His gritty, muscular blues are a perfect match for his scowling,hulking demeanor and gruff voice. This bearded bear of a man has abaleful stare that could have stopped Sonny Liston cold in histracks. His albums have titles such as "The Bad Axe," and he singsabout being "Tough as Nails."
But the illusion is broken when you discover that Son Seals is .. . a nice guy.
"It's not meant to intimidate people," Seals says inacknowledgment of his persona."But it is great business. You go upon the bandstand and it's all bull aside. Daddy tried to show methat this was a business, and if I was going to learn from him that Ihad to give him my undivided attention. I try to pass that along tomy band members, too - that they've got to take care of businessfirst."
Seals will be TCB'ing tonight at B.L.U.E.S. Etc. and Saturdaynight at B.L.U.E.S. Son's seventh Alligator Records album, "NothingBut the Truth," will provide fodder for the live show. Thejust-released "Truth" contains the quintessential South Side bluesthat makes Seals' act the most consistently top-notch on the localcircuit.
As the youngest of Jim Seals' 13 children, Frank Seals learnedabout the blues firsthand at his daddy's juke joint in Osceola, Ark.Called "Little Son" in his hometown to distinguish him from "Son,"his dad, Seals began playing professionally at age 12, first on thedrums and soon after on guitar. While still in his teens, he touredas a drummer with Earl Hooker and later with Albert King, one of hisprimary influences.
By the time he moved to Chicago in 1971, he had mastered many ofKing's guitar riffs. He took over Hound Dog Taylor's regular gigs atthe Expressway Lounge on the South Side when Taylor's debut Alligatoralbum took off and Taylor took to the road. Alligator went on torecord "The Son Seals Blues Band" in 1973, making Seals the label'smost senior living artist. It's an association that has benefittedboth artist and Alligator.
"I wouldn't have the kind of relationship and the trust withanybody else that I have with Alligator," Seals says. "I couldn't bemore pleased with a company."
Seals has to laugh when he hears the so-called blues puristsquestion his use of horns in his band, which features saxophonist RedGroetzinger and trumpeter Dan Rabinovitz.
"These are people who weren't there in the '50s when I firstheard this music," he says. "If I could take them back down South,then maybe they'd have a different opinion. I've had horns eversince I could afford them in my group. Ever since I heard WillieWilkes, who was a terrific horn player with the Roscoe Gordon Band,it just grew on me. I said, `If I get my own band someday, I've gotto have horns.' I know Albert King stopped using them two or threeyears before he died - maybe he wanted to get back to the basics orsomething."
Even if he added strings to his songs, it's hard to imagineSeals not playing raw blues. "There are a couple of songs I haven'trecorded yet that I might like to try violins with," he confides.
When you're tough as nails, anything goes.
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