Andres Roots is a Tallinn-born musician, songwriter, producer and journalist whose award-winning 2010 solo album "Roundabout" yielded the national #1 video hit "Redecoration Day". His songs enjoy airplay on five continents and – mainly as the guitarist and manager for Bullfrog Brown – he has appeared live in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, the UK, Denmark and Finland, sharing stages with the likes of Honeyboy Edwards, Gurf Morlix and Havana Black. A full-time journalist in the 1990’s, Andres’ writings on music have been published in all major Estonian dailies, as well as blues webzines and mags in Finland, the UK and Germany.
L.R.Phoenix
North Carelian Lake Country Blues
A gypsy woman told my mother “You got a boy child comin’, he gonna be a son of a gun.”
“That’s nice,” she replied. “Aren’t you my midwife?”
“Yes, yes,” the gypsy replied. “I’m just doing this part time for the extra cash. Now your son he’s going to do great things with music.”
“Oh is he going to be rich and famous?”
“No. He’s going to play the blues.”
“Bugger,” my mother said with a little too much disappointment in her voice. “Well at least tell me he’s going to play something popular like Chicago blues...”
“Well.... he’s going to play like the old Mississippi Hill country players like Fred McDowell, Junior Kimbrough and R.L.Burnside.”
“Who?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, when should I tell him about his destiny?”
“Oh, never tell him. He must find his own way.” She looked away and said under her breath, “He’s also going to move from England and live in Finland.”
So after over 30 years of doing more than 50 different jobs, someone heard me playing the guitar and said you play like those Hill country players. I had no idea what he was on about, so he told me. And once I heard those old guys playing I knew I’d found my musical home. So now whatever I play, the ghosts of these people are not too far away.
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