Sue Foley is a blues musician from Ottawa who cut her teeth as a teenager in Ottawa’s blues scene before making her way to Austin, Texas, to start her career. She’s been performing since then, and will release her latest record, The Ice Queen on March 3.
The Charlatan chatted with her to hear about the record, her love for Fender Telecasters, and what makes a great blues player.
The Charlatan (TC): Let’s start with The Ice Queen, tell me a little bit about the record.
Sue Foley (SF): Alright, the album was recorded down in Austin, Texas, and it sort represents my return to Texas, where I started my recording career. Of course, I’m a Canadian, I’m from Ottawa originally, but my recording career started down in Austin so I kind of worked out of there for about four or five albums before I came back up north. So, it’s about that, it’s about playing with all the great musicians in the Austin blues scene where I got my training. There’s kind of a full circle kind of concept there but The Ice Queen in itself represents my Canadian identity as a northerner. The song “The Ice Queen” is also a tip of the hat to one of the greatest Fender Telecaster players in the world, Albert Collins. See, I’m a Telecaster girl, so Albert Collins was known as “The Ice Man,” so you know I’ve got to have the “ice” identity [laughs]. Is that a long story or what?
TC: Is there something in particular about the Austin scene that’s special to you?
SF: I started to learn about blues when I was about 15. I was in Ottawa, so I started going to clubs there and learned how to play. Then I moved to Vancouver, and started my own band, but what was coming out of Austin at the time, that’s when Stevie Ray Vaughan broke through and The Fabulous Thunderbirds and then everyone became aware of what was happening in Austin. Austin has its own sound, and I was just really drawn to what was going on at the time. For me it was the best musical scene to go to because of everybody who played there. Not just the T-Birds and Stevie Ray, they were just the tip of the iceberg, there were so many great musicians. Austin calls itself the “live music capital of the world,” because there’s so many bands down there and so many amazing players, especially guitar players.
TC: Tell me a bit about some of the guests you had on your latest record. What was it like playing with them?
SF: Playing with [Jimmie Vaughan and Billy Gibbons] was a dream come true . . . Jimmie Vaughan was the guitar player for the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and they came through Ottawa when I was 16. I saw them live, and I was dumbfounded by Jimmie Vaughan. He was such an amazing guitar player and so enigmatic and stylish and just cool. He sort of personified cool. I’ve been a huge fan my whole career, even more than his brother Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray of course is the more well-known of the two but Jimmie was always my guy. And then Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, I grew up with three older brothers, and ZZ was a huge influence on our record collection. Those may have been the first blues sounds I heard. ZZ Top was a well-known rock ‘n’ roll band but they started out as an old funky blues band . . . To play with your heroes is always amazing to do. You never think you’ll get there [laughs]. To get their stamp of approval on my talents and abilities, how good can that feel?
TC: You mentioned earlier you’re a Telecaster player, what draws you to that versus other guitars?
SF: I think the thing about the Telecaster is that it’s such a simple guitar . . . It’s a really basic guitar, it’s like a block of wood and a pickup. There’s nothing fancy about a Telecaster. It’s a really simple design, I like the shape of the body. As a female, I think a [Fender Stratocaster] is a little big for my body, and I’ve noticed a lot of women play Telecasters. I think the size of it is a little more forgiving for us. I think if you can play a Tele well, clean, you can really play guitar. I think it’s a barometer for being able to really play. You can’t hide anywhere, if you play a Tele without any pedals and effects, and you can play well with a good tone, then you can really play. I don’t hide behind pedals, I play clean, and I’d like that to speak for itself. I always call it the guitar player’s guitar.
TC: Is there a song off the record that holds special place in your heart?
SF: I’m really happy with the whole album to be honest. I think the title track really holds the story in its hand in a way, so that’s why we named the album that. I’m really happy with the single that’s coming out, “The Lucky Ones,” which is my duet with Jimmie Vaughan, and I’m really stoked about that, and the duet I do with Billy Gibbons, [“Fool’s Gold”], I’m stoked about that one too.
TC: In your experience, what do you think separates a good blues player from a really great one?
SF: There’s several things. Style is really important, and individuality, because when you think of really great players like B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters . . . They’re on another level as far as I’m concerned. First of all, they created the sound. That sound wasn’t there before them. They have their own sound, and nobody could touch that. Once you have your own sound and style, nobody can take that away from you. That comes through being yourself, which is why blues is such profound music and difficult to play. People think “Oh blues is three chords, it’s so easy,” it’s like no. Blues is the hardest music to play because there’s a million people who play blues on an average level. But there’s only so many people who reach that level where they’ve obtained that kind of individuality and honesty. It’s like they’ve put a mark on their own sound and nobody can get there. Like Stevie Ray, he created that sound. I don’t care how many guitar players emulate it and try to get there, they can’t do it. The whole idea of blues is to be yourself. The masters knew that. That’s what makes blues special.
TC: Do you have a favourite song to call during jam sessions to just mess around on?
SF: Not really, with blues we play forms a lot. You would be more likely to play a form like a slow blues, a shuffle, eight bar blues . . . I think the barometer of a great player is how they can handle a slow blues.
TC: Why’s that?
SF: It’s very standard, but it’s slow. It’s harder to play a slow blues since it’s a really wide-open space, so you have to know how to fill it in. “Texas Flood” by Stevie Ray Vaughan is a slow blues . . . You have to really express a lot of emotion in it, tell a story . . . The form itself is so bare-bones, it’s three simple chords over a slow progression. It’s how you work with the space, as well as the notes. It seems like the simplest thing in the world, and it is conceptually, but when you’re playing it, it’s actually really difficult to play well. To build it, to know how to make it rock, to make it happen, it’s really hard.
TC: What would be your dream session? You can have whoever you want on bass, on drums . . . Who would be there?
SF: Wow, I’ve never been asked this question. Honestly, I lot of what I just did was my dream session. We had George Rains on drums, and we also had Chris Layton from Stevie Ray’s original band. So, probably either of those guys on drums, Jimmie Vaughan on guitar . . . I mean I could think of a million different ways to put that question together but I really think what I just did on this album was basically a dream come true. I was really happy to play with them.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length
Photo provided
