Japan, Tom Waits and The Union love Bob Log III
by Reggie Ballumtime - 4/3/2003
The Union has been trying to get Bob Log III to take the stage for about 5 years now. The day has finally come. Some may know him as one half of the long lost Doo Rag, others who have seen his performance may know him as the guy that played so fas and hard that he threw up inside his helmet mid-song (and kept playing without missing a beat!) Both are correct. For the non-believers let me set the scene: imagine 'the blues' (read: straight ahead old-time rocknroll) played at the speed of light by one man and his guitar, using a kick drum at his feet for something resembling a backbeat and singing through a megaphone/microphone attached inside an old motorcycle helmet/gas mask.
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In the three years since Bob Log III released Trike (the first Fat Possum release), he has traveled to Japan half a dozen times, where he has gone from cult hero to mainstream media darling, playing before stadium crowds at Budokan (read: Cheap Trick), hosting festivals, and turning down ads to do Nikon commercials (he's no money whore like Woody Allen.)
Here's what The Daily Yomimuri from Tokyo has to say about him...
"Bob sounds like an old Delta blues LP played at 78 rpm mixed in Waring blender set at high. The disembodied voice runs through the telephone microphone stripping the blues down to their most stereotypically basic elements - raw throated vocals, crude guitar, and helter skelter rhythms."
We found another interesting review from none other than Tom Waits (you may have seen his portrait hanging on the wall at The Union). This came from a London interview for Time Out...
TIME OUT: "What are you listening to now?"
TOM WAITS: "Well, I really like Wu Tang clan, those guys kill me. And then there's this guy named Bob Log, you ever heard of him? He's this little kid - nobody ever knows how old he is - wears a motor- cycle helmet and he has a microphone inside of it and he puts the glass over the front so you can't see his face, and plays slide guitar. It's the loudest, strangest stuff you've ever heard. You don't understand one word he's saying" Waits laughs. "I like people who glue macaroni on to a piece of cardboard and paint it gold. That's what I aspire to basically."
Bob Log III (japanese website) will be joined by Beb & Serge, who have been described as Peaches meets Sonny & Cher, and locals Southeast Engine, and Jacknife. Those in the know are quite aware of the extreme difference between the two local acts, and would bet this is quite possibly the strangest showcase of music the Union has ever hosted. Hurray for that!
Want more?
Check out the coolest blues label on the planet, Fat Possum. (home of Solomon Burke, R.L. Burnside, T. Model Ford, The Neckbones, Buddy Guy, and Bob Log III)
