Németh & The Blue Dreamers coming to Retro Live
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Apr. 14—PLATTSBURGH — Award-winning blues artist John Németh left his spot on the Mississippi Coast to meet up with his band, The Blue Dreamers — Philly guitar phenom Jon Hay, drummer Danny Banks and bassist Matt Wilson — for a run of New England shows.
They arrive Friday on the Adirondack Coast for a Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz production at Retro Live in downtown Plattsburgh.
DEJA VU
The Russian invasion of Ukraine triggers stories that Németh's late father, Vilmos, told him when he had to flee to save his life during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
"I'm one lucky dude," Németh said.
After landing in New Jersey, Vilmos was loaded on a train to work a short stint in lead mines in northern Idaho.
At the Cabrini Catholic Singles Club, he met Eloise Jean, a Heinz 57 of pioneer stock, and they married and had four children with three surviving.
Németh is the youngest, and his family loved going to St. Mary's Church in Boise, where he sang in the choir.
"My family loved the arts," he said.
"My mom loved music. We would go and see concerts all the time when I was a kid."
As a two-year-old toddler, Németh attended a community concert series.
"It was pretty inexpensive to become a member and go to all the shows," he said.
"I got to hear all of these great violinists and pianists. There were string ensembles, violin and piano duos. They played this music hundreds of years old, and I loved it. I got to hear all this great music."
His family also frequented community theater productions.
SOUND IMMERSION
His third grade teacher, Sister Coletta, taught him how to sing.
"She taught the class patriotic songs and harmonies," he said.
John took piano lessons, picked up a guitar and harmonica as a teen.
He was steeped in rock n' roll, hard rock, and country thanks to his older siblings, who left behind their record collections when they left the nest.
His older sister was into disco, ABBA, Olivia Newton John, Fleetwood Mac, and Eddie Rabbit.
His older brother's cache included Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Paycheck, Aerosmith and Rolling Stones.
Boise's rocking music scene was populated with great R & B bands, and the Chicken Cordon Blues, the only blues band from which Németh lifted harmonica riffs.
The band had "all the baddest dudes and the baddest singers."
"It was great," he said.
"I loved those guys and gals. There were a lot of great local bands around that time. I played lots of gigs. If you wanted to work, you had to keep the dance floor full and the booze flowing It's still that way in some sense."
MUSICAL CARVINGS
His high school outfit was Fat John and The 3 Slims, whose original configuration was Tom Moore, Scott Henley, Peter Siemens and Németh.
"We needed another solo instrument," he said.
"I went to get a piano and came back with a harmonica. It was a genius move. It fits my personality."
In algebra class, Németh sat right behind Moore.
"We were both carving our favorite bands' names into our math books," he said.
"We started looking at each other's bands. We started making mix tapes for each other with different music."
Moore got the gist of his likes and dropped the greatest mixed tape of all time on Németh.
"He started with Charley Patton and moved into Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Boy Fuller, Lightning Hopkins," he said.
"It was fantastic. I really loved it. It didn't get out of my box."
Moore also turned him onto Little Walter, Arthur "Blind" Blake, Freddie King, B.B. King and Albert Collins.
"I went over to his house, and he gave me Junior Wells' 'Hoodoo Man Blues,' and that was it. I started singing along with him. I was 14."
Wells made his music mark in Chicago, but he was born and reared in Memphis, Tenn., where Németh relocated in 2013 from San Francisco, where he arrived in 2004 after leaving Boise.
"I just knew what I wanted to do at that time," he said.
"I loved singing. What I love about that music, it sounded like these guys are playing what is in their hearts and in their soul. The monetary value cannot even compare to the joy. It's like almost a small, jazz combo. It's really funky. It's really weird. I was a big fan of jazz, too."
HUNGARIAN BLUES
Csárdás is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, whose tempo builds from very slow to very fast.
Németh calls it Hungarian blues.
In Vilmos' house, it was all Csárdás, all the time.
"My dad hated any of the music that wasn't his music," John said.
"His music was the best. He would point out of classical music influenced by Csárdás. My dad was the Hungarian musicologist, and he could hear the Hungarian melody in anything.
"He didn't like jazz. Man, your music is part of the reason that jazz, Charlie Parker and the other jazz musicians like your guys (Béla Bartók). They study your guys' music because it's crazy. It's wild and progressive."
During his musical anointment, his dad's old boss, Bob Jarvis, a jazz clarinetist, fished to the sonics of Pete Fountain, Sidney Bechet, Jack Teagarden and Louis Armstrong.
Németh's soundscape included Native American rhythms introduced to him by the McConnville family, Nez Perce, who took him to pow-wows.
"This to me where the power chord meets the blues, musically, sonically," he said.
"Lots of those lines Native Americans sing are blues lines, too, straight up."
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
Vilmos loved the idea that his son was pursing music, but as a hobby.
"Then, he started getting really excited when a lady at the university wanted to make me an opera singer," Németh said.
"That would be nice, prestigious, paid good money, have benefits, part of a union,"
Németh lasted one, two sessions. The instructor told him not to sing the blues.
"I shouldn't stay up late and party with girls every night and drink," he said.
"I'm 18 years old. I don't know about that. I'm going with the girls."
His father thought he was legit when he bought his first house in 2001.
"I'm playing the blues in Boise, Idaho," he said.
"I'm making a living playing the blues, not even blues I'm writing. I'm just covering blues tunes. I was pretty impressed with myself. I had three cars, a boat, on top of the world."
In Portland, Oregon, Németh ran into a cat named Bill Rhoades, the "Godfather" of the Northwest Blues scene and co-founder of the Oregon Blues Society.
"He was a really great harmonica player, and he was putting on these harmonica shows in Portland," he said.
"He hired me to play this gig before the King of Harmonica in the Northwest Paul deLay. He cornered me. He's a big man, big as a refrigerator. He put his hands on either side of my head. He said, 'Look, Bubba. You can't go your whole life covering the chestnuts. You have to make that mailbox money."
"I tell you what, that was generosity that he loved me enough to tell me to do that. Think about it in this business, how many times is another musician going to help somebody else out? That was really cool. That was great. I went back home, and I wrote 'Let Me Hold You."
PEER REVIEW
Németh's awards include 2014 Blues Music Award in Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year. His album, "Memphis Grease" (2014 Blue Corn) won 2015 Best Soul Blues Album.
In 2021, he was nominated for B.B. King Entertainer of the Year by BMA.
This year, Németh is once again nominated for Soul Blues Artist.
"It's a wild trip," he said.
"I'm having fun."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
