DEBBIE DAVIES INTERVIEW
(Originally aired on July 19, 2012)
Debbie Davies' parents were professional musicians, and she grew up listening to the big band jazz and R&B that was in their extensive record collection. But when the young Davies heard Eric Clapton's fiery solos on the Blues Breakers album - the debut by John Mayall and his ace band - she was hooked on loud electric guitar. Davies cut her teeth playing in blues and rock bands in the San Francisco area, and in 1984, she landed the lead guitar spot in Maggie Mayall and the Cadillacs, an all-female band led by John Mayall's wife. In 1988 Albert Collins invited Davies to join his band the Icebreakers, and for the next three years she was a featured guitarist performing behind one of the most innovative bluesmen of all time. During her tenure with Collins, she played on his 1991 Grammy-nominated Iceman. Over the years, Davies has shared the stage with such blues luminaries as Robert Cray, Koko Taylor, Duke Robillard, John Mayall, and Buddy Guy.
Davies released her first solo album, Picture This, in 1993, and as of 2012 had produced eleven solo recordings and two collaborative CDs - one with guitarists Tab Benoit and Kenny Neal, and another with guitarists Anson Funderburgh and Otis Grand. In our exclusive interview, Davies describes recording her 2012 album, After The Fall, and takes us inside her creative process. We'll hear selections from After The Fall throughout the feature.