http://issuu.com/meg11hour/docs/12-10-09/17

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2CqdgIDic

MJD's Voodoo Panther, - trance blues from Mississippi

me and my grandpa Doude's recently discovered, half-brother, my great uncle, Bobby Thomas June 6, 2009

for booking, please email ME at:

johndoude@bluesmutation.com

OR, just send me a msg on myspace. I check it every couple of days, unless I'm out on the road, then, who knows...

If you don't hear back from me quick enough, please call me at 478 387-5928.

Here is some of the press I've gotten. There is more, that I haven't collected yet.

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Mississippi John Doude is a rockabilly bluesman with an old-time sound drawn from greats like Son House and Muddy Waters. He plays guitar and harmonica while keeping the beat with a hi hat and bass drum. His new record is titled “Voodoo Panther,” a name as swampy and rural as the music it contains.

Throughout his tunes Doude employs a raspy, slippery slide guitar style that is more Elmore James than Dwayne Allman. Everything about the tunes on “Voodoo Panther” smacks of traditional roots music, but there is a connection with the California sound of artists like Tom Waits and Lowell George.

The sparse quality of Doude’s rhythmic approach gives his songs a raw, haunting sound that evoke the rural south. “Cornbread Time” shows a lighter side of Mississippi John, with lyrics about the joys of a particular southern food.

The song “Social Inequality Blues” is a fuzzed out, raunchy, politically charged track with a cadence like “Hoochie Coochie Man,” while “Cotton Picking Blues” has an Eric Burdon vibe to it, and a slow, sinister beat.

Mississippi John Doude is a do it yourself musician with a sound that goes well beyond being a gimmick. He manages to capture the essence of the downtrodden delta blues sound while avoiding pure imitation. The best way to preserve music is to replicate the attitude and feeling of music rather than the actual notes, and in that Doude has succeeded.

the corner news, auburn, al march 9, 2009

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Fuzzed-out, country-blues guitar picking sheds light on dark, forgotten places: Mississippi John Doude intones lyrics like a mystic casting a trance with earthy and immortal Southern sounds of gnarled trees, Spanish moss, and trails overrun with underbrush. Guitar in hand, he pounds out a hearbeat on kick drum and hi hat... ...But just as readily as Doude explores the broken and dilapidated machine that is the world, he sees the beautifully crafted cog that still shines, and offters: "There's plenty for all at cornbread time."

The Independant Weekly, Raleigh, NC May 13, 2009 (Andrew Ritchey)

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The one-man blues machine digs deep into the swampy, gritty origins of Americana and unearths a raw Southern sound that'll get voices hollerin' and feet stompin'. Tonight marks the release of Doude's Voodoo Panther.

the Flagpole, athens, ga march 12, 2009

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"Mississippi John Doude is a one-man powerhouse, ...a storyteller, and one who deserves to be heard and acknowledged.- John Book, Music For America

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"MJD is an energetic blend of Hank Williams Jr. and Tom Waits with a mean slide guitar." - Bryan Ghiloni, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, GA

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Mississippi John Doude's Voodoo Panther is the sophomore release by Mississippi John Doude. Including a bass player on several tracks creates the duo, Voodoo Panther.

The album is an extreme departure from the conventionally produced music that is prevalent today. ...recorded almost entirely live in the garage of songwriter John Doude, the songs are raw and energetic. The crackling of overdriven tubes saturates most of the recordings.

- CDbaby

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"...solo act Mississippi John Doude whips up a soup of working-class rock, dusty blues and hillbilly folk." - Flagpole, Athens, GA

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chapel hill, nc asheville, nc knoxville, tn johnson city, tn cookville, tn hartwell, ga

Cross Tattoo

    At 33 years of age, I have never gotten a tattoo.  I really never felt the need for one, and couldn't think of anything I would want on my body for the rest of my life.  The other day, however, I had an inspiration for a design that is something I might actually want to put on my body permanently.  The design that I created is full of symbolism.  Each element has a significant meaning.
    First of all, is the overall shape of the design.  It is a cross.  The Cross symbolizes  Christ's victory over Satan, Hades, and death itself.  This component is first, and stands alone, because it is most important.  The cross is a powerful symbol because ti reminds the devil that he has already been defeated.
    The second element is a halo that is circumposed behind the cross.  It is composed of two rings, and filled in with yellow.  The two bands of the circle represents the union of husband and wife, the gift of love and companionship, and specifically, symbolizes my wife, Sara, and I.  The yellow coloring in between represents the blessing of God's neverending love between us, and by placing it beind the cross, I claim its protection over us, and our marriage.
    The serpent at the bottom represents Satan, who seeks the destruction of all mankind.  The serpent is placed below the symbol for man, and seeks revenge on God, by attacking his children.  There are 3 bands of the serpent, which represent the unholy trinity, which I shall not name.  It also symbolizes healing.  The symbol of a serpent on a staff originates from when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and is still used in the medical field today.  
    The fleur de lis is one of my favorite symbols, and always has been.  Born of New Orleans, it traditionally represents friendship.  For my design, it represents friendship, family, faith, and freedom. …the four things that are worth dying for.  Four is an important number, and also represents the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, the four directions on the compass, and the four seasons.
    There are 5 signs of power within the cross.  They all come from ancient Hebrew culture, and each has a significant position, and relationship, to the position of the others.  In the center is a symbol for the Holy trinity.  The shape illustrates how the 3 separate parts of God are actually part of the same.  Above it is the tetragrammaton, which is the 4 letters that spell the name of God.  They are YHWH, which is pronounced, "Yahwey".  In English, this translates to "Jehovah", and is the specific name of God.  It means literally, "I am that I am".  It reads right to left, and is written in the original Hebrew language.  On the right beam of the cross is the name "Yeshua", which is Jesus' name written in Hebrew, as it was 2000 years ago.     On the left beam of the cross, is a dove, which represents the holy spirit.  The dove also represents peace.  Together, these represent the 3 individual components of the trinity, God the Father above, God the Son, who sits at His right hand, and God the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove.
    Underneath the trinity, is a six-pointed star, or "David's Star".  Although it is often attributed to King David of the Old Testament, it is a much older symbol, made up of 3 other symbols.  The triangle represents man, the upside down triangle represents woman, and when circumposed on top of one another, they represent the offspring of both.  The circle around it represents the eternally continuing cycle of birth, life, and death.  All together, they represent  humanity as a whole.  While many people associate this sign with Israel, it is also used widely in Islam, and predates both, possibly going back to a time before written language, when runes, or symbols, were used instead.
    The six-pointed star  is also the sixth element inside the cross, not counting the four fleur de lis.  The cross, plus the 2 rings, plus the 4 fleur de lis, equal 7.  Add the 6 elements from before to that 7 for a total of 13.
    In Mayan astrology, there are 13 signs.  The 13th sign has long been forgotton, as the Babylonians rounded everything off to 12, for mathematical reasons, thousands of years ago.  There have always been 13 cycles of the moon in a year, a woman has 13 cycles, and there are 13 signs.  13 is the  natural number of completion, so the number of elements in my design total up to 13.
    Although I researched all of this thoroughly, I am no expert, and much of the meanings are personal and subjective.   There are many differing interpretations of various symbols.

    I am a one-man-band, and I am always cooking up ideas for tours, promo, etc.  So, I decided to combine two ideas, and do a tattoo tour.  I will go to 5 different tattoo parlors, in five different cities.  At each place, I will get part of the tattoo done, so the whole piece will be a composite of several different artist's work.
    After getting my ink, I will perform at each place.  There will be no cover charge, but donations are welcome.  I will have cd's, t-shirts, slide, posters, stickers, etc. to sell.  I will promote each event heavily, by enlisting the tattoo shop's help to hang posters, and create a local buzz by word of mouth.  Also, I plan to approach local newspapers, etc. about doing a story on it.  I will also film the entire process, and make a documentary about it.  I am currently looking for sponsors, establishing a timeline, and soliciting venues.  It will likely occur either around Christmas 2008, or Easter 2009.  If you are interested in participating, or have a recommendation, please e-mail me at johndoude@bluesmutation.com .

Am I authentic? ...I feel that some people doubt  my authenticity, because I'm a middle-class white kid, and not an elderly black gentleman with no teeth.

First of all, let me say that I am in no way, a true bluesman, nor have I ever claimed to be.  While I have a deep and abiding love for the blues, I really don't play many actual blues songs as part of my repertoire. I really do more country and rock, although most of my originals are just somewhere in the middle of all those genres.

Furthermore, I have never played with any famous bluesmen, nor have I known, or even met any.  No one famous has ever heard of me.  I am not "In" on the North Mississippi Hill Country blues scene.  I am not "In" on any scene.  None of the cool kids in your clique have even freakin' heard of me.

I am ME, Mississippi John Doude. My name is my identity, not some stage name I created to make me sound "bluesy".
My real name is John Doude, and i lived in MS until I was 19.
When I moved to Tennessee, my friends there started calling me "Mississippi" John Doude, and it just stuck.

While there are a number of artists who are still riding on associations with RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, and trying to recreate or carry on their styles, I simply do my own thing, just like they did theirs.  I don't try to be anything, and I don't refrain myself from being anything.

I consider myself to be an outsider artist, who expresses himself through music.

I grew up isolated from normality, homeschooled in an ultra-conservative house.  I was 19 before I ever went to my first rock concert. 

NOW, I'm free.  ...untethered by the constraints of self-doubt, and no longer needing approval by any person.  ...can you hear it?

So, if I don't fit into your pre-conceived notion of what a "Mississippi John Doude" should sound and look like, remember ...

It might be your expectations that are out of line,
...cause I'm pretty sure I'm doing fine!
I ain't RL, nor try to be,
I'm 100% pure, grade-A,  ... ME !