Tom Principato Interview             Coffee East April 11th, 2008

Any local blues fan knows Tom Principato. Tom has spent the last 40+ years as a guitarist and singer based in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He was an astonishing total of 22 "WAMMY" Awards from the Washington Area Music Association, and has been considered for two Grammys. His landmark 1984 recording with Danny Gatton, Blazing Telecasters, still sets the bar for Washington D.C. blues artists. Friday night, Tom plays Coffee East.

MM: The Basics. Where are you from originally and where do you live now?

TP: I was born in Washington DC and grew up in Falls Church, Va., and as a coincidence I'm living in  the house I grew up in which I inherited from my Mom a few years ago. I've also lived in Boston, Mass., Pittsburgh,Pa. and even Ausitn Texas for a year from 1994-1995.

MM: I think most people hear the name Tom Principato and immediately associate it with “blues.” There are so many different types of blues music though, how would you describe your sound?

TP: I know that I am often lumped into the "blues" category, but my sound and music has always been a mixture of American Roots styles. In the last decade or so I've also been influenced by other styles such as Flamenco, Tango, and even some guitar sounds from India. When I first discovered and starting playing blues, I was the most influenced by BB King, Freddie King, and Albert King, all of who I used to see perform live in Clubs and Festivals in the late 60's while I was in High School and just starting to get serious about playing guitar.. I would have to say that BB's sound has been one of the lasting influences in the sound I make when I play blues music, or other styles for that matter, on guitar. I also really love and used to play a lot of Chicago Blues, and was influenced by guys like Muddy Waters, Robert Jr. Lockwood and Jimmy Rogers, and Otis Rush.

MM: What configuration will you be performing with Friday night, and who will the other players be?

TP: Our regular touring group consists of myself on guitar & vocals, John Perry on bass & vocals, Joe Wells on drums, and Josh Howell on Congas & percussion. They alll appear on our new CD "Raising The Roof!" which was just released March 2.

MM: You had the honor of playing with the legendary Danny Gatton. To this day, I still hear so many people talk about him, and what a great player he was. What made his playing so special?

TP: Danny was an incredible musician and techncian, who had an awesome command and facility on the guitar. I've seen Danny play things that most other people cannot attempt on the guitar, including myself.

MM: You were also a member of the regional blues supergroup Powerhouse, who I understand just had a reunion. For those who don’t know, who was Powerhouse and what promoted the reunion.

TP: Powerhouse was a jump blues Band from Boston that had members both from Wash. DC and Boston. The group was fronted by George Leh, and incredible sightless singer who sings a lot in the style of Ray Charles. Powerhouse did not recently have a re-union because only 3 of the former members were involved. To me that's not enough to call it a re-union. It was myself and George, and Steve Jacobs the bass player from Powerhouse. We just billed it as "George Leh and Tom Principato". George & I had been keeping in touch over the years and George phoned one day and said he'd like to do some shows together and would I put a band together and book some gigs---which i did. In Jan. we did 4 gigs in the DC area, but they weren't promoted very well and a lot of people missed the shows that would like to have seen George. Maybe we can bring him back soon and do it again.

MM: What model guitar do you play? What can someone who is a fan of blues guitar playing expect from your show?

TP: I have a Vintage Fender Telecaster, and an old Fender Stratocaster as well. I always bring both to the the shows, and play them both throughout the night. A guitar fan can expect an ecclectic mixes of blues and rock styles from my playing on any given song or night.

MM: In the early 80s there a sort of explosion of the blues genre commercially, with the likes of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Thorogood and the J. Geils Band breaking through into MTV and the mainstream. How has the blues genre changed/evolved since then, and does it still effect the mainstream?  

TP: Well, you definately don't see any blues on MTV any more! LOL! I think if it were'nt for Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy there would be a lot less Blues music present in the mainstream.

MM: What drew you to blues music? What about it still moves you?

TP: What drew me to blues and that style of guitar playing is the passion, soul and feeling of expression that BB King has been demonstrating night after night all these years.

MM: Outside of the blues genres, who are some musicians that really inspire you?

TP: I like anything that has soul, passion and melody. The Tango composer and accordian player Astor Piazzolla is a favorite. I love the Flamenco guys---especially the new ones like Strunz and Farah. Mark Knopfler is a favorite rock player. I also still love the guys that first inspired me to want to play guitar--who were not blues players. Guitarists from my parents record collection---Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Charlie christian. I really like Pat Metheny and Joe Pass, too. I love the Gypsy players from Europe, too---The Rosenberg Trio.

MM: You are a veteran member of the Washington D.C. music scene. What do you like about it? What do you wish was different?

TP: I like the fact that there is somewhat of a community feeling here in the DC area. A lot of the Bands share with each other. To me, it's competetive in a comfortable way. There are a lot of gigs available to the regional Bands. Even though attendence is down particularly at clubs, there are a lot of oppurtunitues to perform in the DC area. I do wish that people came out more often, and that live was music was treated as though it has more value than it sometimes is now.

 FILL IN THE BLANK

If I could have front row seats at any event, it would be…Bosotn Red Sox at Fenway Park

I play guitar every….so often, but not as much as I'd like. I'm really busy with the "business" end of music these days, because I own an Indie record Co.

The Washington Nationals are…a great  thing for Washington, we've been wanting baseball back for so long and now it's here.

The last food I would ever remove from my diet is…Italian

The best place in D.C that nobody knows about is…..Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches at Eden Center 7 Corners, Va.