The Fabulous Thunderbirds Interviewed by Christine Leonard-Cripps

Still Tuff Enuff

The legendary Thunderbirds remain 
Fabulous after all these years

Looking back on a career that spans 25 years, Kim Wilson couldn’t be happier with the view. As a co-founder of the seminal American blues outfit, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the renowned singer and harmonica player has rubbed elbows with the elite of R&B, headlining music festivals around the world. It has been a long road from TFTB’s early days as the house band at a bar in Austin, TX, to opening for the likes of Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. Seeking out like-minded musicians with superior technical skills and a penchant for working the pocket, Wilson has successfully reconstructed the electro-blues juggernaut with Mike Keller stepping into the guitarist position formerly held by Jimmie Vaughn and Duke Robillard, Randy Bermudes on bass, and family-act Johnny and Jay Moeller sitting in on guitar and drums, respectively.

“I love this band,” reports an enthusiastic Wilson. “Things are running so smoothly and every single one of the guys is on such an even keel that we are able to improvise everything we do on stage, right down to the set list. We’ve struggled with that balance in the past. It’s a fine line. You don’t want to kill yourself, but you’ve got to have the desire to do it. When we were kids we were anaesthetized and didn’t feel it as much, but you don’t get to see much of the cities you’re touring when your head is stuck in the toilet. I was a wild man back then, now my head’s clearer and I can accomplish a lot more. There’s no limit to our creativity.”

Describing their fabulous sound as an “American hybrid,” the Thunderbirds get their biggest kicks out of bringing their bombastic blues-on-fire antics to audiences in a live concert atmosphere. Pulling out all the stops when he hits the stage, Wilson’s powerhouse performances bring crowds to their feet, with his soulful vocals and harmonica chops that summon the strength of a full-blown horn section. While he has cut back on his 250-gig-a-year schedule, Wilson is always open to new artistic ventures, finding that his talents as a lifelong bluesman are still very much in demand.

“I’ve been so fortunate to get to do a lot of these things,” he says. “Over the years I’ve played on more than 200 CDs. I find it very gratifying to be able to bring friends into the studio who are little-known but possess immense talent. Some of them are the last of their kind. There are really only a handful of true blues musicians left in the world today, so if you hear someone playing harmonica in the background on some record, check the liner notes — it’s probably me.”

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds join Woodstock rockers Canned Heat, blues-rock institution Savoy Brown and more at the Calgary International Blues Festival, August 7 to 10.

by Christine Leonard

Orignally published August 7, 2008 in FastForward Magazine.

Ron Rault : An All-Star Tribute to The Band

Another date with “The Weight”

A tribute to The Band returns to the Ironwood

by Christine Leonard


All Star Tribute to The Band
Ironwood Stage & Grill
Friday, February 15-16, 2013

The year was 1970, and young music enthusiast Ron Rault hadn’t really been up front at a rock concert before. He soon found himself pressed against the trembling barriers of McMahon Stadium as the legendary cast of the Festival Express Tour took to the stage, and he knew there’d be no turning back. Now an accomplished bass player and bandleader, Rault recalls being especially riveted by The Band’s masterful performance, featuring the late great drummer and composer Levon Helm. Helm, who passed away in April, remains as relevant as ever and was honoured at this year’s Grammys with a rousing rendition of one of The Band’s most popular tunes, “The Weight.”

“Being 10 feet away from those incredibly talented musicians was a life-changing and, dare I say, religious experience for me,” Rault, uncle to guitar prodigy Michael Rault, recounts.

Captivated then and now with the soulful reveries and bottom-heavy blues that distinguished The Band’s rustic rock anthems, Rault and his band, the Front Porch Roots Revue, have dedicated themselves to venerating what they consider to be some of the finest material to ever come out of Canada. When it comes to waxing nostalgic with seven-part harmony, you need look no further than The Band. And that’s exactly what Rault had in mind when he came together with a mandolin-slinging ensemble of like-minded musicians to pay tribute to Ontario’s original road warriors.

“I have a feeling that I’m speaking for everyone in Front Porch when I say we were deeply touched and moved by The Band’s music in a way that goes beyond genres,” he says. “They have had an indefinable influence on our musical upbringings, and popular music in general, much in the same way that The Beatles have. It was absolutely no effort for us to learn all these songs so quickly. We went back and studied the roots of The Band’s rough, roadhouse sound and found everything from country, bluegrass, gospel, blues, R&B and soul. You can’t put your finger on exactly what kind of music it is, but when I watch from my perch on bass I am thrilled with how our group immerses itself in every interpretation we do.”

Accompanying bassist and vocalist Rault in his recently reshuffled Front Porch Roots Revue are organist/pianist/accordion player/vocalist Ron Casat (Edmonton Folk Music Festival House Band), guitarist/mandolinist/vocalist Gord Matthews (The Reclines, Ian Tyson’s trio), Calgary’s prodigal son/singer-songwriter/pianist J.R. Shore, percussionist Thom Moon, vocalist/harmonica player Dave “Crawdad” Cantera and Vancouver transplant vocalist/rhythm guitarist Doug Andrew (The Circus in Flames, Shanghai Dog). Rault hopes their wiry and woody ensemble will be treated to the same warm reception they received at last year’s back-to-back performances.

“I was somewhat surprised when we sold out the Friday night show last year and had a very large crowd on the Thursday,” he recalls. “I think it’s interesting that this version of Front Porch has three members from Calgary and three from Edmonton, as well as one from Vancouver. It really is a remarkable collective of accomplished players and singers from the Western Canadian roots scene, and we all share such a great love and admiration for The Band."

“I never consider the songs we present for Up on Cripple Creek as being covers," he continues. "There are wedding bands out there that learn these songs note for note, but we have always asked our guys to take these classic tunes and make them their own. When you hear a young man like J.R. Shore pulling out such raw and deep pieces of Canadiana you gain a sense of the reverence and respect he has for the work; it simply transports you to another time and place.”