Meet Bob Denson

An Interview with Bob Denson

Hi Bob, where do you currently reside?
I live in Central New Jersey and call the New Brunswick area my musical home although I frequently find myself playing throughout the tri-state area.  I grew up in East Brunswick, NJ.

How many years have you been playing?
I've been playing the guitar since I was nine years old and I'm currently 30 - so that's 21 years.  It's been around the same that I've been singing.  Since then I've also studied and become proficient on keyboards, bass, drums, ukulele, and banjo.  From studying music and music education in college, I've also garnered a general understanding of a range of band and orchestra instruments along with conducting.

What musicians influenced you?
There was an incredible amount of people.  The list grows almost daily, so I'll try to narrow it down.  Jimi Hendrix is the reason I picked up the guitar, to begin with.  Stevie Ray Vaughn and Roy Buchanan have considerably shaped my style and tone as well.

As far as musicians I've seen and felt live, Sonny Kenn of the Red Bank/Jersey Shore area and Popa Chubby of NYC are on top of the heap.  I can't count the number of times I've seen them live.  Bob Ferry has academically-shaped my understanding of the guitar and music theory more than anyone else.  The lens I view music through was poured, stretched, ground down, polished and refined by him.  I am proud to consider myself a Bob Ferry 'disciple'.  I was moved by his original system of understanding guitar theory that I co-authored the book "Bob Ferry's Superimposition of Fingerings with Bob Denson: The Diatonic Project."  It's a 130-page diagram infused tour-de-force of how every shape relates to every other on the guitar.  A broader spectrum of guitar based influences might be reduced to include the three Kings: B.B, Freddie and Albert, Sean Costello,, Wes Montgomery and Buddy Guy.  Vocally, I enjoy someone with a bit of a rasp like Sam Cooke, Jim Morrison, Howlin' Wolf, Jamie Cullum, James Brown or Tom Waits.  There's John Mayer, Ray LaMontagne, Norah Jones or Eva Cassidy.  Ella Fitzgerald blows my mind along with Louis Armstrong.  Right now, I'm really into Louis Prima, Irish classic bar songs, Louis Jordan and Jonathan Coulton.  Songwriters I could mention include Tom Waits, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Leonard Choen and locally Anthony Walker and George Wirth.  The list goes on and on.

What's it like to gig or tour?
Playing music in front of people is always such a release - it's very therapeutic.  It also feels very natural to me and is something that, with growing frequency, I find that I have to do.  It's just a part of me.  It's a time when you can become lost in your own playing, the musicians in the band, the feeling you're having from what's coming out of you, or the feelings coming from the audience.  Sometimes it is all of those things at once.  It's always a very connected experience and can go as far as a form of worship for me.  Gigging from place to place is always a good time if you enjoy the traveling and tons of new faces like I do.  I've always enjoyed playing in projects that vary in style from Bob Denson's Blues and my loop pedal laden acoustic solo work, to playing guitar/singing with Jerry Ganz Band as he croons out Elvis, Sinatra, and the like.  I've played guitar in a James Brown band and subbed in a soul group.  It's not rare for me to sing Irish folk songs or to be hired as a Christmas Caroler.  Diversity keeps it interesting and keeps you growing as a musician.

Tell us about your gear.
For Bob Denson's Blues, I mainly use my 2001 52 Reissue Telecaster with Joe Barden pickups in it. It screams!  When my uncle, Jim Denson died, I purchased it along with several other guitars and amplifiers, from his son to keep it in the family.  Right now, other guitars in the rotation in BD Blues are a Fender Stratocaster, which is also from my uncle, and my Gibson 335.  Acoustically, my main guitar is a Taylor 614ce that I've been playing for over a decade now.  I have a 1971 Martin D-18 and a 1990 D-28 from my uncle.  For amps, I play out of a Fender Blues Junior or Tweed Fender Deluxe that I also got from my uncle.  My main pedals are the Ibanez Tube Screamer I've had since I was 15 along with various Boss loop pedals.  I'm proud to have the opportunity to keep my uncle's gear in the family, and it reminds me of someone I cared for every time I pick it up.  I'm also happy he had great taste.

What advice would you give a newbie musician?
Do it because you love it.  There are only so many things in this world that will strike you and if playing music is one of them for you - dive in.  Get lessons and practice every day!  As a private guitar teacher, I've also seen plenty of people who are into it just as a hobby, but it's still fulfilling to them.  In fact, while it certainly isn't always true, I've seen people who only know a few basic chords have more fun than really incredible players who can fixate on minutia and let it bother them.  The point is that you have to enjoy it.  As far as being a gigging musician goes, you have to put incredible amounts of time and effort into such a wide variety of things from getting gigs to promotion to writing or picking repertoire, etc.  It would be a good idea to get some help and become well-versed in a variety of fields other than playing music to really get out there.  Also, go support live music as often as you can.  If you have the night off, you should at least try to go see other musicians in the scene play as well as the big names.  You might be surprised at what you can learn and going to see great music is part of why you got into the business anyway.

What was one of your accomplishments as a musician and what are your goals?
About a year ago, I started Bob Denson's Blues with Angelo Mancuso, and that was a goal of mine I am very happy to have achieved.  We've gigged a bunch this year, and the band is already booked for July as of now.  I've always played blues no matter what I did, even when I was focusing on my solo guitar/loop pedal gigs and classic rock bands, etc.  After a while, it became clear to me that I really enjoy playing and singing the blues in such a rich, deep way that I basically had no choice but to start the band with my long-time collaborator Angelo Mancuso (also of  The Fins).  I'm extremely fortunate to know Angelo Mancuso, and I'd say it's an accomplishment to have met him through our mutual love of music...especially the blues.  My goals are to kick into high gear this year and play every Friday and Saturday until I'm pushing daisies.  The idea is to spread throughout the tri-state area and increase the amount of festival work we do until we hit the road playing some blues.  I just want to play some music that hits me in the soul and then to do it again the next day.  That's the goal.

Get interviewed on our blog.

Email us at tothegig@gmail.com