Colin John: Bluesman Extraodinaire

MITCHELL/COLIN JOHN BAND

A rusty piece of metal embedded in an Oahu road some fifty years ago seems an unlikely catalyst, but when Joseph Kekeku found it and accidently stroked the strings of his old Spanish guitar, the Hawaiian steel guitar was born. Now it’s back, or more precisely, the lap steel and slide have returned to the islands, this time in the hands of bluesman extraordinaire Colin John.

The 45-year-old professional—yes, he plays guitar for a living—is burning up the Big Island with gigs from Pahoa to Hilo and Kohala to Kona. In fact, look for him this weekend at the Kona Jazz Festival at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel where his unique blend of traditional and new blues, funk, rock and roll, and “Hawaiian kine,” as he says, will be featured.

The music is at times hypnotic, then rousing, sometimes lyrical—sweet and dainty—like colorful island flowers, as he plays cross-handed or below the bridge on his custom made lap steel. Other times the riffs are heavy and dirty, all business blues and rock. Listeners never know quite what they’ll get. Plucking, picking, stroking, strumming, sometimes he even beats the guitar body. 

A recent set at Emerald’s in downtown Hilo featured traditional numbers by the likes of Blind Arthur Blake, the venerable Robert Johnson, and Blind Willie Johnson (and you thought it was a Zeppelin cover). The mix included a hardcore calling out of Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself,” completely unique takes on Hendrix, a ditty by Merle Haggard(!), and a variety of inspiring original compositions, all featuring John’s gritty and uplifting vocals. 

“It’s kind of a mix—all that,” he said between sets, during the night proving the statement with sounds of the Mississippi delta, modern fusion, rockabilly, and at one point making the guitar sound just like a banjo. 

His ensemble of custom-made axes includes a 1961 Stratocaster, a number of metal-body Nationals, and a lap steel designed by the acclaimed Bill Asher. All produce different sounds, some obvious and others nuanced, but as he states on the website www.colinjohnband.com, “A player’s tone is in their hands, and ... the right gear may perhaps help a player achieve those sounds they hear in heads and hearts.” Indeed. 

Son of an Italian mother and a British dad, John is an Ohio native who paid his dues in mighty Memphis and lived for more than a decade in the UK. The Big Island is home now, but he’s frequently gone, living up to his motto “Have blues, will travel.” In May he’ll be leaving for the mainland, where the most prominent date on a busy spring and summer schedule is at The Monterey Bay Blues Festival in June. 

You can be sure, though, that the Colin John Band come back to the islands, and he’ll return with the magic that Joseph Kekeku found in the Hawaiian earth so many years ago.

 

Loren Mitchell is a freelance writer who lives on The Big Island.

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