Landreth: Louisiana's
'native stepson'
Zoo Entertainment Photo
By John Berger
Star-Bulletin
"If you're coming (to southwest Louisiana) from somewhere else in the States you'll feel like you're in another country, but Cajun-French was almost snuffed out. Years ago it was really discouraged in the schools, but now we have immersion programs and festivals to promote it," he explained from his neighbor island hotel room Monday.
He'll have played shows on the Big Island and Maui as well as Oahu when he returns to the mainland next week. He'll return home to concentrate on songwriting when the tour ends later this month; reading, going to movies and "brushing up on my zydeco dancing" are three of his leisure time interests.
"There are a lot of church dances out in the country and they're really really great. It's just a great vibe, black and white (people together), the way things ought to be. Southwest Louisiana is a really soulful place, and I always feel that I'm recharging my batteries when I go home."
Landreth describes himself as a "native stepson" of his adopted home. His family moved to Louisiana from Mississippi when he was in the second grade.
"It was culture shock but I've thanked my dad many times for moving us there."
Landreth started playing trumpet when he was 10 and he later studied piano as well. His formal training continued with classes in jazz and classical music in college. But he is almost entirely self-taught as a guitarist, he said, playing "from my heart" in bar bands.
Landreth earned impressive credentials as a sideman working with a roster of artists , including John Mayall, Kenny Loggins, and zydeco master Clifton Chenier, before emerging as an internationally respected solo artist with his 1992 album, "Outward Bound." He and his band, Bayou Rhythm, spent two years touring and recording with John Hiatt.
"I'm honored to be mentioned in the same breath, but I have no visions of grandeur. I'm my own biggest critic when it comes to my work," Landreth says of critics' ranking him a technician equal to Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jimi Hendrix or Duane Allman.
Modest he is, but his reputation has continued to grow since the release of his current album, "South of I-10." Much of it was recorded in a converted barn.
"The experience stands out in my mind because I felt very centered. We were close to home, and with that environment to sustain and inspire, I didn't feel the pressure of a typical studio scenario."
Landreth drew on a diverse collection of guitars for the sessions; a Fender Strat and a vintage Gibson Firebird are two of his favorites. "Some guitars are more friendly to a particular tuning; each has a unique voice," he says.
Equally eclectic in his choice of slides, he currently prefers glass.
"In the history of it they've used bones, knives, spoons - there are some pretty cool things being done with porcelain now. Metal has a harder sound. Glass is a smoother sound. One of the fascinating things about the style per se is that it involves the personal interpretation.
"There is a vocal quality (about slide guitar) that caught me in the beginning and still does. That's the thing I really relate to."
All going well, Landreth will also hook up with some of Hawaii's slack-key masters while he's here. "I've loved the sound ever since I heard Ry Cooder and his work with Gabby (Pahinui). I don't know that much about slack key, but I think it's really cool at this point in time that there's something new I can still get excited about discovering. It's something I really want to check out while I'm here."
What: Sonny Landreth in concert