Joe Price working his National steel guitar at the Mill in Iowa City | Photo by Julie Staub | http://www.juliestaubphoto.com
If the moderate temperatures have you thinking about a Friday night out, drive over to Newport and catch blues aficionado and guitar master Joe Price.
On tour from his home in Iowa, Price picked up his first guitar at the age of nine, when his brother handed his over on the way out the door to join the military. Price then had the fortune to meet John Lee Hooker’s cousin, Earl Hooker, who was living in Waterloo at the time.
Hooker, a noted slide guitar player, inspired Price, and following Hooker’s advice, Joe went home and sawed off the handlebar on his neighbor’s bike to use as a slide. Price has been slinging gut bucket Delta blues ever since.
Price’s gritty voice and finger-picking style is reminiscent of the original country blues. His axe of choice is a National Resophonic guitar. These steel babies are several times louder than wood-bodied guitars and Price drives his to the edge, while stomping his feet to emphasize the beat.
[Joe Price visits the Eastwood Guitar player lounge]
Joe and Vicki Price hitting their stride | Photo by Julie Staub | http://www.juliestaubphoto.com
His primary influences are Elmore James, Mississippi John Hurt, Django Reinhardt and Memphis Minnie. Price has shared the stage with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, KoKo Taylor, Clifton Chenier, Charles Brown, James Cotton, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee.
Price is in Iowa’s Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and Blues Hall of Fame, and was a finalist in the 2006 International Blues Challenge.
Here is a bluesman who truly enjoys his work | Photo by Julie Staub | http://www.juliestaubphoto.com
He tours with his guitar-toting wife of 25 years, Vicki Price, who adds a sultry undercurrent to her husband’s firebrand blues, and pretties up his chops.
Price’s 2009 CD, “Rain or Shine,” won the Independent Music Award’s best blues CD in 2010.
Come check out a pair of true originals, Joe and Vicki Price, as they play their unique brand of heartland blues tonight at the Southgate House in Newport, KY.
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111 E. 6th Street, Newport, KY
859-431-2201
Doors @ 8:00 p.m.; set begins @ 9:00 in the lounge; 21+; free of charge
Urban Llama 