Bruce Zimmerman

My first really good guitar was a Gibson SG Junior. My brother and I hired out chopping cotton and saved our money and bought it together in 1963. We still take turns trading it back and forth. - Bruce Zimmerman

Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer

(seMissourian)

(Blues, Rock / Cape Girardeau, MO)

Interview by Randy Mallett

February 2010

BP: Local legend Bruce Zimmerman... my friend, how goes it?

BZ: Great, every day above ground is a good day.

BP: I'm pretty sure everyone within 100 miles of Cape knows who you are,

but for those outside of that radius, tell us a little about yourself.

BZ: I'm pretty much your average guy...wife, kids, grandkids. I just happen to

play guitar. I think where I came from has a lot to do with who I am today. I was

born on the family farm in Bernie, MO in 1951 on Zimmerman Lane. My parents

still live in the house I was born in. My grandfather lived an eighth of a mile down

the road. He bought the farm during the depression for taxes. I remember he

still farmed with mules when I was a small boy. My dad had a little Massey

Ferguson tractor and some one and two row equipment and we always had

a milk cow or two, and few hogs and chickens.

I was the youngest of three kids. I have an older brother and sister and we all

about two years apart. We had chores to do everyday. Taking care of the livestock,

gathering eggs, milking the cows and such. We grew cotton, corn, hay, watermelons and

such. I chopped a lot of cotton and picked cotton too. My dad also played guitar and bass. He

still plays in a gospel group to this day. He is 81 and still plays two or three times a week. When I was about five he started showing me and my brother a few simple songs and chords. We picked up on it pretty quick and by the time I was nine my brother and I had a working band with two of our cousins called The Four Z's. We later added a drummer and changed our name to The Blazers. I played in that band untill I was about fourteen. We played talent shows, county fairs, grand openings and stuff like that. In high school I started putting together bands with some of my friends from school. I went on the road after high school and was on the road a lot for the next twenty years ocassionally coming back and doing house gigs in the area. I think I have about 28 states and six countries under my road belt.

BP: You're one of Cape Girardeau's longest lasting acts it seems. What is the glue that holds the band together? (And let me know which brand of glue you use - a lot of other bands in this area need to know) lol.

BZ: Well I can tell you one thing. It is not Gorilla glue. First of all they have to have the right kind of personalilty for me to work with them. That comes before talent. It has to be someone everyone can get along with and you can depend on. The other thing I do is try to have faith in their abilities. I leave them alone and let them find their own way to play the songs. I am not one of those guys who says you're doing this wrong or that wrong. If it doesn't sound right they usually figure it out on their own.

BP: Let's talk about some more about some of your bandmates. Who are they and what do they play?

BZ: Scott Bierschwal (Scotty B.) plays keyboards. In my opinon there is no one in the area that can touch him. He spent years on the road doing mostly the casino and hotel circuit. One of nicest guys you will ever meet and an amazing musician. You just can't loose him on a song.

Ralph Macdonald on sax. I call Ralph my righthand man. He played in Vegas for years before moving back here to be around his family. He has been with me the longest of any of my band members. His style is different from other sax players I've worked with because he is self-taught. He is more Motown than Jazz I think and he plays these little background parts that just bring a song to life.

Ken Keller is my bassist. He is just a monster on that thing. He also owns and operates IBS Studios where I record all of my stuff. He is a great engineer too. Ken and I also do a lot of duo gigs outside of the band.

BP: Tell us about some of your influences growing up.

BZ: Country music on the radio was the first. We didn't have a TV and we listened to the Grand Ole Opry shows being broadcast live and Blues out of WLS out of Chicago. I get asked this question a lot and I think most people expect you to answer everything from Hank Williams to the Beatles. All of that certainly did influence me but more that that it has always been local musicians. My dad played bass in the house band at the Bootheel Jamboree and he always had great musicians coming by the house to jam or rehearse. I would just be glued to these guys and I would try to copy what they did. Throughout the years other musicians I have worked with have influenced me more that anything else. I played in a house band at the Cotton Club in Truman, AR when I was in my early 20's with Richard Yarbrough who now lives in Poplar Bluff and is a paramedic. He very seldom plays anymore but he is one of the best Blues singers there ever was. A lot of my singing style was influenced by him. Another musician who influenced my guitar style a lot was Bob Ash. This is really odd because I taught him how to play when we were in the 7th grade. He got really good really quick, and later as adults we ended up playing in a two-guitar band for six years. We influenced each others styles a lot... a whole lot.

BP: What was your first guitar? And do you still have it?

BZ: My first guitar was a small Gibson acoustic Model L 00. It was given to me by a friend of my aunt when I was five. It was busted down the back and rattled like crazy. When I started actually playing my Dad got me a better one. My first electric guitar was a Danelectro. I bought one identical to it when they reissued them a few years ago. My first really good guitar was a Gibson SG Junior. My brother and I hired out chopping cotton and saved our money and bought it together when I was eleven years old in 1963. We still have that guitar and my brother and I still take turns trading it back and forth. He has it right now.

BP: Tell us about Port Cape. Your favorite venue to perform at?

BZ: Yeah I would have to say it is my favorite. The attmosphere is just so intimate there and I have a lot of loyal fans that come to hear us play. I've played there for so many years that it feels like home

BP: I know you've been playing for a "few" years now and countless shows, but if you had to pick one memorable gig - perhaps your favorite gig of all time - which one was it?

BZ. Wow, It's hard to pick one out of thousands but there are a few that stand out. My first big gig was when I was thirteen with the Blazers. There use to be a television show called Ted Mac's Amature Hour. It was the American Idol of that time. They used to hold talent shows all across the country and have talent scouts there. We won some talent shows on the local and state level and then went to Memphis to the Mid South Fair to compete in the nationals. That was the first time I played a really big venue in front of thousands of people. I was scared to death but also very excited. When I heard the cheers from the audience I was hooked forever. We didn't get on the TV show but placed high enough that we won some money and a demo session at Sun Studios so I got to record at Sun and Sam Phillips engineered the session. We sounded like The Chipmunks because we were so young but it had that Sun sound with the slapback echo and such. Sadly that demo dissapeared somewhere along the line. I would give anything to still have it.

Some others that stand out were gigs I played as an adult with artists that were an inspiration when I was growing up. Rufus Thomas, Narvel Felts, Snookie Pryer.

There are some that stand out for no reason other than the band just clicked. I remember playing a gig at Broussards when I was playing with Whitey and Slick probably around '87 or '88 when the band was so locked in that it felt like one enity instead of bunch of musicians. We were so locked in and playing on automatic pilot that it felt like I was somewhere else just watching it happen rather than actually playing it. That was the closest I ever came to an out of body experience. I don't even think we had a very big crowd that night but the music was tight. I will never forget that feeling.

BP: How much of a treat is it to play the City of Roses (aka River City Music Festival) every year?

BZ: I love the festival. I think it's great how all the musicians from the different genres come together and I feel like I get to give a little back to all the fans that give so much to me.

BP: Who are some of your favorite bands in the area?

BZ: I love The Melroys. Mike Enderle and Gregg Hopkins are old bandmates. We played together in The Fad back in the 80's. I also had them play on "Songs About Cadillacs"... on my CD. Etherton Switch is a great bluegrass band and I like. Ivas Johns for Blues.

BP: What would you change about the local music scene, or the nightlife in downtown Cape Girardeau?

BZ: I hear a lot of people complain about the scene here but I have been to a lot of places and for a town this size it really is pretty good. I've talked to a lot of road musicians passing through that thought the scene here was great. I would like to see more happening throught the week and not just the weekends. I would also like to see it spread out a little more over the area. It seems like if it anyone tries to promote any venues that aren't in a two block area downtown they have a lot harder time trying to make it successful.

BP: When can we expect another cd from you Bruce? And where can someone purchase your older releases?

BZ: I hope to have a new one out by the Fall. You can buy my current CD's locally at P-Mac and Hastings in Cape or through my MySpace website.

BP: Anything else you want to tell the fans?

BZ: Just how thankfull I am for all the years of support. It sure is a lot more fun playing when you're there.

BP: Ok Bruce you're off the hook! Thanks for the interview. You're truly an inspiration to so many other artists in the area, so keep up the fantastic work. And for all of those who are not into the young, screaming, heavy metal bands that saturate the clubs and bars on weekends, and just want to relax and hear some good tunes, please go check out Bruce Zimmerman and the Waterstreet Band. You'll become a fan for life.