Feel the kick of Mulebone

April 12, 2009

Feel the Kick
of Mulebone

By Rick Coates

When multi-instrumentalist, John Ragusa and roots music specialist Hugh Pool -- collectively known as Mulebone -- make their whirlwind tour across the north next week (with shows at the Cabbage Shed, Beaver Island, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and the Inside Out gallery), they plan on taking their audience on a musical journey to the origins of rock and roll with an exploration of the great blues masters of the past.
“I think every musician starts out getting connected to songs and when they start tracing the lineage of their favorite bands and songs it always leads back to the great blues master of the past,” said Pool. “That is exactly what happened to me. I was in boarding school and came with an interest in the rock music of the day. Well, as I met other students and started listening to their favorite music, I noticed that some of my favorite songs were being performed by other musicians. Then I started doing my homework and found out that my favorite bands were actually playing the songs of these other guys.”
After a disagreement with administrators in college, he was kicked out and decided to head in a different direction.
“I sold everything I owned and with $300 and my guitar in hand moved to New York. A friend had a place for me to stay,” said Pool. “After a week I was broke and without a job. So I grabbed my guitar and headed for the streets and began performing. It is how I survived for four years in New York, living in Harlem.”
His musical approach changed directions when he walked into Tower Records on 4th Street.
“I more or less was looking to go to school—music school that is—so I went in and asked their clerk for the oldest record they had in the store,” said Pool. “It was a 1928 recording by the great blues master Mississippi John Hurt. I went home, put that record on, and it changed me. From there I started taking in all the blues greats of the past.”

BIRTH OF MULEBONE
Pool’s blues guitar wizardry caught on and he started getting indoor gigs around New York City and eventually along the east coast as a solo artist. It was one particular gig 13 years ago that resulted in Mulebone being born.
“John Ragusa was an accomplished musician and also booked musicians at a venue I was performing at for the first time. Well, when I was performing I noticed he had a flute in his hands. So I went up to him after my first set to see what he thought,” said Pool. “He asked me if he could sit in with me on a few songs in the next set. It was fantastic.”
Pool thought that was the end of it.
“I didn’t expect to hear from him and then a couple of weeks later he calls and says he has this gig at this really cool 150-year-old historic inn in Massachusetts and he wanted me to play. I agreed and told my wife about it,” said Pool. “Well it turns out the night of the gig was my first wedding anniversary, so obviously I couldn’t go so I called back to cancel. Well John told me to give him an hour. He calls me back and says the owners are going to provide you with a room for the weekend and a complimentary anniversary dinner. Well, as they say the rest is history.”
Both Pool and Ragusa have several side projects. Ragusa tours with Deepak Chopra performing background music for poetry readings. He also records and tours often with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman (writer and co-writer of several hit songs for Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood and others).
“Not only is John a talented multi-instrumentalist he owns one of the best boutique booking agencies in the country,” said Pool. “Celebrities use his services to book music in for weddings and private parties. He only works with the best of the best. We are best friends, our wives are great friends, and so are our kids. We used to have this four-week summer gig on Nantucket and the families would come along.”
Pool also keeps busy with his Hugh Pool Band—a power trio that is rooted in blues rock that has a big European following. He also owns a popular recording studio in New York and works with several musicians. He is currently producing the new album for actor Michael Pitt.
“I like the balance I have. People say that I never have had a real job and I guess they are right, but I have never had a real vacation either. I work all the time. I support my wife and two kids doing what I do. So I hit the road for a few days and then work in my studio, which is a mile from my house. It is great because I get to be home all the time with my family.”

NORTHBOUND
So how did Mulebone end up with a mini-tour of Northern Michigan?
“Seamus Shinners,” said Pool of the Traverse City music promoter. “He is well known and respected in the industry. We hired this radio guy to promote our record and he did well, as we cracked the Top 100 album charts for 15 weeks and we were played all over the country. He knows Seamus and called him and we played Traverse City last year and it was great.”
Plus, Pool has a connection to Traverse City.
“My nephew used to live there, my wife has family there and my great grandmother lived up in Northern Michigan,” said Pool, who grew up in Pennsylvania. “In fact, her brother was a world famous nature photographer who, back in the very early 1900s, used to use trip wires at night time to take photos of wild animals in Northern Michigan.
Mulebone will perform works from their debut release as well as their forthcoming album due out this summer. The duo’s performance is rooted in works from blues masters and their Northern Michigan tour kicks off Tuesday April 21 at the Cabbage Shed in Elberta. On Wednesday they head to the Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Thursday they perform at the Beaver Island Historical Society. They conclude their tour Friday April 24 with a performance at the Inside Out Gallery. All shows start at 8 p.m.; contact the venues for ticket prices. For a sampling of Mulebone, check out myspace.com/mulebonemusic.com.
kl