Chicago Smoke Shop, Mind On My Sleeve [Single] (1988)
Long before I knew Darren Watson or any of his music as a solo performer I knew this song – and a couple of others from the band. I remember seeing the clips on TV, I never saw the band live – but they were a big deal to me – and it was nice to know there was someone local that knew about and played music that lined up next to the things like Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughan and then further back to B.B. King and Albert King and Albert Collins and so on…because I was discovering all of that for myself at a relatively young age. And I couldn’t hear or see it reflected in New Zealand anywhere. Whether pure blues or something that nodded to it, and those R’n’B horns too. There were whole worlds of music we were missing in New Zealand, well it seemed that way to me. And hearing Smoke Shop on the TV and seeing the hair and suits and the ensemble gave me some hope. There’s never really been a band like them – before or since. And though a lot of it could be written off as time/place – mired in/by/with the production of the time. But I’ve always liked this song.

Sample Track:  Mind On My Sleeve

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