Some nights you go looking for the blues. Other nights, the blues reaches out, grabs you by the collar, and says, "Boy, you better get this on camera!"
Well, that's about what happened when John Primer and his band got down to business at King Biscuit.
Now, if you know anything about Chicago blues, you know John Primer ain't some new kid trying to figure out which end of the guitar makes the noise.
That man has been carrying the blues for a long, long time. He's played alongside some of the greats, and he's got enough blues history in those fingers to fill a whole shelf of books.
But let me tell you something.
That night, John was feeling it.
He had some of his Chicago boys with him, Quicksand holding things down on drums, and some local talent joining the party.
And somewhere along the way, that band found another gear.
The music started pumping. The crowd came alive. And that old Chicago blues sound started rolling through the place like a freight train that wasn't planning on stopping.
I stood there soaking it all in and thought...
"Well, hell. If there was ever a time to put this new 360 camera to work, this is it!"
My First Trip Into the 360 Blues World
Now, I ain't gonna tell you I had this whole thing figured out.
Truth is, this was my first time shooting a full 360-degree blues video.
And naturally, I decided to try it in a dark blues joint.
Go figure.
I shot this one in 6K instead of 8K because of the low lighting. But I wasn't about to let a little darkness stop me from catching what was happening on that stage.
Hell, the blues has been living in dark rooms since before any of us were born.
So I hit record and let her roll.
What came out of it is about 15 minutes of John Primer and the boys doing what they do best.
But here's where things get interesting.
With this 360 camera, you ain't stuck looking at whatever I decide to point the camera toward.
You get to explore the room yourself.
Watching on your phone? Drag your finger around the screen.
On your computer? Grab the picture with your mouse and look around.
Want to watch John's guitar work? Go ahead.
Want to see what the rest of the band is doing? Turn around.
Want to check out the crowd and get a feel for the whole place? You can do that too.
It's the closest thing I can give you to standing there beside me without having to buy you a beer.
And brother, that's pretty damn cool.
This Ain't Just My Camera. It's Our Blues Story.
Now, before you jump into that video, there's something I want to say.
Thank y'all. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart.
To every Blues VIP who's donated, shared our videos, supported this road trip, or just kept showing up to see what kind of trouble we're getting into next...
You're part of this.
And a special thank-you goes out to Mr. Jacko, who donated this 360 camera.
Mr. Jacko, you didn't just put a new gadget in my hands.
You helped give us another way to capture something that money can't buy back once it's gone.
A moment. A feeling. A little piece of living blues history.
See, that's the thing about this music.
It doesn't live forever in the same room with the same people.
The musicians get older. The crowds change. Clubs close their doors. And sometimes the places where we made our best memories disappear before we even realize how much they meant to us.
But the music?
If we're lucky enough to catch it, we can keep a little piece of that night alive.
And now, with this 360 camera, maybe we can do something even better.
Maybe years down the road, somebody can watch this video, look around that room, and get a little taste of what it felt like to be there when John Primer and the boys were tearing it up.
That's why we're doing this.
Not for fancy camera tricks.
Not for bragging rights.
But because this music, these musicians, and these little moments deserve to be remembered.
Pull Up a Chair. You're Going to King Biscuit.
This Fat Mule blues road trip has already been one hell of a ride.
And thanks to our Blues VIP family, we're getting to share it in ways I never imagined.
Hopefully, this 360 camera will help us capture more than just somebody standing onstage playing guitar.
I want you to see the whole picture.
The people. The room. The laughter. The sweat. The music. The whole damn thang.
Because the blues ain't just something you listen to.
It's something you feel.
So turn up the volume, put your finger on that screen, and take a little trip with me into the 360 Blues World.
John Primer and the boys are waiting.
And to all our Blues VIPs, thank you for helping us keep chasing this music wherever that old blues road takes us.
Now I've got a question for you: If you could step inside any blues joint or festival with this 360 camera, where would you want Fat Mule to take you next?
Keep the blues alive.
Fat Mule Record & Mercantile Company