There was a time, a long time ago, when the instrumental was king and the guitarist was the knight set forth to slay whoever had the audacity to sing.

I was born in 1957, so that chapter in music was coming to a close as my memory began to take hold. Yet, for the rest of my life I have invited a romanticized version of that time and those sounds into my soul and spirit. I frequently cavort with that golden age when the instrumental guitar Gods ruled the airwaves. Let’s be honest, this music is as cool as the other side of the pillow.

I have always enjoyed listening to the music of Duane Eddy, Freddy King, Phil Upchurch, Billy Butler with Bill Doggett, Barney Kessel, Albert Collins, Booker T & the M.G.s featuring Steve Cropper, Link Ray, Wes Montgomery and the biggest selling instrumental group of all-time, The Ventures, just to name a few.

The Ventures came from Tacoma, Washington, of all places, but led the charge of the nascent surf music scene. Along with Dick Dale, The Safaris and The Sandals, who did the movie soundtrack to the seminal surf film, Endless Summer, they were a new and dominant feature on A.M. radio here in Southern California.  

While surf music may have been the most ubiquitous form of guitar led instrumental music, the six string slingers and plank spankers came to the front of the mix on hits by musicians who dabbled in soul, funk, blues, jazz and rock. The brand-new Rick Holmstrom album, which hit the street today speaks (sorry, bad choice of words) to all of this. The album is called Get It! and Holmstrom gets it.

Since 2007, Holmstrom has been working with Mavis Staples as her guitarist and band leader. Mavis has taken to calling him “Pops Jr.” This lofty sobriquet is due to the fact that Holmstrom is able to channel the somewhat mysterious, idiosyncratic, tremolo laden guitar stylings of Roebuck “Pops” Staples. He was the founder and leader of the Staple Singers with Mavis as this family band’s principal vocalist.

Holmstrom started his career in earnest during the halcyon days of the big blues revival which had its zenith in the 90’s. He played on Billy Boy Arnold’s 1993 Alligator release Back Where I Belong. He made two albums with vocalist and harmonica player Johnny Dyer, his 1994’s Listen Up and 1995’s Shake It.

He cut his first album under his own name in 1996 on the New Orleans based Black Top Records label. It was an all-instrumental affair entitled Look Out!

By this time, Holmstrom was working both on the road and in the studio as a member of Rod Piazza’s Mighty Flyers. He recorded with other Southern California based singers and harp men including William Clarke and San Pedro Slim. He was able to squeeze in four solo albums between 2000 and 2007, all exploring the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar.  

Then Holmstrom got tapped on the shoulder by Mavis Staples. He took his own band with him on this incredible journey. They are drummer/percussionist Stephen Hodges and Jeff Turmes, a Fender bassist, sax man and occasional slide guitarist.

In 2012, Holmstrom released an ambitious album entitled Cruel Sunrise, which he made available as a two-disc deluxe package. The second (or bonus) disc was an instrumental journey through American music.

Nine years later Holmstrom put out See That Light. This 2021 release was very well received. As the pandemic went into its second year Holmstrom released his second album in as many years, Dig It! Holmstrom admitted on social media last week that, “…(we) had to do something creative or we would’ve lost our minds.” The “we” in this case is Holmstrom’s current band, drummer Steve Mugalian and bassist Gregory Boaz.

Get It! sounds like a combination of Look Out! and Cruel Sunrise (disc 2). The album is a fun, danceable, groove laden affair where the brilliance of Holmstrom’s attack on the guitar does not impede the accessibility of the music. He doesn’t engage in unnecessary histrionics or lengthy improvisational side trips. He gets into each song quickly, says what he wants to say and gets out. Get It! sounds like an old-fashioned jukebox in the future.

The album title comes with that dreaded exclamation point but it’s a lot of fun to think of that punctuation as a question mark. The song titles include some clever word play and thinly disguised references to what’s in store for the listener. I’ll let you figure these out.

Like on the material which helped to inspire this album, Holmstrom borrows licks sparingly, yet effectively throughout the proceedings. This program of all original tunes has Holmstrom with one eye focused on the rearview mirror and one looking straight ahead. It would be too easy for Holmstrom to make a completely satisfying album that mines the wealth of material from our past, but he also makes music that one can honestly say sounds like something completely new.  

These L.A. based musicians recorded the lion’s share of this 14 song program in Boaz’s garage. This sounds about right for these two-to-three-minute nuggets which are an homage to that time, a long time ago and that time that might be right around the next bend in the road.

- David Mac

I dedicate this piece to the memory of Don Wilson, who on January 22^nd, of this year, died at the age of 88 in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. He was a founding member and rhythm guitarist of The Ventures. He was the last surviving member of that band’s classic line up.