This country's airline industry has changed since the events of a September morning five years ago shattered our collective complacency. While these changes may seem an inconvenience to our domestic frequent flyers, they were minor to the rugged individualist, Australian Blues artist Andy "Sugarcane" Collins.
"Sugarcane", as he prefers to be called, probably welcomed the opportunity to remove his shoes after traveling coach for over 30 hours.  As he tells it, "Let’s face it, security in airports has been ramped up over the past few years, but apart from taking off your shoes once or twice and a few extra exclusions regarding what you can take onto the plane as hand luggage, not too much has changed as regards flying around the world."
Sugarcane flew into New Orleans by way of Guam/Tokyo/Houston from Cairns, "a large coastal town in the state of Queensland, (Australia)" for the three month 'Got a Story to Tell' Tour promoting his latest album  Way Down The River. This thirteen rack CD, with sepia toned cover and booklet with National Geographic quality photos of the Mississippi, has garnered him accolades and high praise which spans the globe.  This astonishing album resonates with dark and vivid imagery set deep within the rhythms of life in the Mississippi Delta of the 1920's and 30's. With pristine production and the inspired playing of his studio sidemen Sugarcane conjures up the cotton fields and Baptist churches, the smoke-choked juke joints and gutbuckets, the freight trains, prison cells, dirt roads and street corners of the south that gave birth to the blues. Sugarcane's songs hark back to the original acoustic country Bluesmen and the very roots of the blues.
 Sugarcane consented and gave us this interview upon his return to Cairns. In it he shares his observations of his travels and visit here to the states as he fliew from New Orleans to the Pacific Northwest and points in between. 
If you are not yet familiar with his music you would do well to grab his CD. He is truly a fair dinkum Bluesman.

CHC: Where are you from in Australia?  Give us some idea of where this may be in Australia.
Sugarcane: I live in a large coastal town called Cairns ( think CANS ) in the state of Queensland. It’s in the Far North of the continent on the east coast and is about 2000 miles north of Sydney. It has a population of around 120,000 and the main industries are tourism, ( think the Great Barrier Reef, Tropical Rain Forests, the Outback ),  growing sugarcane ( Australia is the third largest producer of sugar in the world ) and fishing. Cairns is truly in the tropical zone – we are about 500 miles north of the Tropic of Capricorn and about 800 / 900 miles south of the Equator – and I used to grow coconuts and mangoes and all types of tropical fruit trees in my back yard. Think southern Florida as the approximate American equivalent. Because of the heat and humidity we live a laid back outdoors sort of lifestyle and generally speaking it’s a very friendly town full of people from all over the world on holidays having a good time. I’ve lived here in the land of the lotus eaters for almost 30 years. I love the coastal tropical climate – it never gets cold – and there is still plenty of adventure to be had here in the Far North

CHC: How did you travel to the States?
Sugarcane: We have an International Airport in Cairns so l just jump into a cab head to the airport and catch a Continental Airlines flight to the States. I think they fly three times a week. It’s not the most direct route to the USA – first to Guam then to Tokyo and then you can either land in Los Angeles or Houston – but it sure is convenient.
CHC: How long did it take you to travel from Australia to the United States?
Sugarcane: Well my first destination was New Orleans.  So I flew to Houston and then picked up a connecting flight and all up, including an eight hour stop over in Guam two hours in Tokyo and an hour in Houston. It probably took over 30 hours. And don’t forget we cross the international dateline so technically I arrived in the USA a couple of hours after I left Australia!! If anyone from the US was thinking of coming over to Australia might I suggest you fly from the west coast to Hawaii, have a stop over for a day or two, and then fly into Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. That would definitely be the easiest way to go.
 CHC: Did you travel alone or with your mates?
Sugarcane:  I travel alone. I’m a solo acoustic blues man.
CHC: What equipment did you travel with?
Sugarcane: I travel with two acoustic guitars and a bag of clothes and a few bits and pieces.
When you are riding Greyhounds and jumping in and out of other people’s cars you don’t want to be lugging around too much. To travel fast you've got to travel light.
CHC: How did you perform i.e. solo, with your band, or accompanied by a backup band? (If accompanied by another band) How were these arranged for you?
Sugarcane: I have been performing solo for the last fifteen years.
It would be a lot of fun to do it with a band and years ago I had a great band that would have killed the pig if I could have talked them into coming over but none of them believed it could be done. I just have to try and make it on my own.
CHC: This tour was to promote your new release Way Down The River. What have the critics been saying and how are sales going?
Sugarcane: Yeah, my 2006 ‘Got A Story to Tell  Tour" was all about promoting the US release of my brand new blues album Way Down The River which is my very first full on blues album. The reviews from the Blues press in the USA have been mostly sensational and they have been saying things like –
Sugarcane’s guitar-playing and vocals are stellar, and so authentic that you'd think he grew up picking cotton by day and belly-fiddle by night near Tutwiler, Mississippi. This CD proves you don't have to be an American blues master to master American blues.
 Mark Hoffman (author of 'Moaning at Midnight', the Howling Wolf bio) for Blues To Do, Seattle
This stunning new outing is a remarkable collection of thirteen original tunes.
Particular sparklers include the sad penitentiary blues of "One Wing Frank", the detail packed tribute to "Leadbelly", the haunting hoodoo - mystery tale of "Sallie Mae", a hand - clapping testimonial titled "Shine the Light", the jew's harp spiced " Dancing Rabbit Creek" and a washboard - enlivened, string - tickling rag called "All The Way To St Louis".
Gary von Tersch-June / July Edition Big City Blues Magazine, Detroit
Sugarcane Collins hails from halfway around the world, but his music is right out of the Delta, acoustic blues as it was born to be: powerful, personal and penetrating. Any one of the 13 cuts could have come to life 70 or 80 years ago on a sweltering Mississippi porch, but they were penned recently by an Australian with either a mammoth talent or the ability to channel the dead. Collins’ intense vocals are impressive, but his lyrics will knock you flat.
Suzanne Cadgene – July Edition of Elmore Magazine, New York
His voice is bland enough to run through the speakers at Starbucks all day without upsetting anyone. The lyrics tend toward cliché, especially when Collins sings about being inside a Mississippi jail, meeting “Black Betty”, or working on the bayou.
Michael Cala – Aug / Sept Edition of Blues Revue
 The production is first rate and the songs are outstanding. It's one of my favorite blues albums of the year so far.
Chip Eagle - Publisher of Blues Revue
I like this album. He has a bold and dangerous personality in his music.
Bruce Iglauer - Alligator Records
 
The singing, playing, engineering and production are top notch. It’s one of the best CDs I’ve heard in a long time. It’s a masterpiece.
Alice Stuart – US Singer / Songwriter / Recording Artist
 Way Down The River is a masterpiece album from Australian Blues man "Sugarcane" Collins. Everything about this album is remarkable.
James Walker - BLUESWAX.com
It is a great CD in every way.
Delta Frank Black - WGLT Blues DJ, Bloomington Illinois
Collins displays a great attention to detail for all aspects of the production.
The artwork and layout are stunning. Included is a full-color booklet containing not only lyrics to each track but also photos of the Mississippi that have National Geographic-like quality. The love he has for the Blues is evident in every aspect of this recording. It is an impressive presentation.
Mark Thompson – Cross Roads Blues Society
It's one of the best acoustic Blues CD's I've heard in a long time!
Jan Ramsey - James River Blues Society, Virginia
This album is a must have for acoustic Blues lovers. These are all original compositions and they are classic.
Pat Kreeft - Atlanta Blues Society, Georgia
The CD is great. I’m impressed with the Blues talent coming out of Australia. You are a credit to our music.
Richard Ludmerer – New York Blues and Jazz Society
"Sugarcane" Collins is a true wonder from "down under". It amazes me to hear how well he captures the authenticity of the sound.
His big soulful voice is as deep and passionate as his finger-picking and wine bottleneck slide is flawless. This CD has already received extensive airplay on my "Bigdaddy's Blues" Radio Show and will continue to be heard. It's that good
Ray Hansen - Walla Walla Blues Society, Washington
If you didn’t know any better, listening to his new self-released disc Way Down the River, you’d swear that Sugarcane Collins was raised on Blues music in the Deep South of the USA. Blessed with a husky, soulful voice and a deft stroke on guitar Collins pays tribute to the great acoustic Blues men of the 20’s and 30’s. Collins wrote all the tunes and they are a powerful commentary on the music of that time. Highlights include “Got A Mind To Ramble,” about the wanderlust that struck so many residents of the Delta during that time in an effort to improve their lot in life, “One Wing Frank,” about a prisoner who finds a way out of the hard labor in the pen, “Leadbelly,” a biographical piece about the legendary Louisiana singer, and “Shine The Light,” a stirring gospel track. Two instrumentals, the rousing washboard propelled ragtime number “All The Way to St. Louis” and “Dancing Rabbit Creek” with its quirky use of jaw's harp, also showcase Collins’ dynamic fretwork.
Graham Clarke - BLUESBYTES.com 
As you can imagine this level of critical acclaim is very satisfying. I spent two years working on Way Down The River and not only did I write and arrange all the songs I produced the album as well. It gives me a lot of heart to see my work connecting with so many people from all over the States. And reviews like that sure helped me to sell out all the albums l brought over with me.
CHC Do you have any distribution in the USA for WAY DOWN THE RIVER?
Sugarcane: Yes,  l’m selling through cdmojo.com which is a US internet site that mainly sells Blues / Roots type albums and Way Down The River is also available at the secure online shop at my website www.sugarcanecollins.com
 CHC: Is this your first release? What other albums have you done?
Sugarcane: Way Down The River is my first Blues album and third album overall.
In 1999 l released my solo singer / songwriter debut album Barron Delta Blue. Described by Mike Daly of The Age, one of Australia’s biggest daily newspapers, as “one of 1999’s best Australian releases”, the album was entirely produced and recorded in Cairns and chronicles my life in the wilds of Far North Queensland.
It was awarded
· the Queensland Blues Excellence Album of the Year 2000
· Adult Contemporary Album of the Year 2000 from the Queensland Recording Association “Sunnie” Awards
·        Track 2. Pascoe River won the Folk / Acoustic Song of the Year 1999 awarded by the Australian Songwriters Association and was also included on the ABC / EMI compilation album ABC Radio ‘Airplay Volume 3’
·  3 other song writing awards and tremendous radio airplay all over Australia and around the world.
In 2003 l released my second album, the jazzy bluesy Lake Street Serenade, which includes a bonus CD Rom ‘outback’ video clip of my award winning song Pascoe River. ( The Pascoe River is another 500 miles north of Cairns up on Cape York. It’s one of Australia’s last frontiers. I’ve had a fishing shack up there for years )
At the 2004 Queensland Recording Association “ Sunnie ” Awards, the highest honours given for recording and song writing in Queensland, songs on Lake Street Serenade received a record 12 nominations across eight different categories and I was awarded three “Sunnies” -
  Queensland Songwriter of the Year 2004
Queensland Song of the Year 2004
Queensland Blues / Roots Song of the Year 2004
  Both albums are still selling strongly at my website.
 CHC (If we have the timing correct) At approximately the time you came over,  England experienced that terrorist threat in their airport and as such our security level here was raised. Did you experience any problems entering this country?  
 Sugarcane: Actually l flew into the States on June 13th which was quite sometime before that particular terrorist threat and l didn’t experience any problems. Let’s face it, security in airports has been ramped up over the past few years, but apart from taking off your shoes once or twice and a few extra exclusions regarding what you can take onto the plane as hand luggage, not too much has changed as regards flying around the world.
CHC: Was your trip and your visits to each city something that you had planned, or was this planned by your manager, or a promoter?
Sugarcane: I’m an independent artist who doesn’t have a manager and l organised the tour myself primarily via the Internet. I applied for Blues Festivals at their websites and sent my applications and publicity by post and email. The internet is the most amazing communication medium known to man and without it l could never have achieved what l have so far. I also have a couple of American mates – one in Illinois and one in Washington – who put me up and helped me to find gigs. Without their efforts on my behalf l would be nowhere. Again it was via the internet that l made these connections and again without that type of grassroots support and encouragement it would be very difficult to make any head way or make ends meet.
CHC: What cities did you visit?
Sugarcane New Orleans, Clarksdale Mississippi, Helena Arkansas, Watseka Kankakee Champaign/Urbana and Bloomington in Illinois and Spokane, Seattle and Kettle Falls in Washington.
CHC: What was your experience in arriving in each city?
Sugarcane: Well,  l flew into New Orleans on June 13th and spent a week in post Katrina New Orleans – l had actually flown out of New Orleans in 2005 four days before Katrina blew. I had been in town for the Cutting Edge Music Business and Roots Music Gathering. Out in the 9th Ward and East New Orleans and Slidell etc,  etc. which took the worst of the flooding. There are still 10,000 empty houses and thousands of drowned cars and mountains of debris waiting to be removed and all the drug dealers have returned and are embroiled in a turf war and five teenagers were shot execution style in one night and the National Guard was called back in.

 Meanwhile over in the French Quarter and Garden District and Uptown which received minimal flood damage because they are built on the high ground, you'd hardly know there had been a hurricane. But being tourist dependent, and by and large the tourist numbers have slowed down, business ain’t that great. Everyone was concerned about this year’s hurricane season and the prospect of a repeat performance. They are far from ready to deal with one. But hey, it's still the Big Easy and the music still seeps up from the sidewalks and the bars still don't close till the sun comes up and you can still get a good gumbo and l for one will keep coming back.
Next stop Clarksdale Mississippi - a 12 hour Greyhound ride - where l was met at the bus station by my mate Frank "Rat" Ratliff who runs the delightfully dilapidated and historical Riverside Hotel. Once home to many delta blues men early in their careers like Robert Nighthawk, John Lee Hooker, Pinetop Perkins etc. the Riverside is like stepping back into the 1940's. It has never been properly renovated and l hope it never is, and the fan clacks and the floors creak and you can taste the history. Bessie Smith died in the room next to mine ( in a former incarnation the Riverside was the African American Hospital ) and Rat tells stories like how Ike Turner, who recorded the demo of "Rocket 88" in the basement (widely regarded as the first Rock and Roll song), borrowed gas money from his mother to get to St Louis. 50 years later Rat is still dirty on him for not paying his mother back!!
I had picked up some fried chicken on the way from the bus station and after depositing the remains in the bar fridge you'll find in every room Rat says " Come on Sugarcane let's ride" and it's off to Jessie’s Juke Joint on Issaquena Street, once the bustling heart of black Clarksdale. But the glory days when cotton was king are long gone and Issaquena is now home to some broken down boarded up buildings, vacant lots and a couple of jukes you wouldn't know were jukes if not for the Budweiser lights over the door. Inside a gathering of middle aged African American men are playing poker, watching basketball, putting coins in the slot machine and having an amiable little drink. Rat lets everyone know Sugarcane is back in town and Eddy Hurskin buys me a beer and we chill. Clarksdale is a friendly town.
I had rung Bobby Tarzi from N'awlinz and organized to do a gig in his Delta Amusement Blues Cafe on Saturday night so next morning l went all over town putting up posters to that effect and went and hired a car for tomorrows drive over to Helena Arkansas to appear on the June 22nd 14,993rd KING BISCUIT TIME Radio Show on KFFA which is the longest continuous running radio program in the world and probably the worlds most famous blues show. It has hosted all the greats from Sonny Boy Williamson, Pinetop Perkins, Robert Lockwood Jnr, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, etc through Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and yours truly Sugarcane Collins. It's the second time I've appeared on the show with mine host and genial octogenarian Sonny Payne. Back in Clarksdale I pop into the Delta Blues Museum and cut a deal to sell WAY DOWN THE RIVER in the museum shop with assistant Chris. "Sure man,  l like your sound and would be glad to give you a hand". Like I said, . Clarksdale is a friendly town.
The gig at the Delta Amusement went off, I sold a pile of albums and as luck would have it,  Marilyn Fontenot, the editor of the local paper was in the house. On Monday I was interviewed, and on Tuesday I was on the front page of the Clarksdale Press Register. Later that day I rolled out of town on a Greyhound bound for Illinois.
I’ve got a home in the Delta. And everywhere l went it was much the same, generous people who were happy to give me the time of day. There is no doubt that without the help and encouragement of the American people l wouldn’t have got very far at all.
CHC: Was this your first visit to the States?
Sugarcane: This was actually my third visit to the USA. I came over for six months in 1980 on my very first trip outside of Australia and had an absolute ball. I bought an old Dodge Sportsman campervan and did 15,000 miles through Canada, the USA, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Back then the Australian dollar was worth more than the US dollar and believe it or not US$3200 kept me going the whole six months. A six pack was a buck fifty,  gas was 50 cents a gallon and half that down in Mexico where l spent nearly three months, and a dollar would buy you a full breakfast. I’ll write a book about those adventures one of these days. I always thought that if l came back with my music l might do OK and I finally made it back for my second trip to the USA 25 years later in 2005. Life is like that! I got a lucky break and was booked for my very first US Blues festival - the Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival in Washington state where l shared the stage with Coco Montoya, WC Clark, The Mannish Boys and John Nemeth to name a few and l got to jam with Pinetop Perkins in Bloomington,  Illinois and made my first appearance on the King Biscuit Time show and so much more and Im  knew l’d be back again. I love the USA. It’s great place.
CHC: Was this largely just a "walkabout", or will you, as some of your fellow country men have, eventually move here?
Sugarcane:  My 2005 tour was what l would describe as my Blues Odyssey and I made sure that I spent time in New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta and Memphis and Chicago, you know, walk in the footsteps of my heroes in all the important places just in case destiny deprived me of ever coming back. I hadn’t been to any of those places the first time round. As luck and good planning would have it,  I was able to come back this year and I sure hope I can come back again next year. It would probably take a WC Handy award for Way Down The River and some sort of a record deal with an American label to have me moving over here on any sort of permanent basis.
But hey, if the above scenario unfolded l would definitely enjoy spending a lot more time in the USA.
CHC How do your audiences here compare to your audiences back home?
Sugarcane: Well that’s another thing l really dig about the USA. If audiences over here like what you do they really "give it up" and they are generous with their praise and tips and the buying of CDs. Believe it or not Australians can at times be quite reserved and generally speaking I find the US audiences to be more spontaneous. American audiences really responded to the power and passion of my voice, the variety and dexterity of my guitar styles and the honesty and intensity of my overall stage performance. The Australian accent doesn’t hurt either when I am telling my stories in between the songs!
 CHC Did you play mostly smaller, more intimate venues, or did you play festivals here?
Sugarcane: I did a whole range of gigs that went from small wine bars to medium sized blues festivals to churches and schools. The highlights were -
Thur June 22nd King Biscuit Time Radio Show, Helena, Arkansas
Sat June 24th Delta Amusement Blues Café, Clarksdale, Mississippi
Sat July 8th Brandon Casey’s, Kankakee, Illinois
Sun July 9th Milford Christian Church, Milford, Illinois
Fri July 14th Kapers Hardware House, Watseka, Illinois
Sat July 15th Copper Top Lounge, Bloomington, Illinois
Fri July 21st Rock Cut Blues Festival, Kettle Falls, Washington
Sat July 22nd Rock Cut Blues Festival, Kettle Falls,  Washington
Fri July 28th Ralph’s Tavern, Kettle Falls, Washington
Sat July 29th Marcus Music Festival, Marcus, Washington
Sat July 29th July Caterina Winery, Spokane, Washington
Sun July 30th/Sat Aug 5th Port Townsend Country BluesFest, Washington
Fri Aug 11th Meyers Falls Markets, Washington
Fri Aug 25th Ralph’s Tavern, Kettle Falls, Washington
Tue Aug 29th Wine Cellar, Coure D’alene, Idaho
Sat Sept 2nd Rendezvous Rhythm & Blues Festival, Oroville, Washington
Thu Sept 7th Orient Public School, Orient, Washington
CHC: Now that you are back home, what are your plans?

Sugarcane: Well first cab off the rank is to do the Australian / Rest of the World release of Way Down The River at Johnos Blues Bar here in Cairns on the 11th of November and then back it up with an East Coast tour from Cairns to Melbourne and back, which is a more than 5000 miles of road traveling. I’ve already been booked for the Thredbo Legends of Blues Festival and the Australian Blues Music Festival and I’m waiting to see if
I’m booked on quite a few other festivals that are on during our Australian
summer. I’ll also be applying for Blues festivals in the USA again in the
early New Year and generally planning for a third tour of the USA in 2007.
 
CHC: Now that you are back home, what are your plans?
Sugarcane: ( now reads ) Well first cab off the rank is to do the Australian
/ Rest of the World release of Way Down The River at Johnos Blues Bar here
in Cairns on the 11th of November and then back it up with an East Coast
tour from Cairns to Melbourne and back, which is a more than 5000 miles of
road travelling. I’ve already been booked for the Thredbo Legends of Blues
Festival and the Australian Blues Music Festival and I’m waiting to see if
I’m booked on quite a few other festivals that are on during our Australian
summer. I’ll also be applying for Blues festivals in the USA again in the
early New Year and generally planning for a third tour of the USA in 2007.
 

CHC: Good luck Sugarcane. Hooroo, Cobber. You are truly a fair dinkum Bluesman
 Sugarcane: Thanks mate.
 

Sugarcane Collins
Way Down The River
1.
like a midnight shower of rain
2.
got a mind to ramble
3.
one wing frank
4.
folks of the road
5.
leadbelly
6.
all the way to st. louis
7.
i've heard the news
8.
follow me boy
9.
sallie mae
10.
shine the light
11.
dancing rabbit creek
12.
stranger here
13.
way down the river

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