Randy Chortkoff is the harmonica player, movie producer and promoter who is the driving force behind Delta Groove Productions. Within a very short time indeed the label has made a huge impact on the Blues industry with a string of scorching CDs from mainly the cream of Southern Californian musicians. Big glossy adverts and great distribution has given them an arrived stature within the blink of an eye. Blues Matters! went straight to the top to get to know more about this man on a mission…

BM: Randy give us some early background on yourself, particularly stuff that shaped you into the multi-faceted Blues guy you are?

Randy: Well, the first music I heard that had anything to do with Blues was in my dad’s record collection. He was a blue-collar guy, a carpet layer, but his big passion in life was jazz music. He used to see Louis Armstrong and guys like that every time they came through Los Angeles, and in fact he got to be friends with Louis, and would bring him to the house, so I met him too when I was a kid. Anyway, I heard a lot of my dad’s records, and it must have made an impression because as I got a little older, I found myself drawn to black music, R&B, Blues, soul whatever it was called at the time. In the mid-60s when I was a teenager I started going around to some of the clubs in LA where guys like Jimmy Reed and Lightnin’ Hopkins would play when they came through town, mainly the Ash Grove, and around that time I really got hooked on the sound of the harp. So I started going out and seeing harp players whenever I could. I didn’t know that much about it then, I just liked the sound. I got into Paul Butterfield, some of the British invasion guys who were playing Bluesy stuff, and I started playing the harp myself, emulating those sounds. In the late-60s I spent some time in San Francisco and there was a lot of great Blues up there, and it just kind of snowballed. I’ve got to give credit to Rod Piazza too. He wasn’t really known outside of the West Coast scene back then, but he’s been at it as long as guys like Butterfield and Musselwhite, and it was Rod who really turned me on to some of the really deep Blues, in particular Little Walter. He would tell me which records to buy, and make me tapes of things that weren’t available.

Do you have a formal education in cinema photography, or is it something you acquired by experience?
My background is in sales and the financial arena. I had absolutely no experience with the technical side of movie making before I got involved in the business side. But I’ve gained a lot of experience in it just by being around lots of veterans who really are masters at it, especially my very talented partner Mars Callahan. Mars is a great authority and teacher in all the technical and creative parts of movie making.

Being an Executive Film Producer and Music Supervisor puts you in a prime position into getting Blues music to mainstream audiences I would think…
I sure hope so. I’m doing my best!

You must be an adventurous guy by the amount of different job descriptions you have in your CV…
I’ve always been somewhat of a risk taker, willing to try things I have an interest in. I’ve got wide range of interests, but I’ve got to admit I’m getting a little tired. I’m concentrating on making movies and music right now.

Out of all the many endeavors you have been involved with is putting on gigs the hardest job?
Absolutely not! For me it’s never been that tough, and it’s definitely the most rewarding. But I take my hat off to promoters and producers of live music, because there’s always that fear that people won’t show up. I’ve been very fortunate - I’ve done lots of shows, and I don’t know how I did it, but I’ve always managed to pack the house. I sometimes had to pull some tricky stuff to do it, but in the end the audience and the artists have been happy, and that’s the ultimate reward. I commend anyone who does it, and successfully, because I know it’s not always easy. But for me it’s not hard work, because it’s something I really enjoy doing.

Was Delta Groove Productions brought about from the need to put your long held ideas into practice?
Not exactly I’ve always loved producing records…over the years I’ve been good at getting them placed with substantial labels, but a couple of years ago I had two projects I’d produced, The Mannish Boys and Kirk Fletcher, and no labels were able to step up and make a deal to put them out. So out of frustration I decided to put them out myself - that’s how the Delta Groove label came about. Of course I was learning as I go, and still am. I’d never thought seriously about starting a label until then. I thought about maybe opening a club or something, but eventually figured if you can’t beat 'em, join ‘em.

I guess like many of the great individualistic Blues venues, if you hadn’t had a great passion for this music, your right mind would never have allowed you to get into it?
You’re absolutely right. It’s all about passion for the music. No one would start a Blues label as based on what a great investment it is.

Are you surprised at how far DGP have come in such a short time?
Yes, pleasantly… I attribute that to the incredible staff, the talented musicians, and my relationships with the musicians. It really is like a family, there’s definitely a feel that we’re all in this together, and I think that comes across.

What epitomizes DGP, and makes it tick?
Passion for the music, period.

Are The Mannish Boys akin to the Memphis Jug band was, in that the line-up is very loose?
It’s not that loose, actually. The changes are mainly based on the fact that Kirk has a steady gig with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, so we brought in Kid Ramos, and Frank Goldwasser became a dad and wanted to settle down a little, so we brought in Rusty Zinn. We didn’t plan it that way, but out of necessity that’s the way it worked out. But the basic idea has been the same from day one; The Mannish Boys are a revue, like the Johnny Otis Revue. I wanted to create a show that keeps people entertained by bringing out one surprise after another, and showcases each one but leaves the audience wanting more. Finis Tasby, Johnny Dyer, and when he’s available, Leon Blue have provided that, and of course Rusty and Kid bring a lot to the table too.

After a run of Californian based artist’s electric albums, DGP came out with a tasty acoustic album from a guy from near St. Louis – John Long. What initiated this?
It goes back to Al Blake, who was the singer and harp player with the Hollywood Fats Band, and has since joined the Delta Groove family with The Hollywood Blue Flames. I’ve known Al for a long time, and a few years ago he told me about this guy from Missouri who is like a reincarnation of a pre-war Bluesman. He gave me a copy of a home made CD that John Long was selling off the bandstand, and I was completely blown away. This guy was 100% for real. It wasn’t an act – it’s really who he is. And I was shocked that he hadn’t ever been properly recorded. I figured I had no choice. I had to document this guy.

How instrumental were you in Billy Boy Arnold’s comeback?
I’ve always been a fan of his Vee Jay records. I love those hypnotic grooves, the way all of his songs tell a distinct story, and of course he’s a wonderful singer and harp player. I was doing these annual Little Walter tribute shows at different venues around the Los Angeles area, bringing in Chicago guys who were associated with Little Walter…at one of these shows I was talking to a movie producer in the audience, and he told me that Billy Boy was still alive and well in Chicago. I didn’t really know anything about it, since I hadn’t heard anything new from him in years, and as far as I know he hadn’t been touring or anything like that. So through some friends in Chicago, I got in touch with him and brought him out to do the Little Walter tribute show. We had assembled a great band of people who really knew how to back a harp player, all of them long time fans of Billy Boy, and it just seemed natural to take everyone into the studio for a recording session. Billy Boy was really passionate about it, and that came through on the recordings. I think it had been a long time since he’d put out a record in the US, and everything just came together, and I was fortunate enough to get a label, Alligator, to put it out. So Alligator did the smart thing and marketed it as Billy Boy’s comeback.

Like Fred James of Nashville, and Bob Corritore of Arizona you have been involved in getting veteran musicians back out there, and regaining there recognition. Tell us about that, and if there is still work to be done in that area?
I’ve always loved the traditional stuff, and I admire Corritore, who is a good friend. He and I are on the same page musically. I know that in order to keep the label alive I have to put out music that has wide appeal, but a big part of my reason for doing this was so I could record some of the guys I loved… I’ve been fortunate to be able to do that. But of course there’s always work to be done in that area. There aren’t many of the legends left, but there are lots of people who are part of the direct chain from the last generation to the next generation, and there are still people out there making some great Blues.

I take it you are a Little Walter Jacobs fan as you organized many annual tribute shows.
Yes. As far as Blues harp is concerned, all roads lead back to Little Walter.

The West Coast is re-known for the excellence of its retro swing Blues, but what is there to prevent stagnation and the scene falling from grace?
The West Coast, and that means all the way from Canada to down to Mexico, is a treasure trove of talent. There is so much going on besides the retro swing sound, even though that stuff gets a lot of the attention. I love it, but there is so much more and there always has been. There’s never been just one West Coast sound. Some of the greatest Bluesmen of all time, guys from Texas and Chicago and Mississippi and Louisiana and everywhere else, made their homes on the West Coast, and there are generations of Blues players who took what they were doing and have built on it and developed it. I’ve recorded some of the retro style Blues, but Delta Groove has recorded other stuff too, and I plan on continuing to branch out.

What is there left for Randy Chortkoff to do and achieve?
I’ve always had a dream of having the coolest Blues club on the planet. A great vibe and great music - the kind of things that first drew me into this music. I hope to achieve some more success with music and movies, but I’d really like to turn more people on to music that has soul and feeling, and help create resurgence in the music I’m so passionate about. I want to do what I can to keep this music alive for the next generation.