Sometimes the blues can be found in unexpected places by regional musicians who are still relatively unknown. People worldwide play the blues. Were it not for the internet and social media, some of these gems would remain obscure. Musical discovery will sometimes lead far away to interesting characters and fine players as the acoustic blues have traversed the globe. European audiences are still infatuated with the blues and there is a crop of superb players that are perhaps not well known in the US, but are quite talented and worthy of respect and attention. Some are amazing. As National Heritage Fellow Phil Wiggins said, “It’s good as long as the musicians truly respect the originators and African American culture.” There is a swift player over in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Andrea Peeters, who does just that.
Andrea Peeters, who goes by the odd stage name Alaska Sue, makes quite a cross-cultural persona. She favors Western garb, straight out of Rockmount, with straw cowboy hats, often adorned with sunglasses. Over there in Holland she surely stands out from a crowd. The first question anyone would have is why a Dutch blueswoman would identify with that cold northern US state which is surely not known for blues. The chanteuse advised the countryblues.com how she got that unexpected stage name, “It’s a name that was given me by friends, and actually I think it’s because of my initials before I got married were AK, and I think that was the reason why – I was looking for a stage name. I like Alaska. I used that name and then I added Sue to it because I couldn’t be found on the Internet with only Alaska –and Sue is just my middle name.”
If that somewhat peculiar stage act seems odd by American standards, it does give her a unique identity. All that would be irrelevant, were it not for the fact that she can really play, and how. She is a fine guitarist and a great representative of the country and folk blues, keeping the old songs alive and turning audiences on to traditional blues. One listen will convince anyone that Andrea Peeters feels the blues in her soul.
thecountryblues.com caught up with the talented bard via telephone to get her interesting story:
Andrea Peeters: “I was not born in the Netherlands. I was born in Slovakia – actually in Bratislava, which is the capital of Slovakia. I spent my childhood there, and now I’ve lived for many years in the Netherlands, first in Amsterdam and now in Maastricht. There was not really much blues around me when I was a kid. My parents had a record player and my sister is 10 years older than me had all kinds of records. My father he liked Italian opera, so we had that kind of stuff. My sister was more folky and liked Peter, Paul & Mary and stuff like that. One day I found a Bob Dylan LP and that was it for me. My sister took me to a movie theater to see a film about the 1967 Newport Folk Festival, where I saw Son House and Mississippi John Hurt and Howlin’ Wolf and I think also Mississippi Fred McDowell. Then I knew this was music for me. That’s how it started.”
So here is a Slovakian musician, living in the Netherlands, who dresses cowboy style, calls herself Alaska Sue and plays the pre-WWII music of southern African Americans. That’s a modern day cultural amalgam, perhaps baffling, but you just got to love it.
Andrea Peeters continued, “I’m just a person who is very much enthusiastic about the blues, particularly the old acoustic blues. I like to play it, I like to share it with other people, I like to play along with other people. I think I cannot say that I am keeping the blues. But that’s the music that appeals to me and it vibrates, I’m feeling good. If I can make other people listen and feeling good, that’s okay and that’s nice. That’s what it’s all about, I think. Blues is very pure. That’s what I like about it. It’s a real music and it’s also very personal, but I think it also leaves space for other people who listen to feel what they feel. I think if you play it right, and even if I play the old blues and I play the covers, I always try to put a bit of myself in it. Blues allows you to express yourself in a beautiful way, and if other people enjoy it and listen, well, then it’s right.
There is certainly a blues scene here around Maastricht. We also have a blues festival in Heerlen, Southern Blues Night, with international guests. I’ve been playing here in the neighborhood of Maastricht in cafes, small venues, also some blues festivals, and I did also some radio shows here in the neighborhood but also in Rotterdam. And I even was asked to play twice here in the neighborhood, once in Maasstricht and the other one time in Heerlen. There is certainly a community of blues.
I used to play in Slovakia, I played in the Czech Republic in Prague, and then I played in the Netherlands every now and then. For some time, I did not even play publicly any more. And then a few years back I took my guitar to a picture gallery because we were invited there for – it was a kind of artistic dinner with guests. I took my guitar and I played some blues and people just loved it. I knew then, okay, I need to pick this up again. I was determined to go out and do some stuff. Then I came to know other people who are interested in blues who want to play and want to listen.
I did some recording on a CD sometime back. I have two songs on a compilation CD on blues which was recorded in Prague. I also sing songs on a CD which is also a compilation of Slovak blues artists which is published in Slovakia by the Slovak Blues Society. I do not have a CD of my own but this is something for the future.
As of now, I have not play outside Europe. I have been to the States twice, but not for playing.
I really like to find out about the old folks, the old bluesmen, I just love the way how they played. I love the sound, I love the rhythm and emotion in it. I like to find out or to learn from them. I would like to take the knowledge and what I know already and write some original songs. Even if you do your own original stuff, it’s all the old stuff if you play blues. We all learn from the past and blues artists who played it. One of my careers highlights was opening a set for Boo Boo Davis.”
Right now, the best way to check out Andrea Peeters is through YouTube. Keep your ears open for her, she will deliver a special surprise.
