Twenty Questions for Larry Garner: 15 Songs of Silly, and 5 Attempts at Depth

Larry Garner has been around: the scene, the block, the industry, the world. You name it, the man has been there, done it, and probably sold out a show in the process.

Larry Garner began his musical career as an eleven-year-old, when he started playing his guitar in a local church here in Baton Rouge. He continued gigging locally during his stint working at Dow Chemical. While working there, he won the 1988 B.B. King "Lucille" Award for "Doghouse Blues." And the hits kept on coming.

In 1992, at the Burnley Blues Festival in England, Garner came to the attention of the London-based JSP records, which signed him in 1993, and with whom he quickly released two albums. Following an appearance in the "New Morning" club in Paris, the French-owned Gitanes Jazz label (owned by Verve) signed Larry next, and another two albums quickly followed. In 1997, Garner left Verve for the German Ruf label, with whom he has released one album so far.

I would be remiss to talk about the man without mentioning both his spectacular sense of humor and his philanthropy; after all, his willingness to play 20 questions with me demonstrates both.

MM: Be honest: did you agree to this interview in order to promote a tour or a new CD? If so, plug away...

LG: No. I agreed to this interview to let everyone know that I'm still alive and still living in Baton Rouge. Of course I'm working on a new CD entitled "Ask Me No Questions".

MM: You have toured consistently and tirelessly in Europe for many years. At this point, do you still have the taste for peanut butter at all?

LG: Yes, I still like a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich with a slice of cheese but I also like peanut butter soup. Saute 1/2 lb of chopped beef (seasoned with salt, pepper and onion salt or onion) until browned then pour off water and oil. Let 2 cups of water come to a boil then add three large spoons of peanut butter. Stir until peanut butter is dissolved then add chopped beef and let simmer until meat is tender. Add water and seasoning to your personal consistency and taste. Depending on the consistency this goes well with rice.

MM: I have heard many young, local blues musicians say that they think it is necessary to leave the sort of "super-saturated" Baton Rouge blues scene and tour, in order to actually make a living at making music. Do you think this is due to a local malaise concerning our musicians, and, if so, do you think said malaise is due to a jaded, spoiled feeling inherent to living in an area so rife with talent; or, do you think it stems from a lack of support for (or knowledge about) Baton Rouge swamp blues?

LG: Of course you have to leave Baton Rouge if you're gonna make a living doing this for both of the stated reasons and then some. Unfortunately its a lot easier to stand in a parking lot on jam night and talk about touring (not just a week end in Florida and a couple of days in Memphis) than it is to actually get out and do it. Tabby once told me in my earlier years that, "Baton Rouge is the hardest nut to crack when it comes to the Blues".

MM: You wear an enormous catfish spike as a necklace, and use a self-skinned piece of roadkill raccoon tail as your guitar strap. Are either/both of those pieces supposed to be interpreted as metaphors for how garbage-picking, bottom-feeding parasites are trying to strangle the life out of you? If so, are they more reflective of your band or your audiences? If not, who taught you such fine taxidermy skills?

LG: The dorsal fin cartilage from the 45lb catfish and the road kill raccoon guitar strap have no significant meanings except the conversational aspects although your metaphorical observation is a good one.

MM: Speaking of playing the guitar, what's the most fun you can have with your clothes on?

LG: I can't tell it all but I will tell you the latest, touring with Buckwheat Zydeco.

MM: Do you regularly record conversations with people without their knowledge, and, if so, for what purpose?

LG: I have never did that but I have heard of a well liked international artist who has.

MM: Iggy Pop has said that the industrial nature of Detroit informed his interpretation of the classic blues songs he performed as a teenager in Chicago. Do you think your own blues is location-specific (i.e. dependent on your Baton Rouge heritage), or do you think it has more to do with your individual personality? Do you think the two are extricable from one another?

LG: Forty years ago location specific would have been a yes for sure no doubt, but in the information age its more to do with your individual personality.

MM: Would you rather give up eating meat for the rest of your life, or be forced into a stuck elevator exclusively playing the Backstreet Boys for 24 hours?

LG: Since there's no third choice I'll take my ear plugs, a couple fried pork chops with mashed potatoes, creamed corn, cornbread and a large glass of sweetened iced tea and step into the elevator.

MM: Do you secretly keep touring Germany because you love Kraftwerk?

LG: No, its no secret I can just plain play the band better.

MM: Do you find the stereotype of the Southern blues legend to be reductive and/or insulting (i.e. first name=malady, nickname=fruit, last name=president), in that it confines your audience's expectation of you to be within certain boundaries? Or, do you enjoy being able to play a kind of character on-stage, since it means your private life can be that much more private?

LG: Those guys earned their nicknames and are proud of them just as the local "Big Mudussy." A lot of artists these days don't have those nicknames, me included.

MM: More annoying: journalists or promoters?

LG: Unfortunately we need them both.

MM: More annoying: sycophants or incompetents?

LG: The two usually hang out together don't they?

MM: Speaking of both, this is my first interview; how'm I doing?

LG: I'm having fun; aren't you?

MM: Speaking of bad interviews, if you were stuck on a desert island, which one would it be?

LG: I would like it to at least be one with some animal life for sure.

MM: Eric Clapton once said that, due to the tragedies he had experienced in his own life, that he felt he had a right to play the blues; however, he went on to say that he could never fully understand the blues without having lived as a black American. Do you think, as he suggests, that blues is culturally specific? If so, do you believe that each culture in the United States should form their own style of blues, or do you think our society has come far enough at this point that we can claim a shared cultural experience inherent to being from the United States (at least insofar as music goes)?

LG: Well these are the questions that I usually get in trouble with so I will only say that there are different shades of blue and the darker you are the darker your blues.

MM: At this point, have you actually bought the world a Coke?

LG: Nope, but I've bought it lots of Guinness.

MM: Be honest: do you like to watch "American Idol" when you're all by yourself?

LG: No. But I have watched it when someone else has it on. I̢۪m not a fan of the show but I'm happy that our local talent Randy Jackson is getting paid.

MM: Worse fate: mauled by a bear, or drowning in rapids?

LG: Either way can get the same results.

MM: Is money really the root of all evil? Or, is it hippies?

LG: Nope, money isn't the root of all evil I think the verse reads something like the love of money is the root of all evil or is it just oil money.

MM: There is a theory that some types of music (from Gregorian chant to traditional, 12-count blues progressions) have simple basic melodies, so as not to distract from the lyrical impact. The trend of fusing rock into blues, though, seems similar to the ideas behind protest music (such as reggae or traditional slave songs): by making the music the star, the protest can be voiced more emphatically without the protestee noticing (just look at all the teenage white kids singing "Buffalo Soldier" or "Redemption Song" while playing hacky sack or laughing around campfires to see how effective it is). Do you use this sort of method to subvert the powers that be, or do you see fusion as a purely musical act (bringing together styles for the sake of style, rather than for some grand plan)?

LG: I have written songs with hidden meanings about life but I find there are less and less people these days who try and decipher so I can get in just as much trouble by coming to the point. Say what cha mean and mean what cha say. I want to mention and extend thanks to Shedrick" Deacon" Nellon (bassist), Jared Daigle (other guitarist), Brian Morris (drummer, son of Legiondary sax player Joe Morris) and second chair guitarist Will Dale.