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Celestial Soulman Shuggie Otis Continues Comeback – The Austin Chronicle
“My first experience being around musicians happened at my own house with my father’s band,” recalls Shuggie Otis, born Johnny Alexander Veliotes Jr. “I was probably about 3 or 4 years old and they would rehearse every weekend. They’d play R&B, rock & roll, and blues. Rock & roll had just come out then. They were some of the first ones to do it.
…Otis swears his guitar chops have never been better and he gets giddy talking about a forthcoming album of new material on Cleopatra Records.
“I feel a spiritual connection for doing this music where, when I was younger, I would deny sharing any sort of personal experience that would be emotional at all. I was too insecure. I had a lot of hang-ups. I think I’m on a better path now, and every day you learn something new.
Read more at The Austin Chronicle.
Photo by Sandy Carson
Shuggie Otis New Interview By The Houston Press
At 61, Shuggie Otis is still restless and still inspired. Otis, who comes to the Continental Club Friday night, is experiencing a resurgence of his career with a new record deal with Los Angeles’ Cleopatra Records, and he is embarking on an extended tour that will see him pretty much cover the nation in the next two months.
“Man, I’ve got this great new band and I’m so excited to be back playing live,” says Otis from his L.A. home. “We’ve done three gigs so far, and people seem to love it.”
…”I love to travel, and in my early career a lot of times conditions just weren’t right for me to do a lot of touring on my own,” he said. “I’ve played for the door, taken my chances, but I didn’t always necessarily have the chance to play the way I wanted to. But now Universal Attractions has taken an interest in me and they’ve put together a really nice month-long tour of the States with good venues, good stages, and I’m honestly just very happy and excited. I really love it. If this goes well, we’ll probably do a European tour later this year.”
Read more at the Houston Press.
Photo by Arnie Goodman/Courtesy of Glass Onyon PR
Shuggie Otis Interview Videos – ‘Aht Uh Mi Hed’ & ‘Not Available’
Here are new interview clips with Shuggie Otis discussing the songs “Aht Uh Mi Hed” and “Not Available” from the album Inspiration Information, which was reissued this week as the 2CD set Inspiration Information/Wings Of Love, available now at Amazon and iTunes. You can also check out a recent print interview with Shuggie at Time Out New York.
Shuggie Otis Remembers Meeting Jimi Hendrix – Ultimate Classic Rock
Psychedelic soul man Shuggie Otis was once thought of as the heir apparent to Jimi Hendrix, and in a new interview, he recalls meeting the surprisingly introverted guitar hero at an in-store autograph signing in Los Angeles — where he had to force the reluctant guitarist to shake his hand.
In a clip at Ultimate Classic Rock, Otis recalls meeting his own favorite guitar player — Hendrix — whom he had seen three times in concert. “He was signing autographs at this record store, and so me and my brother-in-law went down there,” he reminisces. “He was real quiet; he didn’t speak to anyone. So I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey, I just wanted to say hi, man.’ …“I had to grab his hand to shake it; his hand was just kinda angling out there,” the guitarist adds. “But he was nice to me. That was really a highlight. I got to meet one of my idols.”