Blues singer to liven up crowd at Knickerbocker

By SARAH LOEHR
Staff Writer

     This Friday and Saturday there should be no tears in beers after 10 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Saloon.
     Johnny Rawls, international soul blues singer, said the audiences that see him Friday and Saturday nights may be in for a surprise.
     "I don't play no depressing, cryin'-in-your-
beer blues," said Rawls.  "I play high power rhythm and blues, very danceable."
     Nick Vukas, manager of the Knickerbocker, said that Rawls never fails to get his audience up and dancing.  "He'll get people out of their seats."
     Rawls feels singing the blues requires a certain person, a certain background but listening to and understanding the blues has no prerequisites.
     "Once you come, you'll see it.  You feel it," Rawls said.  "All you have to do is just come."
     If anyone has the qualifications to sing the blues, it's Rawls.  Rawls was born and raised in Mississippi and says he never wanted to do anything but sing the blues.  His career started at age 17.  For the past 30 years, he has been singing and touring, originally backing up blues legends such as Little Johnny Taylor, Blues Boy Willie and O.V. Wright.
     Three decades on the road have taken him across the country and across Europe.  For most people, 30 years of living out of a suitcase would not be fun, but Rawls would not have it any other way.

johnny rawls

Johnny Rawls, a blues artist, will perform
at the Knickerbocker Saloon on Friday and
Saturday nights.  Rawls plays music that is
far from depressing.

"It's a way of life; it's nothing unusual for me.  I would never think about stopping touring.  It would be like I stopped living," he said.
     Through his life, Rawls' music has evolved with him.  He plays his own original material influenced by the blues legends with whom he began his career.
     While Rawls was recording as Rawls & Luckett, the album "Can't Sleep at Night" was a runner-up for the New Soul/Blues Recording of the Year in the 1995 Living Blues Awards.
     A year later, Rawls received another runner-up nomination for the same award with his solo album "Here We Go."
     Rawls performed in Lafayette at the Knickerbocker for the first time last spring.  Vukas said that he was so impressed with Rawls at the time that he wanted to invite him back even if the turnout was poor.
     This will be Rawls' third appearance at the Knickerbocker.  Vukas said that Rawls is one of the largest draws at the saloon.
     Thirty years of blues experience is definitely $3 well spent.