PAUL RISHELL LAUNCHES BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC COUNTRY BLUES PROGRAM AS VISITING ARTIST/PROFESSOR

NEW ALBUM 'TALKING GUITAR' (MAY 8 / MOJO RODEO) ALSO SERVES AS PRIMER FOR STUDENTS

Paul Rishell – the blues master with the 45+ year career who is returning to the songs that originally inspired him on 'Talking Guitar' (May 8 / Mojo Rodeo) – has been sharing his deep knowledge of pre-war country blues styles with a new generation as a Visiting Artist at Berklee College of Music, alongside fellow Visiting Artist/Professor Woody Mann.

He says, "We talk about how country blues has been an influence on popular music ever since it became a recorded art form. I also teach how to listen to the recordings and pick out the guitar parts, the tunings, and which strings to use. Some of the techniques would be difficult to notate, so they need to be demonstrated."

Of his own learning process, he says, "I've been fascinated with Leadbelly's 'Fannin' Street' for years. Like all the country blues masters, he came up with a unique way of playing the guitar. It took 50 years of it being in my head before I got to the place where I could perform it well enough to record it. I was re-stringing the guitar one day and it was tuned down to B, which made it sound like a 12-string, so it made me think of that song and I started fooling around with it." Hear Rishell's version of "Fannin' Street'": http://nicklosseaton.blogspot.com/2012/03/paul-rishell-mp3.html

In 2011, Berklee's American Roots Music Program launched the Robert Davoli - Eileen McDonagh Country Blues Visiting Artist Program. Now Rishell is passing on lessons he learned by getting to know elders like Son House and Howlin' Wolf. "It's a wonderful opportunity to expose people to this music in depth, to help them discover all the great musicans and stories that make up the world of country blues. I was attracted to the music at a very early age and it was always a source of great comfort and inspiration to me."

Early word on 'Talking Guitar' has been stellar. Living Blues called the music "exceptionally rendered prewar blues songs that retain the sound, and, more importantly, the spirit of the original artists," continuing, "Rishell has really mastered prewar blues—even his singing has an incredible ease and authenticity. For modern ears, the record makes the genre both fascinating and highly accessible… It’s often like Rishell is washing windows—letting in the sunlight and revealing the mystique of these early recordings… After hearing Paul Rishell’s blues, you’ll have a hard time denying the power of such bare, organic, and emotive sound."

PAUL RISHELL REFINES ORIGINAL INSPIRATION WHEN CREATING 'TALKING GUITAR,' OUT MAY 8 ON MOJO RODEO

MEETING SON HOUSE PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR FUTURE BLUES MUSIC AWARD-WINNER

When he was 13, Paul Rishell first heard Son House's "County Farm Blues." "It was a revelation. I didn’t know how old he was, but here was this guy who was an adult, and he was rocking out. He was not an old geezer. He wasn’t making Lawrence Welk music. He was playing Rock and Roll music. He was playing stuff with a beat and he was making the beat; he was the beat; he was the whole thing. I thought, 'Listen to this guy. He’s unbelievable; he’s like a whole band!'"

"Soon afterward, he heard Lead Belly's hard-driving "Fannin' Street (Mr. Tom Hughes' Town)." I wanted to learn it from the first time I heard it. But I had to get in shape to do it."

On his new album 'Talking Guitar,' he performs some of the songs that originally inspired him but which have taken a lifetime to master. "Most country blues records were compendiums then," he recalls, continuing, "It was rare to find an album by the more obscure artists like Scrapper Blackwell or Charley Patton. For years I thought Charley Patton only recorded one song, 'Hang it On the Wall,' because that was the one that showed up on all of the compilations."

An introduction to Son House facilitated by Dick Waterman furthered the young Rishell's growth: "I was blinded by sitting across from this guy. It was like meeting Abraham Lincoln. I shook the same hand that had shaken Charley Patton's hand. I asked him about his life. He told me about his travels, which included places as far-flung as California and Louisiana. At one point he worked in Algiers, Louisiana, picking the Spanish moss off of trees to fill mattresses."

AFTER MEETING SON HOUSE, PAUL RISHELL DREAMS COUNTRY BLUES ORIGINAL

NEW ALBUM 'TALKING GUITAR' OUT MAY 8 ON MOJO RODEO

One of the most intriguing songs from blues master Paul Rishell's new album 'Talking Guitar' came to him in a dream following his experience of meeting and playing with Son House.

Of the driving song "Louise," Rishell says, "I woke up in the middle of the night and in my head was a bass part. I got up and learned it in the dark and went back to sleep. Then I woke up in the morning with a melody in my head." A scholar of country blues, he also adapted one of the chords in the song from Bo Carter's "Bumble Bee." The result is a highlight of 'Talking Guitar,' standing alongside works by Lead Belly, Skip James, Charley Patton, and Blind Lemon Jefferson.

GRAMMY Winner David Holt, who frequently accompanies Doc Watson, recorded the song with Sam Bush (Alison Krauss, John Prine, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris) on mandolin on his 'Let it Slide' album in 2005.

'Talking Guitar' comes out May 8 on Mojo Rodeo.

A WC Handy Award winner, Rishell has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called "a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays." Downbeat said, "He makes the masters like Son House and Robert Johnson speak to us across time."

BLUES MASTER PAUL RISHELL TO RELEASE 'TALKING GUITAR' APRIL 17, FEATURING INTERPRETATIONS OF PRE-WAR SONGS BY LEAD BELLY, SKIP JAMES, BLIND LEMON JEFF

FIRST SOLO ALBUM SINCE 1993 FOR W.C. HANDY AWARD WINNER, WHO PLAYED WITH SON HOUSE, HOWLIN' WOLF, AND JOHN LEE HOOKER

"He makes the masters like Son House and Robert Johnson speak to us across time."

- Frank-John Hadley, Downbeat

Paul Rishell – the W.C. Handy Award-winning blues master singer and guitarist who played with and learned from Son House, Johnny Shines, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, and Buddy Guy, and Junior Wells – has come full circle in creating his new album 'Talking Guitar' (May 8 / Mojo Rodeo Records) returning to the music which inspired him to play the blues in the first place when he began honing his craft over 45 years ago. It is his first solo album since 1993 and his first all-acoustic outing.

'Talking Guitar' sports interpretations of songs from the repertoires of Blues Hall of Famers Lead Belly, Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and others in addition to two Rishell originals. His musical partner of the past 18 years Annie Raines guests on harmonica for three songs including "Big Road Blues" and the rousing original "I'm Gonna Jump and Shout."

Rishell has reached what Boston Phoenix writer Ted Drozdowski called "a place deep and resonant as Robert Johnson’s crossroads, where authenticity, soul, and a sense of purpose and commitment ring out in every note he sings and plays." Billboard Magazine says, "Rishell is a master of country/blues styles, particularly slide played on a National steel guitar."

Here's video of Rishell teaching and playing "Down the Dirt Road Blues" and talking about Charley Patton from his instructional DVD by the same name on True Fire (performance starts at 1:23):

He is also a blues historian and educator, who is currently a Visiting Artist at Berklee College of Music. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Rishell has long lived in Cambridge, MA.

A Rishell guitar pupil, Susan Tedeschi recorded an "unplugged" version of Paul’s "Blues on a Holiday" with Paul on guitar. With Raines, he has opened for Ray Charles, Asleep at the Wheel, Susan Tedeschi, Leon Russell, Dr. John, and John Sebastian. They were also featured members of the J Band, led by John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful.

The duo has played on A Prairie Home Companion and PBS’s Arthur and Rishell has performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. They have performed and recorded with Tedeschi, Sebastian, Hubert Sumlin, and Pinetop Perkins.

Paul Rishell – Talking Guitar

1. Fannin' Street (Leadbelly)

2. Special Rider Blues (Skip James)

3. M & O Blues (Willie Brown)

4. Down the Dirt Road Blues (Charley Patton)

5. Big Road Blues (Tommy Johnson).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

6. I'm Gonna Jump and Shout (Paul Rishell).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

7. Police Dog Blues (Blind Blake)

8. One Dime Blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson)

9. Weeping Willow Blues (Blind Boy Fuller)

10. Screamin' and Cryin' Blues (Blind Boy Fuller)

11. Tired of Being Mistreated (Clifford Gibson)

12. Louise (Paul Rishell)

13. Michigan Water Blues (Clarence Williams, adapted & arranged by Paul Rishell).feat. Annie Raines, harmonica

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For more information on Paul Rishell, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton at nick.losseaton@gmail.com or 718.541.1130.