Biography

The journey through life is treacherous and profound. The aware have learned the hard way – through direct experience – the joys and sorrows of living fully every day. Mississippi Heat TM share their insights straight from the heart, through the blues, in the most honest and penetrating way they can. Thus, we are privileged to share their journey with them. The configuration of the message is a strikingly contemporary yet wholly authentic version of the classic 1950s Chicago blues sound. Its richness and rhythm draw us closer so that we may listen more deeply to hear the acute understanding the music contains.

The members of Mississippi Heat, a band of travelers on this spiritual quest, are a diverse and interesting crew. Pierre Lacocque is the man with the vision. He holds the light that shines on the path. Deitra Parr is oracle, truth-teller and chanteuse, but she has no false fronts, no affectation. Fearless, she lets you know what she sees. Allen Kirk, the “Captain,” is the pathfinder, the guide who charts the course through the jungle. The smiling sage, Bob Stroger is near otherworldly in his serenity and “cool.” James Wheeler, worldly-wise, patient and experienced, delivers the truth in measured doses. The skilled young acolyte, Billy Flynn is inspired and inspiring. The light burns bright in him.

Lacocque began playing harmonica on a green plastic toy he was given by his father. The instrument’s sound overtook the boy, bringing tears to his eyes. The Lacocque family moved from Belgium to Chicago when Pierre was 16, where he was able to connect with his two primary influences, Big Walter Horton and Junior Wells. He developed a style based on pure tone and conversational phrasing. At once elegant and practical, his playing says what needs to be said, and gets out of the way. Lacocque is the first to admit he is continually listening and learning, yet his relentless drive and creativity underscore his role as a leader. He is constantly at work on new riffs and songs.

Lacocque left the blues for a time to focus on home, career and family, but he felt a void – a hole in his soul – that only the blues could fill. In 1992, he and brother Michel, who agreed to handle the business end of things, secured a core group of seasoned Chicago musicians that became the first incarnation of Mississippi Heat. They were, and still remain, dedicated to the classic Chicago blues sound. Somewhere in heaven, the elders of Chicago blues are smiling.

Deitra Farr has stared down her demons, looked into the black and come out more strong and fierce for meeting the challenge. Now she looks at life straight in the eyes, unwavering and brutally honest. And when she sings, her voice, smooth and warm, rich and inviting, also carries her bravery and intelligence. Her songs are unflinching portraits, messages in a bottle tossed overboard on a stormy trip through the sea of her own psyche. She has led her own band and sung with Chicago heavyweights including Sunnyland Slim and Sam Lay. Now she has cast her lot with Mississippi Heat TM since 1993.

Drums are a joy for Allen Kirk. He has performed for 25 years in nearly every style played regularly in the U.S. Beneath his clowning and bad boy manner, Kirk has depth, caring and loyalty. He is the trusted traveler; he knows where he is and where he’s going, and moves forward with confidence.

Bob Stroger has played bass forever and with everyone. Chicago Blues magazine called him “Father Time.” He calls Mississippi Heat TM his family. Before linking with Lacocque in 1992, Stroger held down the bottom for a Who’s Who of Chicago artists, including Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Rogers, Willie Mabon, Memphis Slim, Snooky Pryor, Otis Rush, James Cotton, Luther Tucker, Sunnyland Slim, Fenton Robinson and many others. In performance, swaying with the beat, a placid smile on his face, Stroger is a rock solid foundation around which the band swirls and spins, adding layer upon layer to build their distinctive yet ageless sound.

Guitarist James Wheeler is one of Chicago’s best kept secrets. Throughout the60s and 70s his group, The Jaguars, gigged regularly at clubs throughout Chicago, and backed up touring artists such as Etta James, Al Green, Johnny Taylor, Esther Phillips, McKinley Mitchell, Ann Peebles, and The Chi-Lites. He then did long stints in the bands of hard soul legend Otis Clay (seven years) and west side blues master Otis Rush (10 years). A commanding presence on stage, he plays solid chordal rhythm, punctuated with melodic single string bursts. More and more he is contributing songs to the group and taking lead vocals.

Versatility could be Billy Flynn’s middle name. But the band calls him “Frites,” after the Belgian French fries he adores. He’s a magician with a guitar, conjuring up archetypal blues sounds of Chicago, with hints of Memphis and Texas. He plays economically and eloquently, without flash. He’s not in your face, he’s in the pocket. His personal musical trail has led him from Green Bay, Wisconsin, through gigs and recordings with Jimmy Dawkins and The Legendary Blues Band, to a solo career (and self-produced CD, Leavin’ In The Morning), and now Mississippi Heat TM since 1992.

The songs on this album, all originals by members of the group save one, are like signposts, pages from a diary kept during a mystical journey. Farr’s vocal creates a potent mix of longing and caution on the title tune, a variation on the Bo Diddley beat featuring Flynn’s eerie evocation of Albert Collins on the solo in the fade-out. Flynn’s right back on the chugging boogie “I Luv You So,” his and Wheeler’s guitar lines winding back and forth around each other, and the harp just right. ‘Home Town Boy” has more of that wonderful guitar interplay pushing a primal drive through the mix like a tiger through dense, rain forest growth. Flynn’s fiery solo sets off Farr’s warm, inviting voice. She’s known the man since she was six years old; now she’s gonna make her move.

Stroger steps to the front for “Loan Me Train Fare,” a classic train blues filled with relentless rhythm and evocative harmonica blasts. The power shuffle of ‘Nothing But Trouble” follows, leading into a slow ballad, “You Gave Me Nothing.” Farr’s mostly spoken vocals speak simultaneously to heart and head, literate, insightful, matter-of-fact. She knows the score, and won’t be played for a fool. We hear from Wheeler next on a jump boogie in tribute to “Natalie.” Fan- returns only to “Hit That Dusty Road.”

“Don’t Dare Call” takes us on a relaxed trip through bossa nova country, the reluctance in the lyrics challenged by Stroger’s quiet strength. The ringing guitars in Flynn’s uptempo shuffle, “Please Stop Drinking,” hearken back to glory days.

Little Junior and the Blue Flames come to mind, and hints of Lightnin’ Hopkins. Farr longs to be on the move again in ‘Somebody’s Always Talking,” away from liars, backstabbers, the grasping, and the jealous.

“Today’s A Better Day” lets the light of hope peek through the clouds, the sun riding in on the back of Lacocque’s remarkable harp solo. Because a struggling musician can’t hope to compete with a man who can pay all those bills, Wheeler sings a slow blues about a “Brand New Woman.” And in case you needed to know just how this band travels, we end with the harmonica instrumental “Steamrollin’.” Shuffle boogie ’til the light of day.

Mississippi Heat is moving and grooving now, but it’s been a wild ride – ecstatic highs and crashing lows, new friends made, a new “family” formed, loved ones lost in senseless and uncontrollable ways. They’ve come through it loving and looking out for each other, and producing a music startling in its intensity, refreshing in its honesty, and filled with magic and spirit.

Listen to this album with an open mind, and heart, It will help guide you on your journey. The thunder isn’t in the distance, its in your heart. Find it, hear it, follow it.

– Niles Frantz, April 1995
Niles is the host of “Comin’ Home” on WBEZ 91.5 FM, Chicago. He has written for Living Blues, Blues Revue, Blues Access, and Blues & Rhythm (UK) magazines and the All Music Guide to the Blues.(Van der Linden Recordings – VdL 102).