Any color, as long as it’s blues – Jacksonville Journal-Courier

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Many musicians claim their sound to be a something-for-everyone blend of a handful of genres — rock, country, blues, folk, you name it.

Nick Schnebelen claims the blues — and just the blues.

“I’m a blues musician,” Schnebelen said. “I’ve been a blues musician for about 25 years now. I started playing when I was young, with my dad and stuff. I’m such a fan of blues music.”

It’s in his genes.

The Kansas City, Missouri, native’s parents were professional musicians, his dad in a blues band. His grandmother was a jazz singer who performed with Count Basie. The family tracks its musical roots back generations, to violinists living in eastern Europe.

Schnebelen isn’t alone in carrying on the family musical tradition. Before beginning his solo career, he joined his sister, Danielle, and brother, Kris, in the band Trampled Under Foot, which won the 2008 International Blues Challenge. Nick Schnebelen was named best guitarist in that competition.

Though he studied both classical music and jazz in school, it was the blues that stuck with Schnebelen, he said, noting that he plays ’60s throwback blues, ’20s throwback blues, Delta blues, even ’70s and ’80s blues.

“All the different decades of blues,” he said. “You can hear a continuity through all of that. I’ve run across a lot of different blues stuff, so you’re not going to hear just one style. I pick influences from all the different blues genres and wrap them into one.”

The genre speaks to Schnebelen, he said.

“The blues is a language you can hear,” he said, adding that it stands out, even when mixed with other genres.

“There’s the rock side of things,” he said. “A lot of blues artists through the disco period, they had a disco flavor but there was still blues, you can hear the blues.”

Even on the occasions when his music veers off of the blues path, it’s never far away, he said.

“If I go for a rock-y sound, I’m not just a rock band trying to sound like the blues,” he said. “And if I’m going for a blues sound, I call it hard blues.”

Rock ’n’ roll “started out as charged-up blues,” Schnebelen said. “Play a little harder and a little faster, and that became rock ’n’ roll. I think it’s wonderful. But, for me personally, I stick to the blues.”

It seems to be working for him.

Schnebelen has been on tour since February, taking a few short breaks here and there but only recently settling back in at home long enough to consider some yard work, he said. Shows have taken him to the East Coast, the West Coast and the South, and he also was able to play a show at Buddy Guy’s Legends club in Chicago.

“Buddy Guy sat in with us and jammed with us,” Schnebelen said of that show. “He doesn’t always do that.”

Schnebelen also released his first solo album, “Crazy All By Myself,” on March 1 and it debuted on Billboard’s blues charts at No. 13 two weeks later.

“It’s been doing really well on the charts and I’m super proud of that,” Schnebelen said. “It was a lot of work to make the record, and I’m super proud of it.”

The album’s success may tie in to Schnebelen’s own musical comfort level right now.

“I feel like, as an artist, maybe I could say I’ve definitely gotten — in the last four or five years — where I wanted to be on the guitar,” he said, noting that he considers himself blessed to have a great drummer and great bass player rounding out his band. “You can always get better, but this band’s hot right now. We’re really hitting it well, and I’m proud of us.”

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If you go …

Nick Schnebelen will be in concert at 7 p.m. Friday on the downtown Jacksonville square as part of Jacksonville Main Street’s summer concert series. Admission is free. Blankets and lawn chairs are welcome. Food and other vendors will be available starting at 6 p.m. An after-party at Lahey’s will follow the concert.