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C L I F F S T E V E N S
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 After spending years
as a sideman playing with different groups
– for crowds of 14000 at the Montreal International Jazz
Festival, 1400 at the Medley Club in
Montreal, or 14 drunks in Moose Jaw, Canadian
blues guitarist C L I F F S T E V E
N S decided to go solo. While in Paris in
1997 he wrote three tunes that set him on his course. Two of them -
Said The Wrong Thing and Crying My Heart Out - were released that year on
Preservation Records' Preservation Blues Review to critical
acclaim.
Playing guitar professionally for more than 30 years,
CLIFF STEVENS' two original influences were the British and
British and American blues rock guitarists of the day, Eric Clapton
and Johnny Winter. In 1968, he saw The Cream in Montreal.
"Clapton just jammed all night long and I was blown away. I then saw
Johnny Winter And four times in 1970 and memorized every lick I could".
Stevens says that when he was thirteen "all we did was jam slow blues
all day...that's how I Iearned to play" - at
the legendary 'coffee house' in Montreal -
known as a breeding ground for Canadian guitarists (Frank Marino, Ricardo
Formosa, Bobby Cohen, Jimmy James) as well as the place to get "any drug
anytime...it was a pretty loose place" according to Stevens. It was
about this time that he acquired his 1961 Gibson SG Les Paul that he still
uses today, mostly for slide guitar.
Through the 70's and 80's Stevens did stints with
various groups travelling across Canada and working
non-stop six nights a week in bands playing the basic rock of the day.
"It was a living but I always missed my first love - the blues". He
ended up in Toronto
in 1980, worked for a year with Ray Materick,
who had a good regional following. They recorded the album Bring On The
Light in 1981..."the solo on 'Might Take
Some Muscle' is still one of my favorites - kind of like early Clapton. I
wish I could get my hands on a copy" Stevens says. By then, however, the
six-night weeks year after year had begun to take their toll - the drinking, drugging, being on the road and
Stevens decided to take a break. From 1982 to 1985 he drove taxi and withdrew
from the business only playing sporadically .
"I was burned out, I badly needed a break" he explains. He went
back to university and got a Masters degree in
music and education. "I really got into jazz for awhile but I kept
getting calls for blues gigs and had no real opportunity to master the jazz language".
Stevens then jumped head first back into the blues,
discovered blues guitarists Albert King, Albert
Collins and Otis Rush and started writing tunes in the genre. He worked with
powerhouse soul singer Bobby Lee for four years before
deciding to go solo. Although often compared to Eric Clapton both in his playing and singing, Stevens is no Clapton clone.
While there similarities (in fact, he heads a Clapton tribute group, Slowhand
he claims the blues as his first love, while acknowledging a
powerful pop influence in his writing. This pop
and roots combination creates a roots crossover style that satisfies both
novice and ardent blues fan.
From 1996 through 2000, Stevens worked more than sixty-five six night
weeks with various bands as a guitarist singer at a house gig in Casablanca,
Morocco, developing his natural singing abilities and learning how to work
an audience as a front man. "I was the 'Canadian blues connection'
over there" Stevens says, "there is something undeniably universal
about a slow blues or a shuffle...the blues numbers were always a highlight
of the night both for me and the audience." On his
return, he wowed audiences with his seemingly effortless energy and
entertaining live shows, playing to enthusiastic crowds throughout Canada and the United States. His original tunes
including Said The
Wrong Thing, Crying My Heart Out, Don't Do Me No More,
Don't Walk
Away & Finger Express have become live repertoire
staples and crowd favourites. His raspy voice,
catchy tunes and accessible lyrics make him an instant favorite with crowds.
His incredible intensity and lyrical ability on the guitar pays tribute to
the cream of the great blues guitarists while
expressing a tone and feel that is truly his own.
C L I F F
S T E V E N S truly has ...a heartload
of blues!
Booking: info@cliffstevens.com
 
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