What's Up
CD Review – Bluesletter Magazine & Northwest Music Scene
The Washington Blues Society recently named John “Greyhound” Maxwell the 2018 award recipient for Best Acoustic Blues Guitar. All his acclaimed skills are on display on his new self-produced album Even Good Dogs Get The Blues, to be released in October o...
Port Townsend Leader: Maxwell Proves it’s Never Too Late…
While some aspiring artists have to moonlight as waiters or bussers to make do until their big break, one blues guitarist waited an entire career’s lifespan of bus driving before he could pursue his passion for music. John “Greyhound” Maxwell got hi...
Wagon Of Tales
Venmo link to Purchase here!
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Blues for Evangeline
What People Are SayingAbout John
“He plays with very good fluidity and taste, and some nice slide. His vocals are pleasantly lacking in fake black-isms that are the bane of ‘white bluesmen’. Even better, he sings the meaning of the words and understands that the story of the lyrics is vital”.
– Bruce Iglauer – Alligator Records
“John Greyhound Maxwell (is) a particularly refined and eloquent slide and fingerpicking roots and blues guitarist and singer/songwriter.
– Frank Matheis – Countryblues.com
“Laid back elegance and a sort off off-hand virtuosity. Very smooth and mellow.”
– Paul Rishell – W.C. Handy Award Winner
“John the finest bottleneck slide player I’ve heard in a long time.”
– David Lindley
“This album should be a mist to acquire for any blues purists or just lovers of blues classic. John’s vocals are always appealing, and the musicianship is impeccable.”
– John Sacksteder
To read the full review in Blues Blast Magazine, Click Here!
You have to play for a long time before you sound like your self
Calendar
2014
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Sun15Jun2014
Opening for The Right Honorable Austin deLone
7pmSweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Ave Mill Valley, CA 94941 415.388.3850
Sunday, June 15, I
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Thu02Oct2014
House Concert
7:30pm Saint Paul Minnesota. Send an email to the address at the bottom of this site for more details. -
Sun05Oct2014
8th Annual Richard de Lone Housing Project Benefit
8pm Bimbo’s 365 Club 1025 Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 474-0365 www.bimbos365club.com/In San Francisco I’ll be joining Lisa Kindred and Austin deLone at the 8th Annual Richard de Lone Housing Project Benefit. Headliners include Dan Hicks,Bill Kirchen,Jim Lauderdale,Jimmy Dale Gilmore,Carlene Carter and more. Kindred,Maxwell and de Lone are opening the show!
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Sun12Oct2014
Golden Gate Blues Society
1 pm Smoking Pig BBQ in Fremont, Ca.
Biography
John “Greyhound” Maxwell brings his singular approach to slide guitar and mandolin, paying homage to the craft and tradition of the masters, while infusing the music with fresh energy. David Lindley is quoted as saying, “John is the finest bottleneck slide player I’ve heard in a long time.”
With an approach that is authentic and understated, Maxwell plays with the warmth and dexterity of someone who has loved the blues over a lifetime. Indeed, his education began as a teenager after seeing B.B. King play a set in Chicago in 1971. At Chicago’s historic Old Town School of Folk Music he took lessons from a young Johnny Long, himself a student of Homesick James. When Maxwell left for college in St. Louis, he originally studied classical, but grew restless and eventually fronted a blues trio.
He counts himself lucky enough to have mingled with blues legends Tommy Bankhead and Henry Townsend, with whom he later shared the stage and formed a friendship. He’s been drawn to slide since the beginning. “It increases that conversational aspect between the instrument and the voice,” he says.
That lineage is evident in the conversations he’s still having. In his capable hands, classics are given a deep bow and a quick wink, at once subtle and surprising. Likewise, his originals feel familiar to the genre, at home on a back-roads front porch or a downtown speakeasy.
His style is grounded and focused yet delivered with an ease and a lightness. He says the nice thing about getting older is, “Whatever you do, if you’ve been doing for most of your life, you reach a proficiency level that’s really enjoyable.” That comfort and skill is obvious whether he’s playing with a full band, as a duo, or just his caramel smooth voice and his silver Dobro. One gets the feeling he’d be equally at home with a symphony or a jug band.
In fact, he’s travelled the country, playing bluegrass in Tulsa and punk-rock in Hollywood, with forays into jazz, folk and rock and roll. No matter the genre, he always found himself coming back to the blues. He explains that his interpretation is not about a specific chord pattern or scale, but rather the emotion behind it. “I think that helps cross physical and cultural borders,” he says.
Now, having rounded the corner of 60, Maxwell is a master of his craft, garnering the admiration of his contemporaries. His recording, Blues for Evangeline, made the top five in the Best Self-Produced CD competition at the 2016 Memphis International Blues Challenge. In 2017, he had a song placed in a film at the Sundance Festival, and he taught at the prestigious Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival in Washington state, where he now resides.
The Washington Blues Society recently nominated John “Greyhound” Maxwell for best solo artist in 2023. He previously was the 2018 award recipient for Best Acoustic Blues Guitar. His second self produced CD, “Even Good Dogs Get the Blues”, represented the WBS at the 2018 International Blues Challenge. “It’s really exciting,” he says. “I feel like I’m finally coming into my own.” In past years Maxwell has recently shared the stage with well-known blues greats, opening shows for Ruthie Foster, Sonny Landreth, Keb’Mo and Taj Mahal.
“Back when I was 16 or 17, I would tell myself I wanted to have a successful music career, and it was okay if it happened at 60, as long as it happened.” He laughs softly. “I think I set my course there.”
get me six crap shooting pallbearers. get a chorus girl to sing me a song.
Contact Me
Send a Message
Booking agent
Brad Stewart
Dynamic Artists Management, LLC
517-715-6555
info@dynamicartists.com
www.dynamicartists.com
Social Links
Artist Credits
Henry Townsend - BB's Jazz Blues and Soups - St. Louis, Missouri, 1976
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - North St Paul, Minnesota, 1985
Roy Rogers - Larry Blake's - Berkeley, California, 1989
Susan Tedeschi - John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room - San Francisco, California, 1995
Carlene Carter, Dan Hicks, Bill Kirchen, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Jim Lauderdale, Butch Hancock, Austin DeLone, Lisa Kindred- Bimbo's - San Francisco, California, 2015
Austin De Lone - Sweetwater Music Hall - Mill Valley, California, 2015
John Cleary - Sweetwater Music Hall - Mill Valley, California, 2016
Ramblin' Jack Elliot - Sweetwater Music Hall - Mill Valley, California, 2016
Ruthie Foster- Rancho Nicasio, California, 2016/The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington, 2023
Maria Muldaur - Hwy 99 Blues Club Seattle Wa. 2016
Studebaker John - Hwy 99 Blues Club - Seattle Washington - 2016
David Lindley - Wheeler Theater, Port Townsend WA 2017, Grand Annex San Pedro CA 2017
Marcia Ball - Palms Playhouse - Winters, California, 2017
Albert Cummings - Las Vegas Performing Arts Center - Las Vegas, Nevada, 2018 (2 nights)/The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington, 2019 & 2022/Spanish Ballroom - Tacoma, Washington, 2022
Taj Mahal, KebMo, Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Chateau Ste. Michelle - Woodinville, Washington, 2018
Coco Montoya - Marysville Performing Arts Center - Marysville, Washington, 2018/The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington, 2019
Lucky Peterson - The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington, 2020
Albert Lee - The Palindrome - Port Townsend, Washington, 2023
Sonny Landreth - The Triple Door - Seattle, Washington, 2023 (2 nights)
Reverend John Wilkins - Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival - August 2019
Joaquim Cooder - The Palindrome , Port Townsend - March 2024
