Like Impressionist art, blues music communicates a feeling that can't simply be explained, a heartfelt sadness whose language is melody. To commune with this arcane art form that Hendrix called "easy to play but hard to feel," all you need to do is put yourself in the presence of The Blues Professors.
Heath Mensher and Joe Mixon have a long history with the blues. Originally from New York, Mensher was intrigued by the sincere old man on the front of a cassette and discovered John Lee Hooker at age 12. By day, Mensher is a professor of film and literature at Northampton Community College while Mixon teaches music at Moravian and Lebanon Valley Colleges. By night (and the occasional brunch), they channel the blues with raw authenticity.
Their first album of blues Americana realness comes out this summer. Many original songs deal with the Faustian legend applied to Robert Johnson, a '30s blues player who recorded only 19 songs. "Those songs are like nothing else that had ever been done," Mensher says. "The story was that he went to the crossroads at midnight and the devil turned his guitar." The truth behind this musical deal-with-the-devil myth is that virtuosity in art often feels delivered from an outside source.
"When I'm performing, I try to be as empty as possible so that I can catch that lightning," Mensher says. "I know if I'm sincere in what I'm doing, it will translate into producing the best music that I can."
Mensher's harmonica and Mixon's guitar can be heard spinning sorrow into sound at Artisan Wine and Cheese Cellars, Stefano's Restaurant and Blues Brunches every first Sunday of the month at Bethlehem Brew Works.
