Resistance is futile where Ron Thompson is concerned
By Tim Simmers, STAFF WRITER
AS the sweat pours down Ron Thompson's face and he bangs out a jangly blues
chord on his guitar, you can almost smell the cornbread and fish frying in the
kitchen.
That's the down-home blues Thompson learned in the rough-and-tumble East Bay
nightclubs and bars not far from where he grew up in Newark.
"Blues is like a medicine, or religion to me," says laid-back Thompson,
51. "It'll cleanse your soul."
As a kid, Thompson listened to Oakland's KDIA Lucky 13 on the radio and fell
in love with R&B, soul and blues greats including his idol, Jimmy Reed.
He never dreamed he'd play with Reed one day, or tour with John Lee Hooker for
five years, an experience he says taught him "the way to do it."
For years, Oakland-born Thompson has been playing almost underground, the best-kept
secret on the blues scene. Pure fame has eluded him nationwide, but he's an
icon around the Bay, up and down California and among his peers.
He's playing at the Mojo Lounge in Fremont tonight, at JJ's Blues Club on Saturday
and Biscuits and Blues next Friday to promote the release of his new CD on Poore
Boy Records. Called "Still Resisting," the album features his band
the Resistors.
The CD is a reissue of Thompson's 1986 Grammy-nominated vinyl album "Resistor
Twister." It's been digitally remastered and has a couple of extra cuts,
including his tribute to Jimmy Reed, "Honest I Do." (Thompson's other
recent CD is "Magic Touch," also on Poore Boy.)
Tom Mazzolini, producer of the San Francisco Blues Festival and host of the
"Blues by the Bay" radio show on KPFA, calls Thompson one of the best
blues guitar players he's ever heard, and says he was "born with a special
gift.
"He played a long time with John Lee Hooker, and really got the Hooker
style down," says Mazzolini. "When I heard him play slide (guitar),
I thought he was the reincarnation of Elmore James."
Slide guitar legend James is another of Thompson's big influences.
Blues lovers get a taste of the music's history hearing Thompson live. He can
play a mean Howlin' Wolf song, then come right back and pick one like country
blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins. But you can't really pin Thompson down. His
finger-picking style is like a gumbo where you toss in some Louisiana and Texas,
a little New Orleans, some primitive Mississippi Delta and Cajun for spice.
He's a natural showman who plays deep from his heart and writes many of his
own songs. His versatility amazes. In addition to guitar, he plays harmonica,
mandolin and keyboards.
He's also joined forces with many historical songwriters. He and Jerry Williams
co-wrote "A Thing Called Love" for Wilson Pickett.
Squeezing out every ounce of soul from each note on his guitar, Thompson's style
banks more on feeling and passion than technique. The personal delight he exudes
on stage is infectious. His gut-wrenching guitar playing, gravelly voice and
swooping, trance-like delivery mesmerize.
Thompson cut his teeth playing in the early'70s at places such as the gritty
Playboy Club in North Richmond and the old Deluxe Inn in Oakland, where blues
were played until 6 a.m. He's also been a regular at Oakland's Eli Mile High
Club.
"I don't want to be an imitation," says Thompson. "I never could
copy other musicians exactly, so I never tried." He gets his sound by instinct,
says Mazzolini.
Thompson has played with modern-day greats including Santana, Bonnie Raitt,
Mick Fleetwood and Chris Isaak. In his 20s and 30s, he played with legends of
the rich Oakland blues scene including Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulsom, K.C.
Douglas and Sonny Rhodes.
Last month, at Pacifica's cable TV station Channel 26 on the underground "Bruce
Latimer Show," Thompson lit up a small crowd in the studio with renditions
of "Honest I Do" and "Funky Broadway." Outside, the rain
poured down on the roof — but it was hot inside.
"He's a huge bright light in the blues," says Latimer, a variety show
host who has devoted his full hour show to Thompson and his band.
"He's magical," says Leonard Gill, Thompson's bass player who also
has backed up B.B. King and Otis Rush. "He wails, and just kills the crowd."
On a weeknight earlier this month, Thompson barreled up Highway 99, one of the
great blues highways in American history, driving his own car and hauling his
own equipment from a gig in the Central Valley. He has a part-time home in Madera
because he plays so much in Fresno, Stockton, Modesto and other Central Valley
towns. He lives in Hayward when he's playing around the Bay Area.
Mazzolini tells the story of taking Thompson and other San Francisco Blues Festival
artists on a European tour in 1980.
"In France, rockabilly is very popular, and Ron can play rockabilly,"
says Mazzolini. "He added some of that stuff
and ripped it up there. He could have been a rockabilly star in the '50s."
These days, he's a bluesman. And if he's discovered by the right people, his
star will get a lot brighter.
- Ron Thompson's Web site is www.RTBlues.com.
If you go:
Ron Thompson and the Resistors
When:9:30 tonight
Where:Mojo Lounge, 3714 Peralta Blvd., Fremont
Tickets:$5
Contact:(510) 739-1028 or www.themojolounge.net/
When:9 p.m. Saturday
Where:JJ's Blues Club, 3429 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara
Tickets:$10
Contact:(408) 243-6441
When:8:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Jan 28
Where:Biscuits and Blues,
401 Mason St. San Francisco
Tickets:$15
Contact:(415) 292-2583 or http://biscuitandblue.citysearch.com/