Greg and his band the Hoodoo Men are making a welcome return to this year’s festival riding the success of their recent album, Movin’ On – another #1 on the Australian Blues and Roots Airplay Charts.
We can expect Greg Dodd and the Hoodoo Men to draw heavily from Movin’ On in November with tracks like Home of the Blues, No One Home and Everything to Lose featuring.
And they’re looking forward to Festival weekend. “I have played in Bendigo quite a few times over the years,” says Greg. “My fave place is the Gold Dust Lounge at the Shamrock Hotel… a very cool vibe down there. Hot, squashy and sweaty! Just how I like it.”
This year’s festival will probably feel quite normal for Greg Dodd and the Hoodoo Men. “I’ve played some strange gigs in my time,” he says, “one was at a sculpture gallery attended by the Murdoch family. Going on after Dame Elizabeth Murdoch was kinda strange I tell you. Another one was in the Olympic Room at the MCG. We were instructed to be whisper quiet, only play two songs prior to the bounce, then down tools and watch the game (yawn)! When the game finished, we played another two songs. I don’t think one person in the entire room knew we were there!”
Greg’s passion for the blues started inauspiciously at a party many years ago, “a couple of my mates were jamming a blues shuffle on acoustic guitars. I remember saying to them, “man, you guys can play the blues! Can you show me how to do that?” They showed me their simple shuffle and a few other things that night and I was hooked!” And then he was listening to more: “Early influences were Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, SRV, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and the likes of Lightning Hopkins.”
Greg’s enthusiasm for the blues is infectious: “Playing blues music is my absolute passion! I love being on stage sharing the experience between audience and band. There’s simply nothing better than performing at a gig where everyone is having a great time and feeling the music. After all, blues to me is all about feel!”
