Plenty of post–Stevie Ray Vaughan guitarists can approximate the blues virtuoso’s tone and style. What they largely lack is his ability to attack every note as if it might be their last.
J.D. Simo sounds nothing like the Texas legend, but his guitar work has the same urgency and ferocity. His performances exhibit his go-for-broke style of playing and singing, as well as a relentless musical exploration that alludes to British power trios, southern rock, psychedelic soul and, most recently, the Grateful Dead. That adventurous spirit has been in evidence on Simo’s studio albums, including his latest, Off at 11 (Crows Feet).
“I originally wanted to make a traditional ’50s-style blues record,” Simo says of the new release. “I started working in my basement with gear that would yield the sound I wanted. I’d cut either stuff I’d written or tunes by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Earl Hooker and Magic Sam.
“Then, last summer, Phil Lesh called me to play with Phil Lesh and Friends. In the middle of a tour I realized that, though I love old blues music, I also love going-to-Mars, freak-flag-fly music. I was conflicted about it, but Phil said, ‘Why don’t you do both?’”
Thus, Off at 11 features a version of “Sweet Little Angel” that B.B. King would be proud of, as well as the 16-minute-plus jam “Accept” and the title tune, both of which nod to East-West–era Butterfield Blues Band, free jazz and the Dead. “I have versions of both those tunes from years ago,” Simo acknowledges. “But these are way better because I’m older and freer in a way.”
As the former star of Don Kelly’s legendary country band on Nashville’s Broadway strip, Simo may have made a name for himself with honky-tonkers, but he is clearly steeped