Unlike warm, sunny days, tequila and fajitas, blues music isn’t something often associated with Mexico. But south of the border is exactly where Craig Caffall cut his teeth on music.
When Caffall was young, his family made the move to Mexico so his mother could study ceramics and Spanish. It didn’t take long for the whole family to fall in love with the culture. They made Mexico their home for years, long enough for Caffall to not only become fluent in Spanish, but to begin his professional music career.
At 17, Caffall started playing at clubs in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Though he performed a lot of good old fashioned rock and roll songs, local musicians also taught him to sing, read and write in Spanish. He played with and learned from groups performing the Latin blues, such as a band called El Tri. El Tri put their own spin on traditional blues songs, such as a number that, translated to English, is titled Hey Bartender Serve Me Another Drink. It’s a Spanish version of the Blues Brother’s Hey Bartender.
Although Caffall is a blues guy now, describing his music as an R&B, funk, New Orleans style of blues, what he picked up in those beginning years of his career highly influenced the music he plays today, so much so that he’s written and recorded a few original songs in Spanish.
Caffall will be performing at the Lake County Fire Recovery Blues Benefit this Saturday at the Ely Stage Stop. He wont be pulling out any Spanish numbers, but he will be treating the audience some originals.
Caffall is drawn to the blues for the same reason B.B. King was — even when he’s feeling low, he can pick up his guitar, strum a few chords and instantly be more content. “When you’re feeling down and out, there ain’t nothing but the blues,” said Caffall.
There’s an emotional resonance to the music. “I like the fact that people can relate to the blues,” he said. “The blues can be about heartbreak, about losing someone … Blues can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.”
When it comes to naming his musical influences, “Who hasn’t been an influence on me is more like it,” Caffall said with a laugh. B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, they’re all on the list.
Over his four decades of playing, Caffall has shared a stage with Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal, to name only three of many. He met B.B. King backstage at a show in Santa Fe in 1984. He toured nationally and internationally for a number of years as a guitar player for Maria Muldaur of “Midnight at the Oasis” fame.
“When I sit back and think about it, I go, ‘Wow that’s pretty good for an old guitar player,’” said Caffall.
And the stage is where he wants to be. Recording has its own appeal, but performing, that unique interaction and exchange with an audience only a musician gets to experience, it’s a special thrill.
During a show, the musicians send their music out to the crowd and “the audience picks up on it and it goes through their bones,” Caffall said. When the audience sends the music back, it’s been magnified. This transaction continues until the end of the show, when there’s an emotional, explosive finale.
Even if performing can be trying at times, Caffall always looks to something Maria Muldaur used to say: “Five or 5,000 or 50,000, we put on the same show.”
So at the Blues Benefit on Saturday, audience members can expect a high-energy blues show. And Caffall will also be back in Lake County on August 29 at the Blue Wing Saloon in Upper Lake.
Though Caffall is a Marin County resident, Lake County’s recent troubles in light of the Valley Fire struck a chord. When he was asked to play at the upcoming benefit, he didn’t hesitate. “I wanted to help out in any way I could because these people went through a very hard time,” said Caffall. “I just want people to come out and help the cause … this is a way to help people get back up on their feet.”
The second Lake County Fire Recovery Blues Benefit is Saturday, May 21, from 2 p.m. -7 p.m. at the Ely Stage Stop in Kelseyville. There will be food, wine and beer, craft sales, info booths, a silent auction and raffle. Tickets are $15 cash at the gate and kids 12 and under are free. For more information visit the Lake County Fire Recovery Blues Benefit page on Facebook or call 278-7126.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
