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"I HAVEN'T ONLY PLAYED THE BLUES-I'VE LIVED THEM"Michael Packer is a gifted guitarist with a unique style. He leads his Michael Packer Blues Band, which plays regularly around New York City. He is also the music manager for The Real McCoy, and he gave us an extensive interview, in which he tells of his life and career.
A bass player myself, I more than once had the opportunity to jam alongside Michael Packer during some Blues Jams at the Real McCoy, where he manages the music and the blues jams there, which happen every Thursday. Michael Packer has had a long career in and out of New York. He recorded with two bands, releasing a number of albums in the early and mid-seventies. He overcame the alcoholism that almost destroyed his life, and later sobered up, thanking his cure to the power of music - a gift he knows he has and definitely does not want to waste. Michael Packer granted us an interview, in which he talked about his beginnings as a young musician, his recording career, his bad times and his life as a Staten Island musician in the 21st Century. Mike Packer was born in Manhattan, where he learned to play guitar at the tender age of twelve. "There was this painter who was working in my mother's apartment", says Packer. "There was this guitar laying there, and he put the strings on it, and he also introduced me to a six-pack, which I enjoyed a lot at the time." Mike was initially influenced by Bob Dylan, The Doors and that strange British band , The Beatles. He was also a big fan of Thelonious Monk, the legendary jazz pianist. "I recall writing songs with a Dylanesque style back then", he says. He quickly became a professional musician, and was already playing gigs at the time he got to high school. His first band, Papa Nebo, included saxophonist Bob Mintzo and recorded an album for Atlantic Records in 1971. The music they did was, in Mike's words, "a blend of jazz, country and rock." Unfortunately, after the record came out, they disbanded due to "personal and professional differences. Later that year, Michael moved to San Francisco, where he met George Throughgood. He played with him in that city's streets, and they also did some club dates together. Back to New York in 1973, Mike started, with Sandy Allen (vocals, bass, guitar) and Robert Caleb Potter (vocals,guitar), a band called Free Beer. With that band, he recorded three albums: The first one for Buddha Records and two for RCA records. They toured nationally, were featured on Rolling Stone magazine and one of their singles, "Queen of The Purple Sage", reached # 118 on Billboard. Free Beer toured nationally, and opened for Atlanta Rhythm Section, comedian Steve Martin and others. Although their style was what was then called "progressive country", Michael says his compositions were already blues-oriented - something he picked up by playing with George Throughgood. They disbanded in 1978 due to internal conflicts, and Michael Packer moved to Lake Placid, New York, where he played by himself and opened for John Hammond Jr. Mike then moved again - this time to Albany, where in 1983 he started The Michael Packer Blues Band, and recorded a single that got local airplay. At around that time, he also played with Matt 'Guitar' Murphy (of The Blues Brothers) and his band. 1984 saw Mike Packer in Boston. There he fronted a band called "Coolstep", that toured regionally and opened for Huey Lewis & The News ("The Power of Love"). While he was in the band, they sold out a club called "The 7th Avenue South." New Yorkers can't really stay away from their hometown, and that is also true for Mike Packer. In 1986, he quit Coolstep and returned, where he started "Packer's Blues", that played local clubs and opened for Son Seals and Richie Havens. "I don't only play the blues, but I've lived the blues", says Packer of himself. At that time, his drinking escalated, and that led him to the darkness. His alcoholism led him to lose his home and found him living in the streets, where he reached a desperate situation in which he wound up doing time. After he returned from "somewhere else", he briefly continued into his drinking, until he realized that his music was "a gift that could not be wasted", so he decided to sober up and checked into rehab at Project Hospitality at South Beach, where they take special interest in people. He has resided on Staten Island ever since. "I like it here. I like the rent, the people, everything", he says. "Staten Island has treated me very well". For the last six years, his Michael Packer Blues Band has been performing regularly at Chicago B.L.U.E.S, where he also runs the Blues Jam. They will be opening for Lee Van Helm there early in May. He has also founded his own label, Windmill Music, which is a promotional label for himself, and that also represents local artists such as local band PR3 and guitarist Jenn Sharken. Packer has a CD coming out in the summer under the Austin, Texas Halt Music label. I asked him how he got involved with managing the musical bookings at The Real McCoy: He was walking by and saw the place, which was then still under construction. Josh (the bar's owner) then invited him to play on St. Patrick's Day 2000, and after the performance, when he played solo, Josh invited him to run the music at his pub. I asked him how he feels about being on the other side of the business, booking and rejecting groups for presentations. "I try not to discourage people who audition here, and I try to give them advice about their playing" says Mike. "Music is about having fun, so you don't want to give a fully negative feedback to people for trying to play. At the Real McCoy, bands are free to their thing, so I don't interfere with their playing." After all those years and ups and downs, what does Michael Packer have to say to young musicians who are beginning their music careers? "Have fun," he says. "Music is fun - it's not competition, and it's not about being a star - it's simply about having a good time. Ernest Barteldes is a language teacher resident on St. George. He is also a freelance writer, and he has regularly contributed to The Staten Island Advance, The Staten Island Register, The Greenwich Village Gazette, Brazzil (in Los Angeles), The Downtown Express and also other articles (in Portuguese) for numerous Brazilian publications. He is also a musician, and he is a bassist with Beatles Cover band Plastic Sole, which has several gigs scheduled for Staten Island, Brooklyn and Manhattan. READ LAST WEEK'S A writer needs feedback in order to write properly.
Please send feedback to: ebarteldes@nycny.net
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richard e. schiff,
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ichael Packer is
one of those rare bluesmen that mesmerize the listener when he picks up
his guitar. His style is unique, and his flawless, confident playing
reminds us of the late Stevie 'Ray' Vaughan, who died in 1990 in a
helicopter crash in Alpine Valley, Colorado.
