Burnside stays true to hill country blues music

Photo by Colin C. McAuliffe

Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm team up at Newby's on Wednesday.

Thirty-year-old Hickory Flat, Miss., resident Cedric Burnside has a big weight resting on his muscular shoulders.

Since the 1990s, Burnside has been perfecting his version of hill country blues, a music practiced in North Mississippi for the last half-century. Tonight at Ground Zero Blues Club he'll reveal his latest effort, 2 Man Wrecking Crew, his second collaboration with Steve "Lightnin'" Malcolm, recorded at Sixteen Ton Studio in Nashville and released on Delta Groove Music this fall.

Photo by Colin C. McAuliffe

Cedric Burnside (left) and Steve "Lightnin'" Malcolm team up at Ground Zero Blues Club.

Yet as Burnside has come into his own as a performer, the originators of the hill country genre have passed on.

In 1998, bluesman David "Junior" Kimbrough, the proprietor of the legendary Marshall County juke joint Junior's Place, died. In 2003, fife-and-drum master Otha Turner, known for his Labor Day picnics, died. In 2005, it was Burnside's grandfather, R.L. Burnside who was laid to rest; a year later, country blues woman Jessie Mae Hemphill. And just last month, Burnside bid farewell to his grandmother, Alice Mae "Big Momma" Burnside, who was buried beside her husband, R.L.

Through it all, Burnside, a formidable drummer who also displays his guitar skills and vocal chops on 2 Man Wrecking Crew, has persevered.

"I've lived the blues all my life," he says. "What I mean when I say that is there's been a lot of poor families out there, and I'm one of 'em. I grew up poor."

Although Burnside is just as likely to recite a David Banner rap lyric as he is to listen to a Muddy Waters CD, his childhood memories don't jibe with those of most musicians his age.

"We didn't have a radio, so we used to wait for the house parties to start on weekends," he says. "I can remember when I was 6 or 7 years old, and my granddaddy used to invite his friends over -- guys like (harmonica player) Johnny Woods. All the grandkids would get out there and kick up dust. Even though we were poor, we never let it stop us from having our fun."

"My granddad instilled that in me," Burnside says, echoing the verses that open 2 Man Wrecking Crew: "From 6 to 18 I lived with you/ Almost everything that I know I learned from you/ I was a little hardheaded, I made a lot of people mad/ But you stayed on me, got me on the right path, and boy, I'm glad/ R.L. Burnside, yeah."

While Burnside is hardly the only descendent of R.L. to remain steadfast to the hill country blues sound -- his uncles, Garry and Duwayne Burnside also front bands -- he seems to be the most determined.

In 2007, Burnside appeared in the feature film Black Snake Moan, playing drums behind actor Samuel L. Jackson. Since teaming up with the Missouri-born Malcolm, he's pursued a relentless schedule that has included dates at blues festivals and clubs from coast to coast. The authoritative, stripped-down sound featured on 2 Man Wrecking Crew, which was produced by David Z. (Prince, Al Green), further separates him from the rest of the pack.

"We just developed our own way, mostly out of necessity," says Malcolm, 34. "We don't put no rules on what we do; if it sounds good, we love it. Most of the songs come to us like they're already written. It's like we pull them out of the sky. Both of us work really hard. We don't take our blessings for granted."

An international demand for hill country blues, spurred on by documentary films like 1991's Deep Blues, keeps artists like Burnside and Malcolm in the spotlight.

"It's in these families, so there are always gonna be people making this good, strong powerful music. That's what keeps these people going," Malcolm says. "I've seen big rock stars come sit down like they're little puppies, soaking it up. Even though they sell millions of records, when they see the real blues, they're humble."

"I miss Junior Kimbrough. I really miss my granddad," Burnside says, lost, for a moment, in his reverie.

"They opened the door for all of us. I just want to make sure I don't let them down. I plan to play this music for the rest of my life."

Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm

Performing at 8 p.m. tonight at Ground Zero Blues Club, 158 Lt. George W. Lee St. Cover charge is $8. Call 522-0130 or go to GroundZeroBluesClub.com.

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