After 9 years without a new release, Mercer has just released an all-live, all-original recording Live at The Roxy. Recorded at the historic Roxy Theater in Lockport, IL in April of 2024, Mercer rented the theater for two performances in one night and sold it out. “I had an absolute blast performing these songs to this crowd,” he recalls. “(It was) 127 of the happiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of performing for.”
By Linda Cain
Marty "Big Dog" Mercer interview 2025
By Linda Cain
When it comes to blues artist Marty “Big Dog” Mercer, what you see is what you get. His 6’ 10” frame captures attention from the moment he steps on stage, as does his deep, powerful baritone, not to mention his considerable skills on guitar, especially his slide guitar excursions, which have been described as “ferocious.”
When Big Dog covers Willie Dixon’s “300 Pounds of Heavenly Joy” and belts out: “This is it! This is it! Look at what you get,” you know he ain’t lying.
His recent album covers and promo materials declare: Marty “Big Dog” Mercer -- Blues and Rock. And this is just what the big man delivers, big time; albeit with some decidedly jazzy, sophisticated arrangements and even some rootsy country influences. Yet, by adding the tag line Rock to his marketing materials, it opened more doors and gave him more musical freedom than if he limited it to just Blues-- a smart move for an artist with influences that range from Howlin’ Wolf to Frank Zappa. Still, Blues remains his raison d’etre.
Mercer has been inducted into two local Blues Halls of Fame – both in Chicago and Joliet -- and has two critically acclaimed albums, and one EP, to his credit. He and his band can be found performing in a variety of settings – from suburban shopping malls, restaurants, festivals and casinos, to high profile Chicago blues clubs like Shaw’s Crabhouse (where Jimmy Buffet became a fan was and big tipper, too) and Buddy Guy’s Legends, (where the namesake’s owner has performed with them four times). Mercer has traveled to Ireland three times to perform at clubs and festivals there; he has made many Irish fans and friends, including the bass player for the late legend Rory Gallagher.
And now, after nine years without a new release, Mercer has just released an all-live, all-original recording Live at The Roxy. Recorded at the historic Roxy Theater in Lockport, IL in April of 2024, Mercer rented the theater for two performances in one night and sold it out.
It was a night to remember. “I had an absolute blast performing these songs to this crowd,” he recalls. “(It was) 127 of the happiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of performing for.”
Mercer and his Big Dog Band will be making even more people happy at two CD release parties this month:
Feb. 21, 2025: Birthday bash & album release party at Copeland’s, in Manteo, IL
Feb. 28, 2025: Album release party at Buddy Guy’s Legends, Chicago
Chicago Blues Guide’s Founder/Editor Linda Cain and Big Dog shared a lively Q&A and covered all the bases of his life and career -- from his childhood in Antioch, IL to his career highlights, including performing in Ireland.
Q. Congratulations on your new album, Live at The Roxy. Recording a live show for an album requires that the planets need to be in alignment, so to speak. Your original songs had to be road tested, with your current band members ready to lay them down smoothly for the audience. And you need a full house to cheer you on.
How long did it take you to get to this point where you were ready to record live?
MM: It has been close to nine years since my last release. This project was overdue. Ten of the thirteen songs are new. I needed to be sure I had the right individuals to collaborate with before this recording was possible. Then, add in the cost of a studio. My last project in 2016, cost me just under six thousand dollars. I do not have financial supporters or a label to back me so I took out a loan and made it happen. Life kept getting in the way and money was always needed elsewhere so trying to fund a new album was something that would need to wait. Besides this, I’m not comfortable in a studio. I belong on the stage interacting with other musicians.
I was having a conversation with my friend Tom Gunderson after a gig one night. Tom is a good friend, an honorary member of the band, and also my sound technician. We were talking about a new album. His opinion is that I should record live because, just as I feel, I’m best when I’m on stage. We started talking about how it could be done. Tom has a degree in audio engineering and acoustics (or something close to this, I dunno). He told me that a long time ago his friend asked him to record his band and the result was far better than he, or anyone, expected. He said “if we have this equipment, I can engineer it and if you trust me enough, I can mix and master it myself.” That sounded great but I was worried about making mistakes and being stuck with a song where I didn’t like how it turned out or was just unusable altogether. Then one of us came up with the idea of playing two sets of the same music so that way I would at least have a second version of the song. We could run through 13 songs, take break to socialize, thank everyone for attending, and then go back on stage and play the same thirteen songs again.
This conversation took place in mid-December and by the end of January, I had the venue booked and started selling tickets. I found a smaller theater in Lockport, IL. The Roxy. I contacted Jessica from the Roxy and set up a walkthrough when a band was performing. The room sounded amazing and I could absolutely see its potential. I knew the venue held approximately 100 people but being me, I sold 130 tickets to the event. I knew that some of the older crowd would not stick around long enough for the second set so I oversold it, thinking that people might be late or might not show at all. The official count at the door was 127 of the happiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of performing for. Oh, and Tom’s work as engineer & mix/master technician came out spectacular.
Q. What were your goals and did you meet them all?
My goals were pretty simple. Get people interested in being a part of it - I oversold the theater.
Don’t mess up too bad - Yes, there are mistakes but chances are not many people will notice.
Capture the night on video and audio – Audio and video both came out better than we anticipated (video coming soon).
Most importantly - even if this was an absolute failure and I lost money - HAVE FUN. I had an absolute blast performing these songs to this crowd.
Q. Were the arrangements tight or was improvisation allowed for solos?
MM: Well, both actually. The arrangements are very tight in that we do not deviate from the structure or form of the song but solos are almost always left for improvisation. When it comes to soloing, I can rarely play the exact same thing twice and what I played last time may not convey the feelings I have at that moment.
Q. Sometimes you have a horn section and sometimes a keyboard player. But this live album only has a four-piece. Any particular reason to scale down?
MM: I initially wanted it to be the Big Dog Mercer big band. All six of us were to perform that night. Unfortunately, my trombone player (Henry Nicola) was recovering from heart surgery and my piano player (Peter Czifra), who is Hungarian, had to fly back home to assist in family matters. The core of the band has been a quartet for the last five years so although adding the additional members would have been amazing, we were more than comfortable on stage as a quartet.
Q. Please tell us about your three talented bandmates. To play with the Big Dog, they obviously need to be versatile.
Let’s start with sax player Aiden Dehn. How old is he now? He has been playing with you since before he was old enough to get into bars. Where and when did you meet?
At what point did you invite him to join your band as a full-fledged member, who is now important to your sound? Your guitar and sax duets are incredible!
Photo: Ed Peterson
MM: I met 15-year-old Aiden and his dad at a jam session I was hosting in Grant Park, IL. They were invited by Tom Gunderson who I had just met at the time. Aiden attended the jam as a guitarist. He was very good, and not just “good for his age”. After a few weeks of attending the weekly jam session, Aiden approached me to tell me that he also plays saxophone in the school band and he’d like to get on stage and play his sax. I brought him up with my band. We went into a shuffle and after everyone else took a solo, I told Aiden it was his turn. What happened next was a complete surprise. He was absolutely amazing. He finished his solo and I leaned into him and ask “why the hell are you playing guitar?” I didn’t know his story enough to know that he was a saxophonist for the Lincoln Way East High School jazz band. In fact, he was a competition jazz student. After a few weeks of him coming back, he began leaving his guitar at home and just brought his sax. After a while I asked him if he wanted to work a gig with me and his reply was “well, I’d need to go ask my dad if it’s okay”. He came back and said “Mr. Mercer, my dad said I can do it.”
I’ll always be able to say I handed him his first paycheck as a professional musician – at fifteen! He has been a full-time member of the band for five years but has been a part of the group for almost nine years. He’s now close to 24, and we no longer need to sneak him into venues. I hope to some day understand music the way he does.
Q. How long has your bassist Michael Bailey been with you and what is his background?
MM: I met Mike about twenty years ago at a jam session (We think. Neither remember for sure). Many years ago, I had asked Mike to audition for the band. We hit it off well enough and my plan was to hit the road and play as much music as humanly possible. At the time, Mike was working a day job and wasn’t able to commit to what I was planning. Mike moved on and joined another band and then eventually became the bassist for the Chicago Kingsnakes.
My wife, Tammi, and I were friends with the band members so we hired them to perform at our wedding. When the founder of the band moved away, Mike was without a band. My former bassist and I had a falling out and so I called Mike. After a quick conversation, I hired him over the phone. I knew if Mike said he was capable of doing the job and performing the material, he meant it. He is one of the very few members to join the band where I have never needed to worry if he would be a professional. Mike joined at a very, very strange time; August of 2020. If you can remember what the world was like in 2020, (how could anyone forget) you’d remember that most musicians were sitting at home trying to figure out how to make a living. We were still working, but not much.
The year prior to him joining the band, we had the best year of business we’d ever seen and we performed 157 jobs. In 2020, we only performed 36.
Q. How long has your drummer Ra’Mar Leach been with you and what is his background?
Ra’Mar joined the band in September of 2022. I was looking for a new drummer and I put the word out. I contacted some drummers and asked for referrals. I was sent a message and was told to call a telephone number to speak with a guy that would fit my group well. I called that night and had a 40-minute conversation with him. I had never met him before nor had I seen him on the scene. I sent him all of the material and gave him a week and a half to learn it before he auditioned for the band. He came to the rehearsal and, after playing 4-5 songs, I knew I was going to offer him the job. We had one more rehearsal and then brought him to work.
After learning more about him, I found that he was fairly new to the scene but had been hitting every jam he could making himself known at places like Legends and Kingston Mines. Ra’Mar was brought up playing drums in church so although he had a slightly different approach to the material, he could play it.
That’s the core of the band. During a recent radio show we performed on, the band’s interactions with each other were compared to a Laurel and Hardy skit. I thought that was funny.
Q. You always include originals in your live shows and your Live at the Roxy album is all originals. Tell us about your songwriting process. Blues songs are often personal to the artist but still tell a story through words and music that resonate with the audience.
How do you get that balance between very personal and universal messages and emotions with your songs?
MM: Yes, our shows focus on original music. We play some cover songs but the ratio is in favor of originals.
For the balance you asked about I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it, honestly. I just write.
Blues and or Blues-based music is honest and the messages are universal. We’re typically writing about life, love, and personal experiences – both good and bad. I’ve tried to make up stories to write a song and I’m just not gifted that way. I, personally, cannot write about it if I haven’t experienced it. Now, that’s not saying that some parts weren’t fabricated to make a better or more interesting story, but most of it is real life. I have written entire songs in less than 10 minutes and others have taken years to complete. I had one song that when I read the words to them, some people told me “You probably shouldn’t say that. It paints you in a poor light.”
”I’m Not a Good Man” off of my 2016 album It Ain’t Easy turned out to be an awesome song that many of those same people enjoy.
Q: Maybe pick one or two songs as an example?
MM: “Real Foul Mood”, for example. The story is about waking up in the morning and thinking everything will be just fine. Then for one reason or another everything turns to absolute crap. Tell me who hasn’t had a day like that? Now parts of it are true and parts of the lyrics are made up to tell a better story. There’s a line about taking my car to get something simple fixed and when I pulled out of their lot, it started on fire. My car never started on fire but it came close to happening to my wife when a mechanic accidentally put about 11 quarts of oil in my SUV and then it made it about 5 blocks before it started smoking like it was going to blow up. We have a video of that somewhere. Everyone always says – “there’s gotta be a song in there somewhere.”
“Helpless” is another example. That song took me over five years to write. Not because it’s a particularly hard song to play – there’s only a handful of chords – but because no matter how I tried, I couldn’t finish the lyrics because nothing I wrote seemed to work. The story is mine. It’s about my struggle with alcohol and drugs. If I’m able to make it to April of this year, I will celebrate 23 years of sobriety. I hope I do.
Q. I know that you love to perform in Ireland and wrote a couple songs about it. How did you get booked over there?
MM: I’m a huge Rory Gallagher fan. It’s so hard to list favorites when it comes to music, but he’s very high on my favorites list. Most people that know me, know this.
I was driving to a gig in Wisconsin when my phone rang and BDMB alumni, Mike Boyle was on the phone. I knew that Mike had traveled back “home” a few times and one of his cousins who happens to be a festival promoter offered him a gig while he was there. Mike was invited back in 2017 to perform and he called me and asked if I’d like to go with him. I think the conversation went like this:
Mike – Hey man, do you want to do a couple of gigs with me in Ireland?Me – Dude, seriously? YES!!
Mike – do you have a passport?Me – no, but I’m going to do whatever I need to, to get one”
Mike – okay, my cousin can line us up with a few gigs when we get there. It’s the Guiness’ International Blues on the Bay Festival and this year is a tribute to Rory Gallagher. I figured if I could bring anyone with me, you’d appreciate it the most.
Q. Are the audiences in Ireland different than they are here? What do you like most about playing there?
MM: I am not Irish but if I heard it once, I heard it dozens of times – “You’re Irish. We’ve adopted you. If you don’t come back soon, we’re coming to get you!”
I have made three trips there. The first was a whirlwind of a trip. I had never been out of the country before so I had never been on a plane for eight hours. Tammi was able to come with. We flew into Dublin and made the hour trip north to Warrenpoint. We checked into our cottage and got a couple hours of sleep before we had to head into town to go to the Whistledown Hotel for the artists’ showcase. We met former bassist for Rory Gallagher, Gerry McEvoy, while there. In three days, we performed four times and also managed to be a part of the Rory Gallagher experience at the town’s hall (that’s a story all in its own). Later that night, Gerry was in the audience of our gig at Ye Olde Ship Inn. After the show he told me he thought we “were brilliant and it was good to finally hear real Blues tonight.”
That’s a compliment I’ll absolutely never forget! I offered to buy him a pint but he refused and offered to buy me one instead. Being sober, I opted for the 8oz. Coke that cost five Euro ($5.22).
The crowds got larger at every show we performed there and each trip back was longer than the last. In 2019, we stayed for two weeks. We were planning on going back in 2020, but the entire world was shut down. Neither Mike or I have been back since 2019. We planned a trip for last year but we just couldn’t align everything to make it work and, also, profitable. We’ll keep trying because I know the interest is there.
The Irish people love the Blues and they have some really amazing musicians over there (Two names worth mentioning are Ronnie Greer and Sam Davidson). They come out when they hear a decent band is in town and they pack them in. It’s not like here where people go to a bar but don’t necessarily go there to hear music. The TVs may be on but the volume is off. Hardly anyone is looking at their phones. They clap after each song and then they grow silent as they wait for you to say something or start the next song. The drinking age in that area is 18 and there is a college in a nearby town so the kids are out in full force, so to speak. These younger kids are in the pub hanging with their friends and indulging in several pints while getting down to my music just as much as the older patrons. It’s a beautiful scene.
Q. Do you hope to play in any other countries?
MM: Absolutely! That’s the goal, really. I want to bring my music to everyone that hasn’t heard it yet. Know anyone that can help make that happen, lol?
Photo: Jennifer Noble
Q. Did you come from a musical family? It doesn’t sound like that was the case, if your dad thought you should be a ditch digger. (You tell this tale from your childhood in one of your songs, “Dig Your Own Ditch”). Were there any musicians in your family circle?
MM: The digging of ditches; when I was 5 or 6, my family purchased a home in Antioch, IL. Directly across the street from us was a lake. Our property was prone to flooding but not bad enough to ruin belongings. There were times that the lake would rise and you could watch fish swimming in my driveway or front yard. The soil was always soaked and fertile; the grass would grow in our yard faster than you could cut it. The house was a money pit. We spent so many weekends of my childhood working on the house, digging ditches trying to get the water away from the house. In hindsight, I know that no one really knew what they were doing so nothing was ever fixed permanently.
I can remember my friends coming by on their bikes “Marty, can you come out to play?” Me - “no, I have to dig this ditch”. We had a furnace in the house but mice liked to eat the old insulated wiring and every year we’d need to get it fixed. We didn’t always have the means so it could be a few days before the furnace got fixed. Dad built a fireplace in the house to try and keep it warmer which means we needed lots of firewood.
I’m overly skilled at using a shovel and an axe…the two tools that were used the most in my childhood. It wasn’t all bad, by any means. We enjoyed that lake every moment we could. We had the run of the neighborhood, a dog, and a row boat. We’d spend all of our free time out in the lake swimming. We still laugh about the stuff we had to endure to live there. I visit that area to fish when I’m able.
Believe it or not, my dad plays guitar AND he’s the one that bought me my first guitar! He has a Gretsch Rancher acoustic guitar that he purchased in 1965 and someone at the store must have told him it was made from gold because we were never allowed to touch it. It’s a pretty cool guitar. Instead of the classic dots or trapezoid type shapes you normally see used on markers for the fretboard of the guitar, this one had barbed wire, cactuses, and a cow skull at the twelfth fret. He would bring it out during family functions and play a few Johnny Horton, Marty Robbins, or Elvis’s songs for the relatives. This may be one reason why I’m drawn to the guitar – Dad said no! Years later we learned that the guitar that he cherished so much was one of their worst years for making those guitars.
He doesn’t play much anymore but he still has it. He has become one of my biggest fans and he thinks the song is funny. He drove from Wisconsin to be in attendance the night we recorded this album. My mom passed in 2021 but I know she was there with us, too. Mom loved my music and never hesitated to tell me she was proud of me.
Q. Was there an aha moment when you decided to take up guitar? Which guitarist (s) influenced you the most to want to learn to play?
MM: Initially, I wanted to play drums in the middle school band, circa 1984. However, so did everyone else. My older brother played trombone in school band for a couple of years and, by default, I became a trombone player so that my parents didn’t need to rent or buy another instrument. I played for 4 years and the only reason I stayed in band was because I didn’t want to have to sing in front of people in choir.
In 8th grade a kid that had a locker next to me had a poster of Ozzy Osbourne taped to his locker door. I didn’t know who he was. He tells me that he’s the singer from his favorite band and he had two cassette tapes that he could lend me to copy if I liked. What I heard was raw, and heavy. Now, listening to their music I hear jazz, blues, rock, classical, etc.
I was a fan, and that guitar sound made me want to be a guitar player more than I had wanted anything before. It took another couple of years before I was able to get my hands on a guitar. I won’t say we were poor because there was always food in our refrigerator but money was tight since they were clothing and feeding three giant kids (I’m 6’10”).
If I promised to pay him back, my dad said he’d take me to Wally’s Music Exchange in Zion, IL., to get a guitar. He bought a mid-70’s Sears Seville Korean made acoustic guitar for me. I’m left-handed so trying to find a guitar was not an easy task. The guy at the store told my dad, “Sure we can make it a lefty for him. No problem.” What he meant by making it a lefty was putting the strings on upside down and adding another pickguard around the sound hole (a pick guard on an acoustic guitar is tear-shaped) so that it looked like it had puppy ears or something around the sound hole. Dad handed the guy $35.00 and I walked out with a guitar, picks, strap, and a chipboard case. That guitar was garbage. It buzzed all over, the strings were way too high to play in tune and should have been used for firewood. It didn’t matter. I loved that guitar.
So, back home and into my bedroom with this new guitar that I had no clue what to do with. Dad wasn’t going to help more than showing me an E, A, and B chord on the guitar (years later I learned that he didn’t know much more than that). I sat in my room for hours trying to make it sound musical. At the time, I had friends that were guitar players but they were into heavy metal bands like Slayer, D.R.I., Metallica, etc. so if I wanted to play music with anyone, I’d need to learn some of that just so I could collaborate with them. I never really felt like I belonged because I didn’t care for the music as much as they did. That being said, I did learn things from those guys. As a matter of fact, I still use a pattern on my guitar that my friend Jeff taught me when I was first starting out.
Q. Did you have a musical mentor growing up?
MM: I have two older brothers and I’d swipe their records when they weren’t looking. I took a few beatings when I got caught but looking back it was totally worth it.Q.What kind of music first caught your attention?
MM: Growing up, we were a family of five and there was always music playing in the house. The one really cool thing about my parents was that they didn’t care what kind of music I listened to as long as they didn’t have to hear it over their music or tv program. My dad worked in radio for most of my childhood. The radio stations would throw out records that were no longer in regular rotation. My dad would bring a milk crate full of albums home every month.
He brought home ABBA, KC and the Sunshine Band, Meters, Tanya Tucker, Exile, Oakridge Boys, Funkadelic, Merle Haggard, Alabama, Huey Lewis, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, etc. There would also be movie soundtracks like Star Wars, Popeye, The Muppets, and let’s not forget all those great Eddie Murphy and George Carlin albums. At an early age I could tell you what the “7 words you can never say on TV” were. I don’t recall ever getting Blues records but I did get “Tres Hombres / Fandango” album by ZZ Top and when I heard him go “A-haw-haw-haw” on “La Grange” I was like “He stole that from that guy in the Blues Brothers movie!”
Q. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Waukegan, IL. From there we moved a few times before moving to Antioch IL. I lived there ‘til I was 17 before moving away.
Q. Did you first play in a band when you were a kid?
MM: No. Just in school. I didn’t put together my first band until I was 22.
Q. How and when did you get into blues music and who were your faves?
MM: When I was 7 years old, my parents took me to see the movie The Blues Brothers. I loved that movie. My fondest memory was when John Lee Hooker was at Maxwell Street. I used my allowance to buy the soundtrack on album. 7-8 years later, I was traveling to the upper peninsula of Michigan. We stopped at a truck stop and they had a rack of cassette tapes for $2.00 each. I saw a cassette by a band that I was familiar with, Canned Heat. It was called “Turn Up the Heat”. The album was actually Canned Heat backing John Lee Hooker. I wore that tape out and was “hooked” on Blues from that day forward.
Around 1988 or so, everyone was making the big leap from cassettes to CDs. I went to a local record shop and they were selling off all of the cassette tapes for a buck a piece. I spent all the money I had in my pocket and then went back to buy more, later. I bought Muddy Waters, Lightning Hopkins, Howlin Wolf, Albert King, Johnny Winter, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Elmore James, etc. Most of the artists I was not familiar with at the time. While listening to these tapes I realized quickly that some of the songs I had heard before from guys like Page, Hendrix, or Clapton were written by the people on those cassettes. I was digging the song “Dust My Broom” for several years before I learned it was not actually a ZZ Top song. At the time no one I else I knew was listening to this music. Not even the older guys I was hanging around with were into Blues.
Q. Which guitarist influenced you to learn slide? Your style has been described as “ferocious”.
MM: The first time I ever tried to play slide was immediately after someone explained to me what I was hearing. I was listening to the song “In My Time of Dying” off of a Led Zeppelin album and I was talking with an older friend that was a guitar player and I told him I had no idea how they made a guitar sound like that. He briefly explained that they were using a slide on their fretting hand to make it sound that way. The very first time I played slide I used a Bic lighter.
Later, I found a chunk of brass in the scrap bin at work and drilled it out. I used that slide for several years and I made it sound horrible. I didn’t care. I enjoyed it.
I purchased a Warren Haynes instructional video on VHS. Most of it was over my head but I learned one thing from that $39 VHS tape – use your fingers and not a pick when playing slide. He explained that it gives you more control and dynamics in your playing. I used to only play in standard tuning but then I picked one of my guitars and set it up properly for playing slide and began experimenting with different tunings. I’m still using that same guitar, a heavily modified 2000 Fender Telecaster. It comes to every show.
Some of my influences (in no particular order):
Billy Gibbons, Elmore James, Duane Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Lee Roy Parnell, Muddy Waters, Joe Walsh, Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher.
Q. Your vocals are also very commanding. Was there a singer (or singers) that influenced you?
MM: Four of my favorite male vocalists are Ray Charles, Johnny Guitar Watson, Paul Rogers (Free, Bad Company, etc.) and David Coverdale (Deep Purple, Whitesnake). For me, the tone of my voice may be pleasant but I, personally, don’t think I’m a great singer – but I’m always trying to be better.
Q. You are a big Frank Zappa fan and I can hear a bit of his musical whimsy in some of your songs. What other non-blues artists influenced you?
MM: I AM a Frank Zappa fan!!For me, the more I listen to his music, the more I want to listen to his musicHe's not my favorite guitar player. He’s not my favorite singer. I don’t even care for all of his lyrics. He’s my favorite composer, though.
I own 49 of his albums and I can say I don’t care for two of those albums. I honestly don’t understand when people say they don’t like his music. Just my opinion, but how could you not like someone that names Stravinsky and Johnny Guitar Watson in his list of influences. I like all kinds of music, if it has some soul I can connect with it. I can hear the beauty of it through what some may conceive as ugly.
Some of the artists I’m fond of might surprise you, maybe not. This list could go on for miles but some of my favorites are Joe Walsh, Thin Lizzy, Merle Haggard, Corrinne Bailey Rae, Jerry Reed, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Junior Brown, Eric Burdon, Hank Williams Sr., Bob Dylan, Jim Croce, Jethro Tull, Neil Young, Bob Marley, Brad Paisley, Corrosion of Conformity, Hazmat Modine, Lovin’ Spoonful, Southern Culture on The Skids, Tony Joe White, Cranberries, Soundgarden. In my home studio I have a five-disc cd changer. I just opened it to see “Broadway the Hard Way” Frank Zappa, “Live in Chicago” Lonnie Brooks, “The Confessor” Joe Walsh, “Burglar” Freddie King, “Best of” Roger Miller. Now, I’ll need to hit “play” and “random order” at the same time...
Q. When were you able to quit your day job and become a full-time working musician?
MM: I was never able to – I just did it.
I’m a machinist by trade. I was the guy that would show up early, do his absolute best for you and leave late every day. Time after time I’d still find myself on the unemployment line. I decided that if I was going to take a gamble on anything, it should be me. Before, if I lost my job, I lost everything. Now, if I lose a job, it’s not okay but it’s also not going to ruin me financially.
One of the scariest moments in life was when my former employer called me to come back to work and I told him I needed to decline his offer because I had just signed to a record label and was under contract to perform “x” number of dates per year (that I had to book myself). They congratulated me and we ended the call. A month later they called back and asked if I’d be willing to come back part-time. I thought about it for a few seconds and then said no. When I hung up the phone, I couldn’t believe what I had done. I was walking away from a good paying job, great insurance package, 401k, profit sharing, etc. I was freaking out to say the least. All these years later I can say it’s been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, but I can’t imagine working for someone else.
Q. What type of work did you do for your last day job?
MM: Engine Lathe Operator. I fabricated parts for pumps.
Q. How many dates do you play in a year?
MM: In my busiest year, I worked 207 jobs. Even though I worked that much I still wound up basically broke. I’ve made a ton of mistakes along the way but eventually began figuring out how to work less and make more. Last year, we performed 114 dates.
Q. You recently suggested in a post that you wanted to start a heavy metal tribute band of some sort so you could play bass in it? What metal bands do you like?
MM: Yes, and you thought I was kidding.
I’ve been thinking about a low pressure side project for a while. Maybe just for the fun of it. Right now, that’s as far as I’ve gotten with it – thinking about it.
I’d like to put together a group that plays Black Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, Soundgarden, that type of thing. The heavier bands I like are still pretty groovy so it’s not that far-fetched of an idea. Maybe write a few of my own heavier songs. I figured if I write about it on social media, perhaps I could speak it into existence. It’s good to challenge yourself.
Q. You have won many local awards, which folks may not be aware of. Is this helpful to your career? Is there any one award that means the most to you?
MM: Well, it’s always nice to say you’ve won an award for doing something you love.I have shelf in the studio with the “decorations”. I have a handful of golden microphone awards, a metal, certificates, etc.
The award that means the most to me was my induction as a “Great Blues Artist” into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. To say that there is a Blues hall of fame in Chicago, and I’m in it? I would have never imagined that. I stood on the stage at Buddy Guy’s Legends receiving my award all I could think of was “What the heck am I doing here?”. I have never claimed to be a Bluesman. I’m a guy that plays music and most of the music that comes out is Blues-based.
I work very hard to live up to that award, I hope someday I do.
Q. What are the most difficult challenges of making a living as a blues musician these days?
MM: This question could be an entire article on its own. A fellow musician once told me “The one that can put up with the most crap in this business, wins”.
Right now, in the Midwest, tribute acts are all the rage. You can look at the lineup of most theaters and festivals all you’ll see mostly – if not all – tribute bands. I know a few guys in the local tribute acts. They’ve told me that they don’t really enjoy doing the tribute act but if they want to make any real money, they’d have to “follow the herds” and play what everyone wants to hear. I do not begrudge anyone for doing what they need to do to earn a living.
I was getting a whole lot of “NO’s” while trying to book my band because there are some people that the moment they hear the word Blues, their mind is made up that they don’t like it or want it. So, the challenge became - how do I sell a Blues band to people that don’t care for it knowing that if they would give it a chance they’d realize, it’s some pretty decent music? (I think I’d say that even if I wasn’t the guy writing it.)
I came up with the tag line “Chicago Blues & Rock Band”. Adding the “& Rock” opened a bunch of previously closed doors for my band. It also allowed me the musical freedom to play anything I wanted to. One agent I work with occasionally says “These guys are the Blues band for anyone that says they don’t care for the Blues” when booking us. This is a rough business. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Q. What are some of the highlights of your career so far?
MM: I often reflect on where I’d be, had I stayed working in someone’s factory.The friends made, places I’ve been and the music I’ve written and performed would have never been possible had I decided not to walk away. I’ve met some really great people over the years.
One night, Jimmy Buffet was at my gig at Shaw’s in Chicago. Really. He approached me after the show. We talked about guitars and music and then he told me I should cover Margaritaville, but do it Blues-style. While speaking with him, it turned out that it was actually the second time he had been at one of my gigs. He told me he really liked my song Helpless and also Sweet Home Chicago (he covered that on tour, I guess). He told me that of all of the different versions he’s ever heard, mine was the coolest. During the solo section, I play a Freddie King medley before going back into Sweet Home Chicago. Jimmy Buffet, when not on stage, looks like everyone and could easily blend into the crowd. When he was pointed out to me, I just though “really? That’s Jimmy Buffet?”. I guess in my mind he should have been wearing shorts, Hawaiian shirt and carrying a guitar. I don’t know, but he was really cool. Good tipper, too.
Marty and Lonnie Brooks
Meeting and becoming friends with Lonnie Brooks is a highlight. Out of all the people I’ve met, he was the one that made me feel like I was on the right path and that I can do this. I didn’t know him for very long but I absolutely cherish the time I did know him. He always told it to me straight. He also had a knack for making people feel like they were “somebody” when he was around. We went to Rosa’s one night to see Billy Branch and the SOB’s and when we walked in the door he started yelling “BIG DAWG IN THE HOUSE!! WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?!? WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!!”
I think of him often. Another highlight came in 2023 when my band finally got to headline a night at Buddy Guy’s Legends. As we were on stage I was told by the emcee “Big Dog, slow Blues in C, Buddy’s coming up”. Buddy came up and did his thing while my band backed him as quietly as possible. I wanted to be sure he was able to do his thing without any interference from us. He looked at me with a big smile and told me “Wooo, I like this band”. At break they told me that Buddy really liked that. Everyone else plays too loud when they’re on stage with him trying to show off. The six times we’ve performed there, Buddy has gotten up on stage with us four times. I’m told he likes us.
Q. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
MM: In five years, I’ll be 57.
I hope to be performing on stage in front of many, many people.Tammi and I working hard to pay down debt. I hope that in 5 years I’ll be able to play music because I want to and not because I have to. I love my job but after almost 20 years of performing, because I need to feed the family, I have lost some of the passion for the guitar that I had when I was younger. I’d love to get that back.
It’ll likely be someplace warm and sunny, because I can’t handle these Chicago winters anymore... but I’d be back to play some music for sure.
Q: Thank you for taking the time to have this interview with Chicago Blues Guide.
MM: Thank YOU for your support over the years. It means more than I can put into words.
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