Feature

Tickets are going fast for the Aug. 29 performance of G. Love and Special Sauce at Soul Kitchen. This should be no surprise. Their latest album “Lemonade” (released on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records) included not only G. Love and Special Sauce’s trademark hip-hop-infused-with-delta-blues sound, but also collaborations with artists such as Marc Broussard, Tristan Prettyman, Ben Harper, Blackalicious and Jack Johnson. With this album shooting up the charts, it seems as if everyone is getting a taste of “Lemonade.” A very busy G. Love was gracious enough to take time out of his hectic schedule to chat with me about the past, present and future of G. Love and Special Sauce.

SC: So, how’s the road been treating you on this tour?

GL: It’s good, man! Our record came out last week, and we debuted number 39 on the Billboard Top 100. So, that’s pretty cool. We’ve never done that well.

SC: Tell me a little about the new album.

GL: It’s called “Lemonade.” There’s a lot of collaborations on this record. Lots of great musicians were involved in the making of this album. So, it was a pretty special kind of record to do.

SC: Yeah, y’all had a lot of special guests on this album. What was it like in the studio making this one with all these great people?

GL: It was awesome, man. Everybody brought a little something special to the table. Whatever tracks we had people on, they really brought it to the next level. It was really happening.

SC: You released this one on Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records. What was it about that label that attracted you to it?

GL: I think mostly it was working in a business relationship with people that you trust creatively. Jack and his manager Emmet are good friends of mine. They’re also kinda A&R’ing the record. With that said, they started out as fans of me. They believe in my creative vision. Being a fan of theirs, I believe in their creative vision. I guess that it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Everybody can do it, work together and have fun. That’s what it’s all about. We’re all boys, so it makes all the victories that much sweeter, you know what I’m saying?

SC: Absolutely. You’ve been in the music game for over a decade now. How do you think that you’ve changed as a musician in that time?

GL: I have this saying now that you’re as good now as you ever will or ever gonna be. I think that’s the vibe. I think that you’re always gonna have something special to your vibe. I’m definitely a way better guitar player and harmonica player since I first started. I feel like I’m progressing on that all the time. I think that I’m a better singer too. At the same time, when I first came out, my energy was incredible, and I was unjaded by the music business and really fresh and innocent. I think you lose some of that along the way as you hit the road, get out there and take your licks through having your victories and defeats. There’s no going back. I think that technically I’m a lot better, but you’re always changing along the way.

SC: One thing that blows my mind is your sound. Where did you get that rootsy blues sound?

GL: Just from listening to a lot of great records. When I first started getting into music, I got really into Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Then, later I discovered the blues and got into this guy John Hammond, and through him I got into all different kinds of blues people. Once I discovered the blues, that was it for me. I was like, ‘It’s cool, man.’ I would take a lot of time with these old records and learn the songs. They play such unorthodox stuff, these delta blues players. It was encouraging to find the sounds that they were doing. All that reaching and stretching out to find out what they’re doing helped me to get my own innovative sound. I could never figure out exactly what they were doing, but I would figure out something kinda close. I would have to make up a new chord to get that sound. All of a sudden, I had all these new chords. So, all of a sudden, I had all these new chords that I discovered learning the blues records, and that’s how I came up with my style.

SC: It’s definitely an organic style of music. It seems so natural. You’ve taken this style all over the world. What’s the crowd’s reaction to your music in other countries.

GL: The U.S. is our best market, and after that it’s Japan and Australia and other places in Europe. The Japanese crowd is amazing. They’re like really respectful and listen really closely. It’s almost like you’re in a classroom. We’re used to being in the U.S. where everybody’s partying. It’s the culture of the music. Over there, it’s almost like they’re studying it.

SC: One last question, what can the crowd in Mobile expect from your live performance?

GL: We’ve got a great band. It’s the original Special Sauce with the addition of Mark Boyce on the keys. He’s a great player who I know from when he played with The Goats, which is a legendary, Philadelphia live hip-hop band. We’ll definitely be drawing a lot from the new record, but we’ll be hitting the classics with some freestyles in there and maybe a couple of blues tunes in there. I try to sing about love, finding love, losing love, making love, lemonade, basketball and politricks. Our show is a soul shakedown party. Everyone is gonna have a good time, open up, feel good, enjoy the music and be inspired. That’s what we’re out there to do too.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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