PUBLISHED IN THE KITCHENER WATERLOO RECORD ON Wednesday, July 15, 1998
By Nick Krewen
You've heard of the "cradle of the blues"? Meet the bearer of the "ladle of the blues."
In what may be a culinary first, Orlando slide guitarist BILL "SAUCE BOSS" Wharton cooks two ways in front of his concert audiences: on his instrument, and with his cooking pot.
While Wharton is steaming through a set of his rich, swampy blues, a pot of gumbo featuring a healthy portion his own Liquid Summer hot sauce simmers on stage with him.
"I am stirring the gumbo and playing guitar simultaneously on stage," confirmed Wharton yesterday (Tuesday) from his Florida home, just hours before leaving for a Canadian mini-tour that will see him perform at Mrs. Robinson's on Friday and the Halton Blues And Roots Festival at the Hardball Cafe in Georgetown on Saturday.
Say what? A musician that actually feeds his audience? Wharton says he's been doing it since the turn of the decade.
"I've always wanted to cook, and I've always wanted to play music," says Wharton, whose three albums are available exclusively through his Website, www.sauceboss.com.
"This Liquid Summer invention was my own, and then it grew into this thing where cooking is more a part of my music. At this stage, we've fed more than 50,000 people -- a few at a time -- since1990."
Indeed, Wharton's gastronomusical skills have impressed more than a few, roping in such high profile fans as bluesmen KENNY NEAL and CAREY BELL, filmmaker JONATHAN DEMME -- who featured the Wharton tune "Let The Big Dog Eat" in his film Something Wild -- and even JIMMY BUFFETT, who now books Wharton for week-long stints at his Margaritaville Cafe in Key West.
The critics have also been kind.
GQ Magazine called the 50-year-old father of three "a gumbo preacher with a slide guitar" while the New York Times gave him the thumbs up for his "amusing, engaging mixture." The New Orleans Times-Picayune lauded his show as " a demonstration of both cooking and guitar skills they'll never forget" while Rock And Folk Magazine tagged Wharton as "the inventor of gastronomical blues-boogie."
Even the sophisticated French press labelled him "a cross between COLONEL SANDERS, JULIA CHILD, redneck farmer, social reformer and B.B. KING."
For Wharton, it's a lifestyle enforced by the belief that his particular brand of hot sauce is the best.
"It's a really good sauce," he insists. "I never would have done this if people hadn't asked for it."
Wharton describes Liquid Summer hot sauce "as a mellow cousin of the Habanero."
"The original Liquid Summer is a datil pepper sauce. It's a Floridian pepper, very distinctive, and it has a warmth that comes up after 10 or 15 seconds. It's not just hot. There's a lot of flavor to it.
"But it was so popular that I'd make two gallons of the stuff, and it'd be gone in two weeks. Finally I figured I should sell it myself."
Wharton has done quite well for himself for what he considers " a garage enterprise." He estimates he sells "just under 10,000 bottles a year" of two Liquid Summer brand hot sauce at $10 U.S. for two bottles, $35 U.S. for a case of 12.
"It's all word-of-mouth," he says. "We don't do any advertising."
For the Kitchener and Georgetown shows, Wharton says he's bringing a lot of his own ingredients: smoked sausage, roux, plenty of Liquid Summer, and lots of okra.
"I tell you, okra is impossible to find in some places," he explains. "We just got back from playing Ireland, and the only okra we were able to find was a tiny little bag of baby okras in this Irish village.
"It was unbelievable."
-30-
DISCOGRAPHY
1989 -- The Sauce Boss
1992 -- Cookin'
1994 -- South Of The Blues
1996 -- Standing In The Fire
1999 -- Recipes (Interactive CD ROM Cookbook/Blues Album)
COLLABORATOR
1993 -- Various Artists, Margaritaville Cafe: Late Night Menu
1993 -- Various Artists, Let The Big Dog Eat: Wild Dog Blues Sampler
1995 -- Various Artists, The King Snake Collection
1995 -- Various Artists, Slide Guitar Blues
1997 -- Various Artists, Harpbeat Of The Swamp
1997 -- Various Artists, Back Porch Blues
THANKS: PHILIP BAST
©1998, 1999 Nick Krewen, Octopus Media Ink