Meet John Dubuc in N. Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Dubuc “Blowin’ Through Life – High On Harmonica”

John, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In summary, since I was a teenager, I was self-taught on harmonica heavily influenced by the power-soul sounds and rhythms of Paul Butterfield, James Cotton, and George “Harmonica” Smith to name my top few. I’ve played and recorded with Son House-bred Joe Beard and his band the Blues Union for more than 12 years. I’ve appeared on recordings and stages with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters (formerly Roomful of Blues), Ray Charles Saxist David Newman, John Ellison (who wrote “Some Kind of Wonderful”) and many other notable artists such as Blues Brother Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Buddy Guy, Big Mama Thornton, Lou Gramm of Foreigner and Joan Osborne. I received an award for “International Harmonica Artist of the Year” at the Hollywood F.A.M.E. Awards held at the Whisky-A-GoGo and also mentioned in the All Music Guide to The Blues, 3rd edition. I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of central New York state (Syracuse then Rochester) and now live in the Sonoran Desert region of Arizona near Carefree and Cave Creek 35 miles north of Phoenix international.

Tell us about your childhood, what were you like growing up?
Starting out in the ’70s, I was bonding with a half-dozen close friends who were regularly crushing it at high school talent shows and keg parties with the fresh Power-Rock-Blues sounds of Hendrix, Zeppelin, Winter, Stones, Doors, The Who and Zappa. On Sunday afternoons we listened to the local Blues radio show (not much else on FM back then) and for the 1st time, I was Awestruck-Blown-Away-In-The-Zzzonna by the sound of James Cotton wailing on harmonica in Muddy Waters’ band. THIS WAS MY CALLING! Suddenly we knew what my role would become playing at parties and jam sessions. “Dubuc, bring your Harp!” Music became my sport; always jamming in someone’s basement, garage, barn, bedroom or backyard. We were even hired to play at some local bars as long as at least one band member was 18. The cool thing for me was that no one ever told me I sucked, so I kept on playing; literally wearing out records on my parent’s record player, learning by ear and suggestions of the other players. No instructors, just the records, friends, and players.

I was a few years into it when someone pointed out that I play harmonica upside down with the low notes on the right; just the opposite of the piano. This was a fluke from when I first took apart my one and only 10-hole Hohner Marine Band to figure out how it worked and ended up putting the top plate with the hole numbers on the bottom. A 50-50 chance which had no consequence until I later noticed that Paul Butterfield also played upside down! If you’re not familiar with Butterfield, let’s just say he’s the “Hendrix of Harmonica.” By the way, there’s an independent documentary film just released (2019) about Paul who tragically died back in 1987. It’s called “Horn from the Heart.” I was out of town when it played in Phoenix, so I have yet to see it. I’ll tell you about my inevitable meet-up with Butterfield in a bit.

Fast forward to Joe Beard.
Onward to college and new opportunities to play outside the hometown musical petri dish. I first discovered Joe when Living Blues Magazine featured him in an early issue. He lived in Rochester, NY just an hour west of me. So, when I started college at RIT, the only thing I had on my mind for fun was to find and play with Joe. I would love to mention the names of each player (e.g., John Cole, Greg Burgess, Charlie Story, Arthur King, Howard Love et.al) he had at the time however they were in a flow like rowing down a river through the Joe Beard Experience; an experience I increasingly gravitated towards. The gravity of Joe’s rustic rhythmic soulful blues pulled me like Jupiter on its moons. I showed up every weekend with mind and ears wide open; ready to play. My high school “sport” served well as my college stress release and morphed into an open field of opportunity. I soon became an official member in Joe’s Blues Union, riding untethered for the next 12 years. Joe was more than a musician; he was a friend and father-like soul all in one. He had me with him for most of his media and studio projects. Harmonica was one of his favorite instruments for accompaniment…so I guess you could say we were both following our harmony.

You probably don’t recognize the name Joe Beard; however, as a young man, Joe happened to be Son House’s neighbor during Son’s last 10 years of his life. Just to calibrate you on this, the Rolling Stones were heavily influenced by Muddy Waters, and Muddy was heavily influenced by Son House. Son would play on his front porch and Joe, who had been playing a few years by then, introduced himself and they soon became close friends. As Joe recalls, “Son and I would play together, but he would prefer to sit back and listen to me play and sing.” Just like I didn’t fully know who Joe really was, Joe didn’t know who Son House was. Unbeknown to Joe at the time, Son was the original bluesman our country recorded, and soon our nation began to recognize the Blues as a musical art form. For me, this root connection with Joe forged the path to a new level of serendipitous life events such as meeting and playing with iconic bluesmen like Buddy Guy, Albert King, and BB. Blues Brother Matt Guitar Murphy was around often. He was dating Joe’s sister. We opened for their shows when they came to town, or they would stop in and play with us after their concerts. Once, between shows, waiting backstage, BB greeted me and shook my hand. Smiling with confidence and gratitude said “That was you on harmonica! Very nice! You keep on playing son!” Imagine the Cheshire Cat grin on my face as I reflect back thinking – no one ever told me I sucked. The next voice we heard announced – “ten minutes Mr. King.”

Two weeks later we open for Albert King. The afternoon of that show, Albert invites Joe to join him for lunch, and Joe invites me along; perhaps because I lived a couple of blocks from the restaurant they chose. After Joe and Albert catch up, the three of us discuss the upcoming show. Albert lights his pipe and reaffirms how blessed he is to be here and that we’re supporting him. At that time, I could hear some people shouting from a distance at the entrance of the eating area. There was a line of familiar musicians who must have heard Albert was there. He waved the bunch over to the table, and happily shook hands and gave out a few autographs. Two Kings in the same month. Pretty neat for just going with the flow.

The first time I played with Matt Murphy, halfway through one of his tunes, he breaks a couple of strings (BADASS!) and signals me to take over. He sits off stage behind me to restring. So, I begin playing like there’s no roof. Once, twice, three times around and I look over at Matt who is just sitting smiling letting me go at it. Twice more around and he joined back in to finish the song. The tune was a blend of Crossroads and Going Down. The audience was buzzing as much as I was. You need to see Matt in action. Look him up on YouTube.

Regarding the Six Degrees of Separation theory, I believe it’s more like three or four for musicians. Matt Murphy was Sonny Boy Williamson II’s guitarist. Jimmy Page was influenced by Matt and Robert Plant was influenced by Sonny Boy’s harmonica and blues style. If you listen to Zeppelin’s version of Willie Dixon’s “Bring It on Home” (last track on Zeppelin II), Plant does a great impersonation of Sonny Boy on harp and vocals on the intro. At the transition to Page’s lead guitar, you hear Plant say, “watch out…watch out – Matt Murphy…Matt Murphy.” Check it out Zep freaks.

Manifesting Bearsville
My RIT college buddies organized a reunion at a lodge a few miles west of Woodstock, NY. They had no idea that that was where Butterfield and others from the ’69 Woodstock concert settled to live and recorded some of their best music. The towns of Bearsville and Woodstock are like Cave Creek and Carefree AZ with regards to size and proximity to each other, only one pair is in the woods the other in the desert. Bearsville Studios was built by and, literally the home of, a group of musicians that called themselves The Band; which Bob Dylan adopted. Muddy Waters recorded his Woodstock album there, and Paul Butterfield recorded all of his Better Days material there. My buddies and I were dining at an Italian restaurant deeply secluded in the woods of Woodstock. As I look closely at the menu, I see “The Butterfield Special” – it’s a large pizza with extra sauce and everything on it. GUYS! do you realize where we are??? They had NOOO CLUUUE!

I had to find the studio (The Band called it “The Studio”). I stopped at a few convenience stores asking checkout staff where to find Bearsville Studios (obviously before GPS)…no clue 3x then on the 4th stop they pointed to a building down the road. I’m now parked across from a white stucco wood trim two-story rustic spirited place with balconies and looking and feeling very much like the creation in my imagination. For sure this had to be it. No business signage in sight, yet I stood outside my car in profound amazement with gratitude and intention to someday play in this historic place. The horn blows and voices speak “let’s go, “John, we’re heading back to the lodge to regroup for tonight.” Ok, it was easy to let it go and rejoin the party indirectly responsible for launching these rockets of desire. Fast forward 1 year, Ronnie Earl (Room Full of Blues guitarist) calls me and tells me Audio Quest Records wants to produce Joe’s next album so could I please connect with Joe to get back to us. I wasn’t home, so my answer machine captured this communication and was eventually released on one of Joe’s locally produced CDs as a track stuffer. A couple of weeks later Joe calls and tells me everything I already knew from Ronnie’s call except where we were going to record. Joe said “it’s at a studio near Woodstock called Bearsville and it will be a 3-day project with Ronnie and his band the Broadcasters. Can you make it?”…long pause…”OK, I’m pretty sure I can, I just need to let it sink in a little.” Joe never heard of Bearsville, he’s just going with the flow, and I’m now vividly aware of what happens when you build up and release a passionate deep core intention to the Universe. The CD was named Blues Union which included a guest saxist David “Fathead” Newman from Ray Charles’ band.

While waiting for my tracks at Bearville, I would hike in the woods, swim in the pool at the house The Band lived in (I had the whole place to myself), answer the studio phone and doorbell. Ding Dong…I open the door, and an older black man with a sax case introduces himself as David. I let him in and tell him “I’m just helping out while I wait for my tracks…I’m John, Joe Beard’s harmonica player.” David smiles and explains he’s just settling into the area and is excited to play some sessions here. I welcomed him in and felt a very cool vibe and, as usual, not knowing who anyone really was. Later I find out the woman who was also helping out around the studio was the session photographer. When I introduced myself, she smiled and said…”Hi, I’m Catherine Sebastian”. I asked, “Any relation to John Sebastian?”, “Yup he’s my husband.” John (founder of the Lovin’ Spoonful band and Woodstock settler) played harp track on the Doors Morrison Hotel album (Roadhouse Blues). Incidentally, the real Bearsville location was located deep in the woods a few miles from away from the place I first imaged.

Butterfield’s Last Days
I met Paul on my birthday at a venue across the street from RIT where I was studying. This was the year before he died. I came packing my harps with the intention that I would not only meet the guy but also play with him. My girlfriend and a few of those same college buds were with me. To my utter disappointment, Paul was weak and not focused at all on the show which lasted less than an hour. Nevertheless, I had so much expectation vested in my power-soul hero, so I approached him during what was thought to be a band break and introduced myself. I ask if I could sit in with him on harmonica. He paused and said that they were done for the night and signed my harp case…”John, best to you, Paul Butterfield.” The writing was upside down on the back of the cardboard case which I just noticed recently. Another 50-50 chance? The conversation was over until everyone left. My girlfriend and I waited around to have another shot at talking with Paul. After reintroduction, we were having an easy-going conversation about the venue and energy of the audience. Then Paul asked us how we were related. He wanted to know if we were dating or brother and sister. Before I could answer, my girlfriend responded nonchalantly that “yes indeed we’re all brothers and sisters.” Paul accepted this a truthful answer to his simple question. I ignored the fallacy and continued with small talk. Soon, it became obvious to him that she was BSing and so the situation began to spiral down the spectrum of polite small talk to repartee then insults. He felt I was responsible for the BS so called me a “Polock” because the name Dubuc sounded Polish to him. Partially amazed yet not offended, I replied “Yup, and that’s why I play harp upside down.” At that point, Paul called me a copycat and was becoming tense and commanded that I need to back off because “I’m the meanest MFer on earth”. We gave him our sincerest apology, shook hands in calm emotion and said goodnight to each other. Phew! What just happened? Back then I didn’t know any better. Now, I see myself 100% responsible for every choice and subsequent experience in my life; much thanks to this Friendly Universe.

Stage time with Lou and Joan
Out of the blue, I get a call from a familiar voice. The event producer urgently explains that Lou Gramm (whoever he is) was wondering if there was a harmonica player available to accompany him on some tunes at a hometown concert that evening… “can you get to the soundcheck this afternoon?” They didn’t say, nor did I care to ask, who’s who. So, I head down to the sound check. Downtown festival Basho-Rama! Radio/TV crews were setting up Rock DJs checking their mics, roadies everywhere. I introduce myself to the MC – Brother Wease – Rock 95FM (his morning drivetime show was the local no-limits Howard Stern franchise). The soundman hands me a mic and tells me to play something. At that moment, I was one with everything simply because I didn’t have any doubt as to why I was there and not caring about who’s watching. A 5-minute tsunami of spontaneous power-passionate harmonica filled the 2000 capacity event tent. I went from backyard lawn chair to rock stage and to Lou’s recording studio to try out his new tunes all within about three hours. Lou and I later returned for the show (all captured by the local Radio/TV stations, DVDs available). Hanging out backstage while Joan Osborne was on, Lou comments “she has that Janis energy”). He didn’t know who she was, and I didn’t know who Lou or Joan were. I was just in flow with the ones you’re with. About two days later I realized, Lou was the founder and lead singer for Foreigner. The significance of not knowing or caring about who’s who is letting the Universe slide you closer to your vision without you getting in the way. It somehow greases your path.

Music Creek
I live near Carefree and Cave Creek, AZ. I refer to this area as “Woodstock in the Desert”, or simply Music Creek. The main ingredients for life in this town (beyond water, organic compounds, the sun’s energy and plants that will kick your ass if you touch them) is music. This fundamental element in all its forms has been abundantly flowing long before I arrived in 2003. The culture here is a partying petri dish of historical southwestern homesteaders, nature-lovers, artists, photographers, architects, musicians, bikers (real bikers, weekend bikers, and corporate bikers), cowboys and girls, entrepreneurs, snowbirds, and tourists. I see all these ingredients untethered in a “wild-west” sense. It’s not mentioned very often, but Cave Creek was once the headquarters of the Hell’s Angels. Today, dozens of life-loving biker clubs visit this one-stop-sign desert play town year-round especially in April for Bike Week.

So, what now?
I don’t know. I just show up and see.
When people ask if I’ll be playing, I say “I’ll let you know when it’s over”.

Follow Harmony!

Much thanks to Tommy Grills for keeping the MOJO ALIVE here in the Land of AZ.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 4802837014
• Email: john@dubuc.org

Joe Beard and the Blues Union

Joe Beard (Rochester Music Hall of Fame)

Playing a 5-harp solo

F.A.M.E. Awards at the Whisky A-GoGo

Stockholm Sweden

Posing for new pictures

A different 5-harp solo

James Cotton Sitting In

Image Credit:
Heidi joy, Luca Foresta, Jennifer Amundsen, Kate Hunt – Personal Photo

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