No Hiding From The Blues

Many years ago, maybe 15 or 16, I took some gigs with a Boston based blues guitar man. His name is Arthur King. He was a gritty, scrappy guy.. quite eccentric. He always wore black over his short, thin stature. His hair was jet black and shoulder length, and he always wore it slicked back in a ponytail. His eyes were dark as night.. in some ways, he resembled a little devil, to be honest.

He told me once he couldn't play a guitar that was worth more than $250... he managed to milk the truest, bluest notes in every lick he played. His vocals were were deep and dark, telling each story in his songs with real and honest experience. He had played as a side-man to a former side-man of blues great Muddy Waters. Arthur was under-the-radar in the scene, but in my eyes, he was the real deal. I gladly took some gigs with him, and even became sort-of friends with him.

Time passed, things happened, he had some fallings out with mutual friends.. and last I heard, he took up driving trucks and left town. I never knew what became of him, but then, I didn't exactly seek him out either..

Last weekend at my weekly blues jam, a band came to play. This three-piece blues outfit have come about 3 or 4 times. Very polite guys, respectful and not ever obnoxious. They come, they sit and listen, they play their set, they stay for another set, they leave, not without saying goodbye and thanking us for letting them perform. Good guys.

Every time they had come to perform up until last Sunday, I never got a chance to really sit down and listen to them play.. I'd be distracted, socializing, what have you. This Sunday, I sat at a front table, and calmly studied their performance. I was struck first by the guitar player.. he played a guitar I wasn't familiar with, a very pretty brown one with a Gibson shaped body, and his tone was downright sweet. His guitar stylings were practical and solid.. no busy frilly fills, no over-the-top, high-noted show off chops. Just basic, true playing. Refreshing.

As I watched and listened to the guitar player play and sing, with his deep voice and dark looks, I suddenly had the image of Arthur King pop into my head. This guy reminds me of Arthur King, I said to myself. As they played, I told my friend who was sitting with me the story of Arthur. When the band finished their performance, and the guitar player, Peter, walked by, I told him how much I enjoyed his set and his playing, and I also told him he reminded me of somebody I used to play with years ago. Peter nodded with interest and thanked me. I had taken a few shots of them with my camera, so before they left they left me their band business card so I could email them any photos that might have come out okay. As they left, I said to Don, doesn't Peter remind you of Arthur King? Don said, yea, now that you mention it, he sure does! Don, too, had played a bunch of gigs with Arthur, before Don and I had met in 1995.

Later that night, at home, I edit four of the photos I took of Peter and his band, and before I send them to him through email, I decide to check out his band website first. I clicked over to the band bio section and my jaw dropped. Under the guitar players name, this is what I read:


"Peter Michelini is an internationally-known guitarist whose roots in the blues began at a young age.  As a teen in the early 70s, he took to the guitar after being influenced by his brother, Arthur King, who was playing with many blues greats including Muddy Waters side-man, Luther "Georgia-Boy" or "Snake" Johnson, Joe Beard and the Blues Union, Koko Taylor, and numerous others."

I screamed out loud, and read that to Don, who was half asleep on the couch. Neither one of us had any idea that Arthur had a blues-guitar playing brother who lived in Maine.

Naturally, I wrote Peter the story when I sent him the photos, and when he replied the next day, he was pleasantly surprised, too. Small world, indeed. I found out Arthur is still driving trucks, when he's not living in Mexico, and is itching to get a band together again...  Don't suppose he'll make it up to Maine, though. At least I have a new friend in his brother!
www.preservationbluesband.com