Hamilton Spectator TV - November 9, 2002

The Toronto Star - November 12, 2002

Reviews of each individual shows by Tim Holek - go to: canadianblues.ca

Talkin' Blues - the Series: making the blues talk Take one 42-year old Japanese Canadian male, recently unemployed from his job of 19 years and you could easily forecast he'd discover the blues. But to create an entire series devoted to them?

Although Mako Funasaka could hardly credit unemployment for his interest in the blues, the fact that he suddenly had some time on his hands did. A timely exposure to the music of Louis Jordan - via B.B. King's colourful tribute release - added some spark to the fire, while an intimate first interview with the late Piedmont blues artist, John Jackson, demonstrated a passion that begged further exploration as it left an indelible image on his heart. Mako's journey with the blues had only begun.

A seasoned video producer, director and cameraman, Mako found himself absorbed by the mystery of the blues. Here is a time-honoured, musical genre that has been largely ignored by the public, by radio and by those who promote music. Yet, here is a genre which has helped give birth to today's popular roots movement, and whose essence has been borrowed, if not stolen, by a host of rock's royalty. Here is a musical category populated by artists who feel compelled to carry on with tradition for tradition's sake, driven by an inner fire that supercedes the realities of commercial suicide. It's a game played for love, not money.

How could any self-respecting director resist taLkIN'bluEs? It can barely speak for itself, except to those of us who are fortunate enough to have become hopelessly dedicated fans. Yet taLkIN'bluEs: the series is not your typical exposŽ. It is not a slick documentary, nor is it the definitive definition of the category. It is an intimate conversation with the blues and with the people who play them. It is an introduction for many to a category that is either misunderstood or downright intimidating. Mako's goal is a simple one: to expose this great music for what it is and to provide an insider's glimpse of the passion that rules the blues as it drives and inspires its many spokespeople. Consider it Blues 101 yet, at the same time, its entertaining content offers insights and intrigue for the true blues aficionado.

The first of these shows airs on BRAVO TV CANADA beginning November 12th at 7:30 pm and will begin by profiling a diverse collection of blues artists including Sonny Rhodes (Nov 12), Morgan Davis (Nov 24), Ann Rabson and Rita Chiarelli (Dec 3), Harry Manx (Dec 10) and Pinetop Perkins (Dec 17). Music videos will also be featured by artists including Jack de Keyzer, Michael Pickett, Colin Linden, Darrell Nulisch and David Rotundo. Mako Funasaka is, by no means, a blues expert. He is a fan who has been captivated by the power of the blues and the charm of those dedicated to keeping it alive. He has approached over 150 blues artists and interviewed everyone from B.B. King to Pinetop Perkins and back again. Embrace the spirit of the blues and witness, first-hand, that the blues and those who perform them are very much alive. More than ever.

Eric Thom - Toronto Blues Society Maple Blues Newsletter

Bravo Mako: You've seen him videotaping at numerous blues events for several years, and now the results of Canadian independent filmmaker Mako Funasaka's dedicated efforts will be aired on television. "TaLkin' bLuEs" premieres on Bravo on November 12 at 7:30 pm, and will continue for six episodes. The series "explores the world of blues music today. TaLkin' bLuEs aims to educate all music fans and to expose the blues to a new generation of listeners. The series examines the current condition of blues music as seen by the musicians most passionate about the genre. Each week the series features one or more blues artists and a topic of discussion, with a collection of answers from notable blues musicians, and a music video. The first episode features Texan Sonny Rhodes, and asks the question, "What is the blues?" Following episodes feature Rita Chiarelli and the women in blues, and Harry Manx and the misconceptions of blues music. Presented in collage segments, the series boasts over 120 interviews and countless performances by international musicians. Notable names include B.B. King, Byther Smith, Monster Mike Welch, Colin Linden, Sue Foley and many more. Producer and Montreal-born filmmaker Mako Funasaka notes that TaLkin' bLuEs is unlike the traditional documentary because it is a continual work in progress, stating, "I see documentaries as something with a beginning, middle and end. My series documents the blues, but not in terms of a specific time line, because I wanted to demonstrate the various aspects of the blues - the first six shows are just the beginning, there's so much more to tell, I have only skimmed the surface'." You can also visit TaLkin' bLuEs on the internet, at www.talkinblues.com

Maple Blues Newsletter - November 2002

Mako Funasaka is an independent director/producer working out of Toronto who has been working on a video project on the blues for the past two years. During this time, Mako has managed to interview around 160 different artists with the hopes of one day creating a television show about the blues. Well, strange things do happen and he has managed to sell his first six shows to BRAVO TV.Ê The shows will begin airing on November 12th at 7:30 pm ET. For more details on the show, please check out his web site. www.talkinblues.com

Winnipeg Blues Society

For our Canadian friends, Bravo! TV Canada, an arts and entertainment network, proudly announces it will be airing a six-part series called Talkin' Blues. Beginning November 12, tune in and experience the blues with candid backstage interviews and enchanting live performances from the genre's biggest and most promising artists. More details can be found at www.talkinblues.com.

Blues Notes - Detroit Blues Society Newsletter & Southwest Blues Magazine

A novice takes a fond look at the blues: Mako Funasaka combined his video skills and love for the music to make a fascinating documentary,

Unemployment -- along with partners and a variety of banned substances -- has almost always been one of the main muses and motivators in the blues. And, if you're a bluesman or blueswoman, a good one, you make that condition work for you, either by writing a song about it or heading out to a street corner to sing. But what if you're not a bluesman, or what if you think you could be a bluesman, even if you can't play or sing a lick? Mako Funasaka found himself at that kind of life T-intersection a couple of years ago when the Hudson's Bay Company, for whom he'd toiled 19 years cranking out corporate videos, decided to drop that activity. And Funasaka, unless he wanted to move over to their Internet section. "It gets you thinking," says the soft-spoken, 40something Japanese-Canadian. "My background is in Internet, but video is my passion and I was thinking, 'If I was about to die or something, what would I want to be remembered for?' And I kind of thought it wouldn't be that 'Hey, I had a great corporate presentation in 1980,' or whatever."

So he got to thinking and there was this thing he was doing, pretty much as a hard-core hobby, hanging out at blues shows in the Toronto area, gradually using his contacts and friendly manner to gain off-the-cuff, > loose interviews with the players about life and the blues. "Gradually, >\ this crazy idea formed, something about putting it all together into a >\ television series of some sort. I was getting the most amazing stories from the most amazing, down-to-earth people."

He used his HBC severance as a nest egg and began his on-the-job training, both in the music and in documentary making. He was an admitted relative newcomer to the blues when he set out on this quest, which has resulted in a six-part series on Bravo! (part 3 is on tonight at 7:30 p.m.) Born in Montreal, Funasaka moved back to Japan and Hong Kong when he was a kid, returning to Toronto around 1972. His choice of music had always been rock 'n' roll, with the Allman Brothers about the bluesiest thing on his turntable.

"There was definitely a learning curve there," Funasaka says. "Like a lot of people, I had it pigeonholed as sad music or whatever ... for example, I'd never have thought about a blues band at a wedding, but now I think, what could be better?"

An early defining moment, Funasaka said, was meeting and talking to the late John Jackson, a gentle giant and master of the pretty Piedmont fingerpicking guitar style. Jackson won a U.S. National Heritage Fellowship award in the 1980s, but he never really gave up his job as a gravedigger, and was training apprentices almost up until his death this year at the age of 78.

"John was so nice and patient, and he just wanted people to listen to the music and enjoy the music. The camera batteries went out halfway through my interview with him and he didn't get mad or anything, we just kept on talking." All told, Funasaka gathered 161 interviews for the series, big names, small names, Canadians and international artists. Some interviews were for a minute or two, others went on for a couple of hours. Mostly, the chats were conducted at the artists' "offices," saloons like the Silver Dollar in Toronto or at festivals like the Ottawa Bluesfest.

Among the dozens of interviews in the six-part series: Dutch Mason talks about heart and his joy at having his son Garrett follow his footsteps; Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown insists he doesn't play the blues; veteran Morgan Davis is still in love with the blues after about 40 years; Ann Rabson and Sue Foley offer different perspectives on women in the blues.

Funasaka admits he was getting in at ground level when he began the series and, while the first two episodes have copped rave reviews from the hard-core bluesaholics on Internet groups and at the Toronto Blues Society, he says his main intent remains to draw newcomers to a form of music that has few mainstream outlets.

"This isn't Blues 101," he says. "But it's music that's very relevant, yet not accessible, compared to the barrage of other stuff that's there. "I just want to communicate the humour and the passion and the commitment of these people who live and breathe the music so we can enjoy it.

"This isn't an easy way to make a living, even for the top stars. You're talking about up to 250 and more shows a year, just to make a living. Duke Robillard's at the top of the list, but the night I interviewed him, he and the band just drove in from Ottawa, and immediately after the show, they were getting into the van to drive to Boston non-stop to catch a plane to Europe.

"But they love it, it's their life, and that's what I hope to communicate." Part 3 of Talkin' Blues is on tonight at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on the Bravo! and features an interview with Morgan Davis. The remaining three shows will run in the same time slot.

Norman Provencher - The Ottawa Citizen

One of the greatest things about working on a project of this type is the chance to meet some amazing people. The list of very special people I have met could go on and on. Someone I met on my 42nd birthday was a writer named Eric Thom who has become a very good friend of mine. In addition to the article he wrote for the Maple Blues Newsletter - he took it upon himself to issue an email to all the people on the Mapleblues-L list service which reads as follows. Needless to say, I was moved by his kind gesture and his very, very kind words. I thought to myself, who is this guy he's talking about - I'd really like to meet him. Thanks Eric!

Dear fellow blues fans....

It's Saturday night and can you guess where Mako Funasaka is? He's in the same place he is on most nights Ð drinking in the blues. If you're a fan of live blues, you've probably seen him. Big, black bag of video gear, a tripod, a choice seat with a view (whenever possible) and his trusty Coke and cigarette.

Tonight it's Downchild at the Silver Dollar. Tomorrow it'll likely be the Firkin, taking in a blues jam while talking to some of the most interesting people in the city - the musicians. Specifically, the blues musicians.

Because Mako has a serious blues jones. Like a proverbial monkey on his back, this 42-year-old man Ð who should perhaps be at home getting his rest and fine-tuning his rŽsumŽ Ð would rather be following his muse into yet another dark corner to meet someone he would like to meet, would like to talk to.

When Mako lost his job of some 19 years, it freaked him out like it would anybody. Except that, unlike everybody, he took an intentional left turn. The blues, it seems, fascinated him. Not because he loved them, necessarily. But, like a perfect student, he wanted to know more about them. He wanted to define what they were. He wanted to talk to the people who played them. He wanted to document what it was they were doing. And the more he heard the blues and the more people he met who lived for them, the more he had to explore. He had some severance pay but rather than tuck it away for the hard road ahead, he realized this calling was far more important. When he met these age-old, road weary messiahs who played for sheer love of the genre - certainly not for the money or the recognition - he was hooked. Why do they do it? Why don't they crave success like everybody else? Why don't they get crushed by the lack of public attention to their life's work? What makes them tick? Why the blues?

Like a good student, Mako has learned that the more layers he peels back, the more he finds there is to know. The more he wants to know. The more he wants to reveal to others. People are drawn to the blues, if they know the blues at all. Mako wants more people to understand and appreciate this magnetic force. He wants more people to know the dedication that goes into the mantle these blues men and women carry. It's an international language, not limited by borders. He simply wants more people to enjoy what the blues has to offer. It's the least he can do to repay these individuals who care that he cares. He wants them to be repaid for their work in their lifetimes and not 30 years later. He wants to know that the world he is helping to shed some light on will be all the better for the additional exposure it so richly deserves.

Mako's small dream is starting to crystallize. He is on a mission and Bravo Canada has seen fit to help him reach a qualified audience. So jot down in your calendar Ð beginning next Tuesday, November 12th at 7:30 pm and running every Tuesday for the next 6 weeks - a reminder to see something that deserves to be seen. Not for Mako's sake. He could care less about thanks and, like most blues musicians, he is hardly in it for the money. He just knows he has to do it. It's a story that must be told and it's about time.

Someone wrote that "there are two people in Toronto dedicating their lives to archiving the blues - one is Eddy B. and the other one is Mako Funasaka". You can almost hear him blush. Because Mako remains the most selfless individual to ever hold a camera and the sincerity of his intentions is painfully obvious to anyone on the receiving end of his thoughtful interview questions.

He is interested. He is fascinated. He is a blues fan and is somewhat embarrassed by not really understanding what that means. He is also hurt to the bone that his friends and associates seem oblivious to the artists he stalks and ends up staying up with almost every night. It just doesn't sit right with him and he's doing something about that.

taLkIN'bluEs is Mako's personal blues crusade to make things right for the blues and for those who are making them. It's the least he can do. This series is, then, only the beginning and but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Because he's only just started. Stay tuned and do yourself a favour. Support the blues. They're talking to you. It's up to you to listen. ET