Jason Ricci

The lyrics of this modern Blues song are so full of emotion that just to read them usually brings me to a total stop as I feel extremely compassionate towards not only Jason, but all those who must feel the same he did when he wrote the words. And then to hear him, and his group New Blood, perform it...well, it is "like tears in the rain", to quote Rutger Hauer from Blade Runner...

STEP 1

Born in 1974, Jason spent his youth in an affluent neighborhood of Portland Maine. He is the son of controversial politician/activist Joe Ricci, but he ain't no son of poverty.

Like all young men, regardless of economic stature, filled with the onset of teen angst, Jason needed an outlet and he found it in the form of Punk music. He became confident enough as a vocalist to join his first Punk Rock band at the age of 14.

At some point after his joining the Punk Rock movement, Jason discovered his long and illustrious love affair with the harmonica; not just the harmonica, but the blues harp. By the age of 21, Ricci moved to Memphis to pursue and nurture his love affair.

Within a year, Jason Ricci had won the Son Boy Williams award for Best Blues Harmonica Instrumentalist. This in turn, won him a spot in the legendary artist's, R.L.Burnside, band for a six month tour. A stint that lasted 18 months.

The tour was exclusive to the southeastern region of the Untied States and all dates were held in juke joints; clubs mostly catering to the Black population of the region. Jason wasn't asked to leave the band; he left on his own accord. He wasn't to be caged and he wanted to strike out on his own, with his own interpretation of the Blues.

He formed the band New Blood.

Jason Ricci, a rich white boy from Maine, had become more than accepted in an opposing culture, he thrived and was hailed in that culture

STEP 2

Jason Ricci is gay. This alone sets him apart in a music slice that traditionally is divided by distinct gender traits. This alone puts Jason in the divide.

But, he is torn by more than the gender divide in the Blues culture. He is also torn because of his attitudes in the gay community. He is by and large not welcome in the overtly homosexual community because of Jason's convictions about himself and his own preferences:

The [gay] community doesn't like drum sets and guitars and actual live music. They're used to lip-synching, and dudes in dresses, and Madonna, and Cher, and techno beats. Those are the things that kept me from coming out earlier. I felt like I had nothing in common with the gay community, and I still don't feel like I have a lot in common with the community. I'm hoping that changes, but the majority of their icons are press-friendly little Mickey Mouse-doll figureheads that you're more likely to see on a show redecorating somebody's house than onstage at a blues festival...When I came out of the closet as a gay white male from an upper-middle-class suburban home, I came out as not just gay, but as a white guy, and as a guy who likes punk, and as a guy who didn't come from total poverty, and all those things that we associate with being 'blues' things. And when I did that, I wanted to sing about that. I wanted to write songs about what my life was like, and I wanted to use terminology that was modern

THE FINAL STEP?

As if the first two steps were not enough, Jason took up studying the occult and the writings of one Aleister Crowley. This was the final straw for some Blues festival promoters as Jason and his band began to find out they were uninvited to many festivals they were already scheduled to appear at.

Jason has stated that he thought Crowley was a great Holy Man, but Ricci also explains that he is in no way involved with satanic worship.

In spite of Jason's standing in the divide, his talent has gained the respect of many Blues fans around the world, and for this he was recognized with the most prestigious award a Blues harpist can receive. In May of 2010, Jason Ricci was awarded the year's best Blues Harmonica Instrumentalist by the Blues Foundation.

I have said this elsewhere, and I'll say it here, I hope the award wasn't a "You're awesome kid, now take this and disappear" type of recognition...

STOP!! If you skipped any of the other videos, you can't miss this one. A funny practical joke and some damn fine harp blowing going on in here...