Bobby Walker

A soulful blues wallow!

On Friday, May 27, Bobby Walker performs in the Radio Room with special guest Harry Harpoon at 7 pm. Bobby performs with an authenticity that makes his interpretations sound as fresh as if they were being recorded for the first time today.

Bobby Walker is a Detroit native, and brings world class guitar work to the songs he plays -- be they slide-filled acoustic roots tunes, country blues, soul blues, or gotta-dance-rockin' blues. His voice has been cured by thousands of miles, some good whiskey, and years of sharing the stage with luminaries like Merle Haggard, Elvin Bishop and Roy Buchanan. Add to that his masterful drumming, blues harmonica and keyboard.

Bobby was a founding member of the Tel-Rays with Jinx Jones. His latest release, WAY BACK WHEN, is a celebration of some great old songs Bobby grew up with. Bobby tours extensively in the U.S. and just returned from an extensive European tour.

"In his whiskey-soaked rasp, you can hear the miles he’s traveled.... Whatever 'it' is, Walker’s already got it." -- WESTWORD

"Bobby Walker digs into the soulful side of blues with a gritty voice suited well to the gospel ('Turn me Around'), deep blues ('Mean Old World') and funky tracks ('Good Morning Little School Girl') on GIT IT." -- BLUES REVIEW MAGAZINE

Harry Harpoon joins Bobby on harmonica, slide guitar and vocals. Bobby once told Harry Harpoon, "You just like to wallow in it, man. You start in playing and it’s just one big blues wallow. You’re a real blues hog." Born and bred in East L.A., Harry Harpoon began playing harmonica at age three because "it was the only instrument Grandpa didn’t play." His folks weren’t crazy about their eldest becoming a musician. "Mom had this idea about me learning to be a draftsman." But they did give him The Beatles’ WHITE ALBUM one Christmas. "The only song I liked was ‘Revolution,’ which turned out to be an Elmore James lick -- but at the time I didn’t know who Elmore James was." The only other record Harry owned was a Jimmy Reed album (obtained in an illicit manner). "The girls loved Jimmy Reed and I wanted to get close to the girls. I didn’t even know who Jimmy was or what that music was, but I knew I liked it." It was his first love -- harp -- that lured Harry to the stage. Then he saw this blind guy playing bottleneck and liked the way it sounded so he taught himself slide guitar.

Harry also shared a stage with many other blues greats as well as folk luminaries, including Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Margie Evans, Utah Phillips and Robert Cray. In Nevada, Harpoon opened for touring musicians like George Thorogood. RED'S BLUES, a CD recorded in one take at the Grammy Studio, features Harry and Bobby Walker as they appear live -- playing side-by-side with no over-dubbing, but creating a gut-bucket sound "that’s a lot of racket for two guys."

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