We speak to John Frimire, the founder of Abu Dhabi’s first blues band.
How did you come to start a blues band in Abu Dhabi?
I had been playing the open mic night [at the Sheraton] solo on acoustic dobro (slide guitar) and a few other gigs locally and in Al Ain and thought it would be cool to get an ensemble focusing mainly on blues. After some time I found a bass player [Bill Phalon] and drummer [Paul Bursiewisz] who both happen to be at the same workplace as me..
What’s the Abu Dhabi music scene like compared to other places?
I’d say it’s smaller than other cities of the same relative size and still in its infancy but the open mic is instrumental in growing the music scene here.
Why blues?
I’ve been studying, playing and teaching blues guitar for years because it is the roots of a lot of modern popular music. A lot of cities have whole blues scenes with tons of bands and open mics solely with blues performers so perhaps this could be the start of one.
What is your favourite song to perform?
Performing originals is always the most fun so the band ended up jamming on an original funk tune (‘Strength Thru Knowledge’) for the open mic and it was a lot of fun to perform. It’s a song I wrote about 25 years ago when I played in punk bands in Vancouver, Canada and which I’ve performed since in various bands.
Where do you hope the band will be in five years?
Hopefully we’ll be gigging regularly here in the UAE and enjoying a busy musical life on top of work and family.
Where can people see you?
Thus far only at the open mic, though I play solo blues guitar every last Thursday at the desert golf course in Al Ain, backing up The Sounding Boards. We are recording now and actively looking for more gigs though. We are also booked for the Al Ain Music Festival in October and November.
www.facebook.com/thetrucialcoastband.
