Purists, beware.
This jump suited, one man force of nature plays the drums with his feet, sings through a telephone taped to the visor of a motorcycle helmet, and plays an incredibly original, warped form of blues on his old Silvertone. It might be tempting to dismiss him as some sort of punk/rock/blues sideshow, but his music is borne from a deep love and understanding of Delta blues, scotch, breasts, and a little insanity.
Born in Tuscon, Arizona, Bog Log got his first guitar at 11. By the time he was 16 he was deeply immersed in Delta Blues. Raised on the music of Screaming Jay Hawkins and Lightnin’ Hopkins, his sound is inspired in equal parts by Mississippi Fred McDowell and AC/DC. He’s a formidable guitarist who’s forged his own unique style. Utilizing super low tunings his slide playing sounds monstrous, the loose strings combined with his powerful finger picking let him snap and pluck and slide his dirty electric blues in a way that probably shouldn’t be possible.
He began his career playing with a metal/blues band named Mondo Guano, which he left to form the blues rock duo Doo Rag. While on tour his percussionist suddenly quit, leaving Log scrambling for a way to finish the booked dates. Donning a recently aquired thrift store helmet he miked his guitar case and kicked it to keep the beat. Eventually he replaced the case with a kick drum and cymbal, augmenting his one man rhythm even further by adding a drum machine he triggers with his feet.
If you can get past the lyrics, your in for something great. Whatever you do, don’t miss the opportunity to see him live.
Further Listening:
Log Bomb
This album features the smash hit Boob Scotch.
No one should miss an “opportunity to see him love”, unfortunately everyone does. I’ve been trying to get people to go but largely fail. I definitely have added some odd influences to my guitar playing, you should do Leo Kottke and Blind Joe Death next. They don’t always play slide or blues, but when they do it sounds pretty damn good.
Thanks for the tips Muskie. I’ve heard Leo Kottke but not Blind Joe Death.
Awesome stuff. I’ll definitely be checking for a show I can make it to. Looks like a lot of fun.
Wow, how did this guy slip past my radar? Maybe his suit has radar jamming abilities. Love the style and sound. This is a cool site, would like more intermediate/advanced lessons though.
With BLIII anything is possible.
Thanks for the comment Schmidty, as soon as time allows I’ll put up some new material.
Saw him live last month in Leeds, UK, he was phenomenal.
Rare is it for such phenomenal natural talent be combined with great showmanship and excellent blues influences.
He absolutely blew my mind when he went from a playing bluegrass banjo song to a bluesy cover of chart hit Riverside with a thumping bassline.