Curtis Salgado Can't Be Denied

Curtis Salgado

    On the streets, one hears a good deal of talk about folks on the scene, people in the industry, musicians, but I hear more about Curtis Salgado than any other individual in the Portland Blues sector. From conversations overheard at clubs to my hairdresser; stories, rumors, gossip, perhaps. What is it about this man that causes him to be a regular topic of conversation?

    The resulting curiosity inspired me to find out about the individual. I have seen Curtis perform since becoming involved on the Blues scene, a mere half dozen years.

    So, I had some catching up to do. The informative Web site www.curtissalgado.com served as a fine starting point.

    When I mentioned the idea of writing about Curtis, the BluesNotes Editor immediately recalled that it had been 10 full years since Salgado was last featured. Typically, the most popular musicians in town are featured more frequently than that. Why the 10-year wait?

    Is it because Salgado’s music has strayed too far outside the “Blues” arena? His music has been described as an amalgam of Blues/Soul/Rock n’ Roll. Record agency Shanachie defines his take on music as “wide ranging.” “His heartfelt approach has won him starring roles as lead singer in bands led by such stars as Robert Cray and Santana. Curtis’ acutely expressive vocals confirm his status as one of America’s outstanding singers in the realm of Blues, Rock or Soul.” Blues Revue states that he “transcends easy categorization” and “throws listeners a curve ball of straight Blues.”

    If you haven’t seen a copy, there is Hometown Boy Salgado’s mug gracing the cover of the August/September Blues Revue (purely coincidental, I might add). There were a few remaining copies at Music Millennium. Seems like a good time to finally subscribe to the publication. Author, Kenneth Bays, talks with the performer about his harp playing, new songs, album production, and more. In addition to spreading the word, it’s got to be a thrill for any performer. “I’m very honored. Of course, I look at the image of myself and see Professor Irwin Corey.” (More research for me: www.irwincorey.org.)

    While Curtis has been a Northwest music legend ever since his six-year stint in Robert Cray’s band, it’s only been the past several years that national audiences have been exposed. In the burgeoning Blues scene of the early ‘70s, he joined up with Three Fingered Jack. Then there were the regional successes of Harold and the Nighthawks, which eventually morphed into the Robert Cray Band, touring heavily throughout the West. From there, Curtis left to front the respected Roomful of Blues in the mid-’80s, living for a time in both Boston and Providence during those years. The 12-piece band traveled across the U.S. in a converted Bookmobile with no windows. “I’ve suffered with the best of them,” laughs Curtis. “I was also drinking and using heavily during that period. I became resentful because I was hired to be the front man, yet bandleader, Greg Piccolo, was unable to relinquish control and was looking for an excuse to fire me. I showed up drunk one night and was fired. It was all catching up with me and I realized I had to turn my life around. Once I did, things started to click.”

    He returned to Portland and kicked off his own recording career with Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos in 1991. The band was comprised of Joey Heinemann on keyboard, Jay Koder on guitar, John Mazzocco on bass and Jeff Minnieweather on drums. Their self-titled recording with BFE Records sold 70,000 copies – not bad in the genre of Blues and R & B. Steve Miller heard the band’s sound and decided to replace Peter Frampton with the Stilettos as opening act for a full summer “shed” tour, performing for huge, outdoor stadium crowds. Curtis expressed frustration that a follow-up tour should have taken place at that time to develop the artist.

    Salgado then came through with “More Than You Can Chew” on Priority Records in 1995. Unfortunately, both labels went out of business before he could break through nationally. Priority covertly sold its catalog to Capitol Records. The more acoustic, “Hit It and Quit It,” with Terry Robb, was released in 1997.

    The Web site narrative continues: “His three albums for Shanachie (“Wiggle Outta This”, “Soul Activated”, and now, “Strong Suspicion”) combined with consistent national touring, mark the first time that Curtis has had the benefit of consistent career development with the same record company and booking agent. He’s appeared on NPR’s Mountain Stage, and has been winning long-overdue critical acclaim. Curtis Salgado is finally poised for the breakthrough that seemed to be his destiny early on. For the first time, all the pieces are in place for an artist who has paid his dues, made his mistakes, and had his share of bad breaks but has persevered.”

    Session recordings since 1976 are also listed, with over a dozen different artists. He is on Robert Cray’s debut album. In addition, he has shared the stage with names like Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

    More of what has been said on the national scene:

• “Curtis is the voice of R&B” - Blues Revue.
• “Superb Soul and Blues singer” - Washington Post.
• “Keeping the classic flame of Soul music alive” – LA Times.
• “Soulful vocals that are as much a product of his mature interpretive gift as they are a tribute to the muscular quality of his voice.” Billboard Magazine.

Curtis Salgado at the 2003 Waterfront Blues Festival.

    It was while Curtis was with the Robert Cray Band and living in Eugene that John Belushi was also in town filming National Lampoon’s Animal House. Most are familiar with the story of how Curtis served as inspiration for the actor/comedian John Belushi’s character, Jake Blues. Belushi was “mesmerized” by Curtis, who at the age of 23, was performing at a local club, according to Eugene Register-Guard newsprint dated Thursday, January 4, 1979. The actual article is visible on the web site and snapshots a near-unrecognizably young Salgado. Belushi asked Curtis to teach him all he knew about the Blues and has credited Salgado with development of the character. The Blues Brothers album, “Briefcase Full of Blues,” is dedicated to him. The R-G article places the event in the perspective that Curtis was responsible for “a major item of pop culture.” How many individuals can claim that? Who is not familiar with the Blues Brothers? Floyd Dixon’s “Hey Bartender” was one of the songs introduced to Belushi by Salgado and popularized as a result.

    I had to ask Curtis about this role: “I was a part of something that just blew up and became bigger than anyone had imagined. One of the most important results of that was one day when Floyd Dixon came up to me and said that he had received a royalty check for the song (“Hey Bartender”). He told me it was the biggest check he had ever received in his life, thanks to me. When I asked Floyd what he did with the money, he said he spent it all on the horses. Now THAT is a Blues man! He didn’t even care about the money, he gambled it all away.”

RA (Rose Allen): What do you think it takes to make it on the national scene?

CS (Curtis Salgado): “Having goals helps. Originally, I had put all my eggs in Robert Cray’s basket, I was not thinking about the Curtis Salgado Band. Had I been thinking more about the business end of things and what I needed to do to get out there, I think I would be in a different spot now. I finally realized I had to look out for myself. Now my priorities are different, it has come back very nicely for me.

“You have to make a decision of what you want to do for a living; how large a role music plays in a career. This is what I do for a living. My goal is to be a headliner, to play in theaters and as a main attraction at Blues festivals. Most local bands just play within the region; either way is great, whatever works for the individual. You just have to decide how bad you want it.

“It’s tough. You have to work to build up a fan base. Putting a record on the radio is a dream, especially now. You can’t sit around and wait for it to happen. You have to build it on a grass roots level. You head out on the road and make it grow and grow by playing until you can’t be denied. It’s become an intense world; people want to be entertained and you’ve got to deliver the goods.”

    Salgado says, “I saw Paul deLay when we were both teenagers. I realized you had to have your own individual stamp or voice. Paul is an artist who brought that to light for me. Kim Wilson is another fine harp talent, as is Rick Estrin – a great songwriter and harp player. Songwriting is another area where local artists can succeed and flourish if you don’t want to hit the road. It’s where the money is at, and we’ve got some real talent here.”

    On the March morning of Curtis’ “Strong Suspicion” CD release party, he had a radio interview with Les Sarnoff of KINK radio’s morning show. In reference to his career, Curtis responded with: “This is the only thing I know how to do. It’s in our blood. It’s either this or hard labor and it turns out that this is hard labor anyway,” Curtis semi-jests. He touched on the difficulties of the profession, particularly being on the road: the potholes, strip malls, the same gas station junk food, etc.

    Salgado’s singing ability was recognized at an early age when he came home from kindergarten with a note pinned to his shirt from his teacher saying that he could sing. I was curious if his powerful voice has changed much over the years of performing. “I think the drug abuse permanently took my voice down a couple notes, close to half an octave; I had more falsetto. It’s always been strong though. With time and experience, I have learned to phrase and breathe more effectively.”

RA: With all the incredible experiences you have garnered so far, is there some specific highlight for you?

CS: “Having been a part of the local scene, just getting together and performing with friends here in town is great fun. Meeting Cab Calloway, being on stage with Prince, those were both thrills. Also, we had this house in Eugene in the 80s where friends would come over and hang.

"One night R. L. Burnside was in town. He came over and played most of the night; we had this private concert, which was very cool. Of course the Belushi thing, touring with Steve Miller, too many stories to remember.”

RA: You mention reading as inspiration for songwriting, rather than waiting for it to happen. What do you read?

Curtis Salgado on the cover of the August/September Blues Revue

CS: “Biographies and autobiographies of innovators; history and anything else that follows suit, old westerns. I like to pick up catch phrases in poetry, the Bible, the newspaper, quotes from people. You can pick up something from just about anything. Or just listen to people, there are some real characters out there. Son House said ‘The Blues ain't about nothing but a relationship between a man and a woman.’ Just about life and its little ironies; songs about hope, ‘real’ songs, and there are always opportunities for fun songs. You can’t have the good without the bad. I like to reach out and have people relate. It’s a connecting on the same wavelength with people. My lyrics are usually a collaboration of efforts. Other people hear things differently and it offers a broader perspective. You want people to be able to project themselves into your song or story. My music is a combination of everything I hear.

“The Blues has become watered down because the originators of this form are gone, along with the fact that mostly they lived an extremely difficult lifestyle. We have these little bits of Blues in our everyday lives to work with. Nobody owns the market on suffering. The music helps take you out of the situation, a form of medication.

“I’m worried about the future of Blues music; that the Blues is going away. People need to be open-minded; it’s the same omelet, just scrambled differently. People need to embrace the new and the old. You can’t just stick with the old, but need the future of the music itself.

“I’m a huge Blues fan; Blues is an infusion; it’s what it’s framed around. There has been brainwashing as to its definition and fitting into a format. In my opinion, the more low down and rotten the better. I also get the same thrill from George Clinton and P-Funk, or Bill Monroe, it’s the Holy Grail of pop music. I also like to perform other styles of music. You can’t have a steady diet of one thing, even the early Blues masters did that. They enjoyed and sometimes performed other styles of music. Why would you stick with one? You would be stifling yourself.

“Categorizing has hurt the business; people don’t know where to put you. There’s often quite a bit of money involved in the process of having your music played. Record labels are less interested in developing an artist or putting money behind you to get you on the radio. You have to develop yourself, you have to stay in their face with recordings and tours or they loose interest. I’m taking that risk. There is a real over-saturation of the music business and talent. Technology has become both a hindrance as well as help. You don’t need studios anymore. Recordings have become glorified calling cards.”

    On that very subject, Blues Revue quotes Alligator Records president, Bruce Iglauer: “Part of the problem is that so many artists who aren’t ready to have a full hour of their music heard are cutting CDs,” he points out frankly. “This goes not only for the local/regional bands who don’t have much original to say, but also for some veterans who have already made their best records.”

    The Curtis Salgado Band is currently comprised of Jacob Wolf on guitar, the familiar Don Worth on drums, Willy Barber on bass and the freshest face, Brian Ward on keyboards. Karl Lazdins serves as tour/production manager. Curtis has the ability to deliver a powerful live show and typically packs local clubs on the occasions when he is in town performing. Here is a man with enough talent to be able to continue this profession as long as he desires.
Recent Thursday evening performances with Curtis Salgado and the incredible, Alan Hagar, at the Cascade Bar & Grill on Mill Plain in Vancouver have been a real treat - just two talented artists “winging it” to a most appreciative crowd. On those evenings, Curtis headlines a song about gossip, a Sonny Boy Williamson tune, “Don’t Start Me Talkin’,” which leads back to my original motivation for writing the feature.

    I wondered if Salgado was aware of the talk about him. His reply: “They say any attention is better than no attention at all! Is it good or bad? I’ve acquired a certain amount of success and it comes with the territory. If it’s good talk, that’s great. As far as the negative stuff, human nature leans toward the Crab Pot Theory, where one crab attempts to crawl out of the pot and the others cling on to pull it back down. And, it’s not just in this community. Whether in reference to me or not, it’s unproductive for everybody and better for the whole for someone to succeed. I would like to see anybody get there. I ignore the bad stuff because most people don’t even really know me. Musicians should be celebrating each other’s victories.”

    In reference to the music profession, Chris Kreiser, Blues Revue Editor, states in the issue that it is “not a career path for the faint of heart.”

    It’s certainly not.

– Rose Allen

© 2004 Cascade Blues Association