It鈥檚 one thing to play the blues for a living, but to live and breath it everyday for the past 45 years is a world unto itself.
That鈥檚 the feeling you get when you talk with Doc MacLean, who has crisscrossed North American playing the blues more times than he can count.
As the son of a civil rights lawyer and a fiddle player, MacLean was exposed to country blues and folklore at an early age. By his early teens he was performing in coffeehouses and small festivals and at the budding age of 16 he traded a guitar for a 1948 Dodge to pursue his passion.
鈥淎s soon as I had my freedom on four wheels I never looked back,鈥� said MacLean.聽
As a young man, MacLean travelled far and wide to try and meet every old times blues player he could possibly find.
鈥淚t was really easy to do that in my teens,鈥� said MacLean, who met artists like Muddy Waters and John Hammond.
鈥淲e just went to small towns and looked people up in the phone book to see if they were still listed and met a lot of musicians that weren鈥檛 as famous, but were significant players.鈥�
Amongst all of the musicians he met over the years, he said meeting Son House, an American delta聽blues singer best known for his highly emotional style, was one of his most memorable moments.
鈥淚鈥檒l never forget the power of Son House being in a trans-like state with his eyes rolled back into his head, taking you some place else,鈥� recalled MacLean.聽
Absorbing everything he could, MacLean began to make his own mark as a musician spending the next 15 years touring with a nine-piece Memphis-New Orleans jump band called, Dr. Limbo and His Fabulous Off Whites.
Through the 1970s MacLean played hundreds of shows from Greenville, South Carolina to New Orleans, playing with some of the most influential delta blues players of the day, such as Charlie Patton and Sam Chatmon.聽
During this time there was also a period of great social upheaval in the United States as the civil rights movement gained political traction.
鈥淲hen I lived in the south there were still crosses being burned from time to time and race was still an issue, and it still rears its ugly head today, but as a arts community I think we鈥檝e come along way,鈥� said MacLean.
Fast forward to 2016, in many ways MacLean鈥檚 experience as a blues musician during the civil rights movement has come full circle.
In the fall, he will embark on a 40-show tour through South Africa, where apartheid reined for more than four decades.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very interesting journey for me,鈥� said MacLean, who was asked to play in South Africa back in the 70s, but declined the invite.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going there to change the world, but I鈥檓 going to take something back to Africa,鈥� said MacLean.聽
鈥淚 learned this music from the grandchildren of African slaves, there are sounds, there are noises, and there are unspeakable nuances of music and story that are melted into what I do that were gifted to me,鈥�
To catch MacLean before he goes to South Africa go to the Olive Bistro and Lounge on June 3. The show starts at 8 p.m. so arrive early. Advance tickets at $10 and reservations are highly recommended.
Paul Clarke [email protected]
