| I've always had a soft spot for the Blues, but I'm not sure how or when it started. Growing up in Twillingate, certainly not the Blues capital of the world, I was subjected to a variety of styles of music; traditional, country, folk, rock and roll, soul, R&B. You name it, I've sung and played it all. Some of my earliest influences were Elvis, Ray Charles, Patsy Cline, and Otis Redding. I eventually graduated to such artists as Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, and Norah Jones, and still I'm only scratching the surface. I have to say that one of the most influential musicians in my life is my brother Freeman, who had a Rock and Roll band called, "The Barracudas" that played the central Newfoundland circuit for some 17 or 18 years. It was with this band that I got my feet wet, so to speak. He taught me how to play the guitar and instilled in me a love and respect for all genres of music, which is probably why I write in so many different styles, from the sublime to the ridiculous! However, Blues is my passion. I love its rhythm and flow, I can sit for hours just strumming through dozens of chord progressions, until maybe an idea for a song pops into my head. If the mood is right I just go with the flow, and the song writes itself. Ada Piercey Jenkins | |
