Friday, May 2, 2014

"GUITAR GODS: 'Blind Dog' Gatewood"

I first experienced Blind Dog Gatewood a few years back at a multi-artist gig in Louisville, KY. By my reckoning, he stole the show. No one was expecting this mild-mannered guy to explode when he hit the stage...but he did. Exploded a delta-blues fury of strings, harmonica, and vocals that left the crowd stunned and amazed.

Hailing from Detroit, MI, Blind Dog has been a professional performer and guitar instructor all of his adult life. He is an award-winning one-man act who has polished his chops in places as diverse as the Sierra Foothills, the Mojave Desert, Mississippi Delta and the streets of New Orleans. In September 2002, he took the first prize in Colorado at the Telluride Acoustic Blues competition. First place winners are honored with a performance on the main stage the following day at the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival for over seven thousand attendees. That same year he won the Kentuckiana Blues Society’s Blues Challenge out of Louisville Kentucky and represented the Society at the International Blues Challenge on Beale Street in Memphis Tennessee. In 2004 “Blind-Dog” was a Finalist for the first Annual International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA) in the category of AMERICANA/ROOTS/AAA, for his song “TELLURIDE”. In addition, a Simi finalist in 2006 in the International Song Contest (ISC), Blues category, for his song “Monkey On My Back”.