Today we’d like to introduce you to Cannonball Red.
Hi Cannonball Red, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Music has been a guiding force of my life from birth. Thoroughly immersed in the realms of gospel and classical music by the age of 13 I had piano, bass guitar and all things percussion under my belt. I listened to bands like Earth Wind & Fire, Parliament Funkadelic, and artists like Prince and Lenny Kravitz. Given my influences, becoming a multi-instrumentalist was inevitable. As I got older, I began to experiment with producing music and learning how to use a mixing board – the background to building sound.
Even with all of that exposure, the one genre I loved the most I didn’t experience until later and that was the Blues. My first introduction to the Blues was with Ray Charles on piano. My grandmother would play his music. When I heard that piano I was locked in and it had my undivided attention. I knew of the Blues greats like BB King, but they didn’t have as much of an impact on me as the piano legends like Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder.
From 2012 to 2017 I was professionally playing piano at church and at different clubs. In 2015 I decided to take guitar more seriously. For one it was a lighter instrument to carry around for gigs but also I was invested in learning and perfecting my craft as an instrumental artist. I was already familiar with the fretboard from knowing the bass guitar so it took dedication and assistance from my guitar mentor, Derek Fewerda to help improve my skill set. I researched and studied all the notable players from Charley Patton, Son House and Robert Johnson to Muddy Waters, Freddie King, and Buddy Guy.
Soon thereafter I formed the band, The Revival. It was a bit of a shaky start, but after some major tweaks and refinement, the band was reborn as The Head Hunters. We’ve begun to make waves in our local blues community, as well as establishing relationships with fellow bluesmen and our tribe of fans that come to our events and showcases. We are member musicians of the Atlanta Blues Society and we are also preparing to release a single that I wrote called “A Little More Room.”
A full-length project will follow in the near future, so be on the lookout!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Getting the lineup of musicians we have now was cosmic coordination. Even prior to The Revival, there are two other bands that I put together that had failed. During my piano days, I had formed the Revamp Music Group, we did mostly R&B covers and played some bars in Atlanta. That group was mostly comprised of some of my buddies from college marching band. After that short run, I connected with a guy named Eddie Brannon on drums and we would grab some guys to come and play with us to try and catch a groove but when Eddie moved to Tennessee I no longer had him on the team. From there I did solo gigs until the formation of The Revival in 2020. The Revival was a 3-piece band with myself on guitar, with a bass and drum combo. Things were going well until we started to deal with unsuccessful rehearsals turning into wasted studio time and missed gigs.
Even The Head Hunters has had a few changes in the lineup. Former Revival drummer Erin Williams stayed and has been with me since 2019. We have Magic Mike Danielson on bass, and rather than harmonica I added another guitar played by Wilbur Lane. This final combination has proven that these musicians are dedicated to the blues and are aligned with my vision for the music and my career as a musician. I’m very grateful for them so I try to make sure they know it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Since 2020, I have been working in the tv and film industry as a sound mixer. I have worked on shows for Tyler Perry, the TLC network, MTV’s Wild N Out, and a host of short films and reality television.
What does success mean to you?
Success is accomplishing my goals and achieving the things I set out to do. Although I do have my eyes on ultimately winning a Grammy, I find success in each hand I shake after I get off of the stage. Each person from the audience comes up to me for a picture, social media follow or a simple smile is the real success. The Head Hunters were the host band for the October monthly gathering for the Atlanta Blues Society and after we finished a man told me that he had seen me play earlier in the year and he had driven 2 hours to come see me play. That’s success for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: cannonballred.com
- Instagram: cannonballred_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087282260185
Image Credits
Photo 1: Sandra Senn Photo 2 & 3: Ki Ren Red Photo 4 & 5: Lexi Coar; Admired Photography
