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Even though Steve Freund has played with the likes of Hubert Sumlin, Lee Jackson, Homesick James, Louis Myers, Big Walter Horton, Floyd Jones and was Sunnyland Slim's primary axeman, and he's known for specializing in duets with legendary blues pianists like Pinetop Perkins, Jimmy Walker and Henry Gray, he's what you'd call a working musician, a steady gigger, a blue-collar blues scuffler who continues to pay his dues. A gig last summer at the Academy of Arts was widely praised. Steve Freund plays
his life into bluesBy Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.comThe Brooklyn/Chicago/San Francisco bluesmeister is back for a show tonight at Haleiwa Joe's and tomorrow at the newly refurbished Anna Bannanas.
"I was born in 1952, and so I grew up listening to rock 'n' roll and blues and didn't know the difference," says Freund. "Fats Domino, Elvis, those guys -- they stayed with me. As a teenager, hey, into soul -- James Brown! -- but when I was about 17, the blues bug struck. It bit me bad. I loved BB and all the Kings; early Eric Clapton; Lonnie Johnson, Kenny Burrell, Charlie Christian. It all sunk in.
"I picked up a guitar, learned some folk chords. I learned both rhythm guitar and lead guitar. You're not a real guitar player unless you can do both. Played on the streets of New York City, and in 1974, drove non-stop to Chicago where I learned to play all over again, how to accompany folks.
>> In concert: 10 p.m., today Steve Freund with Third Degree
>> Place: Haleiwa Joe's, 66-011 Kamehameha Highway
>> Call: 637-4475
>> Cost: $10
>> Also: At Anna Bannana's, 2440 S. Beretania St. Tickets $10 in advance from Anna Bannana's and all Tower Records; and $15 at the door. Call 946-5190.
"I particularly love the piano, maybe because my mother tried to get me to learn it. Blues and boogie-woogie piano: You need two hands to play it, so it's like two instruments. In the old days, with swing bands, piano and guitar were considered percussion instruments, and I'm told I play a percussive guitar.
"I have a collection of vinyl sides of blues music, been lugging it around forever. You listen to Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGee, and you learn you don't need to play a million notes to make a point. Less is more. It's inspiring, and spiritual. Yeah, you can tell when a guitarist is 'playing' or just 'performing.' They've got that life experience coming out: more emotional ammunition, deeper expression. You're 17 and listening to Bessie Smith sing about death and divorce, and it means nothing until you've been to a few funerals and sat through divorce court."
Freund has a variety of guitars, choosing his instrument based on the gig. "In a traditional duet, I might play an old Epiphone hollow-body from the '40s; a bigger gig, a Strat or a Les Paul.
"As for amps, I've been a Fender man all my life, but lately I've been playing Mesa Boogie. They're so well-built, like Cadillacs, and sound fabulous. All tubes and hand-wired.
"I've got a nice arsenal of guitars, but I'm not bringing any to Hawaii. Since Sept. 11, it's about impossible to fly with a guitar. The bass player in Third Degree is going to loan me a guitar. At least, I hope he is!"
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