Ain’t nothin’ but the blues

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Japanese guitarist Shun Kikuta lives a life aspiring rock ‘n’ rollers dream about, except for one thing — he plays the blues.

And he couldn’t be happier, with a thriving career as guitarist for America’s “Queen of the Blues,” Koko Taylor. The 42-year-old Kikuta will be in Taipei tomorrow to headline the annual Blues Bash, now in its fifth run.

The Tokyo-area native was enraptured by the blues after hearing BB King’s classic 1964 recording Live at the Regal while studying jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After graduating, he moved to his current home of Chicago, where he established his reputation through countless evenings jamming at blues clubs and playing on the streets. Through the years he has shared the stage with blues legends such as James Cotton, Junior Wells and Otis Rush.

Kikuta experienced an “unforgettable” moment in his career when King invited him to join him for a television special that aired in 2004 in the US.

“My dream finally came true,” says Kikuta on the phone earlier this week while visiting his hometown of Utsunomiya, a city 95km north of Tokyo, where he returns twice a year to hold guitar workshops. “I am still thinking about that day,” he says.

Kikuta’s show tomorrow marks his fourth appearance at Blues Bash, which has become a ritual on his regular visits to Japan. He says he “loves Taiwan” for its “good atmosphere,” “great people” and “great musicians.” Among those musicians are members of the Taipei blues band BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), who will back Kikuta at tomorrow’s festival.

Blues Bash takes place once again

at the Dream Community (夢想社區) with a host of other Taipei bands including the Blues Vibrations, Black Sheep and my group, the Muddy Basin Ramblers. Also scheduled are several bands from Taichung: funk band the Money Shot Horns and blues-rock outfit The Rising Hedons.

Kikuta’s enthusiasm about Taiwan has spread to several Japanese blues groups, who comprise much of this year’s international lineup: Nacomi, a female guitarist and singer, whose blues and R’n’B style resembles Bonnie Raitt; acoustic trio Jamsbee; and Musashino Minnie and Small Package, another trio that plays early 20th-century blues and sings in Japanese.

Also appearing is the Lance Reegan-Diehl Band, a South Korea-based expat trio that has been described as “Yngwie Malmsteen meets Pink Floyd and Stevie Ray-Vaughan.”

The bands will partake in a one-day marathon of music. During the afternoon, each group will give a 10- to 15-minute performance as an outdoor showcase. The Dream Community will then hold a “blues parade,” which leads into the featured event: the evening performances, where each band plays another 45-minute set in the community’s newly built indoor theater and cafe.

As for blues music’s reputation as “sad music,” festivalgoers tomorrow will find the opposite. “It is music for losing your blues by dancing, partying and having a good time,” says BoPoMoFo bandleader DC Rapier, who started Blues Bash in 2004. Burgers and beer will also be on sale throughout the day.

Expect an all-out performance from Kikuta, whose virtuosity and soulful expression has made him a Blues Bash favorite. On playing live, he shares the most valuable lesson he learned from Koko Taylor: “Always do your best, play like it’s the last day … play [truly] from your heart, and give it all to people.”