Blue Moon Swamp will hit the stage on Saturday, January 14 for two great shows; 4pm & 8pm, recreating the great rock 'n roll of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
We caught up with lead singer Dan McGuinness at his home in Chicago, where we asked him about the upcoming shows.
1. How long have you been performing the music of CCR/John Fogerty, and what drew you to it in the first place?
What do you mean, I AM John Fogerty! Ha! Just kidding.
I discovered CCR in high school (mid-90's, I know, dating myself here). The music was only on the oldies channels at that time but it was so fresh & inspiring to me. So positive and up-beat. I thought it was the greatest thing I'd ever heard, and here the music was 25-some odd years old by then. I grew up listening to a lot of Neil Diamond, John Denver, Waylon Jennings, etc...
2. Blue Moon Swamp certainly has the music nailed. How long did it take putting the band together before you first played out, and how are they to work with?
Thank you. I treat the music like they're my own songs when we perform them. I take great pride in delivering the music to audiences the way they know them. We certainly try to do our best to re-create them that way. I started Blue Moon Swamp sometime around 2005. For years people had said to me, "Hey, have you ever thought about doing a CCR tribute?" I never went to John Fogerty school nor did I have any interest in 'pretending' to be someone else. It's hard enough being me! I was blessed with the ability & desire to sing and was raised to work my butt off for something I want. I love what I do and it's a privilege to be able to do this.
The current band lineup is fantastic. Each guy knows his role and does it well. I have a good team behind the scenes helping with PR, graphics, great fans who are loyal, etc. We've been very fortunate to travel and perform where we have. We've met some truly wonderful people, seen many parts of our country that you probably, normally, wouldn't see. I am truly lucky.
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3. How does the show break down; CCR vs. solo John Fogerty?
There's no question the CCR material is more popular. However, Fogerty was the singer & songwriter, so he still holds the tie-breaker. He has many good solo/career songs but nothing stacks up to the CCR catalog because of the 'test of time' aspect. I am proud to have named the band after his Grammy Award winning album (1997 release Blue Moon Swamp).
Throughout his solo career, he's become an incredible musician. It's been fun & inspiring as a fan & musician watching his growth, through acquiring each album. I wanted to focus more on us being a John Fogerty AND CCR tribute so we can play some of his solo stuff and of course, the CCR hits
People appreciate that we don't pitch ourselves like "Dan McGuinness as John Fogerty", and so on. That's just tacky.
4. What is it about the music of CCR that makes it so popular?
Simple, straightforward, strong music. Great writing, catchy lyrics, great guitar work, solid rhythm section, harmonies.... they had the total package. Fogerty was a ferocious singer and Tom, Stu & Doug were solid, steady and GOOD.
For example, take a listen to the record version of 'Bad Moon Rising'. You don't hear a crash cymbal until the very end of the song. No drum fills, single note bass playing, almost Polka-style. Nothing overdone. They made a career out of that. The songs are so simple but so hard not to over-play on them. Which is what many bands do. Bad Moon Rising is just a hair over two minutes long but if you go to a bar, you may hear a band play a four minute version. Of course, I would never know because I probably would have walked out by then.
5. What are some of your favorite CCR songs to do in concert, and what are the "crowd-favorites"?
I LOVE playing “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?”, “Looking Out My Back Door,” “Keep On Chooglin',” “Long As I Can See The Light,” “Born On The Bayou,” and some other non-hits. We sneak a few of those in there from time to time. We're doing two shows in the same day, so we'll mix things up a little.
I think the crowd favorites are songs like “Proud Mary,” “Who'll Stop The Rain,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Susie Q,” etc. I'd like to do a show without doing “Proud Mary” but I'd probably get mugged afterwards. It's a great song. |
