If you go
› What: Son Volt featuring Johnny Irion› Where: Revelry Room, 41 Station Street› When: 9 tonight, March 16› Admission: $20› Online: revelryroom.co
Sometimes the guitar player leads the guitar and sometimes the guitar takes the lead.
That's sort of what happened with "Notes of Blue," the new Son Volt album. Lead singer/songwriter/guitar player Jay Farrar says he started playing around with an electric guitar instead of his usual acoustic axe, and the sounds he was getting took him to Mississippi, figuratively speaking.
The more he played, the more the songs took on a Delta blues sound, so that is the direction he went. He also focused his attention on the songs of blues masters and personal favorites Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Nick Drake.
He felt compelled to master the way they tuned their guitars and a finger-picking style of playing, and then followed that path.
"I took it as a challenge to learn those alternate tunings," he said. "It opens some different creative doors than you would experience otherwise."
Pulling out an old amp that he hadn't really used in a while and plugging in an electric guitar inspired him also.
"We spent the last year and a half as an acoustic trio, so that was different. In some ways, it was a different creative mindset. It was like learning the instrument all over again."
Son Volt formed around 1994 after the breakup of Uncle Tupelo. Farrar and Tupelo drummer Mike Heidorn joined forces with Jim and Dave Boquist. Their first album, "Trace," was a critical success, but didn't sell a lot of copies.
The band took a hiatus in 2001 and then split for good shortly after. Farrar formed a new version of Son Volt in 2004. The current lineup is Farrar, Jacob Edwards, Chris Frame and Mark Spencer. Andrew Duplantis joins them on bass during tours.
The band plays a mix of country/folk and more rocking alternative country. "Notes of Blue" is more of the latter, with some blues thrown in, of course.
"I'm really happy with the way it turned out," Farrar said.
Because it's so new, Farrar said he isn't sure if the next project will follow a similar path or he'll vear off in a new direction.
"That's a good question. I'm always chasing creativity, and I like to mix things up."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6354.