Yes, long before Jillian Michaels began losing it, I have been captivated with that sultry, raspy-voiced, blues siren, Beth Hart. Just look at the picture a couple of lines above this text, and the reason is obvious, right? In the most superficial of ways, yes, but what draws me to Beth is the nostalgia her music conjures. When I was fourteen, I began frequenting the underground, back-room blues clubs of my native Deep South. On any given Saturday late-night, the smoke was thick, the bourbon was flowing, and blues legends, both male and female, appeared without notice and poured out their souls to the audience. Those were gut wrenching songs of betrayal and lies, heartache and loss, and yet in momentary personal defeat, their eventual triumph.
Just as in the music performed in the clubs of my youth, Beth’s inspiring journey is personified in her songs. In this episode we talk about her many recent successes, both professionally and personally, and what she had to overcome to get there. What I took personally from our conversation is that when exorcising private demons, you have to look the devil in the eye, but never lose the “spirit of God”.
Yes, in singing the pain out of the blues there lies hope, and in that hope, Hart.