Staying Power Paul Geremia pushes the boundaries of the blues BY BOB GULLA

Paul Geremia is one of those local treasures that we often take for granted, like the beach and Del’s and the Big Blue Bug. (OK, maybe not the bug.) But he’s certainly underappreciated, a true master who can play country blues guitar better than almost anyone alive. And he’s a veritable storybook of the blues, a scholar and raconteur who knows as many stories about the idiom as he does songs. On his new album, Love, Murder, & Mosquitos, out this week on Greg Brown’s Red House label, Geremia does what he’s done best for the last 30-plus years — play great, fingerstyle guitar, write impressive original tunes, and work up excellent covers. But since he has dwelt in this territory for ages now, doesn’t he feel restricted by country blues’ parameters?

"No more than someone who is playing a game that has boundaries to it, like tennis," says Geremia. "There are limits and boundaries to music you want to call the blues, but I’ve always managed to find enough creative release in it to make it challenging for me."

On the disc, original tunes like "Evil World Blues" and "Keep a Love Light" exist side by side with covers of Blind Lemon Jefferson’s "Mosquito Moan," Charley Patton’s "Pony Blues," and the closer, Big Bill Broonzy’s "I Feel So Good." Across the board, the material is consistently excellent, a concept that is not lost on the bluesologist.

"You have to live with it and it either works or it doesn’t," he says. "You can’t select a song and go ahead and do it without knowing it first. It’s kind of like living with a woman. She might be perfect in a lot of ways, but in the end it doesn’t matter how perfect she is, it has to work out together."

In many ways, Geremia is a Delta blues persona reincarnate for the 21st century, so thoroughly is he imbued by the style and musical aesthetic of his forbears. "Sure, sometimes I feel a kinship with those [old blues guys]," he says. "I don’t know what they were like as humans. Chances are their behavior is something I would not emulate, not that I haven’t been subject to embarrassing behavior! But they used to beat their old ladies, got into bar fights. Some just disappeared, Jimmy Hoffa-style. So I do relate to them on one level, but maybe not as people."

Much of Geremia’s empathy with those personalities happened back in the ’60s when he met and played with a handful of them, including Yank Rachel, Sleepy John Estes, Howlin’ Wolf, and Son House. "These were people I had the pleasure of developing friendships with," he says, "people I looked forward to seeing when I passed through their towns."

And now we look forward to a new set of songs from our own blues legend. And we don’t even have to wait until he passes through our town.

Paul Geremia and Martin Grosswendt, who is also celebrating the release of a new disc, will perform on Saturday, March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Blackstone River Theatre, 549 Broad Street, Cumberland. Tickets are $12. Call (401) 725-9272.

Band News. With the advent of spring it seems everyone is emerging from hibernation and getting their acts in gear. Ricky Valente plays the Century Lounge on Saturday (the 20th). RV’s been playing a few colleges lately and working on new material. He’ll be headed to London in April to do some shows and to check out the scene over there. When he returns, he’ll start working on the follow-up to his latest album, Consolation.

M-80 is running a contest on their Website, www.m80punk.com. They have new tracks going up on the site on a stagnant web page. Only those who e-mail the band from the contest offer page will be given a link and told when and where they can get the tracks. The band plans to release three songs in the next three weeks.

In the short year Torn has been in Providence, lots of good things have happened. They entered an 11-week, 40-band battle sponsored by WFNX back in December. Ten bands went to the semi-finals and four to the finals, and Torn is happy to report they won the whole shebang. The grand prize will be an opening slot for a national act sometime this spring. 

Planet Groove plans to start work on their fourth album soon, coupled with extensive gigging and saturation of the Hispanic market. They’ve also added two new members to the band, lead vocalist Wilson Suarez and percussionist Jaime Herdendez, which should up the Latin quotient of this already sizzlin’ band.

Sasquatch and the Sick-a-Billys are going strong thanks to all the wackos who dig the insanity at their gigs. The band just finished recording 10 songs in an actual recording studio for a project titled Burning Miles of Sin. It will be released by the end of April or early May.

Slugworth is readying their new disc. The official release date is set for April 16 at the Green Room. In the meantime, you can check out some of those new tunes at the band’s next gig, which goes down at the Green Room this Saturday, with Jon Tierney and Vic Foley also bringing their respective noises.

WANDERING EYE. First, don’t forget. On Friday (the 19th), State of Corruption, Shed, Slugworth, Sasquatch and the Sick-A-Billys, the Problem, Black Noise, Eryss, and Fungus Amungus kick some ass at the incredible Randy Hien benefit over at the Living Room. Call 521-5200.

Lost Cause plays tonight (Thursday, the 18th) at Cats, then has another plum gig at Jarrod’s Place in North Attleboro on 3/26. The latter’s an 18-plus show. Also tonight at 9 p.m., Optical Sounds Records presents a jazz/experimental music showcase at AS220 with Modus (Daniel Stark, reeds, Chris Welcome, guitar, Shayna Dulberger, bass, and Jesse Fischer, drums), Mike Baggetta on prepared guitar, and Classical Gas.

On Saturday at Stone Soup, you’ll encounter the inimitable Patty Larkin, a guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire who is wry and warm and wondrous to see live. That’s why if you’re a folk fan you should get yourself down to the Soup, at the Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket Arts Center (210 Main Street). Tickets are $16 and may be purchased in advance by calling (401) 725-8918.

The Sleazies are playing their last show until May this Saturday at the Green Room. Also on the bill are local old schoolers V8 Interceptors and even older schoolers from Boston, the Chubs (featuring Rockin’ Bob from Jerry’s Kids and members of Gang Green). Jami Sleazie will be filling in on guitar with the Midnight Creeps during their US tour next month, so things will be uncharacteristically in the Sleazies camp.

The Dino Club will be at Jake’s on Saturday. There’s no cover; get there early and have a few martinis.

E-mail me your music news at big.daddy1@cox.net.