Bad Temper Joe

Biography

If you seek some of Europe's finest blues and roots artists, songwriters and guitarists, look no further than Germany's Bad Temper Joe. While honoring the old bluesmen from the Mississippi Delta, Bad Temper Joe brings the blues into the 21st Century – and does so with excellent songwriting, a powerful performance, and staying true to the tradition.

With songs as raw as they are haunting, the grumpy blues bard has gained attention in the blues scene over the last few years, receiving numerous nominations for blues awards and winning the German Blues Challenge in 2022. But the German has also already been making waves in the international blues scene, and was the only European

Act to reach the finals of the 2020 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. As the British Blues Matters Magazine put it, “It’s hard to believe that the sounds of the Mississippi-Delta have relocated to Germany, but they have.”

“The Acoustic Blues Guitar Revue” spotlights the native Bielefeld artist as a masterful interpreter of traditional blues spanning the 1920s to the 1960s. The album's tracklist reads like a “Who's Who” of blues, featuring songs by Charley Patton, Elizabeth Cotten, R. L. Burnside, Mississippi John Hurt, among others. Bad Temper Joe’s vibrant interpretations of these genre classics brim with playful creativity and a flair for improvisation. With each track, the guitarist delves into the rich potential of his instrument—most often a weissenborn lap steel, a hollow-neck acoustic guitar played flat on the lap with a slide—showcasing his mastery without relying on a rhythm section. And yet, the question arises: This cannot be just Bad Temper Joe with a single guitar! The fact that it is makes it all the more impressive that this album was recorded entirely

live, with no overdubs.

Bad Temper Joe doesn’t simply deliver more renditions of these 60- to 100-year-old compositions as they’ve been heard countless times before. Nor does he dissect the songs into trendy, postmodern, or over-stylized arrangements. Instead, BTJ possesses an uncanny ability to reveal the essence of these songs, performing them in such a way that makes it seem like they were always meant to sound just like this. Armed with just his guitar and voice, the bluesman captivates his audience over the course of the album with a performance that is as varied as it is entertaining and intellectually stimulating. On three tracks, Bad Temper Joe is joined by Marcel Rahe on harmonica, whose virtuoso yet understated playing complements the performance perfectly.

Undeniably, Bad Temper Joe is one of the rare contemporary blues musicians who steps out from the shadow of his influences. Instead of imitating, he has absorbed them so completely that they’ve become the foundation of his own distinctive style. With “The Acoustic Blues Guitar Revue”, BTJ reaffirms his brilliance as an interpreter, his prowess as a vocalist, and his finesse as an instrumentalist. He also showcases his talent as a songwriter with the album’s closing track, the original eight-minute blues epic, “If Tears Were Diamonds”. For anyone seeking an exceptional acoustic blues album but unsure

where to begin—“The Acoustic Blues Guitar Revue” by Bad Temper Joe is the perfect starting point.

Interview

1. Your brand-new album "The Acoustic Blues Guitar Revue" just came out and as we can see it in the titel it is completely acoustic this time. You know me good enough to know that that is my personal preference, but what was for you the motive to go for the acoustic approach this time

I've been wanting to make a back-to-basics record for a long time—just me and my guitar. When I look back at my last few albums, like One Can Wreck It All or Glitter & Blues, they definitely had acoustic elements, but they were built around heavier guitar tones, duo or full-band arrangements, and a fair amount of overdubbing. With this one, I wanted to strip all that away and say: This is me, folks. What you hear is what you get. Each song was played in a single take, no extras added. And even within that stripped-down approach, the album still feels varied. It also gave me space to bring my guitar playing to the forefront—more so than I've done on earlier records—with longer instrumental sections and more room to stretch out. That kind of intimacy really allows the music to breathe.

2. I think it turned out great and my favorites without a doubt are "Freight Train" and "Since I've Laid My Burden Down". That two songs are already a reason to get your album.
Which track means the most to you?

I really like those two as well. Freight Train actually took some time to get right in the studio. If I remember correctly, I recorded quite a few takes before it really clicked and found the right groove. Burden Down, on the other hand, was a first take. I should mention Big River. Marcel's harmonica playing on that one is fantastic. He brings something truly special to every song he plays on.

Some of my personal favorites are Dirt Road Blues, Come On in My Kitchen, and Poor Black Mattie. They're a great example of what this album is about, especially in terms of the arrangements. I never performed those songs at concerts; they were more like private pieces I'd play at home, in hotel rooms, or maybe during soundchecks. I'd mess around with riffs and chord shapes, and when it came time to sing, I just went with whatever lyrics came to mind—usually classic blues lines from whatever I'd been listening to that day. That's really how the arrangements came together. I never planned to rearrange or rewrite any of these blues standards, it just happened naturally. And that's one of the reasons why this album doesn't feel like a cover or a tribute record. These songs feel like mine now. They all mean a lot to me.

3. On a previous album (Songs'N'Slide) you combined forces with Michael Van Merwyk. Michael is a great guy and a wonderful musician. When he came to visit us he brought that album as a present (most people from Germany are bringing presents for us!..). I do enjoy that album a lot. Do you have special memories about that project?

Michael called me up and asked if I'd be interested in making a record together. He also suggested that we play each other's songs, which I thought was a great idea. I felt inspired pretty quickly when I started working on his material. Around that same time, I'd been experimenting with a new tuning on the lap steel (CGCGCD) which was completely new to me back then. A lot of what I play on the record came out of exploring that tuning.

The session itself was a real eye-opener. It showed me that you don't need to spend days in the studio to capture something honest and powerful. We recorded everything in a single afternoon, mostly using first takes. That's very much Michael's approach, and I went along with it. Some of these songs we played together for the first time right there in the studio—and it just worked.

4. Michael told me that when you started playing you watched him play a lot. Are there specific things you have learned from Michael?

Yes, absolutely. To me, Michael is what Son House was to Robert Johnson, or Woody Guthrie was to Bob Dylan. He was the first person I ever saw play lap steel and Weissenborn live. A big part of my slide playing is directly inspired by him. Like Michael, I don't use picks or fingerpicks—I play with my fingers only. But more than any technique, the most important thing I learned from him is this: play what you want to play, and play it the way you feel it.

5. If I'm correct you told me in the past that you started out on squareneck/lapstyle playing before your regular "round neck" adventures. Which do you enjoy playing the most?

Well, it's a bit more complicated. I first tried playing bottleneck slide, but it didn't really work for me because it sounded awful. Then I discovered artists like Kelly Joe Phelps, Harry Manx, Ben Harper, and of course Michael van Merwyk, who all played lap style. I tried it on an acoustic guitar with a nut riser, and it felt much more natural. Years later, I gave bottleneck another shot, experimenting with fretting behind the slide and other techniques. To me, both styles, even though I use the same tuning for each, are completely different approaches.

A few years back, I felt really limited by lap steel and almost stopped playing it altogether. But some songs just fit better in that style, so I kept at it. Eventually, inspiration struck again, and now I have a record out with eight of the ten songs played lap style. When I play with other musicians and accompany their music, I always feel more comfortable playing lap style than bottleneck or even regular guitar. Even though I'm in an open tuning, the fretboard feels completely open to me, and I'm not stuck in one key. That's not always the case when I accompany my own songs, but overall, I feel more at home on a squareneck lap style guitar.

6. Besides your Weissenborn style instruments you also play a lot on the parlor to resonator conversions from Peter Wahl. Can you tell our readers what make that guitars special for you?

Peter's guitars have a truly unique sound, somewhere between a regular acoustic and a resonator guitar. To me, they fit perfectly with my sound. Despite their small bodies, they deliver impressive bass and great volume. Every time I play one of his guitars, I am amazed. Maybe not as much as before, since I am lucky to have a great collection of his instruments now, but whenever I visit Peter and try a newly built guitar, it is always exciting. It makes me smile and want to take that one home with me. That feeling does not happen every time I test a guitar. For me, a guitar has to spark something special, and then it becomes the guitar, no substitute. Peter's guitars have that spark for me every time.

I know some people might not like how he works with old vintage guitars by converting them into resonators, but I believe he is giving those instruments a second life. I have seen some of the raw bodies he starts with, and honestly, most of them would not be usable otherwise.

7. I'm always interested in stories behind the instruments that we have in the shop (I can't help it) and frequently I ask people about their special guitar story. What's yours?

My guitar story is closely tied to Peter and his resonator guitars. I still remember when he called me and asked if I wanted to try his guitars. I was playing a show near his home but couldn't make it to his workshop, so he simply dropped by the concert and brought one of his guitars with him. I played it before and long after the show and was amazed, but I told him I couldn't afford it. He took the guitar back but called me the very next day with an offer I couldn't refuse. That's how I came to own my first guitar from him. Over the years, I visited Peter often, and a great friendship grew between us. I started recording simple demos for his clients who were interested in his guitars but couldn't make the trip to his place. Eventually, he began sharing these demos on his website.

In 2020, I spent more than a week at his place, even helping out on some guitars just for fun. That visit sparked the idea to record an album using only his guitars. By then, I had a collection of five or six of his instruments. That's how One Can Wreck It All came to be, recorded in the fall of that same year. That record is, in many ways, a tribute to Peter's craftsmanship and to our friendship. Without him, I wouldn't have found my sound or be where I am today. I owe a lot to Peter and his wife for their unwavering support of my blues journey.

8. When playing live, what do you love the most; Playing a big fest or a small intimate concert? You have to choose!

That's an easy one! I love small, intimate concerts. Sometimes as cozy as a living room. Small theaters are fantastic too, really any space where people are there to truly listen. Festivals are great when I'm playing with a full band, but I believe my music comes alive best in a smaller, more personal setting.

9. I noticed that recently you played a lot on a cruise ship and visited some beautiful locations. How was that experience for you?

Yes, I do! Actually, I'm just preparing for another two-month cruise adventure. It's a great experience. I usually do about three shows a week in listening rooms, 200-seat theaters, or on some ships even in philharmonic halls with amazing acoustics. Sometimes I perform a few songs in big theaters with up to 1,000 people. It might sound crazy, but I do it for the playing—the traveling to new places is just a nice bonus. I truly believe I've grown as an artist because of these shows. In fact, the idea for The Acoustic Blues Guitar Revue actually came to me on a cruise ship. Last year, my shows even ran under that name, though I hadn't yet played the songs from the record live. But that's where it all started.

That said, it's not all glory. I do miss doing longer tours on the mainland. Playing every night brings a different thrill—working on a setlist, performing in different venues, connecting with new audiences. That's what I love about traveling. Cruise ship gigs are more settled. I know the venue for weeks, and often play for the same audience. So I try to mix up my setlist as much as possible, which is a great challenge. But sometimes, if I don't like the room or the sound isn't great because it wasn't designed for music, I just have to work with it. And unlike other tours, I don't get a fresh start the next day—it's the same place again. Still, it's a constantly evolving business, and who knows what the next year will bring!

10. My last question is Joe, don't you think it's time to visit us again??!

Haha, yeah, it definitely is! I hope to come by sooner rather than later. I just saw you still have that tricone squareneck—I definitely need to try it out! And the twelve-string National looks incredible. I'm really curious how it sounds. Oh, and the Kalamazoo! Right now, I'm on an archtop journey and have been playing my D'Angelico a lot at shows. It would be awesome to try the Kalamazoo next time I visit. Keep them all safe for me until then!