The group’s first Dayton-area appearance was David Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars” at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering in 2016. In recent years, Victoria Theatre has been the group’s regular stop for shows such as the Beatles’ “Abbey Road,” “Led Zeppelin II” and AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”
Vaughan, who died on August 27, 1990, had a brief but impactful seven-year career. He made four albums in his lifetime. “Texas Flood” was released in 1983 followed by “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” in 1984, “Soul to Soul” in 1985 and “In Step” in 1989. “Family Style,” an album with his brother, Jimmie, was released in September 1990, followed by a posthumous album, “The Sky Is Crying,” in 1991.
For Clifton David Broadbridge, who handles vocals and lead guitar duties for the Stevie Ray program, it’s a full-circle experience. He gets to pay tribute to the actual artist who inspired him to take up guitar and launch a decades-long career as a musician, composer, audio engineer and producer.
Broadbridge, a native of Canada now based in the Nashville area, did his first show with Classic Albums Live in 2005. The program was dedicated to Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” which led to opportunities filling the role of Paul McCartney in numerous Beatles shows. Broadbridge also fronts bands for programs dedicated to Pink Floyd, the Doors and Jimi Hendrix. For the past year, he has been handling Lindsey Buckingham’s parts for Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.”
Broadbridge, who is currently in the mixing phase with new solo material, recently answered some questions about Vaughan and Classic Albums Live.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: What does Stevie Ray’s music mean to you?
A: He’s 100 percent the reason I started playing guitar. I stayed overnight at a friend’s house for a birthday party when I was 11. You know how sometimes people will leave a radio on real low while they sleep? Somehow, I woke up at 4 in the morning and Stevie Ray’s version of “Little Wing” was playing. I was transfixed by this instrumental, but they never mentioned who it was. I was like, ‘What was that?’ I listened to the radio every day for about six months and then one day it came on the radio on the way to a doctor’s appointment. I was late but I stayed in the car and at the end they said, ‘That was Stevie Ray Vaughan.’ I went out and bought the newest album, which was “The Sky Is Crying.” I didn’t realize he had already died. That’s how I started playing the guitar. So, my whole journey in music has been inspired by him.
Q: How soon after that did you get a guitar?
A: Even before I got the record, I knew this was my calling. My mom got a Harmony guitar and amp at a yard sale. Eventually I got a really beat up old Fender Strat because that’s the only one we could afford. By the time I was 17, I had a band in my hometown in Canada, a small town called Bellville. We entered a battle of the bands and we ended up winning. Then, I got booked all over my city, so at 18 years old I was playing blues rock shows five nights a week. I basically spent most of my life in Toronto. I moved there when I was 19 so I could go to jazz guitar school. I ended up moving down here to the Nashville area a couple of years ago.
Q: Outside of guitar playing what’s the hardest part of presenting this show?
A: There’s like a weight on my shoulders, just my own feeling of how could this be good enough? It’s literally like training for the Olympics to be able to do it in a way the guys in Dayton who love Stevie Ray Vaughan expect it. I’ve got to play it and sing it right. It’s upsetting but it’s also inspiring. It’s like, ‘Wow, I actually get to pay my bills by playing Stevie Ray Vaughan at a beautiful theater.’ I was just in Dayton last April and I played at (the Victoria Theatre) doing Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.” It’s a beautiful place.
Q: How many times have you done this Stevie Ray show?
A: Probably seven. It hasn’t been booked an awful lot, but I’ve been in my studio woodshedding this stuff the last month. I basically have Stevie Ray’s same touring rig and amps. There’s no way I’m going to show up and rent a Fender Hot Rod Deville and try to pull this off. I’m going to try to get as absolutely authentic to that recording as I possibly can. We only need a three-piece for “Texas Flood,” but we have a keyboard player for the outro set of 10 songs. It’s like a greatest hits set. It’s going to be a lot of fun for me. I really hope we do some more of these shows.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
Who: Dayton Live presents Classic Albums Live with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood”
Where: Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18
Cost: $25-$35
More info: 937-228-3630 or www.daytonlive.org
Artist info: www.classicalbumslive.com
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