Family Style
Caroline Miller (CM) interview with Franco Limido Family Style (Italy) - April 2010
Nowadays I must say I always love to share the stage with Ian Siegal...Europe's top bluesman without a doubt!
CM - Which country do you enjoy playing in most of all?
Franco - I enjoy every country I play in a different way!
I definitely like the "Blues Club" dimension I experienced in the UK, Belgium, Holland and Germany....but I must say I've always had great gigs in Eastern European countries like Poland and Hungary for example!
CM - Which young act on the European scene impresses you most?
Franco - Well, I don't really know any young act except a Dutch band, The Rhythm Chiefs that are absolutely great!!! (Dusty Ciggarr lead guitar played with The Ian Siegal Band when Ian broke his wrist, 2009)
CM - Why do you think the blues scene on the continent is better than in the UK?
Franco - I don't think the blues scene on the continent is better than on your shores...it's just different and maybe a bit newer on this side...but the UK has a longer blues story and tradition in my opinion. I personally feel it whenever I play over there and like it a lot
CM - If you had the opportunity to play with any blues artist dead or alive live on stage who would it be?
Franco - My biggest blues dream would be to be the harmonica player in the Muddy Waters band at the top of Muddy's career.
If I have to dream I do it big!!!
CM - Which is the biggest festival you have played?
Franco - Considering the amount of people (10000) I would say the KraKow Blues Festival in Poland in 2002 when Family Style toured the country with Ronnie Baker Brooks...for the vibe and personal likes the Maryport Blues Festival 2007
CM - Which is your favourite festival?
Franco - I still have to play this gig I think!!! ahaha
CM - Is there any instrument you would like to add to your line up that you think would enhance your sound?
Franco - We got a piano/organ player here in Italy when budget allows it and I love the sound!
You probably know we've been cooperating with legendary boogie man Gene Taylor (Canned Heat, Blaster, Fabulous Thunderbirds, James Harman Band and many others...).
We got this trio as Gene Taylor & The Limido Brothers...stripped down blues and boogie I dig!!!
CM - What can be done to keep the blues music fresh and modern or do you think it should stay in the past?
Franco - We all gotta do our best to find ways to keep the blues fresh along with a deep respect for the tradition.
Artists gotta work hard to put up ass kicking blues shows and fight against the global, mainstream opinion that Blues music is boring!
It actually is, when poorly played by lazy musicians!
Modern technology and the internet web 2.0 era can make things much easier for indie artists in general with an immediate world exposure if you think about it...but still, it's up to us to keep it goin'!!!
CM - In Milan you have two great football teams who do you support?
Franco - INTER. What else?
considering offers from Ireland and other parts of Europe for the summer period.
We are also very proud to announce we'll play a few shows in Italy backing up Blues Legend "Icepick" James Harman from May 20th to 23rd!
I've personally booked this short tour and organised a sort of mini festival here in the Milano area...James Harman hasn't toured Italy since the early 90s and lots of blues fans are very excited (me included) to see such a blues icon again.
There's an official Italian web site www.jamesharman.it with full details...Mr. Harman hasn't played in the UK for ages as well so who knows some British blues lovers might consider to come down to Italy on late May?
Later in August I'll probably be in Louisiana, Usa on a kind of blues road trip covering Mississippi and Tennessee as well...I have a plan for an intimate recording session with my good friend Rick Allen, piano and Hammond player extraordinaire, his web site http://rickallenmusic.com
Another new cooperation is being developed for the second half of September.
I'm working on a tour of Italy with the talented California bluesman Nathan James (already in the James Harman's Band)
www.nathndjames.com we'll be on the road with him as a trio with myself and Family Style's drummer Stefania "Funky Mama" Avenali on trap drums...Juke Joint Style!!!!
Well, I'm keeping myself busy!!!
CM - Why do you feel that young people are not as attracted to the Blues as other Genres?
Franco - Blues music isn't mainstream as it was 50 years ago and they don't get it on their faces via TV, radio, Internet etc....they simply don't know it or just considers it too old for them! It's a cult art though and this is way blues will never die!
They probably have a mind association of this thing to an average band of "old" men playing in bars for a few friends.
We all gotta make 'em like it more...refreshing the whole thing by making it more spectacular and vibrant, along with keeping it real!
Lyrics wise too!!
The old stereotype "She Done Me Wrong" 12 bar blues ain't familiar for younger generations!
CM What sort of music did you listen to growing up?
Franco - A mix of classical and Italian folk/pop music was around the house but thanks to my older brother Marco (guitarist of Family Style) I had the chance to be introduced to the Legends of Rock and Blues like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and finally the BLUES...so I have been able to start my personal blues journey at a young age! Still walking this path nowadays of course!
CM - If you weren’t a musician (in a band) what would you be doing?
Franco - Being an entertainer I'd say a bartender in my own Pub...
I did it years ago and I was pretty good at this!
CM - What’s on the agenda for the future?
Franco - We're are about to leave for another European tour with concerts in Holland, Belgium and The UK of course...then we're
CM - Do you play another instrument besides Harmonica?
Franco - Not professionally, but I can fool around the guitar and piano a bit! You ain't gonna see me playing 'em on April 22nd though!!!
CM - You are a singer/songwriter. What drives your song-writing?
Franco - Everyday life of ordinary people with all their ordinary blues...and there's plenty of Blues nowadays (unfortunately).
Plus I have a sort of cooking style approach...I mean...I'm an Italian country boy raised on homemade food using fresh ingredients and traditional recipes!
My song writing is based on fresh ingredients (everybody's blues stories and facts), traditional recipes (the Blues tradition) and some spices (a little fantasy to spice things up!)...or at least I try...ahaha
CM - What is the first thing you think of when you wake up (be careful)?
Franco - (Careful of what?)
I always think about my beloved wife...then I open my eyes and she's there...there's nothing better in the whole world!!!
CM - Do you have a gig on World Cup Final day and who will Italy be playing in the final?
Franco - Well I haven't thought about the World Cup at all yet as I've been so busy in the last few months! Neither a gig nor a guess at the moment...we'll see. I'm actually attracted by the Cup being played in South Africa!
CM - What is your favourite colour?
Franco - Red as passion, Rosso Passione in Italian and Emerald Green, Ireland’s green
CM - What do you do to relax when you have some spare time away from music?
Franco - I really enjoy walking , I can’t think of anything better than taking a good book and walking in the countryside, I like to find time when on tour to get my walking boots on and get away with my book.
CM - Paul Lamb is one of the UK’s top harmonica players; you have been compared to him several times, what do you think of these comparisons?
Franco - Wow, firstly Paul Lamb is one of the world’s best harmonica players not the UKs, being compared to Paul Lamb is kind of flattering, Paul is a great player and inspiration for me and so many other European players I first saw Paul when I was 20 years old in Dublin at the Guinness Blues Festival I attended a blues harmonica workshop run by Paul, a lesson I will never forget.
CM - Who in your eyes is the best female blues singer in Europe?
Franco - Kyla Brox definitely.
CM - Who is the top female vocalist in Italy?
Franco - A beautiful woman named Veronica Sbergia from Milan she is really a top notch blues singer in Italy
CM - Do you have any plans to take the band to the States?
Franco - We would love to take the band back to the roots of the blues but at this stage we have no plans to take the band over to the states. We are concentrating more on Europe at the moment.
The Nottingham Blues Society would like to thank Franco and Family Style for giving this interview.
CM - You donated a track to the NBSoc CD fund raiser did you have any reservations when asked?
Franco - Absolutely not!!
I WANTED to be on this CD.
Nottingham means a lot to Family Style's career...we had our first UK gig ever there way back in November 2002 and then kept coming back in every single tour after that one!
We recorded a live album in 2004 (Live In Nottingham)...It's our pleasure and honour to be on this album now!
CM - Who was the last blues act that you paid to see?
Franco - Johnny Winter in Milan and Ian Siegal in Pavia (Italy) during his last tour with his trio here in my country...later on he came to greet me at the bar just before starting his gig and told me he put my name on the list..So I had my money back and ended up joining the band on stage for a few numbers!! lol
CM - What was the last blues CD that you bought for yourself?
Franco - Seasick Steve's "Man From Another Time".
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