BH: We have an OK amount of younger people coming out, but I really wish it was more. I wish younger audiences realized the kind of stuff we're playing. Most people our age don't really know about Blues. I think when they hear the word "Blues" they think Stevie Ray Vaughan cover band. We're slowly starting to see more people in the singer-songwriter set come to see us. We're not much different then they are, really. We write songs, we sing them, there you go. We do have a good number of older audience members that come to the shows. They're the ones who've actually seen or played with a lot of those Country Blues players that were getting rediscovered in the Sixties.


BW: How hard has the Blues biz been to break into, both recording and touring-wise? Seems a lot harder now then it used to be. I guess it helps to be such a small group in this age of Bush-onomics?


NJ: It has helped with me having the experience and connections from playing with James Harman here and there, but it has been a long road of paying dues to get any attention in the Blues world. It is very much a niche market for us. Being the duo has enabled me to make a living at it. Otherwise it would be very hard to make any money with the diminishing live music circuit in general.


BH: Well, I will say we've had our trials as far as "breaking in" goes. There have been many times where we haven't had the same kind of exposure from the Blues World because we play Country Blues. That's why it's great that we can do shows with you and the Harmonica Blowout. Traveling is pretty darn easy with just two people, but touring booking gigs, etc. is still a lot of work. We can fit a lot more venues because of the nature of our show, but at the same time certain venues are hesitant 'cause they find out that it's just two guys, even though we make just about as much racket as a whole band.


BW: How did each of you discover the Blues? I detect a lot of southern Gospel in each of your vocal style as well, is that right?


NJ: I got into Blues from working my way down into it once I started learning guitar. I started finding out about other kinds of music other than what was on popular radio, once I started studying music in general. And I guess a lot of it was through Classic Rock music. Yes, we both listen to a lot of Gospel music. I think that that is where all the great Blues singers came from.


BH: I had been slowly finding out about Blues, but it wasn't until I took my first trip to Memphis in the early Nineties that I really discovered what it was all about. I bought a Sonny & Brownie CD from Memphis Music there on Beale. When I finally got it home to listen to it I heard "Sonny's Squall" and that was that. In recent years I've been heavily influenced by Gospel music. Gospel music is some of the most beautiful and soulful music you'll ever hear.


BW: Nathan, you're one of the few young guitarist to learn the pre-war styles of Lonnie Johnson, Tampa Red, and Son House. Did you discover their styles after you heard the Chicago amplified styles that are so imitated these days?


NJ: I knew a little bit about those styles as I was discovering Chicago Blues, but when I started touring with the James Harman Band all the other band members would bring along a bunch of Country Blues to listen to on the road. So that is where I really took interest in it.


BW: Every time I see you guys you put on an entertaining show regardless of the crowd size. How do you maintain that drive when it's a slow night? It's very old school.


NJ: Well, we try to maintain that. It's hard sometimes, but we just play our songs so differently every time and also completely improvise songs half of the time. This keeps us entertained. Most of our originals are songs we first played at a gig when nobody was paying attention.


BH: That can be tough. We play in certain venues in southern California that will be packed with people who barely know you're there. Other times we'll have a smaller number, but with great enthusiasm. I try to tell myself that this is what I do for a living. I enjoy going to work. Work isn't always easy, but I know that playing music professionally is a goal I set for myself a long time ago. I enjoy the music so if no one's paying attention at least I dig what I'm doing.


BW: What's been the gig that's really made your year, either this year or last year? A festival or club gig, which feels more at home to you? Do you play many coffeehouses?


NJ: Shoot, there have been many good ones, but the festivals or big shows to open for have always stood out the most. Whenever you get us on a Harmonica Blowout we have a blast! We do play coffeehouses maybe once a month and really enjoy those if it is in a good listening environment. My favorite kind of gig is actually to play completely unamplified. Ironically, it seems easier to sing without a microphone.


BH: We don't play too many coffeehouses. We've been doing these shows at a place called Iva Lee's in San Clemente with James Harman that I really like. Opening for the Blind Boys of Alabama was up there on the list, and of course the Harmonica Blowouts. I like playing some of the smaller club gigs, the little theaters. Those are the venues where we can get the best sound and really bring the audience in close.


BW: Ben, how did you get into playing jug, washtub bass, and bones? It's rare you see anyone playing them anymore.


BH: I tell people it was because I had to do something to match Nathan. When I first joined up all I had was harmonicas. After awhile, with just two people, I had to come up with something else. So many of the old recordings I was listening to had all these alternative instruments. I liked the idea of making all these sounds with all this homemade stuff. I'm still trying new things with those instruments, experimenting with the tones and the way I play them. When we'd do the shows with Harman, I eventually had to switch feet with washtub bass 'cause I was standing on one foot almost the entire night. Well, by doing this I noticed that I got a little more volume and tone. Don't ask me why. I picked up the spoons from The Fremonts' singer Mighty Joe Milsap. I wanted to get kazoo in there 'cause of Hammie Nixon and Tampa Red's music. Right now I'm adding in some washboard and working on maybe working in some ukelele.


BW: Great talking to you guys. Keep up the great work and congratulations on winning the IBC!