The last time I chatted with Curtis Salgado was back in February of 2017 when he was coming to the Time Out Pub in Rockland for a show on March 6 of that year. He was out supporting his newest Alligator album, “The Beautiful Lowdown.” Not long after our conversation I learned that he had undergone quadruple bypass heart surgery, so when I got word that he was going to have a brand new CD out this month, I really wanted to interview him again, especially seeing that it was called “Damage Control.” I reached him at his home in Portland, Oregon, but before I got the chance to question him about that seemingly cryptic title he shared some pertinent information.

Salgado: I was interviewed yesterday and this guy said, “Man, these songs have to do with heart attacks, right?” and I said, “No, sir, they do not have anything to do with that.”

Q: Well, the thing that got me was the fact that some of them did have allusions that one could read that into them, but now that I know that that’s not the case, I stand corrected. Now this new album of yours, is it out already or is it soon-to-be-released?
Salgado: It will be out soon … have you heard any of it?

Q: Oh, yeah — Marc {Lipkin, publicist at Alligator} sent me a link to it so I could listen to it before doing this interview.
Salgado: Alright, cool!

Q: Well, I enjoyed it a lot but it’s not your typical blues album, is it?
Salgado: It’s Americana/singer-songwriter … I’m really proud of Alligator for taking a risk with it, you know, because this is not a blues album.

Q: There are blues overtones to it.
Salgado: Oh, always, you could say the same for almost everything.

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Q: Seeing we haven’t chatted since 2017’s “The Beautiful Lowdown,” when did this new CD start coming together?
Salgado: It started in like 2017. In February I wrote “You’re Gonna Miss My Sorry Ass,” that was when I started writing that. There’s only two songs on this record that I went and set out to make. I wanted to write a rockabilly tune and that’s “… My Sorry Ass,” which has got a Jerry Lee Lewis (feel to it). And the other one is “Hail Mighty Caesar,” and I wrote that in the 90s. I rewrote and rewrote the story line and the music is totally Huey “Piano” Smith out of New Orleans. He did “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” and “High Blood Pressure” {which Salgado sings the chorus of, then adds}, you know that?

Q: Yeah (chuckle).
Salgado: Well, I kind of wanted to rock that and though I lean in that direction it’s never going to be (him), it’s something that helps guide me along. There’s a song on there that’s called “Oh, For The Cry Eye” and there’s this piano player, she’s this young girl about 23 and she’s brilliant and lives here in Portland. I saw her perform and I asked, “Would you write with me?” and she started playing this thing that reminded me of Allen Toussaint immediately, and she’d never heard of him. Well, I started writing a story line and “Oh, for the cry Eye!” is basically something my grandmother used to say, she’s go, “Oh, for the cry eye, Curtis, go dump the garbage, will ya?”

Q: (Chuckle)
Salgado: It’s like an old saying like “You’ve gotta be kidding me” or “Oh, my Lord!” So I wrote that song based on my anger issues. I do have a temper but you don’t see it and a lot of people don’t, but I know I have a temper so that’s what that song’s about. Hold on a second (pause)…

Q: Sure, no problem.
Salgado: So, I generally don’t set out to write something specific, I just kind of let it take form and then it’ll remind me of something or somebody and then I just start writing lyrics and trying to make melodies.  That’s the most important thing, I think, is trying to make the songs catchy and easy to sing. That about covers it, it’s a singer-songwriter/Americana genre, a little bit of everything, that’s just how I write. And you know, all of my records are just like that, I think I’m getting better, though, I’d like to think I’m getting better.

Q: Well, I think next to “The Beautiful Lowdown,” and that one hit me the hardest of the ones of yours that I’ve heard, this new one I put right up there with that one.
Salgado: Well, that’s nice and you’ll get used to this one, too. But for me, I set out to write a rock ‘n’ roll record, I didn’t think Alligator would pick it up, I really didn’t. I thought we were going to be rejected, then we’d have to find another label or put it out ourselves, that’s the truth. And so Alligator had an open mind. I’m glad Bruce {Iglauer, founder of that record label} did, I mean, I like rock ‘n’ roll, I like blues, I like jazz, I like soul, I like gospel so this is what I came up with, and I’m really honored that Alligator picked it up, and they loved it, said “Yeah!”— so cool!

Q: Another aspect of your albums that I really love is that there’s a wide array of moods, and as you alluded to, of genres which makes for a great musical journey, you never know what coming up next. I really don’t care much for going down the same road twice, as it were, and that’s not a problem with what you do, Curtis, that’s for sure.
Salgado: Good!

For more information on Salgado, visit curtissalgado.com

Lucky Clark has spent over 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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