Muddy Bottom Blues
Program #40 (July 10 at 8:00PM)
Peter Case grew up in the small town of Hamburg (near Buffalo), New York. Like any number of young men of his generation, Elvis Presley and the Beatles made a profound impression on him, but he was equally moved by the folk and blues sounds of Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie. As a teenager, he veered from rock bands to the troubadour's life, playing coffeehouses and busking for change. In 1974, he arrived in San Francisco and worked as a street musician in a scene that included Allen Ginsberg and the Cockettes, among others.
By 1976, he had joined the Nerves at the invitation of Jack Lee; the meeting led to a move to Los Angeles and the formation of the guitar-driven soul-punk band the Plimsouls in 1979. The group found success with the power pop standard "A Million Miles Away," albeit shortly after they disbanded. Case debuted with Peter Case in 1986. The self-titled album was a collection of what Case called "tribal folk," produced by T-Bone Burnett and including collaborations with Burnett, Case's first wife, Victoria Williams, and musicians like John Hiatt and Roger McGuinn sitting in.
Case was among the handful of rockers who had honed his acoustic songs in clubs, helping to launch the so-called "unplugged" movement and, later, the singer/songwriter explosion of the '90s. In 1989, he released The Man With the Blue Post-Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar, again with the assistance of choice musicians like David Hidalgo, Ry Cooder, and Benmont Tench. In a 1989 Rolling Stone interview, Bruce Springsteen cited Case as the songwriter he was listening to most at the time.
For 1992's Six-Pack of Love, Case chucked the folk aesthetic for something more rock-oriented. Galvanizing his forces, he self-released Sings Like Hell (1993), a stark collection of traditional folk songs, favorite covers, and originals, recorded with Marvin Etzioni in a Los Angeles living room. The bold move earned him a new recording contract with Vanguard, where he came on strong with Torn Again (1995), a set of visionary songs with potency reminiscent of Blue Guitar.
In 1996, the Plimsouls re-formed for some reunion shows and a recording session that yielded Kool Trash (Shaky City, 1998). Case remained active on the acoustic scene and hosted an evening for songwriters at Santa Monica's revived Ash Grove folk club. Between records for Vanguard -- Full Service No Waiting (1997) and Flying Saucer Blues (2000) -- Case curated a musical program for the Getty Museum and performed Beatles songs with Sir George Martin live at the Hollywood Bowl.
In the spring of 2001, he produced Avalon Blues, a Grammy-nominated tribute to his childhood hero, Mississippi John Hurt, featuring contributions from Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin, and Steve Earle. That same year he self-released Thank You St. Jude, a collection of songs from his catalog recorded in solo acoustic arrangements with fiddle. Fall 2002 saw release of his ninth solo album, Beeline, which combined his rock-folk style with new rhythms and prepared guitar sounds.
Who's Gonna Go Your Crooked Mile? In 2004, Case celebrated 20 years as a solo artist (and ten years with Vanguard Records) with the release of the compilation Who's Gonna Go Your Crooked Mile, featuring highlights from his catalog there, as well as three new recordings. In 2005, the Plimsouls performed another series of reunion shows; they remain on the touring circuit.
Following open-heart surgery, Case returned to life and music with renewed vigor, and released the raw and rocking Wig! in 2010. The Case Files, a collection of demos, outtakes, live tracks and other odds and ends drawn from Case's solo career between 1985 and 2010, appeared from Alive Records in 2011.
(story provided by Allmusic)
