Stub Lee on Becoming a Musician

First, I’m not not sure that you actually just “become” a musician. You don’t look at the calendar and pick a date for it to happen. It just kind of happens. It’s a progression from being a passive listener to playing, as a sort of fan - to playing, writing, and performing.

I’ve always loved music, listened, played and sang since I was a kid. Most of us had dreams of being a star and thought about what that would be like, ya know? The fame, the money, the girls. Well, for some that works, for others (like me) it was only a dream that fell by the wayside. Maybe I didn’t want it bad enough, or maybe I felt I wasn’t good enough. Nobody’s fault but mine.

Now that I'm over fifty, I wanted to pursue music for other reasons. It’s a creative release, I have tunes and songs and feelings that are in my head that need to come out. I want to leave a legacy to my kids and grand kids. I want them to know another part of my story, my life. Maybe I’ll have some influence on them to be creative.

Another reason I'm doing this late in the game of my life is that like most of us nobody wants to be forgotten too soon. Pretty narcissistic I guess, but I just want to be relevant in later generations as well as today.

Ya know, my Mom wasn’t on the internet at all. My Dad was only in posts and pictures that my step mom posted. Posting these videos and music and such will be a lengthy chronicle of who I was after I'm gone and hopefully will be another way I’ll be remembered. Trust me, I’m not looking to go anytime soon, but it’s something that we all face and it’s pretty inevitable.

When I built my first cigar box guitar and started playing, I felt like I found my voice - instrumentally. I’ve played 6 string guitar for over thirty years, but since the pandemic, I’ve felt really creative and it felt like the right time to do this- to put myself out there. My style in bluesy, primitive, and raw.

Texas Blues Room, A Spotify Playlist

The Texas Blues Room Spotify playlist features Blues artists from Texas or play in the distinct Texas blues style. Hey, of course I included a few tracks of my own. 😀 I’ll be adding to the list often so keep checking the playlist. Go to the playlist here and me know who else should be on the playlist- I’d love to hear your choices.

Here’s a list of the Texas Blues artists on the playlist.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Alley Veneble

W.C. Clark

ZZ Top

Mance Lipscomb

The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Jimmie Vaughan

Mike Zito

Albert Collins

Johnny Copeland

Dom Cours

Smokin’ Joe Kubek

Corey Stevens

Guitar Shorty

Blind Willie Johnson

Big Mama Thornton

Freddie King

Johnny Winter

Chris Duarte

Stub Lee

Stub Lee | Blues Noodles #3 Abandoned Ambient Blues

Old abandoned house are interesting to me. It’s easy to wonder where and how the owners went. Your mind fills in the blanks to make a story. Blues seems to be a great soundtrack to that story too. This ambient blues noodle is not a complete song, but rather an idea, a thought and emotion that fits with the cinematic visual of the abandoned hoses.

Stub Lee Do You Love Me Now? Live Version Video

I had some lyrics that had been sitting and I stumbled across the melody for the song and it just worked. It’s a “one take” deal here and I liked how it sounded. I’ll likely record it proper in days to come.

Stub Lee | Blues Noodles #2 A Snowy Day in Texas

It doesn’t snow in east Texas often, but when when it does, it makes everything take on a whole new look. This ambient blues track is not really a whole song, but rather a glimpse of a mood, a thought musically that lives cinematically in my mind.