By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Skip McDonald may be the featured artist at “The Blues, The Hines Farm Blues Club and Beyond and 21st Century Blues with Skip McDonald AKA Little Axe” on campus, just don’t pin him down to performing what you may consider “the blues.”
When he walks on stage listeners can “expect blues, expect some funk, expect some gospel, expect some jazz, expect a good time,” he said.
McDonald will play during the event which will run Thursday from 4 to 5:15 p.m. at Bowling Green State University’s Student Union Theater and then Friday 7 to 10 p.m. at Oak Openings Metropark Lodge, 5230 Wilkins Road, Whitehouse.
“I’m an in-the-moment kind of guy,” he said. He doesn’t decide what to wear until the last minute, or what to play until he hits the stage. “That makes it exciting for me.” Otherwise it just becomes “run of the mill.” He wants to be true to himself and the moment. “I don’t want to be the person who imitates me, I want to be me.”
McDonald doesn’t care much for labels. All these different genres, he said, are just for marketing. “You call it something so you can sell it.”
At various times he’s been a folk musician and a jazz musician. He was a session player for Sugarhill Records and played on early rap records, including those by Grandmaster Flash.
Disco, rock, house, folk, blues, jazz, the labels don’t matter. ”When it comes down to it, there are only two kinds of music – music you like, and music you don’t.”
Growing up in Dayton, McDonald, 67, was surrounded by music of all types. His father was a guitar player, and he tagged along. Dayton was awash in music: touring acts such as B.B. King or Motown stars, and homegrown talent like guitar legend Robert Ward.
“There was always a community of people who played together and jammed together,” McDonald said.
McDonald believes he was destined to be a musician. “I had nothing to do with that decision. That decision was made for me, and I’m happy about it.”
At about age 8 he started playing with a gospel group. He’s been an active performer since. About 30 years ago, he moved to England, when Bush was elected, he joked, suggesting the reviewer could join him if Donald Trump is elected president.
The move, though, wasn’t prompted by politics; it was prompted by business.
He finds more work over there. “They don’t like old people in America. You’ve got to be young and cute.”
In Europe there’s still a strong live music scene. From his home in England, McDonald can cross the channel for gigs in France, Spain and Germany. While he usually performs solo, he collaborates with a number of other musicians. That includes performers from around the world, including Mali, Peru, and China. “We make good music and have fun.”
The music scene has changed now, he said. People used to play together, now musicians are expected to do everything themselves. “I call it bedroom music,” McDonald said. “It’s the death of the band, the death of social interaction.”
Those bygone days are part of what’s being celebrated the blues event.
Hines Farm was a concert venue and music club where people gathered to have a good time. Organizer Matt Donahue said Oak Openings is a good venue for the longer Friday event because the club was located nearby. Oak Openings staff have been encouraging him to stage some blues events there.
Thursday’s show will be a shorter version, a chance to give students a glimpse of the blues, he said.
Friday night, the full documentary on Hines Farm will be screened, and there’ll be more time for music.
Donahue said he wanted to celebrate the music that came from Ohio, musicians like McDonald who grew up here, and then went off to perform around the world. “He’s one of those who’s branched out and incorporated all these different genres.”
