It’s another stellar episode of Time Signatures with Jim Ervin as Erv welcomes renowned guitarist and soulful storyteller, JP Soars. JP recently joined forces with acclaimed violinist, vocalist and songwriter, Anne Harris. Together, the two have collaborated to produce “Gypsy Blue Revue”, a 9 track masterpiece, which drops this Friday the 29th EVERYWHERE. The album flows seamlessly between Blues, Soul and even some Gypsy jazz music, featuring JP’s skillful guitar licks and Anne’s mastery on fiddle and mandolin. If you are looking for a fun album, you are going to love this one.

Website: https://jpsoars.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jpsoars

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/36CFNLLjVZDOv1NLW7RFaV?si=SZpbseRbQKqHV6NPv4OTMQ

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JPSoarsGuitar

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This is Time Signatures with Jim Ervin, a podcast and radio program presented by the Capital Area Blues Society in Lansing, Michigan. Most any contemporary musical style can trace its roots back to the blues. Time Signatures explores the blues and its musical connections with captivating interviews, lively discussions, and news from the world of the blues. And now, here he is, your host, Jim Ervin.

Well, hi there my friends and welcome and thank you, Parker. I'm Jim Ervin and this is Time Signatures.

It seems about once a week I get information on some new music coming out and some truly generate more excitement among the masses than others. My guest today as part of an incredible duo, one of which I've already been able to see play on tour not that long ago with Kev Mo and Taj Mahal.

He has also received several BMA nominations along the way. And his albums have also landed on the Billboard Blues top 10, earning Little Stevens Underground Garage recognition.

Finally, he has garnered the Blues Blast Awards, including Best Blues Band of the Year.

His new album, which we are going to be talking about here momentarily, is called Gypsy Blue Review and it drops this Friday, just a couple of days from now, May 29th. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to welcome JP Source to Time Signatures. Welcome, sir. How are you?

I'm doing great, Jim. Thanks for having me, man.

It is indeed an honor. And as I told you before we started recording, any friend of Anne Harris is a friend of mine. I love her to pieces and I can't wait to dive into this.

But the way things work around here, JP is we have to chat just a little bit. I like to get a couple of stories along the way and I would love to start with your journey in music. Where did that begin for you?

Well, I was always drawn to it. My dad played guitar, you know, and just for fun, you know, around the house, not professionally.

And there was always music playing in our household, whether it was being played on the radio or eight track tape back in the day or, or my, or my dad, you know, sitting around jamming and stuff, you know, with his friends.

They'd have parties and stuff and you know, his buddies would come over and they'd jam and everyone was just laughing and joking and having a good time. And I think that's one of the first things that drew me into it for sure.

Very cool. Now, were there any musicians or bands that you listened to a lot when you were a kid that you just had to hear over and over again.

Yeah, When I was four years old, my parents brought home a KISS record. Kiss Love Gun. Yeah. And I had that record for like three months before I ever even heard it.

I just sit and looked at it and was like, man, this looks really cool. Like, I bet this is going to be awesome. And my uncle moved in with us a few months later and he had a record player.

So I actually got to, I hear it and I put, put the needle on there. Oh my God, this is amazing.

You know, but even before that, like I remember being a kid and like I remember the Paul McCartney song Uncle Albert used to come on the radio all the time. And I loved that song as a little kid.

I was like three or four years old and I just, whenever the, I think it was the, the little trumpet part that came in that just. Yeah, every time it still does, man, when I, when I hear that song, it brings me back.

You know, I can remember being in my grandparents car and hearing that on the radio and just brings me right back to that.

You and I have got to be pretty close in age. How old are you, I gotta ask?

I'm 57.

Yeah, see, I'll be 61 as a matter of fact. But yeah, a lot of memories. And it's funny how some of those songs have the tendency to drag you right back to that moment in time.

Isn't that something?

It really is amazing. Yeah, it's powerful. You know, it's like, it's like your sense of smell.

You know, you can hit, you can smell a certain smell and like it'll bring you right back to that certain time or place. Yes, sir. Yeah.

Yes, sir. Now at the age of 18, you met B.B. King backstage after a concert. How did that moment affect your appreciation for the blues?

And how did that meeting change the trajectory of your life?

Well, it really, that was the first time that I get to, you know, hear real blues. I mean, I've heard Jimi Hendrix, I heard CZ Top. I heard, sure, you know, a few other things.

You know, Beatles had some, some blues influence in there. When I hear it now, I'm listen, I hear it, I go, wow. They were, they must have been listening to, you know, to some of this stuff.

But I think, you know, that that changed my life for sure. I mean, I went to that concert, it was a, I won a guitar and a raffle, right?

Oh, wow.

And two tickets to go see B.B. King and I just put my name in a raffle. One day, forgot all about it.

About a week later, I came home and my mom said this radio station call, and you won two tickets to go see BB and, you know, and this autograph, you know, have him autograph this, this Gibson guitar and stuff. So there's got to be some catch to this. There's no way they're just going to give me this guitar and these two tickets to see B.B. King.

So I called the radio station, I said, you know, go down to the music store and show them your ID. So I went down there, showed him my ID lady, brought out the guitar, handed me the two tickets to see B.B. King, and my. I just couldn't believe it's.

About a week later, my dad and I went and seen. Seen BB King front row, center stage at Carefree Theater in West Palm Beach.

But, but I have to ask you, J.P. because I've heard so many great stories and I missed an opportunity. Anybody that watches this show has heard me tell this story before. My mother, for her birthday one year, rest her soul, she wanted to go and see him.

And so I bought tickets for her and a friend to go see B.B. King. And she said, well, don't you want to go see him with me? And I said, you know, Mom, I'm working. I, I'll go next time.

Well, there wasn't a next time.

And she came home with so many great stories, and I imagine if she would have asked, she probably could have gone through the line to meet him, because I heard that no matter how many people, he'd sit there and greet them all.

Yep.

And, but I, I have to ask you, man, what did he say to you when you, when you were back there?

Well, he, he, he, like I said, when he looked at the guitar, he said, you know, I, you know, you sure you want me to sign this thing?

But one of the things I remember, he, he told me this little story about how, you know, when he was, when he was young, you know, and just starting out playing and stuff, and working in the cotton fields and stuff, how he would.

He would some sometimes skip work, stay home and play the guitar because he loved the guitar so much, you know, and, and in hindsight, I think that was almost. He told me that story for a reason, I think.

You know, I'd like you to talk about your early work in music. As you started taking off and building your, your repertoire and getting things going. What pathways did you explore along the way?

And has it always been blues music for you?

No, no, I mean, like I said, I, you know, I met B.B. King and won that guitar when I was 18. And I'm a self taught musician.

I've learned from playing with people and, and watching folks and learning a little something from everybody I play with and come in contact with. It's a musician usually, but you know, at the time, But I seen B.B.

King, I was, I was kind of into some, you know, I was into some heavy metal stuff, you know, and Metallica and real super heavy stuff. And I had a band and my friends and I were playing that kind of stuff.

So I, I did that for years, but at the same time I was doing that, I was still listening to, you know, B.B. King and Albert King and discovering all this, this blues as well and going to open jams and things like that, you know.

So the whole time I was playing that stuff, I was, you know, trying to figure out how to play blues and watch people and Larson and you know, first few times I went to an open jam, I didn't even sit in because I didn't know what the hell I was doing. You know, sometimes I still don't feel like I know what the hell I'm doing.

But yeah, it's, it's still a learning experience, you know, the more I load, the more I learn and know, the less I feel like I know, you know, it's just, it's never ending, you know.

Now I'm reading from your bio information that accompanied this album and it states, JP Soares has spent over two decades building his reputation the way roots music was meant to be built. On stage, night after night, delivering a high energy blend of American blues and beyond.

You have been called a fiery guitarist, a soulful singer and an inventive writer. That's pretty high praise so far, don't you think?

Yeah, it's awesome. Yeah, it's pretty, it's, it's, it's nice to hear that.

Got to make you feel good, right?

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

It was on the legendary Rhythm and blues cruise and she was playing with Otis Taylor. And at the time, yeah, at the time my friend Todd was playing bass in the Band. And my friend Sean Starshee was playing guitar with Otis.

And so, you know, we would cross paths again on, you know, on festivals and stuff like that, where she'd be playing with. With Otis or she'd be doing. Playing with Marcus James, who she has a band, Halo Rider with now, which is really awesome stuff.

But so we would cross paths on these festivals and, you know, the rhythm and blues cruise, things like that. And a lot of times, you know, I said, you know, I'm gonna sit in with this and stuff.

You know, I was on there a few times with Southern hospitality and she would, she would always come and sit in, right?

We played maybe two songs and then she came up and played the whole rest of this set with us. You know, the show.

Oh, how cool.

And it was just magical and people were going nuts, man. I could feel like, you know, this elevated us to a whole nother level. You know, I usually play with the trio myself and drummer, bass player, right?

And who I've had in the band for a long time, Chris, the drummer, we've been playing together for 20 years now. And the bass player, Cleveland, he's been in the band for. In September will be 10 years. So it's a tight, tight little unit.

But she sat in with us at that, at the Blues Bender on that one set and played the whole set with us. And when we, When I, when I finished, I said, my man, there's something special here going on.

So I got home a couple few days later, after I got home, I called Anne, said, Anne, you know, are you. I'm still, you know, I'm still freaking, you know, vibing and feeling great.

From the, from the blues Bender, you know, from that set we did, and folks are talking about it and I've seen some of the videos and it's just really great. What do you think about doing a project, you know, and take this band on the road, this situation and that. That's how it started.

And I have to tell you, for anybody who has not seen and play that girl is just power packed. I mean, from the beginning of the set to the end. I got to see her with Tajmo when they were doing their Front Porch Tour.

One of the cool parts of that night was not just seeing the, the legendary Taj Mahal and Keb Mo playing. I have never seen somebody do such a deep back bend as what Ann does when she gets going when she's playing.

And I know you know what I'm talking about.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah.

She is so much fun to watch. But I'm going to turn the page again. Your new album is called Gypsy Blue Review.

And from the notes that I was reading, this was tracked really kind of in an old school way, wasn't it?

Yeah, we didn't use, you know, I mean we, you know, we multi tracked it and stuff, but we didn't use it. We didn't use a quick track or anything like that. And we were all, we were all playing together.

You know, 90 of what you hear there was, was all played together. You know, I did in the same room. Yeah, yeah, I did minimal overdubs and stuff. Like, you know, we recorded in Ohio up in Cad, Ohio.

And it, it, it Tony's Treasure Studios, it's called. Right.

Okay.

So we basically we, we took us about two days to, to do that, you know, the bulk of the recording and then recorded it there.

And then I brought it back down here to Florida and that's where I did a few little overdubs, you know, maybe add acoustic guitar here or something like that. And I, and I did the vocals.

I, I, some of the songs, a couple of the songs we recorded, I, I didn't have the lyrics completed yet and stuff when we're up there, so I, you know, I had to finish up some of the lyrics.

So when I got down here to Florida, I, you know, recorded the vocals here and just minimal overdub, maybe acoustic guitar here, know a little shaker or tambourine here or something like that.

But yeah, yeah, so it was recorded very organically and a lot of the stuff, I'd say at least half of that record, we had been playing those songs together as a unit for quite some time now. So a lot of that stuff was the, was the very first take.

Yeah, when I, when I hear, yeah, the style and the method that you recorded, it reminds me my, my mind hearkens back to conversations I had with GA20, also conversations we had about the Black Keys where they did very similar stuff. How does this approach to recording an album affect the final product Ultimately. And would you agree with me that this seems to be.

I guess it's becoming more of a. A regular thing that you're seeing in recordings these days. More bands are doing it.

I mean, there's a. There's some folks out there doing it, and they. And there's some folks have been doing it for. For quite a while like that.

You know, I mean, I remember Junior Watson put out this record like, over 10 years ago. And it's the same, you know, everyone playing the same room together and, you know, live and everything. And what I. What I think it does is it.

And I love the fact that folks are doing that. It's great. I think it just. It gives it this more organic, human feel to it. You know, it's. It definitely, you know. Yeah, maybe the tempos.

You know, if you put it on the. You know, if you. If you put.

Put the song on at the very beginning of the song and you could, you know, fast forward it to the end of the song, you might notice that. Whoa. It's a little faster at the end than it was when it started out.

But some of my favorite records and song and stuff that I listen to are like that, you know, so my. This. Some of the old Miles Davis stuff. You hear it and you go. And then you. By the time they get to the end, it's like, man, they're hauling ass.

You know, they. Way faster than they started. But that's. That's human beings. That's. That gives it an organic, you know.

Thank you.

Yeah, I think that definitely talk about.

Having Ann in the studio with you, jp, because as I listened to this again, you. You referred to that vibe from being at the Blues Bender. It was very evident on this album. It just has a real natural flow to it. Am I right?

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, it was. I mean, it's a breeze working in the studio with Anne. She, you know, she actually had a. This.

I don't know if she talked to you about it when you spoke to her a while ago, but she had. She's had this new violin that she's playing that was. That she had commissioned, and it was made by a black woman. Made the file for her.

So it's first time that something that's, you know, and. And that violin sounds amazing. It sounds great. It records great. Like, I remember even, you know, my.

When I brought it back down here, the engineer that I worked with, Jeremy, you know, he was saying how amazing that violin sounded and that fiddle sounded. And we recorded, you know, Ann in the past with her with her other one that she's had for years.

And it sounds amazing, too, but Jeremy was like, this sounds. Sounds great. It was a breeze. I mean, and, you know, she. She learns a lot of the stuff that. That I'm playing.

Like there's a song on there called Go with the Flow. And it, you know, like I say, it's got some intricate parts or something, but it's got some, you know, stuff that's kind of difficult to play.

And she plays it note for note with me. It's. It's amazing. And, you know, she'll hear something one time and play it right back, you know, just like she heard it.

She has an amazing ear, and her feel, you know, just her sense of feel and her rhyth sense and stuff is. Is amazing.

After having a bit of time to review this album in preparation for our chat today, I have to tell you, honestly, and I'm not saying this because you're here, this is a winner period. From start to beginning, from the first cut to the last. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now, I do have a few favorite tracks, and I'll tell you what they are. Jesse May kind of catches you right out of the box.

Yeah.

Viper, which is a revisit from an earlier release, I noticed that kind of caught me off guard. And then going to Carolina and Cigar Box Jam, those are my favorites of that album. And I got to tell you, it's just so much fun.

But my question is, how about you? Do you have any favorites along the way when you were putting this together?

Well, I. I definitely like the Jessie Mae tune. You know, that song came. Came about at a. In a very organic way as well. Not only the recording of it, but the way the song happened. Right.

I didn't write those lyrics. Those lyrics were written. Written by Reverend Billy C. Ws, if you're familiar with Reverend Billy C. Words P. Player, you know, been around forever.

And so he. Sometimes he does interviews for. For, you know, different publications, one of them being Blues Blast magazine.

So April of last year, he did this interview with me, stuff, you know, for Blues Blast magazine. And during the course of the interview, he asked me, what are your influences and stuff? You know? Well, a lot of times it's.

It's folks I meet, you know, people I jam with, like Terry Hank is a huge influence on me. I played with Terry for many years.

Right on.

Yeah, Terry's awesome, man. He's. He's a. He's been kind of a mentor to me over the years. Turned me on to lots of Cool music.

She was living up in Senatobia, Mississippi, a little trailer, and friend of mine and I went up there to give her this guitar that Gibson had donated to her for her birthday. It was a do, bro, right? So, and I. We drove up there and I got to spend, like, five days at her. At her house. So I'm telling.

Just like I'm telling you now. I'm telling. I'm telling Billy C. Words. Reverend Billy C. Words, this story.

And one of the things that I couldn't leave out during, you know, during that time there was. It was. I'd been there for about three days and just hanging out with Jesse May and stuff with. With everybody else that was there.

You know, my friend and another friend who.

Who came up there with us and this other gentleman who was a guitar player who was kind of staying there, taken after a little bit because she had had a stroke. She was in a. You know, she was in a little wheelchair. Albaround wheelchair thing, right? So there was one day where we're sitting there, just the.

Just the two of us, just Jessie May Hemple and I, and the other folks had went to the store to get something. So it's just me and her sitting there, right?

She had this little dog, little dog called Sweet Pea that would sit in her lap the whole entire time we were there, pretty much.

So her and I are sitting there, and all of a sudden she reaches in the side of her wheelchair, this little satchel thing that was on the side of it, and pulls out a little Derringer and then held in her hand, and she goes, you see that? She goes, I'll shoot a man in a minute. And I was like, well, damn. I'm sure. I'm sure, you know, Ms. Jesse, I'm sure you will.

And so I'm telling Billy this story, you know, and he's like. And he's like, dude. He goes, that's a. That's a song, man. He goes, that, you know, you need to turn that into a song.

So a couple days later, he starts sending me lyrics, you know, and stuff about. About, you know, and. And that's how the. That's how the song came about. You know, the. The last. The last verses.

You know, she could tell a Story knew how to spin it Held a gun in her hand Shoot a man in a minute Little sweet pea sitting in her lap Two bedroom trailer mother now by the railroad tracks I mean it's like this. It. That's where the lyrics came from was me telling him that story. So that's one of my favorite.

Just be simply because of the, you know, the way it came about.

Well, that's a great story. And I mean you got a chance to spend five days with her too. I mean.

Yeah, it was amazing.

Yeah.

And the, the gentleman that was taking care of her kind of up there, he's guitar player as well, he knew a bunch of her songs and stuff and he knew the open tunings that she used and he showed me a couple little things like main thing being the picking method that she used. Right. And this is what she's doing. These are the tuning.

So for like the next year after that meeting of her, I sit around and I just learned as much of her stuff as I possibly could. Just playing along to her records and stuff and, and that had a. A big influence on me.

I wanted to ask you about Viper because as I said it was one. It was on one of your earlier albums. What caused you to. To bring that back and, and do a fresh recording with it?

Well, that's one of the tunes that you know, we, we play with Anne and stuff. Okay. And it has kind of that Gypsy esque sound.

Little jaunty. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, in the original version I did, I used acoustic guitar. I was really trying to do that, you know, Django Reinhardt thing like, you know, something like that. But you know, it's.

The tune has kind of evolved over the years, especially playing it with an and stuff. And you know, that's one of the main reasons I decided to re record it. I was like, you know, let's. Let's do this song again. Because it's just.

It has this whole different vibe and different sound with Ann and it's just so cool, you know. And that was one we'd been playing for a while. So that was like, you know, a no brainer in the studio.

That was another one of those first tape once where it was like, that's it. That's not. I can't do it any better than I just did it. Let's save that one.

Right.

And I wanted to. I'm really glad you. I really, I want to mention. I'm really glad that you dig the cigar box jam thing at the end.

I know that's like 18 minutes long, you know, and it is. I've been hesitant to record it, you know, because it's, it's 18 minutes long and it's an instrumental. And.

But, but the main reason I did record is because, you know, after the shows, we usually end our show with that. You know, that's like the grand finale thing.

No kidding. Okay.

Everybody always asks, you know, you know, do you have that on recording? You know, is that recorded? I'm like, no, we don't. You know, I'm sorry, we don't.

So that's the main reason I recorded it because at the demand from the fans, they wanted to hear that.

So, jp, are any plans for a tour to support this new project?

Yeah, well, we're actually, I know this is being recorded, you know, prior to the release date, but we're actually hitting the road next week. We're going up to the Northeast. Okay, let's see. We're playing Lima, New York. We're playing Norwood. Norwood, Mass.

We're playing, uh, Plymouth, Massachusetts. We're playing Rockland, Maine, Delaware. St. George's Delaware. And then we got. In June, we're going to be in Utah playing the Utah Blues Festival.

And that's where we're really going to push it. And I should have the, the vinyl by then as well, so. Oh, man. Yeah.

Oh, hopefully we can get you into the Michigan close to something.

It seems like a lot of the, a lot of the big touring bands miss or they'll, they'll skirt through and catch Southern Michigan and, and catch a little bit.

So I love missing, man. We, we played Marquette. We played the Marquette Blues Festival.

Oh, yeah.

A few years back and that was awesome. That's actually where the picture on the album, on the back of the record, the picture we used on there came from that festival, Marquette.

Where can we send people to learn more about you? Maybe to buy some CDs or merch and especially this new album which drops on Friday. Or to book you for a gig,.

You can go to my website, jpsores.com you can find the booking agency there and you can also order the album there. And you can go to 40 below records.

JP Soares, I want to thank you so much, sir. I appreciate the time you've taken today to join me on Time Signatures. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Jim. I appreciate it, man.

And that wraps up this edition of Time Signatures. Once again, my thanks to our guest JP Soares, but also to you. For without you, none of this would be possible.

Jim Ervin reminding you, keeping the blues alive is everyone's responsibility. But preserving the history of the blues, one story at a time, that's my mission. Until next time. So long, everybody.

This has been Time Signatures with Jim Ervin, presented by the Capital Area Blues Society in Lansing, Michigan. For more information on CABS, visit CapitalAreaBlues.org. You can find this episode and past episodes at LCCconnect.org. The Time Signature's theme song, Michigan Roads, is used by permission and was written by Root Doctor featuring Freddie Cunningham. Until next time, keep on keeping the blues alive.