By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Sue Foley plays Blues on Grand on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Admission is $12. Peter Karp of Blind Pig Records, who Foley said she plans to record an album with this year, will join her.

‘Blues Woman’ Foley still blazing trails

A number of things struck me about Canadian blues singer-guitarist Sue Foley the night I saw her make her Des Moines debut at the old Connie’s Lounge about 15 years ago to promote her 1992 debut album for Antone’s Records, “Young Girls Blues.” For starters, her guitar prowess was obvious, and not because her hands could fly up and down the neck of her pink paisley Telecaster with the greatest of ease, but because she valued good tone and, unlike many of her male counterparts who were also in their early 20s at the time, she understood the intrinsic power of one good note versus too many average ones. As if her guitar playing wasn’t enough, she also possessed a mature singing voice that defied her youth, a subtle sexuality that demanded your attention, and she traveled with one of best blues rhythm sections that included Stevie Ray Vaughan’s first drummer, the late shuffle master Freddie “Faroh” Walden, and bassist Jon Penner to form an air-tight, intuitive trio.

But what impressed me the most about Foley that night was her commitment to a genre of music created by African American slaves. It was clear she didn’t want to be viewed as a novelty act because of her age, race, nationality or gender. She was serious about making good music.

Since then, years have passed and Foley, now in her mid-30s, has shed her young girl blues. She’s a mother and veteran performer with 11 albums [including 2007’s “Time Bomb”] and numerous worldwide tours under her belt, and remains one of the most creative, versatile guitarists on the scene.

In 2001, however, Foley found a new calling that would strengthen her commitment to music — that of becoming an author.

For the past seven years, Foley has conducted nearly 100 interviews with female guitarists of all genres, including Bonnie Raitt, Etta Baker, Joan Armatrading and Nancy Wilson. Her goal this year is to write a book entitled “Guitar Woman,” a first-of-its-kind historical and biographical account of women guitarists throughout the world. Foley said she hopes it will shed some light on some of the world’s most talented and under-appreciated guitarists.

“It’s multi-dimensional. I’ve interviewed everyone from 93-year-old grannies to 13-year-old wizards and all styles of music and cultures. It’s about a whole category of women,” she said.

Foley said not only has she learned a lot about other styles of music and players, but a lot about herself during the process of interviewing artists.

“Interviews are like good conversations when they go well, and I’ve found everybody’s lives and careers have kind of mirrored my own. It’s been fascinating and life-affirming,” she said.

Foley said she was impressed and grateful for the candor each artist showed her, crediting her insider’s perspective for helping her put interview subjects at ease. She also said most of the artists shared similar stories of how each has had to forge their own career path in a field dominated by male guitar slingers. Still, she said, the focus of the book is to celebrate women guitarists, not to “bitch about being mistreated,” adding, “guys in this business have it hard, too.”

“Any woman willing to risk her career and life doing this kind of work is tough and gutsy and doesn’t go by anybody’s rules but her own,” Foley said. “I would say 99 percent of the ones I talked to are trailblazers and they’ve done exactly what they’ve wanted with their lives and they’ve molded themselves into who they wanted to be and you can’t say that about a lot of people.”

Present company included.

Scene notes

The Other Truckers, featuring Brother Trucker members Andy Fleming and Lyle Kevin Hogue, as well as Dave Ford and BeJae Fleming, combine their love of roots music when they play the Ritual Café on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation. … Uhuru magazine and the Student Union Board of Iowa State University will host its annual poetry slam on Thursday at 8 p.m. at the M-Shop. Renowned poet and author Jim Coppoc will host the event. Admission is free. … What better way to celebrate Leap Year than a performance by the band Leapyear, right? The local rock band performs Friday at 9 p.m. at Java Joes with special guests Fighting For Kate and DJ Jayvee. Admission is $5. … Billed as not another blues show, but a blues battle like the ones Muddy and Wolf used to have, local bands Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts and The Soul Searchers square off against each other Friday at 10 p.m. at the Vaudeville Mews. Admission is $5. … The rescheduled Larry Carlton-Robben Ford concert will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. at Hoyt Sherman Theater. Tickets from last fall’s cancelled show will be honored, and additional seats are available for $39.50. … Charlie King and Jim Scott perform Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Catholic Pastoral Center, 601 Grand Ave. The concert benefits the Catholic Peace Ministry. Admission is a $10 suggested donation. … Acoustic rocker Julie Loyd plays Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Anchor Coffee House at Westminster Church. Admission is $10. Call 274-1534. … Step Into Swing hosts a free “Thursday Night Swing Social” every week at Java Joes from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Free dance lessons are included. The group also sponsors “First Saturday Jitterbug Dance,” a monthly dance held the first Saturday (including this weekend) at the Des Moines Ballroom. Visit www.stepintoswing.com. … The Tesla concert that was postponed last week will be made up on Monday at the Val Air Ballroom. … Freemuse.org celebrates Music Freedom Day on Monday in an effort to raise awareness of the plight of censored musicians across the globe. A concert by Kris Kristofferson and other musicians will be broadcast on its Web site that day. … The Central Iowa Blues Society is accepting applications for its 2008 Iowa Blues Challenge. Deadline is March 8. The prize package includes the chance to compete at the 2009 International Blues Challenge in Memphis and gigs at festivals. Call 225-6638 or visit www.cibs.org. … Glen Phillips, former lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Jonathan Kingham play the Civic Center’s Temple Theater in the Temple for Performing Arts on April 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, $26.50, are on sale now through Ticketmaster. … A handful of acts have been announced for the annual Rib America Fest to be held outdoors at the Iowa Events Center this summer. They include Beatlemania Live! and Styx singer Dennis DeYoung on July 18; The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Marcia Ball, Cowboy Mouth and Hootie & the Blowfish on July 19; and Jonny Lang on July 20. … Regrettably, No Depression, arguably the best-written music magazine this side of the Oxford American’s annual Music Issue, will publish its final issue in May. The leading critical voice of the alt-country and Americana music movement (whatever that is) first published in 1995. The magazine will expand its online content (www.nodepression.net), though it will not replace the print version. It will be missed. CV

Comment on this story | Return to top