The June 26 edition of Greasy Tracks took a decidedly bluesy focus via interviews with and new material from Chris Cain, Curtis Salgado and Gary Vogensen.
Click here to check out an archive of the program, while a playlist is here.
Cain and Salgado are label mates at Alligator Records which just marked its 50th year since it was founded. Veteran guitarist Cain recently released Raisin’ Cain, his label debut for Alligator, while Salgado, a well-traveled singer and harp player, just put out Damage Control.
A protege of Michael Bloomfield, Vogensen has done just about everything in the music business over the last half century from touring sideman to session player and guitar instructor while taking time out to record his own albums from time to time. His just out Shot of Hope (Little Village Foundation) captures his chops with a solid collection of originals and interesting covers.
Their passion for playing music is obvious, but each have some interesting back stories when it comes to how they innocently enough got into the business.
Cain, who grew up in San Jose, Calif., had access to his father’s collection of records and was lucky enough to be going to concerts at a very young age. Thanks in part to his father, Cain took a particular liking to BB King and Albert King as a youth. That was where it all started and his passion grew along with his ability as a musician as he was adept at playing piano and saxophone along with guitar. Listening to records and copping licks as a youth just encouraged him to pursue music as a profession.
Based in Portland, Ore., Salgado played in a number of local bands before linking up with a group of musicians who would, in time, become the Robert Cray Band. Salgado appeared on the band’s debut, Who’s Been Talkin’ in 1980.
His path would also cross with John Belushi when Belushi was filming Animal House in Eugene, Ore. In no time, the two became friends and Salgado would end up influencing Belushi’s creation of The Blues Brothers. The band’s live debut, the chart-topping Briefcase Full of Blues in 1978, was dedicated to Salgado.
Following his departure from Cray’s band in 1982, Salgado linked up with Rhode Island’s Roomful of Blues and would front them for three years.
Vogensen officially got bitten by the music bug as a high school senior on Nov. 1, 1968, when he went to the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco to catch Genesis, Taj Mahal and The Byrds. Openers Genesis did nothing for him as they “didn’t have a guitarist,” but Taj Mahal had a hot Telecaster player with him, Jesse Edwin Davis, who, according to Vogensen, got under his skin and heart and left him saying: “I just have to do that.” By the time the headlining Byrds took the stage with an equally brilliant Tele player in Clarence White, Vogensen was already committed to becoming a musician.
A few years later, Vogensen was hanging out in the control room of Marin Recorders where Michael Bloomfield was involved with producing and playing on sessions that would end up on the one and only album by Melton, Levy & the Dey Bros. featuring ex-Country Joe & The Fish guitarist, Barry Melton.
At the urging of some friends, Vogensen asked if he could sit in on a jam the musicians were doing during a break from recording. Bloomfield, as the story went, eagerly encouraged Vogensen and ended up suggesting to Melton that Vogensen join the band as a rhythm guitarist for their tour.
This led to Vogensen playing as a touring sideman for a handful of bands before reconnecting with Bloomfield several years later which led to work with Maria Malduar, a tryout for Frank Zappa’s band, road work with Elvin Bishop who one night opened for Etta James. James’ guitarist had sprained a wrist and Vogensen was called in to handle guitar work for the night.
In the 1980s he was part of Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen, the following decade found him with New Riders of the Purple Sage and session and live work with Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs and Rick Danko to name but a few.