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THE BITS INTERVIEW: RANDY JACOBS

Guitarist Randy Jacobs has a list of credits a mile long. The Detroit native's career goes

back over 40 years and includes just about every genre there is - including a few years
with Bonnie Raitt here, a couple with Paul Kelly there, etc. A guy doesn't get asked to
play with the likes of Michael Henderson, Seal, Tears For Fears and Bruce Hornsby if he
doesn't know what he's doing. But he may be best known as a member of the wholly
unique supergroup Was (Not Was). He even co-wrote their biggest hit "Walk The

Dinosaur." These days, when he isn't recruited to work with Depeche Mode or General
Public, he's focused on his blues rock group with saxophonist Mindi Abair the
Boneshakers. They just released a solid new album, No Good Deed, a couple weeks ago.
Settle in and hear many stories from a guy who's been in the game longer than some of

us have been alive!

BiTS: Hello, Randy?

RJ: Yes, that’s me.BiTS: It’s Ian McKenzie, Randy.

RJ: How are you doing, sir?

BiTS: Thank you very much indeed for
agreeing to do this now. Let’s get right on and
make a start on the interview. Tell me
something about your upbringing. How did
you start to play the guitar?

RJ: It was like a lot of people in my
neighbourhood played. It was like anything,
you know, I was affected by The Beatles on
TV. Ed Sullivan show. I remember seeing
people play on TV, and I thought, wow! You
know what I mean? That’s such a cool thing.
I mean, from when I was very little, but I
didn’t have a guitar until I was about 13. A
neighbour, a friend of mine, his mother
played folk music and that was how it sort of

started. Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary.
Burl Ives, that kind of stuff and then she had
some records, TaJ Mahal’s first record. She
had that stuff and that really interested me
hearing guys play that way, more like blues, you know what I’m saying? More like what I call
advanced blues. Taj Mahal was sort of like advanced.

BiTS: This was in Detroit, Randy, yes?

RJ: Mm-hmm, this was in Detroit. Mrs Joan Malishky led me down the path to music. She took
me to see Josh White Jr and once I’d learned enough chords, I went with her and I would play
with her. You’d play hootenannies with her, was what they used to call them back then. But