Ron Campbell and Dennis Fox have been blues buddies for almost 40 years.
In the late ’70s, Campbell, already a well-known musician around Powell River and along the coast, heard about Fox, who was just coming onto the scene.
“I got to know Dennis and brought him onboard to be the bass player on the first record I ever made, which was ‘The Powell River Song,’” said Campbell. “That was in 1979. We’ve been working together on and off ever since.”
A traditional folk song written by Campbell’s dad George, “The Powell River Song” was recorded as the B-side to “Waitin’ for the Ferry” by River City Band, with Fox playing bass and Campbell featured on banjo and harmonica.
Deep down, Campbell and Fox are driven by the blues; melancholic and soulful songs born from spiritual, gospel and folk music of the American deep south at the beginning of the 19th century.
Campbell (guitar/vocals) and Fox (bass/vocals) formed Blues Busters about 10 years ago when they became serious about their songwriting partnership. The blues are the heart and soul of every song they have written, said Campbell.
“As a songwriter, once you start writing the song and putting it together, you have to let the song go where it wants to go,” said Campbell. “You might think you’re going to write a blues song and it ends up being more jazzy, or more country or more pop; the song goes where it needs to go.”
Lately, a few of Campbell and Fox’s songs have found their way to other artists, and television and movie soundtrack shortlists.
Butts Giraud, a harmonica player from Nanaimo, will release his first album this summer, featuring Fox’s song, “A Stroll along the Shore,” with Fox on guitar and Campbell playing drums and keyboard.
Campbell co-wrote “Brave New World” with Vancouver’s folk-influenced quartet Time Walkers.
For the past year, Campbell and Fox have also been sending material to companies such as Taxi, which helps independent artists, songwriters and composers acquire record, publishing and film/television deals.
Campbell said he and Fox have been put on the shortlist for a few projects he cannot name.
“They’ll put out a pitch for a movie looking for a slow, sad song,” he said. “Or a director of a TV show needs a fast, energetic song because there’s going to be a car chase, or they want a blues instrumental to play in the background for a TV ad.”
Calls for “sounds-like” songs also come up, according to Campbell, where production companies want something with a big name sound, such as Kings of Leon or Coldplay.
“To actually license a song from a big artist like that is expensive,” said Campbell. “They’ll be looking for a tune that sounds like that same kind of mood for less money, for them, but still a nice little chunk of change for guys at the level Dennis and I are at.”
Blues Busters, including Campbell and Fox’s bandmates Ted Durnin (keyboards/sax) and Neko Peterson (drums), will perform at the ARC Community Theatre (7055 Alberni Street) on Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 pm.
