Robert Randolph gets personal as he heads to Red Hook

During recent tours with Eric Clapton and Santana, Robert Randolph learned a lot about how to write a song. Not that he was a novice before that. Robert Randolph & The Family Band’s Grammy-nominated debut studio album, “Unclassified,” earned the steel pedal guitarist a spot on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003. The band’s latest release, “Colorblind,” showcases a heightened level of songwriting and recording, and Randolph credits his elders with helping him mature.

“Clapton gave me insight on how he wrote songs like ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Layla,’ how he started to understand how the guitar is geared to really help him get melodies and words out and do a lot of different things,” Randolph said.

The funky bluesman chatted with The Wire by phone from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he was in the middle of a summer tour that will bring him to the Red Hook Brewery in Portsmouth on Thursday, Aug. 9. He said watching and talking to veteran musicians like Clapton and Carlos Santana enabled him to absorb a bit of their extensive rock experience.

Randolph and his band, which also includes Marcus Randolph on drums, Danyel Morgan on bass and Jason Crosby on organ and piano, started out playing in churches in urban New Jersey. They later became immersed in the thriving jam band scene in New York, but Randolph eventually returned to his gospel roots to create a new sound, incorporating elements of soul, R&B and rock. The band achieved widespread popularity with its 2002 live recording, “Live at the Wetlands,” and cemented its fame the following year with the release of “Unclassified.”

As he headed into the studio to record “Colorblind” last year, Randolph listened to an expansive cache of classic rock and soul artists like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder and Sly and the Family Stone. A variety of influences manifested themselves in the new songs, ultimately giving the most recent album a timeless sound.

“It’s almost like listening to an old record of Sly Stone, how he had grown through his career to where he started to get to songs like ‘Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself’ and ‘Family Affair,’” Randolph said. “You see how people grow, and for us, we’re still young and we’re still growing, so we just wanted to take that next step.”

Right from the opening gates, “Colorblind” bursts with positive energy and optimism. The opening track, “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” is an intensely upbeat and soulful song with lyrics that promote tolerance and togetherness. These messages, along with love and spirituality, remain prominent themes throughout the album.

According to Randolph, uplifting music is currently in high demand. “We’ve got a lot going on in the world today,” he said. “I mean, yesterday, look at the news. A friggin’ bridge collapsed (in Minneapolis) and people dead and whatnot. Some people need some uplifting of their lives with all this stuff going on.”

Randolph’s gospel roots have led him to cherish the concepts of love and tolerance, and many of the songs on “Colorblind” reflect his church background. While some artists allow record companies to dictate the direction of their music, Randolph believes musicians should use the microphone to deliver positive messages. “Everything’s so segregated now. Every time we look at the news or look at a sports thing, it’s always a black-white issue,” he said. “Sometimes we need to just live life and love everybody and respect everybody and let God be the judge of if we’re right or wrong later on.”

Touring with Clapton also helped Randolph improve his already proficient guitar playing. While many guitarists expend the bulk of their energy launching into self-righteous and orgasmic solos, Randolph has shifted his focus to melodic guitar parts. Under the tutelage of Clapton, he has learned to write guitar melodies with more fluidity and ease, which has equated to better songs. Primarily known for his riveting live performances, Randolph can now also use the studio to showcase his newfound songwriting skills.

Randolph pointed to “Angels” as a demonstration of his more melodic instrumental playing. But make no mistake: the band leader can still wow listeners with flashy pedal steel work. He lets loose during a series of blazing exchanges with Clapton on a cover of “Jesus Is Just Alright,” originally by Arthur Reynolds. The newest CD also features Dave Matthews and others on “Love Is the Only Way.”

In addition to learning about music, Randolph has taken advantage of his time with Clapton and Santana to learn some hard lessons about life as a touring musician. By listening to his musical heroes, he hopes to avoid many of their mistakes. Both Clapton and Santana nearly allowed their drug experimentation to spiral out of control in the late-1960s. Santana advised Randolph not to fall into that trap.

“Here was a guy that was doing every type of drug that he could imagine in his life and was down at a low point, and he finally figured out that there’s more to life than that, and he caught himself,” Randolph said of Santana. He used Santana’s experience to craft the story behind “Deliver Me,” a song about a man who has hit rock bottom and needs deliverance.
Like some of his predecessors, including Ray Charles and Sly Stone, Randolph has managed to fortify his songs with a strong gospel presence, which was once considered off-limits for rock and blues music.

“I think we’re always gonna be compared to Sly Stone because of the fact that he’s a guy who came from church and had a gospel background but also had a big rock ’n’ roll mentality,” Randolph said. “He also had the loud choruses of gospel music and the handclaps and the joy that we come across being in church.” Similarly, he noted, “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” features handclaps and joyous lyrics about coming together.

Randolph said his growth in the studio has had little impact on his live performances, and he still specializes in putting on a thrilling show. During his current tour, he has been mixing songs from “Colorblind” with older compositions, constantly improvising new adaptations to make each song sound fresh. Building on traditional styles and adding new dimensions to music is what drives Randolph to keep playing.

“That’s what I’m all about. I’m all about adding new stuff and using the guitar to just basically put me into a new place musically,” he said. “I’m sure our next record will be 50 times better than this last one.”