Grant Dermody and Frank Fotusky are Making a Scene

January 15, 2022

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Grant Dermody

Frank Fotusky

Making a Scene Presents an interview with Grant Dermody and Frank Fotusky

Grant Dermody

Growing up in Seattle, he was given his first harmonica by his father at age 18. Jimmy Reed, Little Walter Jacobs, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Walter Horton offered his initial introduction to the blues, but it was seeing Sonny Terry and James Cotton live that showed him the huge sound and wide emotional range that the harmonica was capable of getting. After initially delving into electric blues, he soon found himself drawn more to acoustic sounds and a format consisting of harp, guitar, fiddle and mandolin.

After an extended sojourn to Alaska, Dermody returned to Seattle and studied with author/musician Kim Field who, in turn, encouraged him to investigate the sounds of Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Big Walter. “Kim showed me what good sounded like, sitting right across from you. He had that big, wide open tone, and he had the Chicago tongue-blocked vamping sound as well, he knew how to make it swing,” Dermody says in retrospect.

Dermody soon connected with a band called The Improbabillies, with whom he recorded a self-titled album in 1998. He later produced two ensemble efforts, Crossing That River (featuring 16 musicians) in 2003, followed by his sophomore set, Lay Down My Burden (which included 26 guest artists) in 2010. The latter was recorded at seven different studios. Sadly, Lay Down My Burden marked the final recording of the legendary blues guitarist John Cephas, who duetted with Dermody for a sizzling live take on Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.”

“It was just a duo, him and me,” Dermody says of that session. “We recorded it in Port Townsend when we were teaching at Blues Week. We got it live in just two takes.”

In 2015, Dermody released Sun Might Shine on Me, a critically acclaimed effort that found him making his initial pilgrimage to Dirk Powell’s Breaux Bridge, Louisiana studio facility where he recorded with a core group of three musicians — Dermody. Powell, and Orville Johnson. Other musicians, including Cedric Watson, Rich Del Grosso and Jockey Etienne were brought in for added embellishment. The album was recorded mostly live in five days at Powell’s studio.

For the past 14 years, Dermody has had opportunity to play and record with some of the best in the business. He’s toured the U.S. and Europe, both on his own and in tandem with an ongoing trio that includes Orville Johnson and John Miller. The group has recorded two albums to date, Deceiving Blues in 2006, and We Heard the Voice of a Porkchop, released in 2011. A new effort by The Improbabillies and a duo effort with long-time musical colleague and acclaimed guitarist Frank Fotusky are also scheduled for release in the near future.

Frank Fotusky

Frank Fotusky plays Acoustic Blues in the style reminiscent of the great East Coast “Piedmont” players such as Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Boy Fuller, John Jackson, Blind Willie McTell to name a few. A majority of his material is culled from the ’20’s, ’30’s and ’40’s and Acoustic Blues and Guitar Rags are the foundation of his music. Along with this repertoire, his original compositions are rooted in this era and still carry a contemporary feel. East coast or “Piedmont Blues,” as it is so often called, consists of sophisticated syncopation with fingerpicked guitar. The result is a sound that resembles that of the ragtime piano.

Frank has performed with Virginia Bluesman John Jackson, Paul Geremia, Roy Book Binder, Hubert Sumlin and has been festival headliner in his own right. BLUES ACCESS has said, “(Frank) offers a sparkling guitar sound on fine Piedmont-style blues and rags….Fotusky’s clean fingering draws you in and projects the music, which would be somber in other hands, out.” In the fall of 1999, Frank released his first CD “TEASIN’ THE FRETS” to widespread critical acclaim.BLUES REVUE stated, “Thirteen heartfelt cuts…played and sung with care and emotion.” Tom Olson from the Blues Connection said, “Frank understands and plays the music authentically,” and BIG CITY BLUES offered, “This is a player that would be welcomed on any porch, front or back!”

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