Sean Chambers clearly remembers the moment. He was 15 years old, riding shotgun in his buddy’s green Pinto — just two kids off on an adventure to explore the night. Then, his friend inserted a cassette into the car’s player. It was Jimi Hendrix. The song was “Red House,” one of the most electric blues songs that Hendrix ever recorded. And just like that, traveling down that road, the direction of Chambers’ life changed forever.
“I had started taking guitar lessons earlier that my parents were paying for, but I hated the music they were making me learn,” he recalls. “So I started learning on my own, playing the songs I loved. But when ‘Red House’ came on, well, I had never heard anybody play guitar like that before. The hair on my arms stood up. I was like, what is that incredible sound? It was the first blues tune I’d ever heard and that day, I knew I wanted to play the blues.”
And play the blues Sean Chambers has done, to the tune of seven albums (his newest released October 19), national and international tours, and the high praise of being called “one of the top 50 blues guitarists of the past 100 years” by Guitarist magazine. And yes, this extraordinary talent can be found in our own backyard, calling Fort Myers home since 2012.
For the record, Guitarist magazine isn’t the only member of the media that have come to discover and sings the praises of Sean Chambers. He’s been acclaimed in USA Today, Guitar Player magazine, Vintage Guitar magazine and more. His albums and songs have soared high on the Billboard charts, been nominated and named “Best Blues Album of the Year,” and played extensively on BB King’s “Bluesville” on Sirius XM radio.
That’s a long journey from a green Pinto almost 35 years ago, and the road he traveled to his artistic success today was, yes, long and winding and occasionally bumpy. In fact, it wasn’t until Chambers was almost 30 years old before he recorded his first album.
“When ‘Red House’ came on, well, I had never heard anybody play guitar like that before. The hair on my arms stood up. I was like, what is that incredible sound?”
“I was really drawn to the Texas blues artists as I was growing as a guitarist,” he says. “Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Albert Collins, Freddie King. In fact, a year after he died I was invited to lead a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute with my band. When I learned the proceeds went to his Memorial Foundation, I said yes and it was really successful. At the same time, I knew I wanted to create my own identity and finally, with the release of Strong Temptation in 1998, I had put my name on my own music.”
The next time Chambers said “yes” was shortly after his first album debuted, when he had the opportunity to play with blues great Hubert Sumlin (guitarist for the legendary Howlin’ Wolf). The two connected so well that Chambers led Sumlin’s band for more than four years, learning invaluable life lessons “about the real blues, life on the road and staying humble” as they toured the world.
In between it all, more blues albums and more touring followed for a good decade. Then one day, answering a call to audition for the classic Southern rock band Blackfoot in 2012, the course of Chambers’ life took another unexpected direction — this time, by a stylist Blackfoot had employed to evaluate the quality of his “rock hair.” Instead, she found his appearance and stage persona just fine.
Play the blues Sean Chambers has done, to the tune of seven albums (his newest released October 19), national and international tours, and the high praise of being called “one of the top 50 blues guitarists of the past 100 years.”
“They were talking about hair extensions and all I’m thinking is, thank you Karen,” he remembers. “Anyway, that’s how we met.” And that’s how Chambers came to call Fort Myers home, as he and Karen married and they relocated here, to her home.
While Chambers is planning his next tour following the October release of Welcome to My Blues — which will see him traveling the East Coast, Midwest and Europe — he can also be enjoyed locally at venues such as Buckingham Blues Bar and the Barrel Room in Fort Myers.
“Most of my influences are guitar slingers, so that’s what you’ll hear,” he says. “I love doing those slow burnin’ blues. The blues scene in Southwest Florida is solid and it’s growing. And yes, it’s also a great place to live.”
{ www.SeanChambers.com }
by John Sprecher