Q&A with Screamin’ John Hawkins and T.D. Lind - British/Kentucky-based band continues on the blues path.
British/Kentucky-based Screamin’ John Hawkins and T.D. Lind are no strangers to the Louisville music scene, having performed together as Edenstreet in the 90s. Signed to a major label contract the band moved to Los Angeles primed to make their mark on the music world. As luck would have it, their label was sold and the group broke up. Hawkins and Lind, along with bassist Jeff Crane and drummer Paul Culligan went their separate ways after the disbandment. TD Lind first came to the U.S. from England in 1991 landing in Louisville where he fronted the band Edenstreet. Screamin’ John Hawkins was one of the guitar players in that band which disbanded after A&M was sold to Universal. Lind returned to the UK and pursued a solo career. Screamin’ John remained in the US and continued his musical journey. Now the blues rockers deliver a brand-new album titled "MR. LITTLE BIG MAN" (October 2019). Produced by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Glyn Johns, Screamin’ John & TD Lind return for their second release on Down In The Alley Records.
Their debut release in 2017, Gimme More Time reunited members of the late 90’s rock band Edenstreet (Hawkins, Arlon, Crane, and Culligan plus the addition of Joel Pinkerton on harp) and it was obvious the blues had taken hold. Mr. Little Big Man continues on the blues path and improves on the debut with Johns producing. The album consists of five originals written by Lind and some well-chosen covers with obscure songs by B. B. King (The Letter) and Jimmy Reed (Shame, Shame, Shame) and others by Taj Mahal (Jelly Roll), Seth Walker & Jarod Dickenson (Way Past Midnight) and a beautiful rendition of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene”. Still with the same members, the band consists of: Screamin’ John Hawkins on guitars; Tim Arlon (a.k.a. TD Lind) on vocals, guitar and piano; Jeff Crane on bass and backing vocals; Paul Culligan on drums and percussion; and Joel Pinkerton on harmonica.
How has the Blues and Rock counterculture influenced your views of the world and the journeys you’ve taken?
John: Blues has always been a part of my life ever since an older musician taught me the Chuck Berry lick on guitar when I was nine years old. The guitar became my ticket to everything – it’s taken me around the country and around the world. I’m lucky to have had a lot of rich life experiences and I’ve made lifelong friends, all thanks to three chords and a guitar.
Tim: I cannot imagine what my life would have turned out to be if I hadn’t been introduced to blues and rock n roll... having grown up in a family of musicians and actors, it is the only culture I understand, love, despise and seek to enhance.
What touched (emotionally) you from "Mr. Little Big Man" album's covers: 'The Letter'; 'Shame, Shame, Shame'; 'Jelly Roll', and 'Goodnight Irene'?
John: I’m not sure those songs are all true stories, but they’re probably based on something that happened to somebody, somewhere. That’s the great thing about blues, is that it can express extreme happiness and extreme pain, all while letting the listener know that they’re not alone in dealing with the struggles of life; everyone has to deal with these things. We’re all going to be lonely, or sick, or broke, at some point in our lives. We’re all the same in that respect. These songs let you know that you’re not the only who goes through these things. It happens to us all.
Tim: "The letter" for me has a desperate yearning that needs to be screamed about. "Shame, Shame, Shame" seems to drag itself over broken glass in frustration. Jelly Roll’s a party freight train filled with bourbon. "Goodnight Irene"... honesty in regret.
"Honestly, I think there’s still wonderful music being created everyday... my fears are that the modern platforms of streaming make it harder for creators to be appropriately paid and I hope there’ll be a better resolve of this issue." (Photo: Screamin' John and TD Lind)
Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?
John: There are so many, but playing Garvin Gate Blues Festival for the release of “Gimme More Time” was an absolute gas. The weather was perfect, it was our first real gig since we got the band back together, and it was half a block from the bar I where I started playing the blues live when I was in high school.
Tim: I was touring in France and was opening for Sting at an outside festival. My French at the time wasn’t the best but it was important for me to try and connect with the audience verbally as well as thru music. I thought I was saying ‘ I love playing my piano for you’ but because the verb to play is also very close to the verb to Cum... I ended up saying ‘I love cumming on my piano for you’.... I got the crowds attention!
What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?
John: Well, unless you’re talking about music from before the 20th century, we still have all that music, so I don’t have to miss it. I carry every record I’ve ever owned on a device the size of a box of Tic-Tacs, which I think makes this an amazing time to live. With the future of music, especially the blues, I want people to understand that it’s okay to progress and move the genre forward. There’s room for tradition and innovation. When people say that new music isn’t good because it doesn’t sound like old music, it divides us. We don’t need any more of that, right now.
Tim: Honestly, I think there’s still wonderful music being created everyday... my fears are that the modern platforms of streaming make it harder for creators to be appropriately paid and I hope there’ll be a better resolve of this issue.
What would you say characterizes Kentucky/Louisville's blues scene in comparison to other US local scenes?
John: I think we have a lot of traditionalists here that get a little uptight when people don’t do things the way they’ve always been done. I understand that, and I think it’s very common with folk-based music forms like blues or bluegrass. That scares a lot of musicians away, though, and stifles creativity and innovation. I wish there were more young musicians interested in this music, as well. It’s going to die off if there aren’t young people to keep it alive.
"I cannot imagine what my life would have turned out to be if I hadn’t been introduced to blues and rock n roll... having grown up in a family of musicians and actors, it is the only culture I understand, love, despise and seek to enhance." (Photo: Screamin' John and TD Lind)
Do you consider the Blues a specific music genre and artistic movement or do you think it’s a state of mind?
John: I think it’s a specific genre. It expresses the same emotions other music does, just in a different style. When Leadbelly and Bill Monroe can both record “In the Pines” in different styles and make you feel the same way, that’s the movement – it’s just expressed through different genres. Same words written with a different pencil.
Tim: It's both... it’s a state of mind that more often than not is projected thru a specific sound.
What is the impact of Blues music and culture to the racial, political, and socio-cultural implications?
John: The people that created this music did so to express themselves and escape from the daily struggles of their lives that were made unnecessarily harsh through no fault of their own. We have a responsibility to recognize the situations that created this music and to be respectful of those of lived through it.
Tim: Blues and it’s culture will only be understood by blues lovers.... with understanding, empathy and without prejudice.
Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?
John: July 25, 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival. Bob Dylan played electric, and showed the world that “the way we’ve always done it” doesn’t have to be the way we always do it.
Tim: Back to an evening where Howlin Wolf, Elmore James, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Oscar Peterson played on the same bill... because... I don’t need to explain!
- Michael Limnios Blues Network
Screamin’ John & TD Lind “Mr. Little Big Man” Down In The Alley Records Release date: October 12, 2019 By Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro, September 2019
“Mr. Little Big Man” is the second release on Down In The Alley Records for Screamin’ John and TD Lind. Their first - “Gimme More” - was just shy of two years back when after a break of twenty years, the members of Edenstreet - a Louisville, KY based rock band - reunited. Still with the same members, the band consists of: Screamin’ John Hawkins on guitars; Tim Arlon (a.k.a. TD Lind) on vocals, guitar and piano; Jeff Crane on bass and backing vocals; Paul Culligan on drums and percussion; and Joel Pinkerton on harmonica.
As with their first release, while keeping the rock edge on some of the tracks, the band displays an obvious affection for the blues. "Mr. Little Big Man" contains eleven tracks with five being TD originals and the other six being covers of a mixed bag of blues artists. The disc’s producer is rock and roll hall of famer, Glyn Johns, who produced so many of the greatest bands from the era that you may just as well say he produced the “British Invasion” and leave it at that.
TD’s piano intro immediately gives the disc’s opening track - “Rollin’ Joanna” - a Bayou blues vibe. Then, just as he starts singing the song’s uptempo lyrics, Joel joins in with a muffled harmonica that’s sounding somewhat like a kazoo; Jeff and Paul come in with the funky rhythm and percussion; John starts laying down some slick blues guitar licks; and this original song takes on a full Mardi Gras dance party feel.
OK, now that the party is over let’s get down to some serious blues. This one’s titled “The Letter” (B.B. King/Jules Taub) and it just doesn’t get any more low down than this. With the rhythm guys in the precise pocket that this kind of blues calls for John, TD, and Joel are all over this one. From John’s opening screamin’ blues guitar licks - which scream more and more as the song progresses - to TD’s deeply emotional and heartfelt vocals - which may very well be the disc’s best, to Joel blowin’ out several scorching high end, low down blues harmonica leads, this one totally reeks blues. You’ve got to know it by now - this is the kind of stuff that floats my blues boat at high tide, so I’m assuming I just heard the disc’s best track.
Things get back in high gear on a smokin’ shuffle titled “Jelly Roll” (Taj Mahal). During an instrumental break that spans the middle half of the track, the guys are all on top of their game as they get into a four-way free for all going toe to toe on guitar, piano, bass, and drums.
Another original and the disc’s title track - “Mr. Little Big Man” - totally rocks. It’s a rhythm fueled smoker which combines one of Paul’s more profound percussion performances with being the only track featuring two guitars - John on lead and TD on rhythm - making it a great formula for some good ol’ house rockin’ blues.
The duet between John and TD doing their rendition of Lead Belly’’s “Goodnight Irene” is unlike anything else on the album. It features John caressing an acoustic guitar so that it hums instead of screams and TD with a most mellifluous vocal performance of this beautiful song.
The disc closes out with an original song that features the never before heard line of “I ain’t gonna be your twisted backbone bitch no more”……just when you thought you’d heard them all. The song’s titled “Reaper’s Knockin’” and with its banjo-like acoustic guitar pickin’; various instruments of percussion; and bizarre lyrics; it’s interestingly different, to say the least. I know, now ya wanna hear it, right?
Other tracks on “Mr. Little Big Man” include: “Shame, Shame, Shame” (Jimmy Reed), “All Your Love” (Magic Sam), “Way Past Midnight” (Seth Walker); and two more originals: “Cold Stone And Emptiness” and “Gonna Drag Ya”.
There is a paragraph on the one-sheet that accompanied the album where Glyn Johns comments on how impressed he was that after only three or four hours of rehearsal, this project was completed in two days. Reading that rang a bell for me so I went back and read something similar that I had mentioned in my review of the bands’ debut release……“Although the CD is titled "Gimme More Time”, more time was certainly not needed to make it all happen. From beginning to end, and I’m talking about from the time they walked into the studio, throughout the mixing and mastering processes, production took all of three days". That’s called consistency and professionalism.
- Peter “Blewzzman” Lauro (Delta Boogie Blog)
Donald Sheryls Blues Blog
What began as a reuniting of the members of the 90’s rock band, Edenstreet, has become a full-on blues reincarnation. Their 2017 debut, “Gimme More Time,” played to rave reviews, and now, with “Mr. Little Big Man,” the blues have taken hold for good. Featuring Screamin’ John Hawkins on guitars, TD Lind (Tim Arlon) on vocals, guitar, and piano, Jeff Crane on bass, Paul Culligan on drums, and Joel Pinkerton on harp, this set has five originals and six well-played, obscure covers that show the band’s ease in moving from New Orleans grooves, up thru the Delta and on uptown to Chi-Town for a more contemporary sound. Adding to the mix is producer and Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame member Glyn Johns,
TD’s piano and Joel’s harp start things off with a trip down to Basin Street, with the NOLA groove of “Rollin Joanna.” “The Letter,” originally done by B. B. King, is presented herein as a brilliantly-played slow-blues, followed by a unique, slowed-down tempo of the Jimmy Reed chestnut, “Shame Shame Shame.” The title cut finds our hero “raised on the blues, and boogie woogie, too,” earning his name, “Mr. Little Big Man.” Joel’s harp adds a unique dimension to the West Side, minor-key take on Magic Sam’s “All Your Love,” while the band original, “Cold Stone And Emptiness,” is all that’s left when your lover packs up and leaves.
Two definitive shout-outs to deep Delta blues close the set, and also served as our favorites. First, TD’s vocals and John’s acoustic guitar lines work well on Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene,” and the set itself closes with a trip down to the Crossroads, the harp-and-slide-driven, “Reaper’s Knockin!”
Altho these gents were rockers back in the day, if you have a bluesman’s soul in you, well, it’s got to come out! Enjoy Screamin’ John and TD Lind and the killer grooves of “Mr. Little Big Man!” Until next time…Sheryl and Don Crow.
- Donand Sheryls Blues Blog
Reflections In Blue - Bill Wilson
Screamin’ John Hawkins & TD Lind have reunited the members of Edenstreet, a blues-rock band from the 90s, for an album that blew my mind. The album, produced by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Glyn Johns, features 5 new original tunes by Lind and well-chosen covers from Magic Sam, Jimmy Reed, B.B. King, Taj Mahal, Seth Walker & Jarod Dickenson and Leadbelly. Blues-rock can be a tricky business, all too often with little or no consideration given to the blues element. Mr. Little Big Man is one of those occasions where the musicians involved have a true love for blues. This is a solid blues set. Egos were put on hold, and the band worked as a single unit to deliver blues that would have had the old masters they covered on the edge of their seats. Screamin’ John Hawkins (guitars), TD Lind (vocals, guitar & piano), Jeff Crane (bass & backing vocals), Paul Culligan (drums & percussion) and Joel Pinkerton (harmonica) nailed it! This album has sizzling guitars, piano, a solid rhythm section, masterful harp work and powerful vocals. For those who might not be familiar with his work; Glyn Johns is the man behind the scenes on the albums that shaped the music of such iconic bands as The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Steve Miller Band, Spooky Tooth, Pentangle, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joe Cocker & Eric Clapton… You get the general idea. A particular favorite of mine on the album was the cover of Leadbelly’s “Goodnight Irene”. This is a release that deserves a much wider audience. I can’t recall when I’ve heard contemporary blues-rock done better. For anyone with a love for blues-rock with a bit of a hard edge, this should be required listening. It has all the elements of classic blues-rock… done with a clear respect for the originators of the blues. Who could ask for anything more?
- Bill Wilson
Dazzling Adaptation Of Classic Down-Home Blues For the 21st Century.
So many things have conspired this week to try and stop me finishing writing this review; but I’m adamant that I will get it done and posted by close of play!
Even from the opening rinky-dinky piano chords that lead into opening track the breezy Rollin’ Joanna I knew that this album was going to be right up my street; and when TD Lind’s slightly grizzled vocal cuts in I knew that this was indeed; the Real Deal.
A polite mixture of self-penned originals and Classic Blues Oldies has conspired to hijack every CD Player I have this week; and I haven’t minded a minute.
I hardly recognised BB King’s The Letter; primarily because this powerhouse duo have stripped it back to the bone and feature Joel Pinkerton’s ‘most Blues wailin’ harmonica’ as lead instrument instead of the geetar …… and the combination works a treat.
This is followed by Jimmy Reed’s Shame, Shame, Shame and short of howling Hallelujah! I can’t think of a better way of expressing my admiration for this startling 3 minutes of Blues Heaven.
I will come back to a couple of the cover songs later, as the duo’s own work is rather good too ……. with the title track Little Big Man the type of R&B you would associate with John Lee Hooker; but these cats have a sound very much of their own, and not a bit like the big man.
I always chuckle when unbelievers think that The Blues is depressing music; Hell’s Bell’s it’s anything but as Screamin’ John and TD prove on the rambunctious Gonna Drag You and Seth Walker and Jarod Dickenson’s Way Past Midnight …… this is Shotgun Shack dance music at its finest.
They can do dark and dangerous too; Reaper’s Knockin’ is a great example; and a tune I now want played at my funeral …….. just to scare the Grandkids!
I’m lucky in as much as I do hear Blues albums like this more than the average bear; but that doesn’t stop me being not just impressed but thunderstruck when I unearth songs like Cold Stone and Emptiness. On an album that will be stacked in the Classic or probably Chicago Blues rack; Screamin’ John and TD Lind turn the genre upside down on this very, very contemporary song; and one that deserves a much wider audience than what I can give it via these pages; hence it is the Official RMHQ Favourite Track here by a country mile.
There’s another song here that deserves an ‘honourable mention’; Huddy Ledbitter’s Goodnight Irene. A staple of most Blues bars and clubs I frequented as a young man; and probably you too; and more recently a song local troubadour and friend of mine Paul Handyside once recorded for my old radio show; gets a whole new lease of life here. Honestly there’s no way anyone under 50 hearing this beauteous song for the first time would ever guess it was over 100 years old.
This duo; producer Glyn Johns and their friends have created a brand new album, that can comfortably sit shoulder to shoulder with Classics of the genre in my collection (and yours).
- The Rocking Magpie