SHERMAN OF THE BOARD

IT'S 7 A.M. Houston time and Sherman Robertson is sounding disgustingly cheerful.

"Man, I spend 10 months a year on the road, so when I do get the opportunity to be at home with my friends and family, I make the most of it. I'm not much of a drinker and I don't do drugs which means getting out of bed early is no big deal. Hey, this is the best part of the day!".

Despite this commendable display of joi de vivre, I remain unconvinced and thankful that at the other end of a trans-Atlantic telephone line in Dublin, it's a far more civilised 1 o'clock in the afternoon.

"Blues Journeyman" appears on page three of the Rock Writers' Book Of Hoary Old Cliches but, in the Texan guitarist's case, the description is entirely apt. Starting his career at the tender age of 13, Robertson has toured the world with the likes of Bobby Bland, BB King, Lightnin' Hopkins and Albert Collins and, while not quite as famous as some of his contemporaries, is a name that purists hold in high esteem.

"I'm a country boy," he laughs, "and one of my failings is that I'm not very business minded. I've never had trouble climbing up on stage but I have a bit of a blank spot when it comes to lawyers and accountants. That's why it's taken me 10 years to record my new album. I had plenty of offers that people around me thought I was crazy to turn down but I go by my instincts and they didn't feel right."

HAPPY MUSIC

Sherman was eventually persuaded to go back into the studio by Mike Vernon, the hotshot producer behind respected UK specialist imprint Indigo Records. The resulting collection of songs, I'm The Man, establishes him as both an innovator and staunch defender of traditional blues values.

"There are a lot of different styles and elements on this record," he enthuses. "I don't want to just appeal to one section of the blues audience, so there's Texas stuff, modern stuff and a couple of songs that are a throwback to the old days.

"If you come to the Guinness festival, you'll see that I'm a high energy player. I use a little rock, a little rap, and I think that's important because if you're trying to bring youngsters into the fold, the music's gotta be fresh."

How does Sherman Robertson rate the current crop of blues performers?

"They get knocked sometimes but you need the Robert Crays and the Jeff Healys and George Thorogoods of this world to keep the blues alive and make it grow. They play from the heart, which is what it's all about, and I don't subscribe to this theory that 'white men can't sing the blues'. Hank Williams was one of my childhood heroes - he was white and I've never heard anyone to match him."

An interesting observation and one that doubtless explains his past flirtation with country and Zydeco, the Cajun/Creole/swamp blues fusion which he indulged in to good effect during the seventies and eighties.

Regardless of what it might be today, the blues was born out of black poverty and repression - the same bugbears that have motivated Ice-T, NWA, Public Enemy and countless other rappers. If Sherman had been born a couple of decades later, might this be where his allegiances lie?

"That's an interesting question," he laughs, "and the answer is, 'I honestly don't know.' I hear that kind of stuff every day because my 14-year-old son's a big fan. Rap is an expression, same as the blues, but I don't think it's necessarily as musical and I wonder if it'll last as long. That said, there are rap artists I respect and some interesting stuff going down."

Sherman Robertson and his six piece band co-headline the free College Green concert at 7.00pm on Saturday August 14th. which forms the centrepiece of this year's Guinness Temple Bar Blues Festival. With such internationally renowned names as The Groundhogs, Jools Holland & His Big Band, Otis Grand and Big Joe Louis & His Blues Kings also appearing over the course of the weekend and all manner of divilment in the pubs, it promises to be an exhilarating three days.

"We're going to have some fun," Sherman promises. "Texas people are a lot like Irish people - we work hard from Monday to Friday and then, at the weekend, we let our hair down and party. As far as I'm concerned, the blues is happy music. I want my audiences to go home with a smile on their face, you know what I'm saying?"

We read you loud and clear. Cheers!