biographical info
Paul Reddick has been devoted to the study of blues music all his life.
Listening closely to Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson and Howlin’
Wolf, he picked up the harmonica at the age of 12 and had mastered the
instrument by the time he was 15.
Reddick formed groundbreaking blues band The Sidemen in Toronto
in 1990. The Sidemen released 3 albums of original material and spent a
decade touring across Canada.
Paul Reddick + The Sidemen released the critically acclaimed
Rattlebag in 2001. Produced by roots music authority Colin Linden,
Rattlebag is a masterpiece of “hard blues for modern times”. Praise
came in from both sides of the border, along with nominations at the
W.C. Handy Awards and the Juno Awards. The band also won three Maple
Blues Awards in early 2002, including Songwriter of the Year and Album
of the Year. Paul Reddick + The Sidemen toured the US non-stop from
2002-2004.
Rattlebag marked the beginning of Reddick’s serious attempt to
re-work blues traditions with an emphasis on poetic forms and
techniques. Starting at the beginning with the Alan Lomax Field
Recordings, and reaching into the vast body of pre-war music in and
beyond that of the type documented in Harry Smith’s Anthology of
American Folk Music. Reddick has sought to combine the mystery of the
blues artform with the powerful spell cast by poetry.
A musician who loses himself in performance, Paul Reddick lures
the audience into that half-lit blue world he knows so well. A
storyteller, innovator and highly original harmonica-player/vocalist,
his performances are unforgettable.
Paul Reddick teamed up once again with Colin Linden to release
Villanelle in autumn 2004. This widely acclaimed album continues the
Rattlebag journey towards re-styling the traditional; sidestepping
convention it searches further for new possibilities in blues music. In
2007, NorthernBlues released "Revue: The Best of Paul Reddick" which
included a number of previously unreleased tracks and some of his
compelling work with The Rhythm &Truth Brass Band.
The Reddick/Linden partership shines once again on "Sugarbird",
which features first-rate musicians such as Garth Hudson (The Band),
Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits), Hutch Hutchinson (Bonnie Raitt).
lineup
Colin Linden Co-writer/producer/guitarist