Interview: David Rotundo.
Date: Friday, 25 July 2008.
Location: Queen street, Toronto, Canada.
Report: Gerda van Eldik
Pictures: Ger. van Eldik

My husband Ger and I visit our family in Canada every second year. This year there was also a visit to the USA on our schedule. We had an exceptional holiday and did also meet some artists. I did an interview with two of them. The first one is with David Rotundo, a Canadian blues harp player. I met David thanks to my nephew Matt, who lives in Toronto. Two years ago he gave me the CD ‘Blowin’ For Broke’ and that record made a great impression on me.

This year we visited Matt and his girlfriend Sandra again. During our visit there was also the Jazz Beach Queen street Festival in Toronto and David was performing there. This was our big chance to see him live and it’s was worth it. After his successful performance I had the chance to chat with him and he agreed to do this interview.

Where and when were you born?

I was born in Toronto Canada, surrounded by an eclectic mix of nationalities and cultures which still inspire me today. I was born on December 21, 1970.

How was your childhood period?

My childhood was a very memorable one mainly because of my loving and supportive parents and family.

Was it your dream to become an artist?

I always saw myself as some what of an "artist". I used to do a lot of drawings and spent my childhood doing a lot of art work which was inspired by my surroundings. Music, on the other hand, always played a big part in my life however I wasn't playing any instruments just listening and absorbing many different types of music.

Why did you choose the blues and who are your sources for inspiration?

I didn't choose the Blues... It chose me. I was born on Classic Rock like Zeppelin, The Doors, Hendrix... all those well know bands that many adolescents from my generation start off listening to. Inevitably, it got to a point where I wondered where they got their inspiration from and I was led to the Blues. One of my first records was Muddy and the Wolf and it had a great effect on me; I loved the sound immediately. The music made me want to dance, laugh, cry and even scared me at times. I felt that it was just so deep rooted, truthful and unpretentious that I instantly fell in LOVE with it. Even though this new music evoked all these strange and brilliant feeling within me, I never thought about playing it until I went to see James Cotton. When I walked into that dimly lit smoked filled bar I didn't that my whole life would change. That night was a magical night for me, and I always reflect back on it like it was yesterday. When I heard Cotton play the harmonica that night, I knew that I had to buy this instrument the next day. I also distinctly remember looking at the person standing beside me at the show and blurting out, above the music, "he's talking to me!" For some reason I knew that playing the harp was my future. I remember saying to myself that same night "this is going to be what I do for the rest of my life". And that's cutting a long story short.

When your passion for the blues started to live, you decided to travel through to the USA to discover the blues. Can you tell me something about that?

Yes, I bussed across the States hitting all the major Blues cities: New Orleans, Memphis, Mississippi, St. Louis, and Chicago. It was a great experience which helped me not only develop as a individual but also as a musician. I realized that I needed to experience the birth place(s) of the Blues. I really didn't have an agenda, I just had to walk those streets, feel the warmth and energy of those cities and towns and breathe the same mystical air my hero's did some years ago. Stopping into juke-joints and listening to artists play the blues not because it was cool, trendy or popular, but because they had to...needed to...it saved them...like it would save me.

In 1997 you founded the band 'The Blue Canadians' and started performing in and around Toronto. Was that a successful period for the band?

Yes, I started playing live in 1997 with The Blue Canadians. Was it successful? That depends on ones definition of success...I suppose it was success because it gave me the opportunity to play live and develop my skills as well as spreading the music in and around Toronto. Who's to say if I e sounded good, bad or fair... though I can say we got people off their seats and moving to the music. I can say, we certainly were not making any money but that was alright by me, I just wanted to play. Having confessed all that, YES, I think anytime someone is doing something they want to do or love or love to do it's already a success.

In 2001 you recorded 'Blowin For Broke', all with own original songs. It brought you success, it was nominated for the 'Blues album of 2001' by the Canadian Independent Artist Association. It also won the Maple Blues Award 'Best Artist Of The Year 2002'. Did it also bring you international recognition?

Yes, I think it brought me some international notice because shortly after that I found myself in a position to start doing this for a living.

Which international artists did you play with?

I had the pleasure and honour of working with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, long time drummer for the Muddy Waters band. Ronnie Hawkins, founder of the legendary outfit known through Bob Dylan as THE BAND. Jeff Healey, Edgar Winter, Jack De Keyzer, and many others.

In 2003 you recorded 'Blues Ignited' with The David Rotundo Band, including the famous Enrico Crivellaro. How did you meet him and how was it to work with him?

Meeting Enrico is a long story of mythical proportions. When I was travelling through the States in search of the Blues sound, my last stop was Chicago. I had already been travelling for close to two months and I was on my way home. My naivety I didn't even know the importance of Chicago in the Blues History. I just decided to stop there because it was on my way back to Toronto and it was a big city.

I got in late on a Sunday night and I was so tired from travelling all day and night I thought I would go straight to the hostel and get a good nights rest and start feeling my way around the city the next day. I got to the hostel which was a college dormitory converted into a hostel for the summer, so it was huge. Over 20 floors high. I got to my room on the 14th floor, which was comprised of two rooms each with two beds and a common room.

It was late at night and both rooms had one bed occupied, so I wasn't going to have my own room. None of the occupants were actually there so I just choose one of the rooms and went to bed. At some point late in the night I heard someone quietly come into the room and go to bed; it was around 4 a.m. I remember thinking to myself that I'm rooming with a partier who's going to keep me up all night. Much to my surprise he was very courteous, and quite like a mouse he silently went to bed. When we awoke, at around 10 a.m. we introduced ourselves and that is when I noticed a guitar resting in the corner of the room, so naturally I asked if he played, and more specifically what kind of music he played. He said he did play, and that he just played blues. I almost fell off the bed, got my harps out of my nap-sack and showed him my harmonicas. We both started laughing and immediately, without saying a word, started jamming. Turns out it was Enrico Crivellaro sleeping in the bed beside me in that Chicago hostel. He taught me so much that week, and introduced me to so many Blues players that I never heard of. Ever since that chance encounter, he's been a very big and positive influence in my musical life and feel very fortunate to have been sent to that hostel on that 14th floor, in that big windy city of Chicago.

When Enrico is in Canada (like this year), you do a tour together. How is it to tour with him?

Yes, we tour a lot together. It's always a great pleasure to tour with Enrico because he is one of the greatest, most versatile and supportive guitar players around. Period. Nationally and Internationally... it doesn't get much better than Enrico. Aside from being a brilliant guitar player he is also a great human being and dear friend. Actually, the last time the both toured in Canada we were fortunate enough to tour with the Legendary Lee Oskar from the band War, along with fellow Canadian harp player, singer song writer, Michael Pickett.

Is there a chance that you will do a tour in Europe? (Enrico is from Italy and does a lot of European shows.)

Yes, we tour Europe together often and will be doing another tour across Europe very soon.

For a lot of blues fans here in Europe this may be the first time they read about you. Would you like to tell them something special?

Thank you for all your support and positive feedback...through emails, photographs and on-line videos. My new album "No Looking Back", is in the final stages of it's release...though it is definitely rooted in the blues, I feel that it possess its own unique personality different from my previous albums. Keep a look out for it!

I'm excited to tour in your great country very soon, and if I can offer "something special" it would be the importance of following your dreams, of forging forward and not looking back.

For us it was really special to meet David in this way. We’ll certainly going to see him in the future in Canada or somewhere in Holland or Belgium. We thank David for this special interview and wish him lots of success with his blues career. More information you will find on David’s website.

Images