I first met Gerry when he came to play at Live @ Costa in May 2017. Since then he has become something of a regular and being local to us when we lived in Wrose, we have also seen him play at a number of other gigs. He was even one of the irregulars who played at David’s service, for which we were very grateful. Gerry is a bluesman to his boots, a fine exponent of the craft and an excellent guitarist. I must say I find it difficult not to tap my feet when Gerry plays music like this.
His blurb on Reverbnation tells us that Gerry was born and raised in the great city of Newcastle upon Tyne but is a long term resident of West Yorkshire. He plays a heady mix of acoustic blues, ragtime tunes, and other good hand-made music. He is primarily a solo artist but has been known to duet with Phil Snell.
As you can see from the background of this video, Gerry has quite a collection of musical instruments. He is skilled on the mandolin, 5-string banjo, bouzouki and bass to name but a few. In concert Gerry usually sticks to guitar and harmonica. He plays a Martin 000-28, a Paul Brett Signature Model 12-string, and two Michael Messer resonators, the brass-bodied Lightning and the wooden Blues 28.
For Corinne he is using a resonator or resophonic guitar. This is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar’s sounding board. Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than regular acoustic guitars, which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion instruments in dance orchestras. They became prized for their distinctive tone, however, and found life with bluegrass and the blues well after electric amplification solved the problem of inadequate volume.
This gospel medley was filmed at the Dorothy Pax in Sheffield in January 2020. The Medley features an instrumental version of Wayfaring Stranger, part of Blind Willie Johnson’s Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, and his arrangement of the gospel song You Got to Move, based on the version by Mississippi Fred McDowell. Again it is played on a resonator guitar, this time with full metal body. This guitar is usually played sitting down as it is too heavy to play standing. I can testify to the truth of that statement, having tried to pick up this particular guitar.
So finally back to the standard guitar for a classic from Blind Arthur Blake (my father was George Arthur Blake – but no relation!). I have heard Gerry open his set with this song. I think it sets the scene perfectly for the music to come.
