The San Francisco Bay area is lucky to have a small army of high-quality blues harmonica players.  From north of San Francisco, south to Santa Cruz the traditions of blues harps remain alive and well in the hands and sounds of today’s Bay Area players.  This month we talk with Andy Santana who started his blues journey in Santa Cruz, the southern end of the Bay Area and who now resides north of San Francisco.  Andy is a strong vocalist and harmonica player with urban Chicago style mixed in with the danceable, swing feelings associated with West Coast Blues.  He has toured and performed with artists as varied as Chicago's Jimmy Rogers and Willie Dixon, New Orleans legend Earl King, Booker T (of the MG’s), and Bonnie Raitt.

 

DC: You mentioned Mike Schermer before, you were in a band with him back in the 80's and 90's?
ANDY: My first band was the West Cost Playboys with this guy named Jr. Valentine. And we kind put that band together. Well, actually let me go back. The first band I was in was called The Hydromatics. I played harmonica and I did a combination of soul and blues. Then we slowly worked in some 50's rock 'n roll. I did it with kind of an R 'n B and bluesy feel to it. I had seven pieces; bass, guitar, drums, a keyboard player, a sax player and myself. Actually six pieces all together. We were a very popular band in Santa Cruz for a long time. We were really a hit. This was '79 when I started that band. They kind of mutinied on me one day. They literally mutinied on me. I wanted to keep it simple. They said let's do "Johnny Be Good." And I said you know what, lets do the flipside of "Johnny Be Good." I don't want to do any of the bubble gum shit. I love the man, but I want to do the flipside. Let's do the "B" sides of stuff. Let's do the stuff that will still have the same flavor but we are not doing it because everybody does it. I don't want to be just another band that it's 'stick a quarter in the jukebox' kind of thing. So one day I went to pick up a piece of equipment at this place where we rehearsed and they're all there rehearsing without me (Laughs). I was pissed man. I go, you guys are cold. We were working four, five nights a week at the time. We worked our butts off and I was responsible for getting all those gigs. So I said you guys can have this and I just took off and started the West Coast Playboys with this guy Jr. Valentine whose out in Michigan right now, Grand Rapids. He came out here looking for somebody who plays harmonica and put an ad in the paper. I answered it. It was very timely 'cause it had only been about a week since I let go of the other band. In fact that band is still going to this day, The Hydromatics. Anyway we started the West Coast Playboys. That was the first version of the West Coast Playboys. We had Mark Carino in there and we used June Core. That's when I first met June Core. Jr. left town and we started the Soul Drivers with Mike Schermer, June Core, Mark Carino and myself. We became very popular and had a real thing going in Santa Cruz. And that lasted for seven years. After that I put the West Coast Playboys back together. I think the first one we had Ronnie James was playing in the band for a little while. And Mark Carino. Both those guys went to the T-Birds [The Fabulous Thunderbirds]. June Core off and on. It was basically kind of a revolving door for Santa Cruz musicians. Rusty Zinn. Everybody played in it at some point for a little while. Kind of funny, I used Paul Durquette. I used all kinds of guitar players from the Bay Area. It was just really a blues band and I would call it, whoever I had with me would be The West Coast Playboys. Andy Santana and The West Coast Playboys. Johnny Cat was with me for about four or five years playing with Katar Roy playing standup.

DC: Johnny was just on tour with Terry Hank [Bay area sax player].
ANDY: I think that's probably my greatest compliment. Most of the musicians, and I mean most of them, and I have a whole list of them who played with me that have gone on to better things. [They] Sustained a certain level of professionalism and who are just good musicians that are being noticed more and more. Curt Smith is another one. He's now, I think, touring with Janiva Magness, a singer out of Los Angeles. She's a really great singer. He's tiring with her. He is one of my guys, a great guitar player. He's down living in the San Diego area now. If I look at June Core, he's been on the road with so many people. So it's always been a compliment to have him in my band. We'll play together all the time. He picks up gigs with me when he's not playing with Charlie Musselwhite or whomever he's playing with at the time. It's been a good thing for me.

DC: I noticed you started gigging around the Bay area again. Who is in your current band?
ANDY: Once again I try to use a group. I have Joey Venetittelli on drums and he was with Little Charlie [and the Night Cats]. I got Mike Phillips on bass guitar. Those two guys are my most solid guys right now. They are pretty much going to stick with me. I am kind of going through a little change with guitar players, cause Johnny [Cat] is not around. So I've been using Justin, a young guitar player named Justin. Old age is setting in, what the hell is Justin's last name? I should know this guy's name. I always write people's first name down, but never put their last name down. I've known him for years as just Justin. I can't think of his last name. I'm blanking out. I should mention his name 'cause he is a good kid. This is bugging me. I'm going to walk into my house and look this guy's name up. McCarthy. Justin McCarthy!

DC: Looking back over you years of playing, how do you see yourself and the people around you?
ANDY: If I had to really sum it up in a couple sentences, career, influences and where I am at now, I would mention Jr. Watson, I would mention Gary Smith and I would mention Mike Schermer. Those three guys have been incredible influences on me in a lot of ways. Mike Schermer because he's kind of a hard nose. He really wants it right and he is a stickler for getting things right. If you're up on stage and you don't know what's going on he will mess you up man. He will. I've seen him. He will turn down anyone if your not right. One time we were playing at the Boom Boom Room [in San Francisco] and Van Morrison walked in, drunk off his ass. Right. And he's asking Mike in the middle of a song while I'm singing and Mike's playing guitar, 'Let me sit in. I'm Van Morrison.' And Mike Schermer has got his finger and he's wagging his finger, going no to him. Going no. And he puts his hand back on his guitar playing and keeps wagging his finger no, no because he's so drunk. I look over, look [at Mike], dude it's Van Morrison. Mike says, 'Who cares man.' He was staggering drunk. He left there screaming, flipping off Mike Schermer because he wouldn't let him sit in. Freaking out. Richie Cole a really incredible saxophone player, alto sax player, came in one night and we were kicking ass. He wanted to sit in and he was too drunk. Mike Schermer said no. I would have let him sit in. We did a gig with Earl King and he was so out of it, so out of it at the trailer. We were getting ready to do the Santa Cruz Blues Festival so we were backing him up. We were getting ready to walk out onto the stage, but we hadn't seen him yet. He was in his trailer. So we said let's get together because we didn't rehearse with him. We knew all his tunes, pretty much learned all his tunes so we would know what he wanted. And he was so freakin' drunk, man. We were looking at each other like how is this guy going to do it. He got on stage [and] it was like he wasn't drunk at all. [He] Pulled it off. Played, came back off stage and it seemed like he got drunk again. It was the weirdest thing we ever saw. Ask Mike Schermer if you ever talk to him about that incident because he'll tell man, we all thought this was going to be a disaster. We thought it was going to be a disaster. But it turned out to be a good thing.

DC: Even though in those situations you didn't play with those musicians, you certainly have had some opportunities to play with some wonderful players. Over the years who have you had occasion to play with?
ANDY: That's another thing that I feel fortunate about, being able to play with some really good people. At the Bammies [Bay Area Music Awards] I got to play with Bonnie Raitt, backed her up on a few songs. I got to do a West Coast tour that featured three harmonica players, myself included. Just to be on that bill was a huge honor; Billy Boy Arnold, Carey Bell and myself. And the band! We had Jimmy Rogers, Luther Tucker and Dave Myers on bass. Freddie Robertson on one guitar and Luther Tucker on the other. I also did some of those Hollywood Hall of Fame Blues festivals. We did those for about four or five years in a row and we were the house band. We got to play with the likes of, again, Jimmy Rogers, Willie Dixon, Luther Ticker, William Carr, Willie Earnest, Louis Myers, who was really a colorful character. I got to tour with some of these cats and I hung out a whole bunch with Dave Myers and Luther Tucker. We did a bunch of gigs with Luther Tucker. In fact I did a couple of recordings with Luther [Tucker] that never got out, but there was some interesting stuff on there. I don't know where it's at. You tell me, because I'd like to know and get a hold of that. But that band I was telling you about at the Bammies had Booker T. Jones in it. We backed Bonnie Raitt, Joe Lewis Walker and the Gospel Hummingbirds. It was a really great experience. That was the time I was playing with the Angela Stehli band. We backed up guys like Joe Houston, Lou Ann Barton, of course Earl King, Jimmy Thackery and Coco Montoya who played on my album. Tommy Castro, Chris Cain, old friend of mine Sister Monica. Of course Jr. Watson. And more recently I backed up Nappy Brown at the San Francisco Blues Festival about two or three years ago. There's always great stories whenever you have musicians. You going to have turmoil, drama and great stories sometimes. (laughs). He was supposed to come out earlier but that happened during the 9/11 turmoil. He was getting ready to come out and he couldn't come out. I had a whole list of gigs set up. He couldn't get out because the airports were shut down. I had two weeks of solid gigs all lined up and they all fell through. The only one he was able to do was the San Francisco Blues Festival. We literally had an hour to rehearse with the guy. And somehow or another we pulled it off. We pulled it off. It was a good show but you know what it could have been a lot better had we had time to rehearse. He got there the night before, we sat in our living room, had a few drinks and went over a few tunes. It was the best we could do cause we didn't know what he was going to do. All the songs that we thought he was going to do, he decided he wasn't gong to do. Which is always great. There were a couple of moments. There was this one tune where we weren't sure of the changes. We knew the changes but we weren't sure where he was going to put them because sometimes he would sing it different. Like in rehearsal he would sing it one-way and on stage he started it and I kept going. He's going to the II right here. I'm screaming at guys.

DC: There are a few stories about John Lee Hooker making or not making changes; playing a song differently from one performance to the next even if practiced with his band.
ANDY: All in all I wasn't up tight about it or nothing. Nappy Brown is an amazing vocalist. There is a set out that has a double album that you should get. It's all his early stuff. It basically defines him as singer and sees him in several years of him playing. He has three real distinct voices; he can get that real high falsetto thing, he's got a real great alto and he's got a baritone that just kicks, man.

DC: That's quite a range.
ANDY: He's even got a tenor. That's four voices. The guy has an amazing range and an amazing sense of music that is far beyond just blues and soul. He is really a great singer. I was really honored to back him up with the West Coast Playboys.

DC: I'll have to check with Charlie Lange at Bluebeat Music. He has quite a selection that includes many obscure and hard to get albums.
ANDY: He's another guy I should mention. Charlie Lange has been a great influence on me. There's another guy I'd love to mention. He has turned me on to such music and he has enriched my life. He's one of those guys that I'd go to his house, and I only had so much money but he would say, "Go take it. Don't worry.' And I'd end up buying four to five hundred dollars of CDs and records (laughs). Owing the guy. I said you [Charlie] are worse than a dope dealer man. You know we are hooked on this stuff and we got to hear it. And we have to have the latest stuff that comes out. Any kind of compilation or new releases. Especially being a harmonica player if it is somebody like that.

DC: Yeah, he gets all that great stuff and puts it underneath your nose. You can't help but being drawn to it.
ANDY: Oh, he's the worst with that. But you have to love him for that. Again, he's enriched my life by turning me on to so much cool stuff. He's directly been a strong influence on me via music. He's turned me on to a lot of music, stuff that I would never have heard of unless I sat down with him. I've had several interviews with him at his radio station and sometimes just go in to hang out and say hi to him. And he would say, have you heard this, have you heard that? It never ends with that guy. There just a wealth of material out there even to this day. You probably know about things I don't know and I probably know things you don't know that have come through Charlie Lange.

DC: Yeah, I wonder when he sleeps. Not only does he have the music, he knows the music. You ask him about something and he'll say that's on that CD. Oh, and that version is on that CD.
ANDY: Oh, yeah. You want to know something about him. That guy is one of the best interviewers. He is a walking, talking encyclopedia on blues. I've seen him blow guys' minds. He'll be sitting at an interview and talking, just take a famous guy who is still alive that he has interviewed and he'll remember a session. 'Yeah, on that session you, so and so,' and name all the guys in the session. And the guys being interviewed will say, 'I don't remember that.' None of guys will even remember it, but he will remember it. This is off the cuff. He may do some research, but he retains a lot. He's kind of like Howard Cosell, man. Maybe not as colorful. But Howard Cosell had an amazing mind for football just like Charlie Lange has a mind for blues. A lot of people don't know Howard Cosell was a walking, talking encyclopedia on [football] statistics. He just knew things from off the top of his head. People would check him out and he was right 90%, 99% of the time. He was right on, dead on with what he was saying. Charlie Lang is very much like that and he was another great influence on me. I mean super great influence on me because he turned me on to so much cool music.

DC: Yes, listening to all that music can't help but get inside you. You may not even know it's there until you write a song or you play with somebody. Then something clicks inside your head and something comes out.
ANDY: Exactly

DC: Last couple of questions. We talked a little earlier about teaching and student. What advise would you give someone if they came up to you, say at a performance, and said I really like playing and I want to play like that. I'm just starting what should I do? What advise for a beginning student?
ANDY: I'd tell him what I tell all my beginning students. I tell them even when they don't ask the question. I tell them, listen, I know you are here to come get some lessons and I'm going to tell you nothing is easy. Everything is practice, no matter what it is. You get good at what you do. The more you do something the better you get at it. I don't care if you are smoking cigarettes. I don't care if you are cussing, be rude and crude. I don't care what you want to be, the more you do that something the better you get at it. Whether you want to be a doctor. Whether you want to be an ass. Because there are guys who are really good at being an ass, because they practice all their lives being an ass. If you want to be a good harmonica player, there aren't any shortcuts. I can show you the things not to do and get you out of bad habits. Some people have a little more natural knack and get certain things a little easier. But each person has there own individual way of grasping music that is unique to the universe. It's all about hard work man. It's just about sitting down and actually getting to it no matter what. Even if you have decided how serious you want to be. If you want to get to a place where you are playing with a band, it's about hard work. If you don't spend at least two hours a day, don't expect to get anywhere. Spend just two hours a day which is really not that much time five days a week, you could be in a band playing harmonica in a year, holding your own, if you took it seriously. But if you did four to six hours a day, if you did that, in a year you would be a tremendous player. Well on your way. Probably get a little cocky after about a year playing. That's what happens as you gain confidence, you get a little cocky. But I also tell them melody. Don't just get into one thing. Don't just get into blues. I mean blues is great, but the great musicians of our time who are really up there in the lime light, even non-harmonica players like Ray Charles. He could play anything. Whether it was jazz, whether it was a pop song. Back in the days when he was starting up, people would say, 'play this song' and he would play it. He might add his own twist to it but that's the whole thing. His unique perspective of the universe is coming from his abilities and his perspective. I tell people not to become "nazi" about anything. I had guys like Paul Durquette teach me some things. He'd grind things in my mind that you just got to do this, blues. Just the blues. Sometimes I turn into a little bit of a blues "nazi" there because of his influence. I realized later that it's got to be about all kinds of music. Country. Bluegrass. It doesn't matter. Rock. Pick up anything. Even if you sitting watching television you can pick up the harmonica and sometimes pick out a commercial. Play a little melody line. It's all about melody to me. So that's what I tell them when I teach people, really listen to melody and it's all about hard work. That's pretty much what I tell my student to get them going.

DC: I hear that a lot. As I have opportunities to have conversations like this I hear that a lot. There are no short cuts. It's practice. It's focus. It's being patient with yourself recognizing you'll get some things faster than others. Have a goal and work for it
ANDY: Exactly. You know if you don't stumble that means you never got to that place in the first place. The fact that you are stumbling means that you are there at the stumbling block. You know, I've been a Buddhist for over thirty years now. For me that's one of my greatest tools. I'm not one to talk religion to people. I respect all religions. Anybody can take on any path as long as you stick to it you are going to get some benefits from it. One of the things about Buddhism that I learned is that it's all about self, discipline and focus. Just like the things you said. It's about setting goals and adhering to them. The time you put into it reflects the abilities and talents that you have. Whether they come shining forth or they stay dormant in you is up the individual student.

DC: Andy, thanks for taking the time to with talk with us. Lots of success with the new CD and new band. It's been a real pleasure.
ANDY: All right Dennis. See ya.