Aaron Loesch Ready for Eric Clapton Crossroads Concert

by Tom Watson.

If guitarist Aaron Loesch has the blues, they're what he calls the "uppity" variety. "Not all blues music is sad. The blues can also shout for joy," says the winner of the 2007 Guitar Center King of the Blues contest from the Chicago hotel where he and his, as of yesterday evening, not yet named band are staying. The hotel serves as home base for most of the performers at this Saturday's Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Concert.

Loesch, a 34-year-old Houston, Texas, native who until now has supplemented his music income as an auto mechanic, has good reason to shout for joy. He bested a field of over 4,200 competitors in this year's King of the Blues (KOTB) contest and will appear among the stellar lineup of guitar greats at the 29,000 capacity outdoor Toyota Park venue as part of the grand prize package. "At the moment, we're scheduled to take the stage at 4:20 p.m., but things keep changing. We were originally going to play a 30 minute set, then that was changed to 30 minutes including set up and tear down, then it was 20 minutes, and now it might be 10 minutes of actual performance time."

Even if only 10 minutes, Loesch plans on performing four original songs: "Galactagrass" (instrumental), "Have You?" (with vocals by Loesch), "Stand Alone" (with vocals by Loesch), and an as yet untitled instrumental "I-IV-V standard jujube Delta blues". Taking the stage with Loesch are: Johnny Cavazos on drums; Chris King on bass, who's played drums with Loesch in a group called Jug-O-Lightnin' for the last ten years or so; Eric Dane on rhythm and second lead guitar; and, Leah Zeger, a member of the Austin (Texas) Symphony Orchestra, on violin (amplified acoustic), whom Loesch describes as a female Paganini. "I think that in the show on Saturday, out of everybody that's playing [in his group] her leads, her parts, are going to be the most technical and outstanding," Aaron adds.

Though each is a seasoned performer and the five have worked with each other in different combinations and projects over the years, Saturday's concert will be the first time this particular lineup has performed together in public. "It's been a funny day," says Loesch. "We were just sitting in a bar down the street tossing out names for the group. We're not 100% sure yet, but looks like the name will be either the Summer Latches, or just Latches. Not a worry. We're pretty good at coming up with stuff on the spot."

Aaron selected these four originals, out of the hundreds of tunes he's written, because he feels they'll best serve two purposes. According to Loesch, each song has both a technical edge, musical elements that will allow Loesch and the band members to stretch and display their performance skills, and a popular flair that keeps his music from losing sight of what professional musicians do: entertain. "We want to reach people with our music. Sure, we want to show off a bit, but we want the audience to enjoy what we're saying. We want them to relate to the message." Loesch won't say exactly what that mesage is. He'd prefer to let let the music speak for itself on Saturday.

Those who've followed Loesch's KOTB story or seen the video of his performance at the finals might be surprised to see him take the stage on Saturday wielding a new Gibson 1959 VOS re-issue Les Paul in place of Loesch's home-cobbled acoustic whose tone he's described as "an electric toilet seat". "For years I've been re-building old Silvertones, Regals, and Kayes," Loesch said in a June interview with Modern Guitars. "Around 12 years ago it was the start of my jug band and I liked the way these little trashcan guitars sounded, they had sort of a toilet bowl tone. I ended up routing a hole and sticking a humbucker in the little 3/4 scale acoustic guitars. I've got about 20 or 30 of these things. Some of them are waiting to be electrified because I just wear them out when I play gigs - throw 'em in the air and oops, I missed it, time to build another one."

The new Les Paul is one of the Gibson instruments he won in the KOTB contest. "I've owned a lot of Les Pauls and I thought okay, probably all they do is throw some old school hardware on it or whatever. I played it and my guitar player, Eric Dane, he's jealous of the thing. He's like, 'This is a sweet machine!', you know? But I'm not going to let him convince me to trade guitars with him. I'm going to play my Gibson. He's got a girlfriend, but as soon as my Les Paul gets in the room his girlfriend is off his lap and he's holding my guitar."

Loesch sounds joyful on the phone and he and the band may be "good at coming up with stuff on the spot", but that's not to imply Aaron hasn't taken the road to Saturday's performance seriously. "On the one hand," he says, "it's not like we've never played before an audience before. But, I have to admit, as a musician, before the KOTB contest I was lazy. This whole experience has kind of whipped me into shape. During the contest I'd be practicing four hours in the morning and about six hours at night. I knew I had deadlines to meet so I put myself on a schedule. I've learned a lot about the importance of discipline. I've become a better player. I've discovered licks I didn't even know I had. I feel like I'm at a new level now. I love working on cars and working with tools, but it's always been second to music. With the exposure I'm getting through the contest, and especially by appearing at the Clapton concert, I'll be able to reach more people with my music. I'm going to do my best to send the right message, something everybody can relate to. As a band, we want to entertain people. We want to make them dance, we want to make them laugh. We want them to have a good time for the entire 12 minutes we'll be up there [laughs]. And beyond that, I'd like them to put my CD on for the next hundred years."

Those unable to attend Saturday's concert can watch the star-studded lineup via a webcast on MSN.com that starts at 1:30 p.m. EDT. For more information, visit music.msn.com/crossroads.

Related Links
Review: Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Concert
Eric Clapton and Guitar Friends Raise Money for Crossroads Centre (concert photos)
Bill Murray, Robbie Robertson, and Johnny Winter Added to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival Concert
Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival Announces Festival Village
2007 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Website
MSN Music Crossroads Concert Webcast
Eric Clapton Announces 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival to Be Held in Chicago
Fender Creates Eric Clapton Crossroads Stratocasters and Amps
John Mayer and Eric Clapton Introduce the Sun Strat Guitar
Hail, Hail, the New Guitar Center King of the Blues Is Crowned
Coronation Countdown: Guitar Center's King of the Blues Competition
King of the Blues Finalist Zack Wiesinger Opens for Steve Vai
Guitar Center King of the Blues Website

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