John Rutherford: Beatroute’s A Player of the Month

By Lindsay Wilson

as printed in beatroute

Twenty-five years of hard work as a radio host, blues writer, “King Eddy brat,” founding member of the eventual house band at the King Eddy (the Hoodoo Sons), founder and director of the blues series for 17 years at the EPCOR Centre, concert promoter and playing sideman and frontman in numerous bands have finally come full circle for the innovative Calgary bluesman, John Rutherford, with the release of his debut solo album, Echo Broadcast.

“This is my first time standing out alone. It’s sticking my neck out a lot more – so it’s become a bigger project than I originally thought,” explains Rutherford.

Rutherford approached the production of “Echo Broadcast” from a thoughtful and open-minded standpoint – meaning that he wanted the album to sound different from his previous projects, such as his days with the Hoodoo Sons, the recording and touring with the No Guff acoustic duo project with guitarist Dan Tapanila, the collective force of the highly regarded Highwater Jug Band (which boasted blues heavies Tim Williams, Suitcase James, Mark Sadlier-Brown and Cedric Blary) and his extensive recording and touring history with upright bassist and singer/songwriter Ronnie Hayward.

This time, standing out alone, Rutherford wanted to produce a great singer/songwriter, roots-based compilation of original music, while paying homage to the romanticism of the King Eddy and his blues soul.

Echo Broadcast, which was produced by fellow Calgary musician and record producer Lorrie Matheson, features a tight rhythm section with Chris Dadge on drums and Scott Munro on bass, as well as the appearance of Matheson on piano and organ and Cedric Blary on clarinet.

Since its early 2010 release, Echo Broadcast has quickly climbed music charts on CKUA and is receiving international recognition to boot.

Although Rutherford has been, without question, a devotee to the blues community in Calgary, as well as to the genre himself as a player, he decided against pigeon-holing himself with Echo Broadcast by offering up a wide range of tones, guitar styles, percussive effects, instrumentation and song arrangements.

The overall sound of Rutherford’s CD lends itself more to Americana, or roots music, with singer/songwriter and blues elements.

“I think it’s a record about the blues – it goes beyond 12-bar, 3-chord structure,” says Rutherford, who was particular about using several guitars on this record for a variable tonal range.

The album sports bold electrified sounds to intricate finger-picking to gritty Delta blues. Most notable, however, is Rutherford’s highly advanced level of storytelling-style songwriting, an aspect of his musicianship to which the guitarist has devoted much of the last decade.

“I tried to break down any kind of pattern or consistent guitar sound. I’m a blues guy, but in the last ten years I’ve become much more appreciative of singer/songwriters,” says Rutherford.

Due to Rutherford’s strong connection with the legendary days of the King Eddy, his experiences of sharing the stage with the touring Chicago greats – artists like Paul Butterfield, Junior Wells, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Eddie Shaw – and his experiences interviewing the best of the best on his various blues radio shows (from CJSW to CBC to KickFM to CKUA), there is an underlying level of homage paid in the ten out of eleven songs Rutherford wrote for Echo Broadcast.

Despite being a native of Toronto, Rutherford has proudly made Calgary his home for the last 25 years. There are references in Rutherford’s songs to the King Eddy and other identifiable Calgary landmarks, as well as the general spirit of the blues.

As for the now six-year parting of the King Eddy and the fight to bring it back to life under the wing of the Cantos Music Foundation? Well, Rutherford chooses to accept the passing of an era and the lessons learned through the blues giants that walked through those doors and will support any efforts to resurrect the historical landmark.

“What comes to mind are the great legends who walked those halls, some of whom became lifelong friends – that and the characters who lived there were stories unto themselves… It can’t ever be the same, but that’s okay. It has to be acknowledged that it’s okay for it to be that way. It’s a generation that’s a bygone era,” states Rutherford, who always presents his ideas and notions with clarity and ease, true to the nature of any experienced radio host who has interviewed the Buddy Guys and beyond of the blues world.

Maybe Rutherford’s rising success as a solo artist can be attributed to his deep roots in the blues scene, or his experiences of sharing the stage with the best in the business, perhaps his dual perspective as a music media master and as a musician, or maybe simply his natural talent and true-blue dedication to the music. Whatever the reason may be, the doors have opened up and are allowing Rutherford to focus on his music full time.

And there’s no better feeling for a bluesman than to get up night after night and bare his soul to his audience.