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BluesWax Sittin’ In With

Lee Pons

Part One

From The Bottom Up

By Stacy Jeffress

Having had his tune “Voodoo Boogie” included on a Blues Revue Blues Music Sampler CD last summer, this blues musician has been classically trained at Juilliard, dressed in spandex by Twisted Sister, and schooled in the blues by the legendary James Peterson. At forty-five, Lee Pons is not your average boogie-woogie piano player.

I witnessed Pons’ possessed performance skills at the 2011 International Blues Challenge where he represented the Suncoast Blues Society (West Central Florida) and advanced to the semi-final round, accessorized in sparkly golden Nikes, top hat, and Mardi Gras beads. Imagine the showmanship of Liberace combined with Biker Night on Beale and you will have a clue as to this artist’s persona. He comes across as charismatic and maybe a little scary at first impression, but once you soak up his warmth and thick Cajun drawl, you might not catch every word he enthusiastically spouts, but you’ll know he really means it!

In his first interview for a national publication, Pons describes his life as the child of highly-esteemed jazz bassist Rafael Pons, his adventures in heavy metal, and the reasons he returned to the sounds of his beloved New Orleans.

Stacy Jeffress for BluesWax: Have you had to have a day job through your musical career, or have you just survived on the music?

Lee Pons: I always tried to have a day job when I was in town playing locally. When I was on the road, you can’t have a day job. You can never count on things. Right now, all I’m doing is music, and this is the first time in years that I haven’t held down a day job. The reason for that is the CD is doing well, I’m getting offers to play out of town, and I couldn’t do it before because I had a day job.

BW: What kind of day job did you have?

LP: I worked at a vintage guitar shop. I sold guitars and strings and amps. I was the “gear head” so to speak. It was involved in music, and it was a great job. I can always go back to it. What I want to do right now is concentrate on the music itself. At my age, I’m getting to the point where it might be my last chance to push this thing. Thank the Lord the CD’s doing well, Bill Wax is playing it on [Sirius/XM] . Radio stations across the country are playing it. I’ve gotten really lucky with good reviews. I’m really thankful people are liking it.

BW: The CD you’re talking about is Big Voodoo Boogie on Mind Balm Records. You signed with that label last September?

LP: Yeah, record came out last September, and it took a little bit for it to build up, but it’s really catching on the last few months. A lot of things have helped out along the way, like I did the IBC last year and this year. That put a lot of exposure out there for me. I didn’t win; I made it to the semi-finals, but it doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s just being there.

BW: It’s great for the people you meet and the connections you make.

LP: Did I want to win? Yeah, everyone wanted to, but only one can. Last year was my first time there, the first time people got to meet me. That kind of put a buzz out for this year.

BW: You got a cut on one of the Blues Revue sampler CDs. How did that happen?

LP: It all had to do with my manager, Matt Marshall. He’s this young go-getter kid who absolutely is a ball of energy. He’s twenty-something. He does the Bluescentric website, and he knows a bunch of people and got me involved with the sampler. It was the Jimi Hendrix issue [Blues Revue #125 September/October 2010], and there were some great names on that thing. It was such a kick in the head to see all these great names, and there’s mine mixed in with them.

BW: You’re a master of social networking. What strategies are you using to increase your visibility?

LP: I’m a really big Kiss fan and have been since I was a kid, and Gene Simmons is like a hero to me. Hard to believe, but it’s true! I read his book. He asks, “Why do you work eight hours? Why can’t you work more?” Since I have my days free, I’ll sit there at the computer, and I will go on Facebook and social networks, and it’s a huge marketing tool. I’ll recommend this to anybody if you’re a musician, magician, puppeteer, or bunion specialist. There are a lot of tools out there you can use that cost little or nothing.

I ain’t no rich guy. You know the old adage; you’ve got to spend money to make money? I ain’t got no money to spend, no more than anybody else, so I can’t hire no big publicist. I’ve got to do stuff myself. Matt Marshall helps out, and we have brainstorming sessions once a week and implement ideas. If you’re a musician, there’s ReverbNation, an avenue for posting up songs and getting things going. What it’s all about is getting a buzz going. The thing is, you’ve got to be able to follow up. If you can’t, it can be the opposite to you.

BW: You’re involved in the Blindman’s Blues Forum?

LP: I love the Blindman’s Blues Forum, and everybody on that thing. If you’re a blues fan, I don’t care if you’re a musician or what, if you’re a plain blues fan, you’ve got to get on BBF. It is the best group of blues lovers you’ll ever meet in your life. Those people are more than just fans to me; we really are friends and family. We hang out together at the blues fests, like Juke Joint or King Biscuit, IBC.

There’s a chat line several days, and there’s a lot of movers and shakers on there. Even if they don’t post anything, they’re lurking, and they see what’s going on, who’s popular and that kind of stuff. It’s a great outlet for musicians to talk to people and a good place to market yourself to people who like what you do.

BW: You also write for the Suncoast Blues Society newsletter. In every issue you have the “Behind the Keys” column.

LP: Yeah, I have fun with that one. The Suncoast Blues Society is our blues society here in west central Florida, and we have the honor of being the third largest in the country. It’s well run, well organized; we have a newsletter that comes out every two months. You don’t have to live here to be a member. The newsletter is top notch, and I’m lucky they allow me to write my own little things. I try to write stories and bios, like one on Blind Tom – this guy was born a blind slave in the 1800s, and he was basically a savant. The cards were stacked against him from the beginning. There’s a ton of people out there like that, they may have died in obscurity, but they were really important.

Not too long ago I played a benefit with a bunch of other local guys to put a headstone on Willie Brown’s grave. They found his tomb, I don’t know how, but it’s him. A lot of people don’t know who Willie Brown is; he’s referenced in the song “Crossroads.” We wouldn’t have Robert Johnson if it wasn’t for Willie Brown. “Behind the Keys” is my little forum where I can say, you don’t know about this guy, but you should check this out. For every Pinetop Perkins, there’s a Blind Tom.

BW: You mentioned that you’ve gotten some airplay from Bill Wax. Out of all the music that’s put into his hands, how did you get his attention?

LP: Matt got the ball rolling with that one. Through networking, I got to meet Mary Lou Sullivan who wrote the Johnny Winter biography. She knew Bill Wax and put a bug in his ear. Then I got to meet him at the last Pinetop homecoming at Clarksdale and gave him my CD. I saw him again at IBC in February – I was doing the Mind Balm showcase. I look up and see the smiling face of Bill Wax. He said, “I guarantee you I will listen to your CD; I know I will play something off your CD.” At that time I said to my friend, “I don’t care if I win; l already won. I don’t care what these damn judges have to say, and apparently they heard me ‘cause I didn’t win!” Bill was so nice he put me on his Picks of the Week list, and every day I hear from somebody who said they heard it on Sirius Radio.

BW: Does that translate into sales?

LP: God, I hope so. It’s building up. If you’re in the blues to be rich, boy you’re in the wrong business. I’m not getting no gold album anytime soon, but I may get a Teflon.

“I’m not getting no gold album any time soon,

but I may get a Teflon.”

BW: You’ve got a new CD about ready to go, is that right?

LP: I’m working on it now, hoping for release in the fall. Is there going to be anything different about it? I don’t know anything different; it’s just me.

BW: All originals?

LP: Yup, yup. Reason being I don’t want to pay anybody else. I’m kind of cheap that way. We also plan to do a downloadable CD that would be all cover songs that people requested. We’re trying to work out the legalities of it. Even though it’s going to be a gift to people, and I’m not going to make a cent out of it, the people who do write the songs want to make a cent. Every year I do a Christmas CD – a lot of that stuff is in public domain, and you don’t have to worry about that stuff. Last year I wrote some boogie-woogie Christmas songs, and Matt put it on his Bluescentric site for people to download. That went over really well. You’ve got to give to get back.

BW: What was it like growing up in a home with a father who is a professional musician?

LP: It was a blast! My dad used to play with a lot of famous guys. He played with Harry Belafonte for a long time. He was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra for a bit. He had these jam sessions at the house. Guys like Louis Armstrong, the Dorsey Brothers would come by the house. I was about four or five so I didn’t know who any of these cats were, but I enjoyed it. I didn’t remember any of it until much later on when Pops told me about it.

BW: Was your mom musically inclined as well?

LP: No she was totally opposite. She played the radio. My sisters took after her.

BW: Is it okay to mention that you’re adopted?

LP: Yeah.

BW: I think it’s interesting that this is a case of nurture over nature unless you know something about your biological parents’ musical abilities. It’s cool you got some musical genetics being in that household.

LP: It’s because of osmosis. I’ve met my half-brother; he’s a bass player, too. I met him just a few years ago.

BW: Was your father gone a lot playing gigs and touring around?

LP: No, I have two older sisters; I am the youngest of the family. By the time I was growing up, he stopped playing. He was playing with Harry Belafonte at a gig in New York City. He saw Duke Ellington was playing down the road. After sound check, he was going to go say “hi” to the fellows and catch up. So he went down there, and he saw Duke Ellington basically begging this promoter for $10 just to buy lunch for the band. The promoter was like, “Why should I give you money for that kind of stuff?” My dad said if Duke Ellington has to beg this guy for money, “then what am I going to have to do” He returned to regular life so to speak.

BW: What was he doing in lieu of performance to support the family?

LP: He worked at a psychiatric center – he was a physical therapist. He worked there for twenty-five, thirty years. He probably found me there. [laughing]

BW: Tell me about who your godfather is.

LP: That’s Ray Brown, a well-known bass player. He and my dad were best friends. He played with the Modern Jazz Quartet; he was married to Ella Fitzgerald for awhile. I remember one time I saw him on the Merv Griffin Show when I was seven. I said, “There’s Uncle Ray on TV!” He had an influence on my playing. I’ve always played piano since I was a baby. My first instrument I got real training on was bass. On my tenth birthday, I wanted to get a bicycle, and I got a half-sized upright bass instead.

BW: Were your friends and peers at the time musically inclined, or were you kind of odd to be playing the upright bass?

LP: Mostly they were other musicians and mostly a lot older than me. I started playing clubs when I was sixteen. My dad didn’t mind as long as my grades didn’t suffer. So I had to work extra hard at school so I could keep playing. I did a lot of other things, too. I did a lot of sports. I played baseball; I got scouted for a major league team. I don’t know if anyone thought I was weird – they do now, but back then I was just one of the guys.

BW: You were scouted by a major league team?

LP: I was the pitcher. I was throwing eighty, ninety miles an hour or more on my fastball. I pitched a perfect game one time when I was in high school, and that got the attention of everyone. I had a good swing at the bat. I faced a decision in my senior year: continue in music school, or do I want to go into sports? You got a long way to go before you get to the majors. If you play music, you can make a living at it, whereas in sports, until you get in the big leagues, you don’t make much of a living out of it.

BW: How did the Juilliard thing come into the picture?

LP: That was the only real music school at the time. I wasn’t even thinking about it; it was my band teacher in high school, Mr. Soma. He pulled some strings and got me into the audition. That’s a funny story actually. When I first went to the audition, it was a Saturday. I walked in there with my upright bass in a canvas bag slung over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, wearing an AC/DC shirt and jeans. There were all these families there, and the kids were dressed to the nines wearing suits and ties and gowns. Some of these folks had their own accompanists with them. I looked around, thinking, “Jeesh, I don’t belong here at all.” I turned around and walked out.

Monday morning came and Mr. Soma asked what happened. He yelled at me, “You idiot! You walked out. Are you out of your mind?” I was like, “I don’t belong there in that school, There’s nothing there for me.” He said there was another audition the next Saturday, and I was going to go. I was like, “No, I’m not.” “Oh yeah, you are.” Next Saturday morning I was asleep in bed, and my mom wakes me up saying my teacher is at the door. There he was, Mr. Soma. He said, “Get dressed, I’m taking you.” “No, I’m not.” Mom said, “Why don’t you just go? What’s the worst that can happen to you? And if you do go, then everybody can get back to sleep.”

He picked out a shirt. “I don’t want to wear a shirt.” We went to the audition, and it was a nerve-wracking experience for everybody. Lo and behold, they accepted me; I got a scholarship and went there for two years. Got two degrees in that joint: one for performance and one in composition.

BW: How did you get all that done in two years?

LP: A lot of doubling up. When you’re that age you’ve got a lot more energy than now. I’d be playing twelve hours a day. To me now it’s unfathomable to think about playing that much. You get wrapped up into it. There’s always somebody there trying to beat you down, and I wasn’t going to let anybody keep me down. First day of orientation, they have a couple hundred of us in this hall, and one guy says, “Look at the person to your right, and look at the person to your left. Two of you won’t be here in six months.” I’m like, “Sorry about that, guys. It took me this long to get here. I ain’t going anywhere.” You become like a diesel; you’re not going to stop.

BW: What was it like living in New York, or did you even have time to realize you were in New York?

LP: It makes itself known no matter what happens. It’s so tall. That’s the one thing I got before anything else, how tall that city is. Everything is just huge. I lived on the twenty-eighth floor of a thirty-two-story apartment building. I can’t even fathom living that far off the ground now. Everything was quick and fast and huge. It definitely makes an impression on you. I grew up a lot there.

To be continued…

Stacy Jeffress is a contributing editor to BluesWax. She’d love to hear from you below.