Bluesfest July 13: Etta James

This is a day that I looked forward to, was stressed out by and then accepted my fate. We were under the impression that Etta James was carrying full production, so we thought we’d be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. They were carrying nothing. Not even a drummer. That morning, the regular drummer, Etta’s son, was denied entry at the border. So, instead of blowing out the show, calls were made and one Ross Murray was hired to play for the night. He showed up for soundcheck at 2pm, only to find out the band wasn’t checking. He took a couple cd’s, sat in his car, and charted songs for the rest of the day.

 

For the rest of us it all of a sudden meant we had to take care of a living legend. That’s no small feat on the best of days. We set up as best we could with the provided information and started the show. The second performer was John Lee Hooker Jr., no slouch himself. The son of another legend, he knew his stuff. He stood with me while his band played an opening instrumental song, listening to the mixes and just rocking out. It was pretty wild. He put on a great show and was a pleasure to work with, and the guys in his band were great. It’s always nice to get thanked after the show.

 

After another act, it was time for Etta James. Her band members came in one at a time, set up their worlds and talked to me about their mixes and we got them dialed in. What I found out really quickly was that I had nothing to worry about. They were all seasoned pros and very cool, down to earth people. So after going through the motions for a few minutes, the show begins. Without the star. Etta had not even shown up yet and the band was playing.

 

Being the pros they are, this was all carefully arranged. By the time they were finishing the first song, a big white tour bus pulled in behind the stage and out comes Etta James and she walks right on stage and gets right into it. One request for a bit more vocal and the rest of the night was incredible. For most of the show, I had John Lee Hooker Jr. sitting right by me. How often do you get to mix a living legend with the son of another in your company? I have been fortunate to have some pretty extraordinary experiences because of my job. I don’t mind being broke once in a while if I get to have stories like that.