Bluesman to heat up stage

Drugs and alcohol ruined most of his life

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

John Lee Hooker Jr. has a disclaimer for all blues fans coming out to his show Friday at The Ice Zone in Boardman.

“Well, if they come out to the show and approach the stage, they better be sprayed down with some grease repellent, because if they don’t, they’re going to get burnt by some of the hot grease that will be descending from the platform,” said Hooker, calling from a tour stop in Nashville. “They’ll be cooking with the Hook that night.”

You better believe this promised grease-fire will be of the fiery blues variety, as Hooker, son of American blues legend John Lee Hooker, is finally making good on his name. While in his teens, Hooker was a promising blues singer, he succumbed to demons — drugs, alcohol — for the majority of his life.

Then earlier this decade, things changed for Hooker, who kicked his bad habits and finally got down to furthering his family name. His 2004 debut “Blues with a Vengeance” earned a Grammy Award, while his recently released follow-up “Cold As Ice” has garnered critical and fan praise around the globe.

Considering he’s a bluesman in his 50s, Hooker believes he should have 20 albums and 10 Grammy Awards under his belt. However, fate had a different idea. So instead of accolades on his mantel, all Hooker has are the tribulations of life to keep him company. Naturally this provides a wealth of material when it comes time to write a song.

When talking about the tunes on “Cold as Ice,” he points to a few tracks as defining not only this album but his life.

His life in song

“I like the song ‘Trapped,’ because drugs had me trapped for a long time,” Hooker said. “And ‘Wait Until My Change Comes,’ I waited and my change gonna come. I’m often reminded about how you have stuff that comes into your mind. I call it the spirit of the devil, and it suggests you do something bad.

“You remember watching the old cartoons with the little angel on one side of the shoulder and the pitch-forked cat on the other shoulder, the one is saying do this and the other is saying no ... well, that’s true. You have bad suggestions and you have good suggestions, and I’m often reminded about how change is going to come and that happens today: The little enemy suggests I go do this and the friend on the other shoulder suggests that I not do it. I think I’ll hold off just a little longer and wait until my change comes. That’s worked out for me a great bit.”

So far a sober and focused Hooker is making up for lost time as fast as he can. He said he’s already working on his next album. As for his current set, fans can expect to hear material from both his studio efforts. There are also a few covers in the mix, including tunes from his father’s venerable catalog.

Above anything, Hooker wants to make sure people are ready for the hot grease.

“Basically my thoughts were to give everybody what they want,” Hooker said. “To use a food analogy, everybody doesn’t eat just spaghetti. Some people want some vegetables and some people want a little bit of fiber in their meals and some protein on their plate. I’m basically trying to make sure I give people some funk, some R&B, some down home blues and some jazz.”