THE BLUES ACCORDING TO DANIEL
by Christopher H. Wells - Praxis Magazine, 12/02

Some folks say that kids nowadays don’t really play music anymore with that ole’ time spirit. Most of the purists of these musical forms have all but disap-peared. Or have they? There are a few and Daniel “Slick” Ballinger is one of them. Though still in high school, Daniel isn’t playing that hip-hop, alterna-rock, angst-ridden teenager type of music that most of his classmates dig. This dude is playing the blues. When you are in the presence of this cat, you can feel that he is on a different vibe than most. From the wide brim on his hat to his cocksure grin and his pimp–like suits, it’s like there is the spirit of an old brotha from the Deep South inside this young white dude. He has won accolades from authentic blues players in the heart of Mississippi. In essence, he has become one of them. Make sure that you remember his name. I have a feel-ing that we will be hearing about him quite a bit. If you are into the blues, I suggest you catch his act. You will not be disappointed. You will be blown away.What inspired you to play the blues?

“I don’t really know, but one day I was watching a movie about Jerry Lee Lewis, and in it he was sneaking around the black neighborhoods peeking in the juke joints, and it showed these old guys playing the blues, and they were all dressed up in their hats and nice suits, and these fine- looking women were shaking and shouting. But it wasn’t until I saw the movie, “The Crossroads,” about Robert Johnson. He sits down in a chair and puts his slide on and starts singing the blues. And it just hit me! I said that is the real, old, lowdown blues, I said that right there was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had chills all over me. I just knew."

What do the blues mean to you?

“The blues, the real blues is just a feeling. It makes you feel better when you are sad and makes you think. It makes me jump and shout, especially the real lowdown SLOW blues. It came from the black people many years ago and it makes me think about them when I hear the blues.”

Who plays in your band?

“In my band, Reverend Slick’s BBQ, it’s Evan Wade on upright bass, Turner Brandon on harmonica, and Josh Presslar on drums. They are young guys but they don’t play like it, and they play with a lot of soul. Down in Mississippi and Memphis, I’m doing some gigs with some old blues guys, Sam Carr (Robert Nighthawk’s son) on drums and blowing harp is Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean. “
“When we drove into the Mississippi Delta I could feel the blues and I felt like I was home.”

Tell me about your Mississippi connection.

“Since the time I started playing the blues I’ve felt that I belonged there, even before I visited the first time. For my 16th birthday my mother took me to Memphis, Tennessee and Clarksdale, Mississippi. My birthday is the same day as the W. C. Handy Awards (like Grammys for the blues) so all the best bluesmen are in town. It was great, I got to...play on the sidewalks on Beale St. in Memphis, and people were throwing money in my guitar case. I became friends and played with Bob Margolin at the Black Diamond Club, and I met Pinetop Perkins for the first time.

When we drove into the Mississippi Delta I could feel the blues and I felt like I was home. I got out and played in the middle of a cotton field. We went to the Delta Blues Museum. It’s the old train station that Muddy Waters left from to go to Chicago. I became friends with the people and musicians that worked there, I also got to play inside.
We’ve been going back to Memphis and Mississippi every year for my birthday. This past spring I was performing at the W.C. Handy Awards and a man named Sherman Cooper saw me. He took me to R. L. Burnside’s house. Sherman also introduced me to Jessie Mae Hemphill, Calvin Jackson (Junior Kimbrough’s drummer), R. L. Boyce (awesome gui-tarist & singer) and Othar Turner, a 95-year-old fife player. This summer I lived with Mr. Othar and we got up at 5:00 in the morning to tend the goats, chickens, mules, horses and the hog. Then we’d work in the fields

picking peas until late afternoon, sometimes I’d sing the blues while I picked, it made it easier. In the evenings he’d drive me around so we could play the blues. We performed at juke joints, festivals, bar-becues, fish fries, clubs, even at a beauty shop. Labor Day weekend I played with my band, Reverend Slick’s BBQ at Mr. Othars’ Picnic, there were hundreds of people there from all over the world, but the best part was playing for the friends I made in Como that really jump and shout when they hear the Blues. In a couple of weeks I’ll be return-ing to do some shows in Memphis and Como that Sherman Cooper has booked for me. It will be good to see my people.”

Who is your biggest musical inspiration?

“Muddy Waters.”

Things are starting to happen pretty quickly for you, how do you stay grounded?

“I have my family and friends, they have been very supportive. Right now, I’m just trying to finish my last year of high school and trying to play the blues that make the old blues people happy.”

Where would you like to see yourself musically in three years?

“I want to have my own sound and my own style, so when you hear my music on the radio, you know right then and there that it’s me.”