COURTESY PHOTO

Man on a
mission at Rhythm
& Blues Mele

Guitarist Chris Duarte
knows he's got to hit 'em
and hit 'em hard

By Gary C. W. Chun
Star-Bulletin

As the opening act for this year's Rhythm & Blues Mele, guitarist Chris Duarte knows he's got to hit 'em and hit 'em hard.

And the Austin, Texas-based player, hailed as a major new talent back in 1994, is eager to make his first trip to the islands, not only to win new fans with his bold and aggressive style, but as a time to enjoy being with his wife and band, a bit of respite from the hard-cobble life he once led.

Part of that Stratocaster-Texas power trio format made popular by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Duarte's guitar chops are already well-established in both musician and ever-expanding fan circles, but with his latest CD, "Love Is Greater Than Me," his lyric writing is growing as well.

"I am paying more attention to my songwriting," he said in an assured and sturdy voice Monday from his Burbank hotel room. "I know where I wanna be on guitar, that's still miles away -- but when I write lyrics, I want to make intelligent statements, not just lowbrow stuff, and to make them not too cerebral with a lot of heavy metaphors."

Reared on punk and hard rock in his hometown of San Antonio, Duarte (pronounced Dwar-tay) headed northeast to Texas's music and state capital at age 16 when his family uprooted to the East Coast. During stints in jazz and blues bands that built his reputation on guitar in his early 20s, the white horse, heroin, became his constant companion.

The adversities of his addiction and later redemption infuse his lyrics. Duarte admits his past addiction "will always be a part of my life. It shaped my perspective and how I look into the future, and I've learned to be less judgmental and more tolerant of others. I'm always working through my past; there are some things, obviously, that I would've gladly traded away, but I'm making the best of the situation."

It all came to head when his wife-to-be gave him The Ultimatum: It was going to be either the drugs or her. "To someone who's sober, the choice would be pretty obvious, but for a drug addict like myself, it was quite a decision. Your whole conscience and security is in a syringe. It was hard to make the change from a junkie, but I followed my heart and made the right decision."

"I've logged in three-and-a-half years of staying clean," Duarte said.

In fact, he is so confident in his continued sobriety, "I even moved back to Austin, where I couldn't help but face my past. I occasionally see some of the people I knew who are still in the drug life, but now it's no big deal. I have much more living to do."

Along with his keeping busy writing and honing his musical craft (with the help of drummer Jason Patterson and bassist Robert Kearns), there are a couple of people who keep him strong.

"The love for my wife and wanting to patch up my relationship with my daughter from a previous relationship -- not that it was really bad to begin with -- but I was never there for her when I was back home."

"In Austin, it was so convenient for me to just pick up the phone and have it delivered to my door," Duarte said. "On the road, I could run the risk of getting busted... But if the tour would go longer than three-four weeks, somewhere along the way was a city or two with dealers I could trust that would help me 'maintain' my habit."

Through it all, Duarte could've been labeled a functioning addict.

"I guess I owe it all to my street sense, my own sense of survival. I was able to pull it off because I knew I had to make money to help provide for my family, and also it was a pride thing, a huge denial of my addiction, because if I had to face up to my life then, I know I would've been hurtin'."

But Duarte was and is always a restless student, gleaning knowledge from giants like John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana. "I always listen to the music and the musician," he said. "I let the music speak to me, and not just limit myself to guitarists. When I hear a violinist or saxophonist, I hear the notes being played, and I try to use the same subtle attack and nuances of the properties of that instrument."

While his latest CD was cut in a relatively short time, it's a formidable showcase for Duarte: "Baddness" was a minimalistic, thrown-together tune according to him, but sports the toughest of grooves, and "Watch Out" is a mighty-sounding tribute to Jimi Hendrix.

"Some people would freak out when they see us play live; people generally like my live performances better. Sometimes I would walk away from a gig, feeling I lowered the bar of the level of performance, but some in the audience would clue into the struggle I had and tell me later that, even though they may have seen me dozen of times before during my best gigs, that they loved what I tried to do because of the passion."

And Chris Duarte will be a man on a mission as the first performer in the Mele. "My job is to play my ass off," he said bluntly, "and raise the standard of play."

Hawaiian Islands Rhythm & Blues Mele 2001 In concert: Eric Johnson and Alien Love Child, the Smokin' Joe Kubek Band featuring Bnois King, and the Chris Duarte Group Place: Kakaako Waterfront Park Time: 6:30 p.m. today; gates open at 5:30 Admission: $22 advance, $25 at the gate Information: 732-6699 Also: Tomorrow at the Kona Brewing Company on the Big Island, 334-1133 or 334-2739; and Sunday at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, 241-6623 or 337-9234

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