by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
At Mojos on Saturday night, Kenny Neal hit the stage dressed in slacks and a shirt with his trademark fedora. He looked the same as I remember him in the far distant past. The club was full of hard-core blues fans, video game widows, and younger blues fans who are just discovering America's African-American roots music. Kenny's band of brothers is a taut-as-wit funky blues machine. Kenny's voice and guitar playing are exceptional and spontaneous. Kenny read the crowd and played to his rabid fans, teasing them with slow deliberate single note runs and then just when they reached critical mass of excitement, he hit them with his fast and furious runs, sending them into delight. Yes, women love the blues. That pulsing beat is sexy.
Kenny Neal had been on the road only two weeks after experiencing the worst year and a half imaginable. Kenny's down time was due to his treatment and recovery from liver cancer. More seriously, his last 4 years have been hell. His dad Raful Neal died of bone cancer, one of his brothers died of liver cancer, his sister was murdered by a stalker, and then he discovered he had liver cancer.
Despite the burden of this terrible grief and illness, Kenny kept a positive attitude and overcame his diversity. Now, healthy and hotter than ever, Kenny and three of his brothers are burning up the blues circuits across the land. Wisely, Kenny did not rush to get back on the road. He spent his down time hosting a radio show in his home town Baton Rouge, Louisiana, authored a book, I Remember When, and edited miles of footage of him playing with the legends of blues on a DVD, which will be part of the book package. The book and DVD package will be available soon. Go to his website www.kennyneal.net for the release date.
Kenny's long career began in his early teens. He was playing with Buddy Guy at 13 and went on to play with Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Lightin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, and many other legends. He grew up in a musical family whose patriarch, Raful was well known harmonica player and front man. For years, Kenny toured the world and honed his chops. In the mid 80s, Kenny signed with Alligator Records at the old Pier 7 Lounge in Jacksonville Beach. I was there to witness Kenny sign the deal with Bruce Iglaur. He is now on Blind Pig Records.
Over the years, I've crossed paths with Kenny many times and every time I've covered him, I was in awe of his monster talent. Kenny is one of the authentic blues masters who got into music for the right reason. He is dedicated to playing the blues as his passion. If he makes money at it, that's a bonus. So he was happy to be back on the road meeting his fans again. Ray Lewis joined my wife and I during Kenny's set. At one time Ray had managed Kenny back in the 80s. During the break Kenny came over to say hello and talk about old times with Ray and me.
"I'm finally heathy and happy to be back on the road. I quit taking all the medication and all I take now is vitamins. All those pills are poison. But I feel great and it's like I've passed through a dark time and found the light at the other end. This is what I do, and if I'm not doing it, I feel lost. So, I'm blessed to be rid of my cancer and able to play for my fans again," Kenny said.
When I think of the greats of blues, Kenny's name pops up at the top, along with B.B., Pinetop Perkins, Buddy Guy, and a few others still alive. Remarkably, although Kenny is 51, he doesn't look a day older than 35, I swear. But there is a lot of blood, soul, and road mileage behind that age number.
For his Mojo sets, Kenny played a cross-section of his past hits and new material off his latest CD, Let Life Flow, which is all new material. The crowd was enthusiastic, yelling and screaming for more. Hell, he could have played there all night. It was a memorable night of real blues. Thanks to Mojos for bringing blues to the beaches on a regular basis.
Article Published in the May 2008 Issue of EU Jacksonville
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