Marcia Ball brings Grammy-nominated blues to Phil Brady’s

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By Jason Andreasen

This Saturday night, Sept. 29, Phil Brady’s on Government Street will be knee-deep in rocking piano and down-home soul when Grammy-nominated blues pianist Marcia Ball takes the stage during her nation-wide tour. Ball is on the road in support of her award-winning 2005 release, Live! Down the Road, which is the first live recording of her over 30-year career.

Though most refer to Ball’s music as simply “the blues,” she stated that she tends to think of it more as “Gulf Coast R&B.”

“I take a lot from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, as well as a lot from players like Gatemouth Brown and Albert Collins,” Ball explained.

Ball did not always classify her work that way, though. During her stint as an LSU Tiger in the late ‘60s, Ball played with a psychedelic rock band.

“We used to play a lot in the clubs on Nicholson and Highland,” Ball reminisced. “We played at The Speakeasy, the Colonel’s Club and a hippie joint called The Green Turtle,”

However, by 1970, Ball had decided to try and make it in San Francisco.

One small problem: Ball’s car broke down in Austin.

The singer-songwriter looked around the city while her car was being repaired and fell in love. “It’s very liberal compared to the rest of Texas and the rest of the South,” Ball explained. “That’s what I love about Austin.”

Her love for Austin has not gone unrequited. She made a name for herself playing in and around Austin, bringing her brand of foot-stomping, piano-pounding blues to the dives and bars of Texas’ capital city. In 1990, she was honored by being inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame. To this day, Ball still lovingly calls Austin home.

She stated that she still contemplates what might have been had her car not broken down in Austin.

“The band I was in before had two guitarists. One moved to San Francisco and one went to Austin. Had I ended up in San Francisco, I probably would have hooked up with him again,” Ball imagined. “Then again, I think I would’ve ended up playing this type of music no matter what.”

The album, Live! Down the Road, for which Ball has received numerous accolades and awards (among them, being named the number one blues CD of 2005), was recorded at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, California.

“They built a beautiful performance area there,” Ball told me. “They suggested I come out as part of their live series that often runs on television, so I did, and we recorded it.”

Alligator Records released the album, even though record companies, as Ball explains, “don’t really see live records as great sellers.”

However, as she proudly stated, “It’s rare to capture the energy of one of my live shows into a studio recording, since they are very high-energy.”

Ball, who has been called the Queen of the boogie piano, has relished her opportunities during her illustrious career, working with the likes of blues great Irma Thomas. However, she lists Eric Clapton as the top performer she’d like to work with.

“Yeah, to share the stage with Eric would be really neat,” she said innocently.

“On the new album, I’m working on a lot of feeling and emotion-driven stuff as well as some topical songs,” Ball responded when asked if she’ll be playing anything off of her upcoming album at the show at Phil Brady’s. “As for what to look out for, there’s a great feel-good track called ‘Watermelon Time’ and the post-Katrina-themed, ‘Where Do You Go When You Can’t Go Home’.”

For more information about the show, check out Phil Brady’s Web site, PhilBradys.org. The show starts at 9:00 p.m. and tickets are $25. You can also take a look at Marcia Ball’s Web site MarciaBall.com, which has her tour dates as well as song clips for preview.

E-mail the author at JasonAndreasen@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 581 - September 26, 2007

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