Marshall Lawrence

Not many blues artists can call themselves “the Doctor of the Blues” without a whole stretcher-full of the idiom’s winking big talk. But Marshall Lawrence can, and with only the slightest bit of irony. The award-nominated Canadian bluesman actually holds a doctorate in psychology, and he knows how to use it—just as he knows how to use his slashing guitar, stinging, lightning-fast slide, and pleading, mournful moan: Marshall’s prescription for a maximum blues remedy.

“Psychology is about talking about the good times and the bad times, about dealing with it and getting it out there,” says Marshall, who recently retired after 10 years of counseling troubled teenagers to devote himself full time to playing the blues. “And that’s also what the blues are about—singing about the good and the bad. So there’s always been a parallel there for me.”

As festival, theater, and club audiences have been finding out, the best place to get a dose of Marshall’s medicine is right in front of the stage. Thanks to his jaw-dropping technique, moving delivery, and engaging persona, crowds of all walks and ages have been blown away. Of course while nothing can take the place of one of Marshall’s amazing live shows, his excellent studio albums are riveting calling cards, each one a shot of rough-edged, high-energy, Delta-style sounds with an acid twist sure to delight long-time traditionalists as well as newer, perhaps less-reverent converts.

Marshall’s newest release, 'Blues Intervention', is another stunning all-acoustic offering, following his 2008 Roots Music Report chart-topping 'The Morning After'. A deep, soul-baring set of his self-described “acid blues”—a reference to the music’s alchemical mix of blues and Marshall’s background of playing everything from rock to soul, funk, bluegrass, and even punk—Blues Intervention is stacked high with one searing nugget after another: the dark, tell-it-like-it-is social commentary “Lay Down My Sorrow”; the truckin’ rip through Tommy Johnson’s “Travelin’ Blues”; the sage, slide-lashed “You’re Gonna Find the Blues”; and 10 other down-home tracks fueled only by Marshall’s voice and guitar, Sherman Doucette’s harmonica, and bassist Russell Jackson’s acoustic upright.

“Marshall plays the best acoustic blues in the Great White North,” raves Jackson, who’s toured and recorded with such legends as B.B. King, Charlie Musselwhite, Katie Webster, Kenny Neal, and Matt “Guitar” Murphy.

Born in a cabin in the woods, Marshall discovered the blues like many others of his generation did: through Jimi Hendrix.

“I loved his freedom and expression,” he recalls. “When I heard him I knew I had found my direction and there was no turning back.”

Marshall performed his first show in 1969 and continued playing with several other groups in the 1970s and ’80s. After studying birdsong and earning his Ph.D. in psychology he spent some time in California before returning to settle in Edmonton, Alberta. When Marshall came back to Canada he also came back to the blues, putting together an R&B outfit that eventually morphed into the electric blues-oriented Marshall Lawrence Band. Although Marshall’s taken more of a pure acoustic road since debuting with that band’s acclaimed 2003 disc 'Where’s the Party?', he hasn’t left an ounce of his inner electricity behind.

“For me, playing solo acoustic is the real deal,” says Marshall, who has his own signature-model guitar slide available from Rocky Mountain Slide Company and has a signature-model amplifier being developed by Pascal Vinot Custom Amps. “It’s just me, my guitar, maybe a harmonica or a stand-up bass, and the audience—that’s it. So it’s my job to entertain the audience and try to give them an escape from the bad patches in life. The blues are a healing music.”

And blues lovers will definitely agree: Dispensing those same healing blues is exactly what Marshall Lawrence was put on Earth to do. The doctor will see you now…

... Inducted into the Blues of Hall of Fame ® as a Great Blues Artist from Canada ...

... Maple Blues Award Nominee ...

... Canadian Independent Music Award Nominee ...

"... When it comes to building a solid foundation of Blues Music in Canada, there is a new cornerstone being laid and standing firmly on top of that stone is one of our truest Ambassador's of the Blues, Marshall Lawrence. For those that know Marshall, they know that he eats, breathes, lives, and loves the blues, and now with his newest release, "Blues Intervention", everyone else will be well aware of that too...” - John Vermilyea, Blues Underground Network

“…. Few artists can match Marshall Lawrence’s solo acoustic presentation ... A gifted translation of Delta blues ... Blues Intervention should cement Lawrence’s reputation as a neo-Delta visionary…. “ - Living Blues magazine

“... Marshall belongs to the group of artists such as Taj Mahal, Roy Bookbinder and Corey Harris who just like Marshall knows how to put new life into the old traditional Delta Blues style with an injection of raw energy and boundless enthusiasm ..." - Rootstime magazine

"... It's still delta-style country blues, but new. In fact, I think Lawrence is following in the footsteps of some very important artists like Bernie Pearl and Corey Harris and Taj Mahal in the way that he is at once historical musicologist and contemporary interpreter...." - The Sunday Night Blues Project

"... The sometimes very fast finger style of Marshall makes me sometimes think about the acoustic earlier work of Johnny Winter... " - Rootstime Magazine

Awards/Honours

Inducted into the Blues of Hall of Fame ® as a Great Blues Artist from Canada
Maple Blues Award Nominee - New Artist/Group Of The Year
Canadian Independent Music Award Nominee - Favourite Blues Artist Group or Duo of the Year
Blues Underground Network Ambassador Of The Blues Award 2010
Toronto Exclusive Magazine Award Winner - Best Provincial Male Blues Artist
"Blues Intervention" named "Best Canadian Blues Album" by Blues Underground Network
"Blues Intervention" ranked #3 on Blues Underground Networks Top 10 Albums of 2010
"Blues Intervention" listed in WUCX-FM Eclectic Chair (Trish Lewis) Best of 2010 list
"Blues Intervention" listed in CHMR-FM Blind Lemon Top Twenty Canadian Blues Albums of 2010
"Blues Intervention" ranked #8 in WWCU CB Roy's Mostly Blues Top 50 Albums of 2010
"Blues Intervention" ranked #6 in CFBX Top 25 Blues Albums for 2010
"Blues Intervention" has charted in the Top 10 on Canada's Roots Music Report for radio play on many weeks
"Blues Intervention" has charted on Canada's Roots Music Report for radio play on many weeks
"Blues Intervention" has charted in the Top 10 on Roots Music Report - Top 50 Blues - for radio play
"Blues Intervention" charted at #1 on CFBX (Kamloops) Specialty Charts for Early July for Top 10 Blues Albums
"Blues Intervention" charted in the Top 10 on CJSR (Edmonton) Folk/Blues/Roots Chart on several weeks
"Blues Intervention" ranked #3 on The Blues List - May 2010 for Blues Underground Network's Top Picks for May 2010
"The Morning After" named "Best Acoustic Release - Canada" by Blues Underground Network
Toronto Blues Society "Blues Summit IV" Selected Showcase Artist
Featured in Canadian Musician Magazine Showcase section
On-line interview in American Blues News
Toronto Exclusive Magazine Award Nominee - Best Provincial Blues CD Album “The Morning After”
Toronto Exclusive Magazine Award Nominee - PROVINCIAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
"The Morning After" has charted at #1 on Canada's Roots Music Report - for radio play on several months
"The Morning After" has charted in the Top 10 on Roots Music Report - Top 50 Blues - for radio play
"The Morning After" has charted on Roots Music Report - Roots Blues - for radio play - for over 30 weeks and counting
"The Morning After" charted at #8 on The Sunday Night Blues Project Top 10 CDs of 2009.
"The Morning After" named one of the Top 20 Best Blues Albums released in 2008 by Norman Davis - "Midnight Flyer" Blues Radio Show - KKIT-FM, Taos, NM; KEGR-FM, Concord, CA; KYOU.com, San Francisco and FatMusicRadio.com