Gene Holmes. Photo: David Olsen
Tucson musician Gene Holmes has many stories to tell, yet he's not one to brag. His rock solid guitar playing is what garners the attention; after all, that's what got him into Little Richard's band back in the 60s.
"A lot of people around here think of him as a country guitarist, but his forte is actually as a super soulful blues player," says band mate Louie Levinson about Holmes. "I don't think he's gotten the recognition he deserves for his history and talent."
Gene Holmes currently holds down the lead guitar spot in the country rock outfit, Cochise County All Stars. The band consists of Holmes on lead electric guitar, Levinson on pedal steel and vocals, singer-songwriter Sabra Faulk on bass and vocals, and Ralph Gilmore on drums.
Gene's story begins in Columbus, Mississippi, where he grew up in a musical family. His grandfather was a square dance fiddler, and "my mom was a great Delta blues harp player who taught me harmonica," Holmes recounts. When Gene was 15, however, he "picked up the guitar and never touched that harp again."
Soon, Holmes met fellow Mississippian Chris Ethridge (who went on to be the original bassist in the Flying Burrito Brothers), and started a band with him. Their first gigs were in nearby Biloxi, MS, where they opened for a band called Allman Joy.
"That was the first incarnation of The Allman Brothers," Gene recalls. "I mainly remember Gregg and his heavy blues vocal delivery. He had it from the beginning."
When he was 20, Gene took a Greyhound to L.A. "to play music; to be a star. I went with a friend of mine, and we knew absolutely no one. I think I had less than $5 in my pocket when we got to town. We literally starved for awhile; definitely paid our dues." But all the scraping by and digging up gigs started to make Gene some new contacts.
One night after a show, Gene met big-time record producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. "He liked my playing and asked me to play on some demos." Gene recorded a single with Motown star Mary Wells. "Bumps gave that record to (Little) Richard; that's when Richard first heard me and asked me to be in his band."
Gene played with Little Richard in the 1969 Toronto "Rock and Roll Revival" show, which included a surprise appearance by the Plastic Ono Band (John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Eric Clapton on guitar). Other performers on the bill included Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Joe White, Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. Gene "played off and on" with Richard until about 1973; in 1980, he had his last gig with Little Richard, at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A., "during Richard's gospel period."
Holmes spent 16 years in L.A., entrenched in playing music. He got itchy feet and traveled for a few years, then ended up in Phoenix, where he married a Tucson girl. "That's the short version of how I got here," he laughs.
Deeply rooted in the blues tradition, Gene is a multi-faceted player, equally at home with jazz, rock, country and pop. "My first love is really the blues, and we're incorporating more blues into what we do (with the All Stars)." In addition to the All Stars, he enjoys playing with Jo Wilkinson and Grains of Sand.
Catch Gene with Jo Wilkinson and Grains of Sand on Sun, Oct 4 at Old Town Artisans and with Cochise County All Stars Fri, Oct 9 at the Steak Out in Marana; Sun, Oct 17 at the 17th Street Market; Sun, Oct 18 at the Shorty Stubbs Memorial at The Hut; Fri, Oct 30 at Maynard's.
