I'm
looking for the secret heart of blues singer John Németh's
blindsiding vocal soulfulness.
It probably doesn't come from his surroundings, because he's a native of Idaho.
And it probably doesn't come from experience, because he's only 30 years old.
But the unaffected soulfulness of this singer, songwriter, and harmonica player comes through in his performances both live and in the studio.
"For a young man, he truly understands what the blues is all about, respects it, and pushes it to another level," Jeff Wagner, of Blues on Grand in Des Moines, told me about Németh's live shows.
So when the Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents Németh at Davenport's Blueport Junction on April 21, Wagner virtually guarantees that the show will be spectacular. "In all my years in the blues business, John Németh is the best male vocalist I've ever had in my bar," he said.
The
Blind Pig record label, which released Németh's album Magic
Touch in January, notes
that label head Jerry Del Giudice expressed "how impressed I was
with John's performance the one time I got the chance to see him.
In our nearly 30 years in the business we have never before offered a
new artist a recording contract on the strength of one performance."
But that's exactly what Blind Pig did with Németh.
And Muddy Waters alumnus Bob Margolin has said that "John Németh is a natural-born bluesman, and he proves it with every note he sings, shaping each one with emotion, taste, and inspiration."
It's highly unusual for a young white singer ... not a guitar player ... and from Idaho to be hailed as a true bluesman. And if you listen to Magic Touch, you'll wonder just how Németh acquired such a soulful singing style. Perhaps the best vocal on an album loaded with stellar performances is found on Willie Dixon's "Sit & Cry the Blues," on which Németh evokes chills with his phrasing and plaintive cries, shouts, and moans that emotionally drench every set of notes so that the words tell only half the story. His singing truly serves the song.
"I've got so many influences," Németh said in a recent phone interview. "I soak up pretty much anything I listen to - it gets trapped in my brain and comes out in my songs. There are a whole lot of people I draw from: B.B. King, Junior Wells, Little Willie John, Little Milton, Nat King Cole, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, and those Stax guys."
He can name the songs that originally inspired him, all of them classics: "Hoodoo Man Blues" by Junior Wells, Little Walter's "Mellow Down Easy," and "I'm Going Down" by Freddie King.
But none of that really clarifies how Németh can convey such sincere emotion when he sings.
He
found the blues at 16, in 1992. "I guess the secret to my kind of
success," he said, "is that I got started with a good bunch of
young players, and our shows were well-received. And we were working
five, six nights a week." So a decade of hard work early on
explains how he became a dedicated performer.
But also, he told me, their PA system in those early days wasn't very good, with no vocal monitors, so he learned "how to sing and sing right so you don't burn your voice up." The implication is that such circumstances made Németh aware of both the power of his voice and the nuances he could infuse into his singing.
Apparently, Boise was a fertile seedbed for Németh's blues. "The great thing about growing up in Idaho," he said, "was that you could do what you wanted to do at the shows. There wasn't anybody telling you if you want to be successful you gotta play like Stevie Ray Vaughan. It was a real honest music scene. You could play what you wanted to play, just as long as it was good.
"And you could make a living. I played college bars and breweries, restaurants, parks, weddings, pizza parlors, and river-rafting events. It was a great scene to be a part of early on. I was able to get a lot of experience by playing the music I wanted to play, straight blues all night long. I got to choose the songs - they weren't dictated by a certain market. I still play some of those songs - Little Walter, Sonny Boy, Magic Sam."
He gained even more experience in the band of legendary guitarist Junior Watson, producing Come & Get It with them in 2004. Watson, who has called Németh's voice "a national treasure," will be at the Davenport show along with drummer Wes Starr and Vance Ellers on bass. "Just about every blues guitar player thinks Junior Watson is one of the best," said Blues on Grand's Wagner. "For Junior Watson to go out on the road with this kid really means a lot."
In 2005 and 2006, Németh was a featured artist with another noted blues outfit: Anson Funderburgh & the Rockets with Sam Myers. Németh names his performance with that band at the King Biscuit Blues Festival as one of his peak experiences, singing as Sam Myers blew harp for the last show before his death.
Németh
himself also plays harmonica, and he's been heralded by blues
luminaries such as Charlie Musselwhite as a good player. He "chose"
the harp early on, when he saw it was way more affordable than the
electric keyboard he'd gone looking to buy in the music store,
having taken piano lessons as a kid.
But the harp takes a back seat to his singing and songwriting on Magic Touch. Németh said that one of his songs, "You're an Angel," is so popular that it seems everywhere he goes the audience sings along with all the words, especially the chorus: "You're an angel / You can't do nothing wrong / Sent from heaven / Down to earth / To wreck my life."
Other Németh-penned highlights on Magic Touch include the strut and Southern soul sound of "Blue Broadway," with his smooth near-falsetto showing how he's "alone, all alone," and the old-time feel (Is it blues? Early R&B? Early rock & roll?) of "Let Me Hold You," on which his elongated "so fine" is reminiscent of Wilson Pickett in his early days with the Falcons. The punch and West Coast jump style of the title cut can't hide the traditional A-A-B 12-bar blues form: "You got a natural knack / You cut me no slack / Doctor get me a crutch / You got my head so dizzy for your magic touch."
In each case the songs are radio-hit memorable, and Németh's singing always fits the notes, tone, and words, creating a piece more satisfying than the sum of its parts.
"I'll just happen to be walking down the street or riding around in the van, and a hook comes into my mind," he said of his songwriting. "And I sorta start singing the melody and making up words - it all kinda happens at the same time."
Again, Németh's secret has eluded me. But it eludes him, too. "I'm not sure how it happens," he admitted.
Németh told me he's at home performing both in the studio - an album with Elvin Bishop is in the works - and in front of all kinds of audiences. He's typically on the road for months at a time, with the current tour covering the Midwest, the East Coast, the South, and southern California. "I like it all!" he said with a laugh. "I just wake up and know that I'm going to be playing blues music."
By the end of the interview, I still haven't deciphered the soul of John Németh. I'd probably be better off adopting his philosophy, instead. "Wherever the road takes me," he said, "I just roll with it."
The Mississippi Valley Blues Society presents John Németh on Saturday April 21, at 9 p.m., at Blueport Junction, West River Drive at I-280 in Davenport. Admission is $8, or $6 for MVBS members.
