By Frank Matheis
The M.S.G. Acoustic Blues Trio consists of Jackie Merritt, Miles Spicer & Resa Gibbs, the first letter of each last name comprising the trio’s name.
Miles Spicer, the trio’s fingerpicking guitarist, was a student of D.C. blues musician Michael Baytop, who was a founder and president of the Archie Edwards Blues Foundation and who had studied under Archie Edwards. Resa Gibbs sings and plays percussion and Jackie Merritt sings, plays harmonica and bass.
Miles Spicer reminisced, [1]
“When I was in my early twenties, I was at the first meeting of the D.C. Blues Society. Walking down the aisle singing and whistling was Bill Harris, and when I heard him I decided that I needed to have me a guitar right then and there. I got my first guitar at 23 and didn’t do a whole lot with it. But I kept getting nudged towards the blues. While taking a class at the University of Maryland I was introduced to Archie Edwards while in one of Barry Lee Pearson’s classes. Later on Barry Lee Pearson brought in Cephas & Wiggins. Years later I was mentored by Mike Baytop, and he is the strongest influence on what I do. He took the time to come to my home and teach me how to control my thumb and play in the Piedmont style. Not only did he teach me the technique but the approach and the attitude. I got to sit in John Cephas’s living room and take lessons from him and from John Jackson at Blues Week. Mike Baytop introduced me to Archie Edwards at the barbershop.”
The MSG trio is unique in that it is one of the few, maybe the only, contemporary blues trio fronting two women. The trio is semi-pro, and they have stayed mostly regional but their musicianship and musical vibe is simply wonderful, as evidenced by invitations to major festivals such as the Chicago Blues Festival. They have also played the prestigious Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
This ensemble plays a heartwarming repertoire of both traditional and original acoustic blues, gentle, lighthearted, reaching all the way back to the spirituals, to gospel, all with a true folk blues, back porch feeling. Miles Spicer expressed their approach to music with, “grace, bliss, hope, joy,” uplifting qualities that regular folks normally don’t associate with the blues, but which blues fans know to be true. “We love what we do. We are honored to carry on traditions. We hope that the love we have for the music and for each other is obvious and infectious.”
The multi-instrumentalist Jackie Merritt, who is deeply influenced by Elizabeth Cotten, plays harmonica, guitar, bass and she taps bones. She learned this percussion technique, in which bones or spoons are clapped rhythmically, directly from Mr. Bones Thomas, who was a key member of Archie’s barbershop scene. She recalled, [2]
“He was just such a sweet, generous man and he was always smiling from one ear to the other, this big grin. And I would come to the barbershop to try to sit in to play next to Phil, and every time I would show up I would start listening to the bones, and I wanted to play the bones. So I always sat next to him. He pretty much showed me my whole way of playing my style is his style, the way I hold the bones, everything is based on what he showed me. And then I found out years later that at the time most people only played with one hand and he played with two back in the day.”
She started harmonica late in life with her musical passion, and she teaches painting and drawing at a local community college. Phil Wiggins was an inspiration and her harmonica teacher.
The trio’s remarkable lead singer, the golden voiced Resa Lynn Gibbs,is also a percussionist. She perfectly rounds out the ensemble with her rich, powerful and soulful singing that draws deeply on spiritual and gospel roots. Resa is a physical therapist by day and a musician by night. She is a vocal instructor who teaches occasionally at the prestigious Country Blues Workshops at Centrum, in Port Townsend, Washington. She recalled, [3]
“The folks that gave me the courage to sing out would be Jackie and Gaye Adegbalola. They would say, “Girl, if I could sing like you, you couldn’t shut me up.” As far as the blues goes I cut my teeth at the barbershop on Bunker Hill Road. So Joe Watson and Mr. Bones and NJ Warren – they were my cheering squad. I really needed a cheering squad because I was just trying not to, excuse me, but pee on myself. I was really just trying to keep it together, period. David Jackson just had me learn Blues are the Feeling. So I’m singing the song, and I just remember closing my eyes and I think tears were streaming down my face just out of sheer nerves and anxiety. And NJ said, “Sing that song, girl. You sing your song. You tell them what you’ve got to say.” That was it. I haven’t shut up since. It’s NJ’s fault… The barbershop has meant so much to all of us. I believe that we wouldn’t be together as a trio if it were not for the barbershop and if it were not for all the support that we got. I’ll never forget – it was two weeks after 9/11 –the barbershop band played at a festival in Fredericksburg – Blues at the Burg. It was hot, hot, and Miles, Jackie and I went over just seeking shade. Jackie had just started playing harmonica. Miles got his guitar out and we just started doing one of our songs. That was the first time that the three of us had ever played together. Miles and I looked at each other when Jackie started playing, and the rest is history. We’ve been playing together as a trio ever since. But the barbershop was the beginning of all of that.”
Miles Spicer philosophized,
“Music is a continuum. It just builds on itself. So we’re taking all of our individual references and influences. We have the template of influences, which is the music that the masters created, and that is our standard. So, with that in mind, it’s not a matter of creating or recreating the songs that have been done from the ’30s and the ’20s as much as creating modern music with those songs as the template.”
Discography:
- M.S.G. The Acoustic Blues Trio – Meet Me in the Middle – Independent 2006
- M.S.G. The Acoustic Blues Trio – Done Spoke My Mind – Independent 2008
- M.S.G. The Acoustic Blues Trio – Be Careful What You Ask For Independent 2011 (EP)
- M.S.G. Acoustic Blues Trio – The Flood – Independent 2016 – MSG004
[1] Personal interview with Miles Spicer, Nov. 8, 2014.
[2] Personal interview with Jackie Merritt, Nov. 8, 2014.
[3] Personal interview with Resa Gibbs, Nov. 8, 2014.