I.c.: Jason, you have invented something that has really helped this band, in more than just a name...

J.B.:  Well, yes, we all use the BLUESTUBE harmonica microphone.

I.c.: This is a hands-free unit?

J.B.: Yes, so we can all play our instruments, and harmonica, amplified as loud as needed, through processors or a nice bluesy amplifier.

I.c.: So, you played the harp, and guitar, and there was nothing on the market that would fit the bill...

J.B.:  I needed something to amplify my harp and be hands-free, so I could play guitar at the same time. A regluar mic would feed back so easily and the traditional harp mic had to be held. I came up with this isolated mic element and Darrell and I did a lot of research and development on it. Darrell got it distributed through Guitar Center.

I.c.: Any other inventions?

J.B.: I did invent an electric car, years ago, befrore the energy crunch...I may get into designing and building robotic limbs for disabled persons. This is something in the back of my mind for someday in the future.

I.c.: Now, your music is your first love?

J.B.: You bet. Like the other guys, I've been playing all my life, all styles. Right now, the blues is where it's at.

I.c.: You play it like a veteran.

J.B.: Thanks, I  love Butterfield, James Cotton, Lee Oscar, Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, Robin Trower, and all the traditional cats, I grew up listening to, and then emulating. I've played rock and roll a long time, too, and it all melds together so nicely, the feeling I get playing, now It's all I really want to do.

I.c.: Your guitar, I've never seen that model before, is it new?

J.B.: That is my "work" guitar... I experiment with it, the wiring, the potentiometers, the pickups I wound myself, in a different way than I think anyone has done before. Somebody just gave it to me, it was a real cheap-o, so I wasn't worried about putting holes in it. The body once had some long devilish-looking horns on the cutaways. I cut them down. It's real light, and easy to wear all night at a gig. It's a work in progress.

I.c.: How did you start the BLUESTUBE band?

J.B.: I've known Darrell a long time, we've done many projects together, and then I was playing in a high-school friends blues band more recently, and met Skip. We all just decided to do a project beyond just having a band,  Now we've got the publishing company going and we're all staff writers.

I.c.: So, you write for other artists?

J.B.: For ourselves, really and we submit to artists. Darrell's wife Beverly is A & R, and with her magnetic personality, I think she'll be a great asset to the organization.
Darrell has some contacts where he works, and we have been writing together for many years, now, so it is like a well oiled-machine.

I.c.: You've got the old Bluesbreaker amp, for guitar...

J.B.: Two of them, one for harp, they just sing...I love 'em!