By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-881426.mp3
Memphis, TN – The legendary Beale Street is hopping this weekend with blues musicians from all over the world. WKNO's Candice Ludlow went to the New Daisy Theater to catch the 26th annual International Blues Challenge kick-off last night. There, she met a blues singer from West Africa.
I caught up with Alain Apaloo in front of the New Daisy just minutes after his set.
"I have to pinch myself, and like everyday and is this really true? It's like a dream come true, ya know?"
Alain Apaloo has always wanted to come to Memphis.
"Taking a walk on Beale Street and listening to bands playing in the BB King Club. It's wonderful, just wonderful. Somehow I think that's why I have to be here. Not for the competition, not for winning, but to be here and have this experience. So I'm very happy about it, very."
Apaloo didn't come to Memphis from West Africa. He came in from Denmark, where he's lived for the past decade, playing at Mojo's Blues Bar in Copenhagen. He's played all kinds of music, and says
The blues is just the roots of all music.
"When I'm playing then I get away from all this around me, and it's a nice place to be. For instance, tonight I was very nervous. But once I started playing, I stopped shaking. When I finished playing, then I'm shaking. And I start the next song, and the same thing."
"And then I tried to like really do it for real, and try to play like the masters and stuff. I never could really sound like that. Without really thinking about it, I forged my own style."
"I'll have to say that I'm really happy to be here. I like this showcase because it gives me the chance, I feel a bit more at ease, I have an idea of what it can be like tomorrow. That can calm my nerves down so I don't play safe tomorrow, so I play music to my audience. That's what it's all about."
The Blues Foundation is the host of the International Blues Challenge. Go to their website for more information: http://www.blues.org