You Never Lose the Blues, You Learn to Use the Blues

Albert King has played the blues for a long time--36 years.

He has felt them even longer.

“I’ve had them all my life,” said King, who grew up in poverty in Mississippi and Arkansas before music became his escape. “It gave me a dollar here, a dollar there. But once you have the blues, you never lose them.”

And you never stop playing them. Electric guitarist King, 65, will perform Saturday at the Music Machine in West Los Angeles, backed by his own band. He will be followed by vocalist Smokey Wilson, who will be accompanied by the Bernie Pearl Blues Band.

King, now living in Illinois, said he will play old and new material. In the late 1960s, he released “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Three songs from that album made the rhythm and blues charts. He is now rehearsing new songs in Memphis and hopes to sign a record deal.

Although rock ‘n’ roll captures the most fame and money in music these days, the blues continue to thrive, King said, especially in the South.

“I heard a girl playing drums recently in Arkansas who was top-flight, a definite talent,” King said. “But she’s married and has two children and won’t even try to make it. There’s a lot of blues out there not being heard.”

King, Wilson and the Bernie Pearl Blues Band will play two shows, at 8 and 11 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be bought at Ticketmaster outlets.

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Laura Zambo, guitarist for the San Fernando Valley-based Life Is Grand Band, is also performing solo these days. Saturday, she’ll play at the BeBop in Reseda.

“I wrote some songs that I didn’t think I could do with the band,” said Zambo, 31, of Sherman Oaks. “The songs are too intimate. They are about personal life experiences that I didn’t think would work too well with three-part harmonies.”

The ensemble has been together five years. But when Zambo decided last year to add a solo career, things weren’t too grand with the rest of the band.

“We had a little friction,” Zambo said. “They worried about the band, that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. But I’m going to try doing both. I don’t know which one will happen first.”

Complaining that she’s not enough of a hustler, Zambo said she will try to play more clubs in the future, both solo and with her band. The BeBop show begins at 8 p.m. A $5 donation is requested.

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Once again, the proposed television pilot at FM Station in North Hollywood has been postponed, this time until early April at least.

The half-hour pilot “FM Station Live” will showcase unsigned Los Angeles and Valley bands before a live audience. Filthy McNasty, the club’s owner, said he has talked to various networks and is confident that the show will be picked up. The pilot had been set for February, but scheduling difficulties forced the postponement.

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Two longtime songwriters will perform next weekend at McCabe’s in Santa Monica. On Friday night, John Stewart, former member of the Kingston Trio and writer of the multimillion seller “Daydream Believer,” will play guitar and sing at 8 and 10:30 p.m.

Stewart recently had another hit on the charts with Rosanne Cash’s version of “Runaway Train.”

On Saturday night, it will be John Hartford’s turn. Hartford, 51, has recorded about 20 albums over the past two decades, usually focusing on river-boat life. His song, “Gentle on My Mind,” has sold millions of copies and has earned him two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for his album “Mark Twang.”

Hartford just completed a new album, “Down on the River,” another compilation of songs about the river life that has always captivated him. Reached in Nashville before embarking on a tour of California, Hartford sounded excited about the project.

“I really believe it’s the best work I have ever done,” he said.

Tickets cost $12.50 and are available at McCabe’s.