HARMONICA STEALTH BOMBER
Interview with John Juke Logan - By Cathi Norton
Reprinted with permission from AHN - American Harmonica Newsletter, December 1996 and January 1997
Interview with John Juke Logan - By Cathi Norton
John "Juke" Logan is a low-ridin' son-of-a-gun. Usually found dressed in jeans, t-shirt with rolled-up sleeves, boots and slicked-back hair, he's the guy your mom warned you about. You know the one...falling out of a souped-up Buick Riviera with dice hanging from the rear-view mirror. Topping off these irresistible attractions, the man is a complete music addict. A native of L.A., Juke hit his stride early with a great love of blues and blues harp. A background of keyboard and harp work kept him busy in bands, including stints with his own "Angel City Rhythm Band" in the '70s, Leon Russell in the early '80s, Dave Alvin's All Nighters, Albert Collins, and now his own "Juke Rhythm" Band featuring his 4'10" co-writing/performing front-lady, Brenda Burns (former singer for Asleep at the Wheel). Brenda is making a big name for herself right now as a songwriter, having had cuts on Maria Muldaur's latest CD, and other tunes covered by Tad Robinson, Francine Reed, C.J. Chenier and most recently, Pop Staples. His "revolving door band member" habit is never boring, with guitar chores often handled by Denny Freeman or Alex Schultz. Juke's got action going at all times. When not playing with the band, he does a duo with accomplished songwriter/performer Doug MacLeod, and fills the rest of his time doing television and session work (Juke enjoys some fame as the harp-meister on tv's "Roseanne" and "Home Improvement" shows), film score work, and appears weekly on his own radio program (on KPCC-FM) with co-host, Helen Bloom. He first earned his nickname -- Juke -- because he could not stop playing Little Walter's "Juke" as a young player. But to me, it's the "jukin'" lifestyle that makes that name so apt for Logan.
CATHI: How 'bout we start with a little biography...you were born in L.A.? And when?
JUKE: Yes, well, I was born here, and I just had a birthday with a five in it, but I won't tell you where that digit lies!
CATHI: (Laughs) Okay...well your bio says you got turned on to R & B by Ray Charles?
JUKE: Actually -- there was Ray and probably the biggest single record that got me was "Seventh Son" by Mose Allison. When I heard that, the groove just blew me away and I had NO idea who Willie Dixon or Muddy Waters or Little Walter were. I just said "Whatever this is, I've gotta be a part of it!" And THEN I found out Mose was White! Then I KNEW I had to be a part of it.
CATHI: Were you already playing music then?
JUKE: Yeah -- piano. I learned to play from my grandmother, Gracie Farrell, a great Irish lady. She shook her finger in my face and said "You sit down and practice because you might make some money from this someday and you're going to thank me!" I dedicated my album, "The Chill," to her.
CATHI: Cool. so how did harmonica happen?
JUKE: Jimmy Reed!
CATHI: (Laughter)
JUKE: I heard Jimmy Reed and I said "Oh my GAWD!" He still remains one of my favorite harmonica players; he's a master of understatement, a guy who could say more with one note than others could do in ten or 15. To me, as a harmonica player, he's one of the most underrated players, because he just -- I mean the whole less-is-more thing that he did.
CATHI: Now, commercial art was your career?
JUKE: Well, I have a degree from U.S.C. in that, and the two -- music and art -- have crossed paths in some interesting ways. I've done all the graphics on my two albums and all of the stuff that I do musically.
CATHI: Did you ever work as a commercial artist?
JUKE: During the heyday of disco and Peter Frampton, in the '70s. L.A. -- being the trendy town that it is -- there was a period there where if you were playing blues and true R & B in the mid-70s it was kind of a wasteland...an uphill battle for every little gig you got. I just didn't feel like banging my head against the wall.
CATHI: So R & B was your thing from the first?
JUKE: Pretty much. I mean I loved early Stones just about as much as anyone else and still do. And you know as far as the whole blues community goes, I've got a pretty wide view of it all. In fact the hard-core blues purists kind of don't know what to do with me....which is fine (laughs). What it is, is I love a lot of different kinds of music and choose to integrate my blues with all those kinds of music. I love Latin music, African music, bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, good hip hop. I say if it's 51 percent or more blues, then to ME, it's blues and I will play it on my radio show.
CATHI: Well, would you say that piano is about as major of an instrument as the harp for you?
JUKE: No...not at all. Well, it's hard to say. The harmonica is what I do in most of my studio work, although I do work on keys too, but ironically that turns out to be with fellow harmonica players like (James) Harmon.
CATHI: I was going to ask you how that works when you work with someone, especially another harp player - like Gary (Primich) -- do you work keys and switch off on harp or what?
JUKE: Well, with Gary and I it's unique because we've done a lot of gigs together. I've guested with his band quite a lot -- going back to Texas and Louisiana to gig. Gary's a great guitarist and when he's on guitar I'll be blowin' harp. And then I'll switch to keys and he'll pick up the harp. And then we'll get out there and ham it up with two harps sometimes, which is a ball because Gary is one of my favorite harp players. To me Gary is the Cannonball Adderly of the harmonica. It has to do with the playfulness of the way he approaches it and the melodic stuff too. As we know, we've got a lot of real busy harmonica players out there. A lot of people who are in what I call the "Little Walter Sweepstakes." I respect a lot of those players, but I'm not interested in being the Sweepstakes, nor is my expertise on the harmonica in that direction. I think Miles Davis said it best (mimics Miles' voice) "Ah, you know the guy -- he's good -- he's a good technician, but I think he needs to go to 'Notes Anonymous'." (Laughter) But Gary's technique is impeccable. He uses it not unlike Cannonball did. It comes out in playful phrases, very melodic; makes perfect sense; tells the story. With me it's about illustrating the song and when you're called on to solo, the solo should still have something to do with the story of the song. It shouldn't be about "Hey look at me" you know.
CATHI: Well, I appreciate that attitude a lot. you always said you were "for the team."
JUKE: Absolutely...even when you're soloing! Because when you solo you want to kick butt! (Laughs) But you want to do it in the context of the song.
CATHI: You played in bands right along, given that little period in the '70s when you were doing art?
JUKE: Yeah, I had a band called the Angel City Rhythm Band....actually the Juke Rhythm Band. We played a lot. In fact, we had a stint in this very legendary club, the "Topanga Corral" which is basically where Canned Heat and Taj (Mahal) came out of to begin with. We had every Wednesday night up there. One night we'd be backing Joe Turner and the next Wednesday, Albert Collins, and the Wednesday after that, T-Bone (Burnette) in his later years -- just amazing showmen. That was about maybe a year and a half that gig. It was a lot of training for us and you know, thinking on your feet. Shuck, duck and cover....the duck and cover of the blues (laughs). The association with Albert (Collins) grew into a friendship and Albert would pretty much ask for us on a lot of the stuff he'd get out here.
CATHI: Yeah, that was another get-drunk night when that man went over.
JUKE: Oh yeah -- it's still hard. He was so full of energy and it would rub off on you. It was never like he would sit us down and say "Hey do this..do that." It was just an absorption of spirit from him. Another guy we worked with and became friends with was George Harmonica Smith.
CATHI: Oh yeah...tell me about George.
JUKE: He's still quite possibly my favorite harmonica player of all time in the blues. A lot of us have had a wake-up call with George. He was real playful about it because he was a rascal! Instead of going "I'm going to show these White boys a thing or two." It wasn't ever like that with George. He was the opposite of a bitter guy -- very, very generous, really generous with everything in his life. I used to book shows at this place called the "Golden Bear," kind of like revues and I remember one I WISH I had on tape. It was my band, the Juke Rhythm Band backing a line-up. One time it was George Harmonica Smith, Margie Evans, Albert Collins and Lowell Fulson all on the same night! We got up to open the show, and I was up there on keys, just giving it everything I THOUGHT I had (laughs) -- trying to get the crowd with my millions of notes -- like some people do, but I hope not me! I'd done this and George came out when we went into this shuffle. George just calmly sauntered up to the mic, in a shirt and slacks with this big paper bag in his hand. He had this big paper bag and was just standing there. Now this was an audience that was just vaguely aware of who George Harmonica Smith was. So we're shufflin' away and all of a sudden he dumps that paper bag on the stage and harmonicas come falling out and he got a standing O (ovation) for just the way he did that!! And then he picked up a harmonica and played his ever-so-brilliant stuff and that was all there was to it!
CATHI: So you were in this melting pot of music out here...
JUKE: Yeah, and it's to be taken advantage of, the way I look at it. There's just all kinds of multi-cultural stuff coming at you from every angle.
CATHI: Do you think running into those people all the time gave you leads to things like commercials and TV?
JUKE: Well, no. Actually my thinking had to be pretty much open to go in and get involved in that kind of stuff. I was playing harmonica with Leon Russell on the road in the '80s when I got a call from Ry Cooder to come back to L.A. He liked what I did and Walter Hill, the director for a movie called "Streets of Fire," wanted harp on the score. Cooder'd done "The Long Riders" and maybe about five other movies by then -- mostly for Walter Hill. And "Streets of Fire," he said, was one of the most fun, because every cue in that film was kind of a spin-off of an old R & B feeling. We did a Bo-Diddley flavored cue; we did a Chuckabilly-flavored cue; a Jimmy-Reed-flavored one -- a lot of blues. We had such a ball doing that score that when the movie "Crossroads" came along, Ry and Walter decided it was me they wanted to do the harmonica for that. It was an honor beyond my wildest dreams.
CATHI: Ry Cooder is the Beatles all rolled up into one for me.
JUKE: (Laughs) Well, Ry is pretty hard to beat. I like his thinking about music because he knows what good blues should be about, but he's also eclectic. He's a groove-monger. The "Crossroads" thing was a job from heaven, something that doesn't come along every day -- a feature film about the blues. Shortly after my association with Ry I started doing a lot of that kind of stuff. My reputation (I guess) was that I could play to the picture well, which is merely being able to illustrate.
CATHI: So when you talk about being illustrative, you mean getting the point across in a limited space?
JUKE: Exactly. I mean that definitely comes into play because you've only got a couple of seconds on some of these cues with films and TV -- obviously.
CATHI: When you talk about "cues," is that like a measurement?
JUKE: A cue is a little piece of music used in a film score that illustrates a scene. It doesn't constitute an entire song because it's so short. You might have one seven seconds long, or a second and a half. You have "x" amount of space and usually it's the director and the musical editor who will sit down and do what they call "spotting" the film. They pick out all the spots where there needs to be a snippet of music, and you learn the nuts and bolts of how to work it.
CATHI: So they present an idea to you and you illustrate it?
JUKE: Basically. And in a lot of cases, which I'm really thankful for, they let me run with it. Many times they will have a guide track for me because I don't read music. But I think a lot of the time, the VIBE is what you're bringing to the session. And those are the kinds of sessions where you've got to prove yourself. The ability that you bring in there is basically what you bring from the street. I'm bringing the vibe in there with me.
CATHI: Isn't that what they're hiring?
JUKE: Well by now they are -- thank God! (Laughs) I've had to -- believe me -- do uphill battles on a lot of those sessions to get it to be that way -- to get them to trust my instincts. But I don't know how much of this detail you want...I'm boring you with this.
CATHI: No...not at all. I think it's interesting for people to know what happens there because I think the impression is that you have to be right at the top, walk in there, spin on a dime, and give 'em nine cents change.
JUKE: Exactly. The kind of cool thing about it is, you say "If you have a specific part you want me to play, give me a guide track or have the piano player play the melody to me." And they RARELY have had to play it twice. But the COOLEST part to me about it is, I feel like a blues stealth bomber. You know I'm infiltrating areas that blues guys -- up until maybe a decade ago when we did the first "Roseanne" -- couldn't get into.
Right after I did that with Cooder I started working with a composer named Dan Foliart who was picked by Matt Williams to do "Roseanne." Matt said "You know I'd like it (the show) to be about real life, a blue-collar situation. How about something real bluesy? Like that guy Muddy Waters?" And Dan goes "Ah...." and called me up and I said "Let's do it!" Williams flipped and said "That's IT!"
CATHI: Well you know for a lot of people that's IT -- when they first heard blues on tv.
JUKE: That's why we kinda half-jokingly say we were the ones to put blues harmonica on prime time. That's the greatest part about it, and I can't complain about "Blues Traveler" getting a piece of that. I mean, my God, I've had so much great work -- nine years -- of great, solid work out of that show! I've got nothing to complain about there. The positive thing for me has been bringing the subliminal blues drop to millions of folks. Being the blues stealth-bomber that blows into Joe Public's in the Midwest livingroom who doesn't really know that he's a blues fan. It was a great thing and part of a movement toward people illustrating something that's real, that's blue-collar, straight-ahead, no frills, no foo-foo stuff. To me it sums up that the blues is the sound-track to reality.
CATHI: So you still doing some "Roseanne" stuff?
JUKE: Oh yeah! And incidentally, Matt Williams was so knocked out by the theme that he literally thinks that the harmonica was one of the contributing factors to the success of the "Roseanne" show. That's not what I think, but I will certainly let HIM think so! (Laughs)
CATHI: It gives it a great flavor.
JUKE: So when he created the show "Home Improvement" he wanted me to be on the theme, only saying "It can't sound anything like 'Roseanne'." So what we came up with was the bass harmonica. I do the thing that sounds like a baritone sax -- that's me playing the bass harmonica. It's limited little licks (demonstrates vocally). With all apologies to all those amazing bass harmonica players like Danny Wilson -- I don't know if you know him....
CATHI: Yes! Absolutely -- a wonderful guy.
JUKE: Augh!!! He's great. We laugh about it -- I say "Danny I'm so sorry!" (Laughs). And with all apologies to guys who can REALLY play that axe, I mean it was just something that Matt wanted me to do on the theme!
CATHI: I heard you did some on-camera stuff too?
JUKE: Oh...on "Roseanne" I was in a jail cell with John Goodman and we did "Jailhouse Rock" with prison stripes on and you know (laughs) -- it was a kick. I did another one right at the beginning of the show where I was playing pool, drinking beer, and blowing harp...I mean it was a real stretch I'll tell you (laughter)!
CATHI: (Laughs) Cool. Were you nervous?
JUKE: Scared s---less! But the most fun one was the one on "Home Improvement." We were the "Tool Time Band." I played a construction worker along with three others. They made my bass harmonica -- they put a screwdriver handle on it -- some sort of unrecognizable tool. The drummer played oil barrels and had saw blades for cymbals, playing with big, thick screwdrivers. The one guy played a grinder on an oil drum, and the sparks from the grinder kept flying over and burning my elbows as we were doing this (laughter). Pamela Lee was the tool time girl at the time, and she was sitting over there with Tim Allen holding up welding torches like people hold up lighters. It was just a ball and we got a standing ovation from both the studio audience and the tool-time audience. It was more of my stealth-bomber action.
CATHI: (Laughter) Yeah, I know - I'm kind of a guerilla warfare girl myself.
JUKE: Yeah, I know...I love your music! Did you do a whole CD?
CATHI: Yes..you want one?
JUKE: ABSOLUTELY! I'll play it on my show! PLEASE!
CATHI: (Laughs) Okay....I'll send you one. So tell me how your DJ gig happened.
JUKE: I've been fascinated by Djs of all kinds, especially the R & B ones -- all my life. I think when I was a pre teen, I'd sit up and spin records and do DJ raps between -- just to myself. Some of the best times (James) Harmon and I have ever had was when we'd have record parties at one or the other's pad -- barbecue up a bunch of stuff, get to drinking and play records. You know...I always wanted to do that.
CATHI: I think you and Harmon would be -- dangerous.
JUKE: We have been for three decades -- very dangerous! (Laughs). We did that old Coaster's song called "Three Cool Cats," on a compilation album called "L.A. Ya-Ya" on Hightone. Great album. And I went on quite a few radio shows to promote that and damned if I didn't get a lot of calls from people. Then this guy I know named Tom Nixon invited me to go on with my own records because he had to go out of town. So I called my good friend Helen Bloom, who's always been a blues & R & B collector, to help me. The people from KPCC heard Helen and I subbing for Tom Nixon a couple of times when he went out of town. The program director called to say "Man, you did a great job on Nixon's show!" and I go "Hey, if you think so, how about letting us do a show?" So they filed that idea away and lo and behold about a year later they called us. We've been on for four and a half years -- it's a labor of love!! I like to do an across-the-board thing.
CATHI: I like to take the Bruce Lee approach you know (laughs) -- whatever works!
JUKE: Exactly! I guess we have the Bruce Lee approach to our radio show!
CATHI: So tell me, what's up with how you run into these things? Do you have an agent?
JUKE: I manage myself. It's a full-time job (laughter), as Gary (Primich) will tell you. But I've got people who represent me in different other areas. Both of my albums came out in Europe about a year and a half before they came out in America. "The Chill" came out a year and a half there before it was put out on Razor & Tie Records here in the States. The new one, "Juke's Rhythm" has been out in Europe since last November, so it'll be out here in Spring of '97.
CATHI: Who puts out the albums in Europe?
JUKE: Sky-Ranch Virgin -- I'm a Virgin recording artist in Europe -- me and the Stones and Paula Abdul, you know?
CATHI: A likely combination (laughter)!
JUKE: (Laughs) I know...oh my God. But Sky-Ranch is a roots music label out of Paris, and they hooked up with Virgin right after I.... I make my own records and then license them. Sky-Ranch has been behind me 100 percent. Now "Juke's Rhythm" will be licensed in the States this spring, but not on Razor & Tie. Just say that there is major international intrigue going on behind closed doors for a label (laughter). Can I tell you something exciting?
CATHI: YES!
JUKE: About a month ago I recorded a song for Hooker's next album, with Los Lobos!
CATHI: Ack!
JUKE: ! I was going to ask you about working with David.
JUKE: Hidalgo? An honor beyond belief. One of the most amazing musicians I've ever come in contact with. He makes feats of genius look effortless and has my favorite singing voice. We did a song "Young and Wired," on my "Chill" album. I remember he came in after some of the sessions to do accordion overdubs, and said "Remember when we were putting the track down and you were doing the guide vocal -- I was messing around with that harmony part?" And I go "Dave...putting your voice on top of mine in a harmony part is like putting a fuel injector on a lawnmower." (Laughter). The guy's a saint. But he once called me and asked me to play harp. We did -- for the "La Bamba" movie -- we recut "Who Do You Love? with Willie Dixon producing!
CATHI: I'm dyin'.
JUKE: I was pinching myself. With Lobos, me on harmonica and Carlos Santana on the other guitar...and David on DRUMS in that case! This guy can play everything. But for Hooker's album, we cut "Dimples" about a month ago. We went down to the studio and got to jammin' and havin' a ball -- getting the sound and feel together. And everybody said "Well, John Lee, he's getting old and a little bit cantankerous. He'll be into this, but it'll be amazing if you get more than three takes out of the guy." John came down and you know, walked over to his seat, said hi to everybody and shook hands. We got one of those grooves going which was, of course (laughs), nothing like the previous ones we'd worked out! He got so FIRED UP!!! John was just ROCKIN' -- he was lovin' it! Goin' "Well...let's do that one...w-w-w-w-we hot....w-w-w-we hot!! You keep the tape rollin' -- you get us while we hot! You keep it rollin'." (Laughter) He did nine takes. Good God, it was like John Lee Hooker -- seventy-some-odd, going on eighteen. He gave me the solo -- said "blow..blow...blow!"
CATHI: (Laughter). Wow. Would you say that you're pretty much -- well, I know that you're not going to tell me that you're a great session player in L.A., but are you one of the foremost ones going on out there?
JUKE: Well, you know, I guess if you want to tack on when the "feel-driven" stuff is required in the studio with the harmonica -- yeah! I'm very thankful for all this you know? The other side of the coin is -- my buddies that are out on the road, beating it to death and having a ball playing huge festivals and what have you. Here I am...basically in a position where certain things that I do, especially during TV and film-scoring season, if I leave town for a matter of weeks I've got guys jumpin' from the bushes to take my gigs!!! (Laughter)
CATHI: Road life is hard man.
JUKE: And I ain't getting any younger!
CATHI: And the L.A. scene?
JUKE: The live scene in L.A. has been steadily on the increase. Gary will tell you about how much I've always complained about LA's trendy, you know "yo-babe" places.
CATHI: Well, the outside impression is pretty much, you know, you gotta have a nice ass and long hair.
JUKE: Exactly...exactly. But gradually in the last couple of years in local venues and with local audiences, they've been finding themselves tired of the hype and looking for a little bit more reality, which is good for all of us R & B players out here. But for every one of those God damned, shag haircut, Sunset Strip cafe bands playing showcase after showcase, there's a good blues and R & B band.
CATHI: Well, I'm always going to be down there on the wrong side of the tracks, listening to the right kind of music.
JUKE: YEAH!
CATHI: How 'bout your songwriting? When did that start and how have you seen it progress?
JUKE: Well a good bit of Leon (Russell) rubbed off on me, the way he harnessed ideas -- I began to realize wasn't that different from the way I harnessed ideas. Nothing really conscious that he does -- just that it was like having your musical pores open for influences. I don't think my songs are mainstream, but I just want them to be stylistic and say something. I mean more than "You're beautiful; let's make love" you know?
CATHI: (Laughter) That one's been said, Juke. Do you have a "head critic" you have to work around?
JUKE: No I don't let those voices bug me -- I just have a little hand-held tape machine I use and I write down ideas no matter how outrageous they are. I never really got serious until "Let's Buzz" became a kind of bar-band standard in Austin. I was really honored.
CATHI: Yeah, my attitude is like the "snow-plow" approach. I'm not focused; I want it all (laughs).
JUKE: RIGHT! If the song comes and it's not a masterpiece in your hands, maybe it'll be in someone else's.
CATHI: The interesting thing about that is, it seems to me the best songs leave a whole lot of room for lipstick. You know after you have the primary colors, the rest of it's gravy.
JUKE: Wheeeewwwwww!! I LOVE THAT (Laughter) Lipstick...that's brilliant; I'm writing that down!
CATHI: No charge (Laughter). How'd you meet Gary (Primich), by the way?
JUKE: I put together a demo of songs for some friends in Austin; Gary heard it and he wrote me. I said "Hey man, we gotta meet!" And he called and said "Book a flight." You know Gary, he doesn't worry about how -- he just does it. So I went and those guys (his band) were so generous! Gary's great. And it's great to have his respect because he is an amazing player. Like I said on his album "Gary Primich scares the beJesus out of me on that harp!" (Laughter)
CATHI: Tell me about your equipment.
JUKE: Well, I'm not much of a tech-oriented guy, believe it or not. I like Golden Melodies (Juke is endorsed by Hohner) and as far as amps, I've got a whole room full of 'em.... I've got an old Kalamazoo amp that I keep going back to and I love, and it's kinda like...
CATHI: Like a good girlfriend! (Laughter)
JUKE: That's EXACTLY what it is!!! EXACTLY! She's worth her weight in gold...ten thousand times. But I don't have any great technical tricks with which to enlighten anyone...you just have to play your soul and don't try to play outside your soul. Just play your soul.
CATHI: And mics?
JUKE: I use a '58...not even a bullet! The first guy I heard get a great sound through an amp with a '58 was James Cotton years ago. He just seemed to get a huge, fat sound.
CATHI: You don't grab anything for a particular sound?
JUKE: Well, sometimes, but not anything that is going to raise the eyebrows of any harmonica fans. I'm low tech -- high grease. (Laughter). The most important piece of equipment I've got is my soul.
CATHI NORTON
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