wordplay by Brian Kenney
images by Soren McCary/MusicImagery.com

Robert Randolph's next disc Colorblind will most certainly centralize him on the map of guitar gods. His previous disc 2003's Unclassified earned him a Grammy nod for rock gospel album, and endeared him to jam band fans, southern rock fans, soul fans, blues fans and music fans in general with his soul, blues, gospel, R&B, and boogie-woogie overtures. That disc, along with previous disc Robert Randolph & The Family Band: Live at the Wetlands, catapulted this unassuming North Jersey born with southern influences player into a limelight that in  the past stood reserved for the likes of Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Jonny Lang.

Enter Robert Randolph: his weapon not the usual six string slung over shoulder Strat or Les Paul, but the lap pedal steel guitar…all 10 or 12, or in his case, 13 strings of it. For Randolph, playing the pedal steel has not been a puzzling, mystifying endeavor as it has been for so many that have placed the perplexing steel lap jack into their lap. It has been a family endeavor and a spiritual one.

His family joins him alongside in The Family Band, with fellow Jersey cousins Danyel Morgan (bass and vocals), Marcus Randolph (drums) on board. Long Islander Jason Crosby (Hammond B-3 organ, piano, violin) rounds out the quartet.  On the spiritual front, Randolph's music expertise was learned in a house of worship. "I just wanted to be a player in church. Our church, the House of God [Orange, New Jersey] is where I grew up watching guys play the pedal steel guitar. Then when I started to play the bars, I started to meet some people." People lined up to meet, see, witness, Randolph, who many in the industry called a "prodigy" of a lost art.

As an art, the pedal steel allows for a unique sound by mere finger placement. Laid out on a table before him, he plays his guitar as a piano player would play a keyboard, albeit with the tips and prints of his fingers. This allows for unique phrasing, and at times a quicker pick so as to produce more staccato and rapid fire trigger pick utilizing an economical sense of picking. The technique is not new within rock and roll, but rational blues guitarists haven’t always had a tenacity to learn the craft. And the lap pedal steel has been around for a while, but it seems as if the world has been waiting for Randolph to show up.

Not only has the world been waiting but so has Eric Clapton who guests on Randolph's latest disc, Colorblind due out on September 26. Also in line as guest: friend, label mate, and touring partner, Dave Matthews.    

In fact, a host of guests poured out of the woodwork to work with Randolph on Colorblind. In the end, some panned out and some didn’t. "We only had three guests. Eric Clapton, Dave Mathews, and Leela James. I really clicked with those three. [Carlos] Santana and [Aerosmith's Steven] Tyler wanted to do something but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work."

While he didn’t exactly turn down Tyler and Santana, he did save those ideas and rough drafts of tunes for a rainy day. "Sometimes it works right away and sometimes you save those songs for later down the road. If I could, I’d have put out a double album.  It's like when Duane Allman came out. When he first appeared, everyone wanted to play with him."

Since finding himself the new kid on the block, his musical profile has grown at an exponential rate. In 2001 he joined MMW's John Medeski and the North Mississippi Allstars on their blues fusion jam project, The Word. Subsequent tours have found him touring with the Allman Brothers, and Clapton, as well as annual appearances at Bonnaroo.

2006's Grammys found Randolph sitting in with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, as a stunning and soulfully moving tribute to Sly and the Family Stone. Summer of 2006 has found Randolph at the epicenters of two of the most esteemed tours: The Black Crowes and Dave Matthews Band. Both tours should serve to either fortify his reputation in the latest hierarchy of soul blues fusion or (as in the case with DMB fans) introduce Randolph to a younger hipper musically adoring crowd.

After this jaunt, hopefully Randolph will return to a more immediate audience in that of the club or theatre atmosphere. "On our off days from the tour we play some clubs. It’s nice to get back there. It's the coolest thing. But it depends on the room and the vibe in the room. The energy and the vibe and how close a crowd is and getting closer to my band. Feeling closer."  As close as family. 

September 2nd @ Jazz Aspen Festival
September 13th & 14th @ The Pepsi Center

RobertRandolph.net