Two teen-agers share love of blues music. When Jacob Blair picks up a guitar, his fingers know exactly what to do. They dance over the strings, making music before he knows it, before he’s even decided what to play. That’s how it was the first time he held a guitar in his grandparents’ home in Sheridan. Back then, 11-year-old Jacob had to lay his grandpa’s acoustic guitar on his lap. He was too small to play it any other way. Now, more than three years later, Jacob’s arms can hold any guitar. Whether it’s his own Fender Stratocaster, it belongs to Grandpa or it’s borrowed from an admiring fellow musician. And as soon as he has a guitar in his hands, his fingers start to dance.
Music is the past, present and future to Jacob, who will start high school in September. In particular, blues music. "I think if I wanted to, I could do anything," he said, "but what I want is to play the blues." Jacob has been listening to the blues since he was a baby. His parents were into Stevie Ray Vaughn and other blues artists, he said. He learned to share their love for the blues, and, through recordings, the late guitarist became his mentor. "Stevie Ray made me want to play the guitar," Jacob said. "His sound ... there’s such a lot to it that I like. He can get really low-down and dirty, but at the same time it sounds pretty to me." He considered. "Stevie Ray, he could talk through his music," he said. "Now he kind of helps me do that."
Jacob isn’t a big fan of hard rock or rap,
the way most of his classmates are. "A few of my friends
listen to the blues," he said, "when I play."
He’s made many friends through music, though, including Matt
Seymour of McMinnville. Matt, 13, plays bass with Jacob’s
band, The Jacob Blair Band. Matt, an eighth-grader, also has a
lifetime of musical experience. He plays drums and has played
saxophone in the band at Duniway Middle School. At 10, he started
learning bass, using his dad’s instrument. "It was a
challenge remembering the songs and especially staying
consistent," Matt said. He kept at it because he loves the
bass. "The bass is really the foundation of the band. It can
hold the band together," he said. "Plus, there’s
usually only one bass player. I like that." He said
he’s gotten better since he met Jacob and started performing
with his band. Performing also helps Jacob improve, the guitarist
said. "Every time I play, I get a little better," said
Jacob, who has played so much that he’s worn down the frets
on his guitar, not to mention worn out countless sets of 10-46
D'Addario strings.
The first time he picked up a guitar, Jacob learned to strum chords. He soon taught himself to pick out the melodic line. "I wanted to do solos, not just rhythm," he recalled. He plays by ear, mostly. "Solos, I can just hear," he said. He does use chord charts, sometimes, for the passages that are dense with unusual combinations of notes. Jacob is still working on developing his own musical style. "At first, I was Stevie Ray. Now I’m starting to get more of myself into it," he said, struggling for words to describe this process. "You feel it and it goes through you, into the music." Sometimes he plays best in a good mood, he said, but sometimes it’s just the opposite. "Feeling bad is what the blues is all about," he said. "The blues is about life."
For both teens, music is a catharsis. "I feel a lot better after playing," Jacob said. "Hey, stuff happens," Matt added. "Playing the blues is sorta like therapy. Playing music, you can forget about everything else." That doesn’t mean Matt isn’t nervous at times. "But if I’m nervous, I just try to turn it into excitement," he said. "Like my sister told me, turn it around and use it."
Jacob’s first performance was at the Old Peak Jam near Philomath in 1997. "There was an open mike and I went up and played what I knew," he said. "I wasn’t scared. It was the first time I felt that adrenaline of playing for people. It felt good." Now performing brings less of a rush. "Now it’s normal," he said. "It’s comfortable being up there." He experienced a tingle of adrenaline again when he sang on stage for the first time. At a Sunday jam in Benny’s Tavern, Willamina, he worked up the courage. He approached the microphone and promptly received an electric shock. "Whoa," he recalled. "But I backed away and kept singing." Jacob is gaining confidence. He said he figures he doesn’t have to be a great singer to sing the blues, anyway. Matt disagreed somewhat. "Jacob puts himself down, but really, he has a good voice," he said. The teens are having a lot of fun with their music now. Sometimes, they think about the future. "I want steady gigs and I want to get recognized," Jacob said. "I just want to be able to play all the time. That’s what I love doing."
Matt also sees music in his future, although he’s realistic enough to know that not everyone can support themselves in the music business. "I’d like to play the rest of my life," he said. "I’d like it to be my one job, tour the world and play with very talented people." He looked at his friend Jacob. "I’m playing with one of them now," he said. "Jacob’s amazing."
The Boys of Blues
firmventures October 2000 webmaster - Rev 03/2001