Paul Pfau … Keeping the Blues Alive

Paul Pfau

Front Royal, Virginia … not the typical place you would expect to find exceptional Blues music. Well, like the saying goes, Can’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover, Front Royal proved to this writer that the saying makes good sense.

I recently attended the first Blues and Brew festival in Front Royal, and happened upon a couple of pretty good Blues entertainers there. One of them was Terry Oates, and the other one was a young musician named Paul Pfau. I had heard of  Paul from the lead singer of The Bloody 9′s, a rockin’ band from West Virginia, so when I saw that Paul was performing this day, I grabbed a chair, propped it close to the stage and gave a close listen. 

I am probably too critical of the typical  “local” blues musician that graces the stages of small clubs and festivals in the area, but that’s only because I take the blues so seriously. It is like a religion to the blues connosieurs of the music world. Anybody can learn a few blues licks on the guitar and play in a blues band., but few have the feel for this glorious sound. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that these fine musicians are trying to keep the blues alive, and maybe someday we will be writing a feature article on them, but today, that feature article is being written about Paul Pfau. 

Paul Pfau and The Dimestore Band New Years Eve 2010

When Paul took the stage, the first thing I noticed was his Buddy Holly-like look. A good look, maybe not a BLUES look, but still, a good look.  I had not so much as seen a youtube video of this artist, had not seen him onstage, and, if not for the high recommendation of this artist by another artist that I admired, I probably wouldn’t be listening to this band today. The band broke into the first few bars of the first tune, and it became obvious that Paul not only knew how to play the blues, but he was far ahead of  most of the club bands I had seen in recent months. He has a pure blues sound to his guitar playing, and evokes memories of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton with his vocals. This is not to say that Paul Pfau should be considered in this league of great musicians at his young age, but it is not impossible to think that someday he could be playing the bigger venues that these artists play if he can continue progressing through the years.

Paul Pfau ( Photo By Carissa Guyot )

One of the things that impressed me is that Paul doesn’t depend on light shows, sound effects, feedback and overly loud guitar playing to “supplement” his musical abilities. While all these “gimmicks” can temporarily make a musician look better than he/she really is, the seasoned blues connossieur will soon see through all that and dismiss that musician as a good musician, but one that is not a truely excellent musician. Wait … Paul DID have one gimmick to his show. He turned the guitar around and played the blues behind his back without missing a step. This really got the crowd going, and if there was any doubt that Paul Pfau was being appreciated by the large crowd in Front Royal, that doubt went away quickly with his behind the back playing. This act of showmanship was often used by the likes of Jimi Handrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and this skill showed that not only is Paul an excellent musician, but he is also an excellent showman.

Paul Pfau

I went to this show with no intention of covering this or any other artist during the festival in beautiful downtown Front Royal that day, but, by the time the show was ended, I knew that I wanted to get a jump on all the other blues magazines out there who will soon be covering this fine musician. Paul is a joy to watch live, and he is backed by Jody Mosser on guitar and backing vocals, Michael Hermann on electric cello and backing vocals, Eric Belec on bass, and Michael Henne on drums. Paul Pfau And The Dimestore Band … keeping the blues alive!

Playing with Paul at the Front Royal Virginia show were Kenny Barfield on guitar, Dennis Wright on bass, and Nick “Big Head Fred” Pizzola on drums. This was NOT the Dimestore band, but what Paul calls his “Blues” band. Paul is currently playing shows with the Dimestore Band which he classifies as “an alternative funk get up with blues and jazz influences band.” His blues band showed to be more than capable of backing up Paul’s excellent brand of guitar playing. Whoever Paul may be playing with at his shows, make a special effort to go out and catch their show, as he plays with some of the best musicians in the area.

Paul Pfau And The Dimestore Band

For more information on this band, go to http://www.paulpfaumusic.com/ppm/Home.html.

Watch this spot for a feature article on Terry Oates, blues guitarist …