Guitarist

Style: Classic Blues

A bit about the guitar…

The guitar built is a custom, one-of-a-kind, Grez Mendocino. The veneer of the guitar is from an old reclaimed California Redwood wine tank and rest of the guitar is from reclaimed California Redwood with an ebony fretboard. Barry Grzebik also has built guitars for some of the best Blues players in the USA including Kid Andersen, Laura Chavez , Tommy Harkenrider.

Link to Grez Website - Grez Guitars

Interview

K: Have you lived in Glasgow all your life Iain?

I: No, I started life with my Mum and three half-brothers in Renfrew, then there were lots problems.   My Dad died when he was 22 years old with a brain haemorrhage at a Rangers v Saint-Etienne game.  He had previously survived the Ibrox disaster but lost his two pals Tommy Grant and John Jeffreys.   Then my Mum committed suicide when I was ten months old, so my Dad’s Mum , my wee Gran adopted me.  My half-brothers stayed with my other Gran, my Mum’s Mum.  That was me in Yoker, Glasgow from then on.

K: What can you remember about Glasgow as a city when you were a kid?

I: Glasgow was rough.  I went to Yoker Primary School, behind the notorious Langholm Street.  It wasn’t always a safe journey walking to and from school. 

I remember what Thatcher did.  I was 10 years old.  Once all the cuts came my Gramps got paid off from Babcocks.  He was a Plater and was in the early stages of emphysema.  So, he was unemployed, and my Gran kept us with her 5 or 6 night-shifts a week as a district nurse.  There was a lot of alcohol abuse back in them days too, Thatcher kicked Scotland square in the nuts.

K: What is your earliest memory of live music in Glasgow?

I: My earliest memory of live music was The Big Day at the Green.  My favourite big cousins Kenny, and Derek and his girlfriend took me to the gig.  Kenny played for Rangers back in the day. Deacon Blue, Texas, Big Country were all playing, and I remember Sheena Easton  getting booed.  My cousins lost me and found me later, sitting with bunch of hippies, smokin weed. I was 13. Then next gig I remember was Inxs at the SECC when I was 14. 

K: Can you tell me a bit about your memories of Big George?  Any gigs that stand out or stories you could tell?

I: Yeah, I mind George had a gig down at the Clyde in Yoker.  It was a big Tennent’s tent next to the wharf, next to the Renfrew Ferry along from Spunky Bay .  I got spiked with acid that day, I was about 16 years old.  I didnae like it. I just sat outside the tent and got stoned and pished with the young team outside the tent as it was a scorcher.  It was a great day.

George drank in my local, The Station Bar, and he stayed just round corner from my Grans.  He got carried home once or twice lol.

K: When was the first time you heard the Blues?

I:  The first time I heard blues was my Gramps. He could play Nat King Cole and was a complete Boogie-woogie monster.  That blew my mind! He could play any Glen Miller song. The first real Blues I heard was at a gig at The Big Joint.  It was Rev Doc and The Congregation and Al Brown was on guitar.  I had just started playing for The Boogie Men with Davie Boyle from Rev Doc and Davy Mac, former Rev Doc bassist,  Jake Mac, who use play with George Watt, and Lawrence Thompson who toured Canada with Big George and the Business.

I was into shitty rock music then but got schooled well by the boys.  Particularly Lawrence , Davy Mac and Davie B. 

K: What age were you when you picked up a guitar?

I: I was 14 when I picked up a guitar.  I heard my buds Ian McDermott and Dylan Fitzpatrick (nephew of “Punky Mendoza” from “Heavy Pettin” ), playing Ozzy and Motley Crue stuff and I was blown away!  I got a Telecaster that Xmas and Dylan gave me a few lessons to get me going.  Showin off mostly, but enough to get me going.   Everything after that was self-taught.

K: What style of Blues are you most drawn to?  Any particular reason you prefer that style?

I: I love Ry Cooder.  His film “Crossroads” had huge part of me getting into guitar but once I heard Al Brown, I just thought “Now that’s how I want to learn to play like!”, and since then I’ve got into Magic Sam , Hubert Sumlin, Ronnie Earl, Rick Estrin and The Nightcats,  (best band in the Universe! ). They have my favourite guitarist, Kid Andersen on guitar.  Him and Rick crack me up!  I also love Jimmy Vaughan.  It took a while to really get into him.  Others are  Tbone ,Tommy Harkenrider, Kid Ramos, Ian Siegal, Vince Lee, Lightning Hopkins, Big Jon Atkinson, Kim Wilson, Steve West, Chris Corcoran. They are all badass!

K: Which Glasgow players past and present have inspired you?

I:  Glasgow players, rock-wise Davey Brocket & Marty More, both from the band Fat Betty and big Al Nimmo. Lawrence Thompson, Davy Mac are all huge influences.

Currently in Glasgow, as in real Roots or Rhythm n Blues players to look out for are Al Brown , Lloyd Reid , Duncan Kennedy , Strange Dave Addison , Conor Smith. Conor is the lead guitarist from the Deke McGee Band and Vintage Explosion: them boys are streets ahead.  Richard Rinn, Sy McBass and Richard Andersen, they all blow my mind.  In my opinion, those guys are the “real” Glasgow Blues scene.

That scene is tremendous, but the “rock blues” scene and the jam nights are not in same league. It’s just rock with pentatonic scale soloists.

I think it comes from guys like Joe Bonamassa , Walter Trout, Gary Moore.  That’s not my idea of what the Blues are about at all.

K: How does it make you feel when you are in front of an audience playing your stuff?

I:  I love it , it's a great feeling playing live but have struggled after three heart attacks.  It's more recording on the agenda now and it's a buzz hearing your own recordings back.  That's best buzz in music…listening to something you've recorded that's not too shite lol!  It was good getting on that Jock’s Juke Joint cd with Glasgow players like yerself Al Brown, Frank O'Hagan, Gus Munro.

K:  And is there anything about Blues music in particular that draws you in?

I:  Everything about Blues draws me in! I love it all.  I think I get the swingin side off my Gramps after I was brought up with Nat King Cole and Glen Miller.

K:  You’ve talked about your Gramps a couple of times Iain.  Did you ever get the chance to have a jam with him?

I: I tried, but with the rock stuff I played back then I wasn't on his wavelength. I’d be tabbing Van Halen and Motley Crue songs.  It wasn't till I was 30 that I started playin Blues with The Boogie Men.  My Gramps died before I could play along with him.  I’ve wrote an instrumental called “Lil Gemma Giggle Box” about my daughter's laugh and his Boogie-woogie piano was always in my head when I was writing it.

My Gramps would be in my band for sure.  He never really gigged but he played loads in the hoose and would play to anyone that would listen.

At this point Iain sends a link to a video taken at his grandparents’ Ruby Wedding Anniversary in Yoker Resource Centre, celebrating 40 years of marriage.  I see his Gramps, John Gibney, singing to his Gran, “Wee May”.  “Let The Rest Of The World Go By” is the song and a couple of bars in, I hear his Gran’s church choir kick in and it’s beautiful.  His Gramps is struggling to breathe due to the emphysema but makes it to the end to a huge round of applause.

K:  So your Gran was a singer too?

I:  Oh aye, she used to gig with the Church Choir.

K:  Did she and your Gramps ever play in the house?  Him on the piano and her singing?

I:  Naw, the piano was his “me-time”.  He would sit with a whiskey and a cigarette and the Boogie-woogie would start lol.

K: They sound like a couple of gems.

I: Aye they were magic my gran n gramps

K: If folks wanted to hear your material what bands should they look out for?

I: I’ve played in the Boogie Men , and in a few bands with my Blues sister who has taught me more about blues than anyone, she’s so talented and has a great knowledge of Blues: Laura May Gibson.  We did a track that featured on Jock’s Juke Joint which was written by our friend Pete Rabjohns that got quite popular in the online Blues radio circuit. It got airplay in 15 different countries.  Same as recordings we did with my main band Laura May’s Blue Rays.

I’ve played Thornhill Music Festival with Blues Award winner Katie Bradley and also with the Blue Rays.

At the moment, I have an album to record with Al Price and Davie Boyle.  We got offered a great wee album deal by Hugh Dowling who also works for Distilled Records.

I mentioned Al Price there.  Al is the most talented and unique musician I’ve ever played in a band with.  He’s my brother from another, and I hope to jam with him and Rick Estrin and The Nightcats as Kid Andersen asked me to jam next time they are over here. I get on with him a lot.  They think I am funny and like-wise so we’ve had a hoot on Facebook over the last 5 or 6 years.  They are everything I love: music and comical genius!

K:  They came over to the UK a couple of years back and I think you went to the gig.  Can you tell me a bit about that?

I:  Aye, a crowd of us went through to the Edinburgh Blues Club gig.  Me, Al Brown, Jane Pergialis, Duncan Kennedy and there was a whole group of the Edinburgh guys.  Everyone went.

I took Kid Andersen a goody bag.

K:  What kind of goody bag?

I:  A Tunnocks Tea Cakes, Snowbaws and Irn Bru goody bag.

K:  (Laughs) Kid Andersen looks like he could do some damage to a Tunnocks Tea Cake! 

I:  He’s huge!  Proper Viking stock.  Dark horses, those Scandinavians.  Some of the best Blues players in the world.

I was backstage with them.

K:  Rick Estrin is a bit of a cool dude.  Was he wearing the usual threads?

I:  Yeah, Rick was sharp.  He’s a funny guy as well.

K:  It’s been great to catch up Iain and please let me know when the jam happens with you and Rick.  I’d love to get some photos of that.  Take care mate.

I:  Thanks Kirk.

 Links

Iain’s Recordings - SoundCloud

Date: 24/10/2021

Location: Yoker Parish Church

When we were doing the photo-shoot in the church grounds, Iain talked about the building that used to be in the spot we were standing in. “There was a snooker table right there”. His art teacher from school designed the stained glass window at the rear of the church and he talked about the junior football teams back in the day. As we walked down the path he talked about his Wee Gran being one of the church elders and how things have changed so much within his community, and as we passed the big red main door of the church he stopped and, almost absent-mindedly, reached up and placed his hand on the door for a couple of seconds before moving on.

Camera info

Camera: Sony A7R3
Lens: Sony 85mm 1.8
Focal length: 85mm
Exposure: f1.8, 1/320s, iso100
Time of day: 16:20
Conditions: Sunny
Lighting: Open shade, 24” softbox keylight