Joe Bonamassa: Electric guitar is an endangered species

Joe Bonamassa

Joe Bonamassa started playing guitar before he started school, becoming, over the last decade or so, arguably the reigning blues-rock six-string king.

But he says it's unlikely that a kid today will follow in his footsteps, as he did with B.B. King. In the digital age, as many have observed, the electric guitar is an endangered species.

"I tend to agree with that," Bonamassa said in a recent phone interview. "I've been playing guitar professionally 29 years. As a musician, I've been playing since I was 4. It took me seven, eight years to get good enough to play onstage. Kids today can get an iPad and a pair of headphones and be DJing in two weeks."

Bonamassa performs Monday night, Dec. 4, in Memorial Auditorium.

A prodigy on guitar, who was tutored by guitar legend Danny Gatton, Bonamassa began playing professionally at 11, pulled onstage by B.B. King, whom he acknowledges as his mentor.

"He gave me a stage. He gave me an album. He gave me his friendship. He gave me a guitar. I knew him for 23 years. My desert island record was, and still is, (King's) 'Live at the Regal.' To me, it's the epitome of a blues album."

What Bonamassa didn't take from King was his guitar style and musical approach. Instead, young "Smokin' Joe Bonamassa" spun the influence of British blues-rock guitar heroes of the '60s - Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Rory Gallagher - into his sound along with some Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Bonamassa released "A New Day Yesterday," the first of 12 studio solo albums in 2000. His most recent studio effort is 2016's "Blues of Desperation," which hit No. 12 on the Billboard magazine album chart. He's also released three collaborative albums and 15 live records, including this year's "Live at Carnegie Hall: An Acoustic Evening."

"You know, it's just a documentation of a very special couple of nights and very special band," Bonamassa said of the Carnegie release.

A total of 17 Bonamassa albums have topped the Billboard magazine blues chart.

One thing Bonamassa did learn from King was to assemble touring bands that feature fine players and a classy stage presentation.

The current band includes keyboardist Reese Wynans of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble fame; drummer Anton Fig, house drummer for "Late Night with David Letterman;" bassist Michael Rhodes, who has played with Johnny Cash and Taylor Swift; trumpeter Lee Thornburg, former member of Tower of Power; and saxophonist Paulie Cerra, who toured with Stevie Wonder and Bobby "Blue" Bland.

The musical selections for each show vary depending on where the concert takes place, he says.

"I have probably 350 songs to choose from," Bonamassa said. "We're doing a little bit of everything. If we're playing outside, it's a bit more of a rock show. Inside, you have the intimacy and acoustics of the hall and more lighting. You use the room and it doesn't have to hit as hard."

So what happens if Bonamassa doesn't connect with the audience immediately?

"I have about four, five security guys go rough 'em up," he says with a laugh. "They start dancing in a hurry. I usually find an old lady or a little kid and send security after them. That gets everybody going."