Bluesy Accelerators Put the Pedal to the Metal
Chris Manson July 29, 2004 Issue

The future of the blues is in good hands. Just ask anyone who caught Keith Caton and the Accelerators’ recent appearance at Gulf Place’s Sunday evening concert series. Just ask Bo Diddley, who praises the group’s solid, down to earth sound and said, “They have a space unto themselves, music that will last.”

Locals will certainly remember the show with Caton’s friend, mentor, and collaborator at Capo’s a couple years ago. “Bo Diddley is on our CD. It’s a song he and I wrote together,” Caton said, referring to Sure Is from Long Time Comin’. “He and I have been friends for about 20 years. I knew his real name, so I looked him up and called him, started bugging his assistant. We became friends and started doing gigs together. He’s still touring, playing, writing…he’ll be on our next album, which we’re working on now.”

Among the things Caton learned from the legend? “What not to play,” the left-handed guitarist said. “Don’t play anything unless you mean it…the less-is-more philosophy. The blues is a tradition—pass it along.”

Harmonica ace Skip Olenick says Diddley “directs as he plays. Anytime we’ve ever played with him it was wall to wall. He’s a good guy and a serious businessman.”

I’d fooled around with harps a little, so I was curious about Olenick’s style. He popped open a case full of mouth organs—one for every key, plus a back up. “I try to reproduce the Little Walter-Junior Wells sound,” he said. “A lotta harp players use processors and effects, but I try to keep it as authentic as I can. I only use a little bit of reverb.”

Caton writes nearly all of the original songs, and plays a mean slide guitar on some Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson classics. Their current disc contains a generous 15 songs—over 70 minutes of music—including the aforementioned Bo Diddley collaboration. My favorite is Same Ol’ Thing, which follows a traditional blues formula but makes room for some witty lyrics about being hounded on the telephone by credit card companies.

After the Accelerators opened their concert with a fiery instrumental jam, Caton told the crowd, “You won’t be hearing any Jimmy Buffett songs. He doesn’t do any of our songs, so we don’t do any of his.”

Gulf Place was packed with lots of kids, and most of them appeared mesmerized by the music. “We’ve never had three-year-olds rush the stage before,” Caton said. The band played a blues-flavored Mary Had a Little Lamb for the younguns. Other highlights included a lively take on B.B. King’s Every Day I Have the Blues and a touch of country with Olenick singing Sixteen Tons.

Inevitably, the Accelerators performed a couple of Diddley songs, including Before You Accuse Me, sung by bassist Casey Jones. And yes, that’s his real name, I’m told. “Bo told me, ‘Don’t work with children, they always steal the show’,” Jones said after several face-painted children blew bubbles all around the concrete stage.

“We’d like more bubbles up here,” Caton urged. “C’mon up here and unload on us!”

Gulf Place is one of the few venues around where you can actually see the beach. The Santa Rosa Beach hot spot was packed with kids in trendy Red Bar T-shirts, little girls doing somersaults, dogs (perhaps attracted by the sweet sounds emanating from Olenick’s harmonicas), and people who were smart enough to bring lawn chairs. Upcoming concerts include The Eric Culberson Band (Aug. 1), MOJO (Aug. 8), local favorites The Underdogs (Aug. 15), and jam band extroardinaire Cadillac Willy (Aug. 29). Shows begin at 7pm and are free to the public.

“It wouldn’t be a show without Muddy Waters, the man who introduced electricity,” said Caton, a fan of Waters’ recently reissued and expanded1970s comeback albums on Columbia/Legacy. He mentioned the Johnny Winter-produced Hard Again as one of his personal favorites, along with B.B. King’s transcendent Live at the Regal.

The band—which also includes powerhouse drummer David Bates—was headed to West Palm Beach next and plans to tour Italy and other parts of Europe in the months ahead.

As the skies grew dark over Santa Rosa Beach, little children glowed and twinkled—way too young to hold cigarette lighters high above their heads, they made their presence known by jewelry and trinkets purchased from Gulf Place vendors. A few of the kids sat on the edge of the concrete stage as Caton and his cohorts played. They seemed to be genuinely moved and fascinated by what they were hearing. Spellbound. It was an amazing thing to witness.

SIDEBAR:

Ten Must-Own Blues CDs

Robert Cray Band: Strong Persuader (Mercury). Cray’s 1987 masterpiece brought his contemporary blues sound to the Top-40 radio audience.
John Lee Hooker: The Very Best of John Lee Hooker (Rhino). A superb overview.
Elmore James: The Sky Is Crying (Rhino). The greatest blues album I’ve ever heard. Anyone I ever played it for went right out and bought his or her own copy.
Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (Columbia/Legacy). Eric Clapton, Keith Richards… any blues-influenced musician of note recognizes Johnson as a pioneer.
Blind Willie Johnson: Dark Was the Night (Columbia/Legacy). Haunting and beautiful.
B.B. King: Live at the Regal (MCA). Best live blues album ever.
Charlie Patton: Founder of the Delta Blues (Yazoo). Difficult listening, but rewarding.
Elvis Presley: Reconsider Baby (RCA). Forget the crappy soundtrack albums, the Las Vegas schmaltz, and enjoy a dozen smoldering tracks of E playin’ it dirty.
Various Artists: Alligator Records Presents Crucial Chicago Blues (Alligator). Excellent compilation of more recent bluesmen—and women (Koko Taylor).
Various Artists: When the Sun Goes Down, Volume 3—That’s Chicago’s South Side (Bluebird). The entire Sun Goes Down series is highly recommended. I think they’re up to Volume 27

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