It’s All in the Name

Maybe if he was playing for the Lakers, his nickname would fit, but at 5-foot-10, Guitar Shorty is hardly that. Rather, his moniker is a reflection on his longevity, not his stature.

He started playing guitar so long ago that even the blues were in black and white. Now, Shorty will bring his repertoire of seven albums, including his latest, “Roll Over, Baby,” to the big stage at the Ventura Theatre for a Saturday night blues-fest with the Walter Trout Band.

William David Kearney was born in 1939 and became so fascinated with the guitar by the time he was 6 that his grandmother paid for lessons.

It worked out just fine. Playing in clubs since he was a youngster, Guitar Shorty not only gained a nickname but also an impressive resume, having toured with the likes of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Otis Rush.

He is said to have influenced the playing of Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix, plus he married Hendrix’s stepsister, Marsha.

These days, Shorty is signed to Black Top, one of the major blues labels, and as most bluesmen do, he tours relentlessly.

Shorty offers blazing guitar solos, wildman acrobatics on the stage, plus soulful vocals and a tight backup band. He discussed the latest during a recent tour stop in the Bay Area.

So Shorty, the blues? Bigger, smaller or staying the same?

Well, it’s getting bigger. Big firms are trying to step on it, but you can’t stop the blues. Everyone can understand the blues because they’re about everyday experiences. Everybody has the blues, even doctors and lawyers. When they get home from work, it’s the same thing--nothing but the blues.

Why aren’t there many blues artists on MTV?

I think they’re getting ready to do something about that. They said I’d be very good on MTV in a video.

Were you always a guitar player?

I also played the sax, the harmonica, the bass and I could play keyboards if I had to, but I love the sounds I get out of a guitar. I started playing the blues when I was a little 6-year-old kid. At first, I played in church and later in clubs. I played rock, but I always came back to the blues.

How would you describe your brand of the blues?

It’s blues and funk and rock all mixed up. People seem to really love it. I’ve been playing to packed houses for the past 35 years.

Sometimes rock stars come out wearing sloppy clothes, but blues guys always seem to dress to impress. Why is that?

I don’t understand that myself. I think an entertainer needs to have a nice and clean look when he comes out on stage. Those rock guys wear all those raggedy clothes, so what?

Tell me a Sam Cooke story.

Well, I was playing with Guitar Slim and not making much money but I wanted to advance myself. Sam Cooke’s manager had heard about me. I never found out how, but he showed up at my door. He asked me how I would like to go on the road. After a one-song audition, Sam gave me the OK sign, and I got the job. We played all across the country and when we got to L.A., the band disbanded. I didn’t know nobody there.

How did you get that name?

I got the name from a club owner named Dewey Richardson in Florida. I was just a kid, and I only knew about three songs and Dewey kept telling me about this great guitar player named Guitar Shorty. I thought I was going to lose my job. He was really building this guy up for days. Anyway, one night he introduced Mr. Guitar Shorty to the crowd, and I turned around and looked at the door behind me before I realized he was looking at me.

All right, I have to ask--how tall are you?

I’m 5-feet-10.

DETAILS

Guitar Shorty and the Walter Trout Band at the Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St., Ventura, Sat., 8 p.m. Cost $18. Call 653-0721.

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Acoustic duo Pam Torres and Bill Bartels will do a sit-and-listen Saturday night at the Whistle Stop Cafe, located on the corner of Main Street and Highway 150 in Santa Paula.

Bartels plays guitar and writes the songs, but both of them sing most memorably as longtime veterans of the choir of the Bardsdale United Methodist Church.

They have been playing together for the last 13 years, playing every venue imaginable in Santa Paula and Fillmore, and have been fixtures the last few years at Java Joe’s in Ventura.

The duo has recorded a couple of tapes, “Something New” and “Look Back,” and now the pair are hard at work on and will play songs from their latest effort, a CD in the making, “Tunes From the Shop.”

The only difficulty should be choosing the songs, since Bartels has found the time to write more than four hours of material when he’s not busy tending his 40-acre orange ranch.

In any case, this will be the duo’s third or fourth appearance at the Whistle Stop, one of Bartels’ favorite gigs.

“This is really an incredible room. There’s lots of couches and chairs--it’s a classic coffeehouse. We do acoustic folk music with tight harmonies, sort of like Crosby, Stills & Nash. We do mostly originals, with a couple of Bonnie Raitt songs. When they used to do light opera and musicals in Fillmore, Pam was always the lead.”

DETAILS

Pam Torres and Bill Bartels at the Whistle Stop Cafe, 989 E. Main St., Santa Paula, Sat. 8 p.m. Cost: free. Call 933-1717.

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The Sings Like Hell series scores yet again with those who see “Yahoo” as a world view when country and bluegrass superstar Ricky Skaggs brings an eight-piece band to the Lobero Theatre on Tuesday night. He will play selections from his 16th and 17th albums, released last year, “Ancient Tones” and “Soldier of the Cross.”

Not nearly as ancient as some of his tunes, the 40-something Skaggs did appear on television with Flatt & Scruggs when he was 7 years old. By the time he was 15, he was a member of Ralph Stanley’s legendary bluegrass band. Later, Skaggs was a member of Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1982.

As a soloist thus far, Skaggs has scored with 18 Top Ten singles and a dozen hits that went to number 1 on the charts. He has won four Grammys, eight Country Music Assn. Awards and eight more Academy of Country Music Awards. Skaggs is well known as a both a vocalist and an instrumentalist, being adept on guitar, mandolin, fiddle or banjo. He is credited with returning the bluegrass sound to country music.

DETAILS

Ricky Skaggs at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido, Santa Barbara, Tuesday, 8 p.m. Cost: $32.50 advance or $35.50 at the door. Call 963-0761.