By Marc Loison 
Singer-guitarist Andrew Duncanson and saxophonist–harmonica player Michael Peloquin joined forces to deliver the album California Trap, recorded with Kid Andersen at Greaseland in California. This collaboration, born from an unexpected meeting on a boat – during the Caribbean Blue Cruise – then took shape in the studio, carried by a deep musical brotherhood between two figures of American blues.
Both originally from Champaign, Illinois, they embody two complementary paths: Michael Peloquin, a talented multi-instrumentalist (tenor, baritone, and alto saxophones; diatonic and chromatic harmonica), singer, seasoned composer and arranger, lived in California for a long time before returning to the Midwest. He has worked with legends such as Jeff Beck, Albert King, and Chris Cain, and shines in a style that fuses soul-blues, rhythm & blues, funk, and jazz.
Andrew Duncanson, who remained faithful to his homeland, made his mark on the blues circuit in the 2000s with the Kilborn Alley Blues Band, then with the trio Dig 3. His powerful voice—often compared to John Németh—and his guitar playing, as expressive as it is authentic, led him in 2019 to step in for the late Mike Ledbetter alongside Monster Mike Welch.
Blues Actu brought them together for a joint interview in which the two musicians look back on their respective journeys, their meeting, and the making of an album steeped in their shared passion for the blues.
🎙️ The joint interview
The album California Trap has finally been out for a few weeks. We’ll talk about it, of course, but first I’d like to ask a few questions to Michael Peloquin. What does it mean to have built your own path alongside legends such as Albert King or the great Tommy Castro?
Michael Peloquin: The moment with Albert King happened at a big festival where we backed him. It was a memorable experience, and he was very pleasant. He had a reputation for not always being easy, but that day he was really friendly. Larry Davis was also part of that show, and I have great memories of it. I was still fairly inexperienced at the time—not as seasoned as I am today.
After that, I started playing with Tommy Castro on the last two songs of one of his concerts. He and I have been friends since 1986 or 1987. We played together in a band for a few years, then he left to launch his solo career. I played on one of his albums, and later we did several blues cruises together. That’s when I reconnected with Andrew.
At the time, he was still more of a distant acquaintance—I barely knew him before 2019. I had played with his band a few times and knew some of the musicians he worked with, but we hadn’t really had a chance to talk. Then I ran into him on the bus taking us to the ship… and that’s where it all started.
Do you still have a connection with those five guys—Tommy, Steve, Anthony, Larry, and Mitch?
Michael Peloquin: Yes, I worked with Larry—not recently—but back when we were in the same band. Larry was in touch with people who had won Grammy Awards, and that’s probably still the case today. He helped me a lot. He acted as a vocal producer, because I didn’t really think of myself as a singer. Thanks to him, I was able to make this album and further develop that side of my musical expression. I’m very grateful to him.
He also introduced me to two exceptional backing vocalists, both quite well known. Monet Owens, also known as Conesha Monet, has sung with many famous artists and has her own career. And Jeanie Tracy, a prominent figure on the European house and disco scene. Working with them was an extraordinary experience. I was impressed by their way of collaborating, their energy, and their professionalism.
In California, the blues scene is still alive, but some say it’s in decline compared to what it was 20 or 30 years ago. Do you share that view?
Michael Peloquin: I think that’s true in most places, largely because of demographics and the natural wear of time. The big blues fans of the 1990s, who were young and very active back then, have moved on. That said, the scene continues to exist anyway. I think it’s still holding on, even though it has changed. I just try not to compare eras too much, because that can be a bit depressing.
Michael, you’re also nicknamed “The Mighty Quinn.” Is that because of the Bob Dylan song?
Michael Peloquin: Actually, I’m Bob’s illegitimate son! (laughs) No, I don’t really know why someone once called me that… Forty years ago, I went by “Michael Quinn” or “Mike Quinn,” and then one day someone told me: “Hey, just use your real name.” He added, “Don’t be afraid of your French heritage!” (laughs)
Is there a living artist you’d like to share the stage with nowadays?
Michael Peloquin: Oh, I’d probably name someone like Stevie Wonder…
Andrew Duncanson: Not really. I don’t have a specific role model. I like Michael’s answer. He’s truly great. My wife and I talked about it, and she said, “Van Morrison would be pretty cool, you know…”
Andrew, you live in Champaign, two and a half hours from Chicago. How important is Chicago in your heart as a blues city and in your career?
Andrew Duncanson : I think it’s very important. As you said, Champaign is really close to Chicago, which allowed us to see many Chicago blues artists passing through, often on their way to St. Louis or Memphis. Thanks to that, I had the chance to see and meet many very good blues musicians.
And since the city is so close, from a young age I was able to put on shows there. I had the opportunity to play with Buddy Guy and to perform at a club on the West Side of Chicago that was then called Boss Man’s Blues Center, known today as the Lakeside Bar. That’s where I met a whole roster of great blues names: Mary Lane, Tail Dragger, and others whose names escape me at the moment… But yes, it was at 3500 West Lake.
A question about your band, the Kilborn Alley Blues Band. Can you tell me how you started together, and how much you’ve grown with the band over the years?
Andrew Duncanson : The band is still playing, actually. We just played on Saturday night. The lineup has changed since the beginning—it’s a totally different lineup today. The only original members are me and the bass player. But our current drummer, Aaron “A Train” Wilson, has been with us for 11 or 12 years.
The band started with high school buddies – we made music for fun in a garage. Then we started playing a bit at parties and in bars. And it’s true that things moved pretty quickly. The band got rather good faster than we would’ve imagined. We didn’t expect that, but we improved fast.
You’re asking how we grew? Well… we grew, and grew… and here we are, still going 25 years later. There were a few Blues Music Award nominations, quite a lot of traveling, and a whole lot of good times. We met tons of great people and really had a lot of fun.
Today you’re still playing with the Kilborn Alley Blues Band, but you also founded what you call a “classic-and-modern roots” band: The Dig 3, with Gerry Hundt and Ronnie Shellist. What’s the aim of that project?
Andrew Duncanson : Yes—originally it was just to play together as friends during the Covid lockdown. Gerry had a one-man band, so he used a minimalist drum setup. Ronnie and I had our amps, and all of a sudden it started to sound like a real band—a full-fledged trio.
We mostly played shuffles, slow blues, Chicago blues. I had a few songs on hand, more in a traditional style, and that’s how the idea took shape. I started wanting to record those tracks. So I suggested to Gerry and Ronnie, when they were passing through Champaign, that we record them. We did, we put out the album… and it went pretty well.
That’s how the The Dig 3 project came to be. And it still exists today. Well, Ronnie now lives in Colorado, so it’s a bit harder for him to come play with us regularly.
Is it a response to a kind of crisis in the music world? Maybe. In any case, I like having several projects in parallel. It’s stimulating, it’s fun, and it helps keep the spark alive.
How do you see the evolution of the blues scene in the United States today, especially compared to what it was 25 years ago?
Andrew Duncanson : It’s a little sad, you know, because a lot of people aren’t around anymore… they’ve gone, they’re in blues heaven. Whether fans or musicians, many have passed on. But at the same time, I think young people today—thanks to the Internet, YouTube, and all those tools—discover blues more easily than before. So they get into it earlier, and that’s encouraging.
Of course, part of the soul of the old blues has disappeared. It won’t come back. Michael mentioned it too… There’s a certain nostalgia, that’s true. But I truly believe that as long as young people keep listening to blues, going out to concerts, trying to play it, getting involved… then the blues scene is still very much alive.
Andrew, I read that after 2019 you had to convince Michael Peloquin several times to finally record this album, California Trap. Can you tell me a bit more about the idea for the album being born on the ship—is that right?
Andrew Duncanson : Yes, that’s exactly it. I remember Michael once told me, “Hey man, you should come to California to make a record with me.” Just like that, almost in passing. I said it sounded like a good idea, and we sort of joked, “Ha ha, let’s do it!”
But once I got home, I really started thinking about it seriously. I told myself it was definitely something I wanted to do, even if we didn’t yet know exactly how it would happen.
So I sent him a message: “Hey, when are we making this album? I think I’ve got three, four, or five lyrics ready…” I was a little nervous—it’s not really my habit to push like that—but I nudged him a bit. I think it motivated him to take action.
You mean it could have been forgotten? Because sometimes we have projects we never follow through on. It all could have fallen through, right?
Andrew Duncanson: Yes, exactly! We often say, “Oh, we should do a show together, we should record together!” And then in the end we never think about it again… So it was really cool that it actually happened, yeah!
Tell us a bit about the story of this album, California Trap. How did you prepare the songs before going into the studio? Because the recording only lasted two days…
Michael Peloquin: What we did was, we had two days for the first session in California. During those two days, we recorded eight songs, tracked live in the studio. Some of the California Trap tracks included horns that were on site. I think we reworked them afterward, because Mike Rinta on trombone and I came up with arrangements along the lines of what we’ve played on stage for years. Then I refined it all. Anyway… a lot happened in those two days, but yes, we were pretty prepared!
Andrew Duncanson: Yes, I had added horn parts I’d demoed on a Kilborn Alley song that I sent him. Most of the horns were recorded as overdubs—same with the backing vocals. But a large part of the album was captured live during those two sessions. Then, a month later, we recorded five additional tracks, including a song by Mike Schermer, which was a creation of Kid Andersen. That next session took place in March or April.
So it took a long time to prepare, but you had little time to record. Is that the right takeaway?
Andrew Duncanson: Exactly. We had that other recording session with Jerry Jemmott and Jim Pugh. That’s when we did those tracks. One of them is a song we didn’t put on the album. It’s kind of a country ballad in the style of Merle Haggard, and it will be part of another project. It’s an Andrew song.
For the rest, all the overdubs and additions were done during those sessions, but all of Andrew’s vocals were recorded at that time. Many of the takes were close to what he had done live with the band. To me, that was admirable.
What’s it like working with a guy like the great Kid Andersen?
Andrew Duncanson : Michael has worked with Kid hundreds of times. For me, it was a brand-new experience—I didn’t even know Kid very well beforehand. But I can tell you one thing: he was very warm, very welcoming, and he treated me with a lot of respect from the moment I arrived at his place. It was truly great to work with him.
About recording in the studio and at the Greaseland house—how did it go for you? Musicians who have recorded there are all enthusiastic. Why is that?
Michael Peloquin: Everything revolves around Kid, and he really is as amazing a person as he is a musician. As Andrew said, he’s both respectful and warm. I’d just add that the first time I met him, he became an “instant friend.” There’s no adjustment period—neither for him nor for you. As soon as he opens the door, it’s like you’re already friends.
Andrew Duncanson : He truly loved working on this record—he throws himself completely into everything he does. You could say he really enjoyed helping us bring our album to life. You know, sometimes when the project was taking longer than expected, he wasn’t too happy that it was dragging on before release… But when we asked him to jump in, I felt all his positive energy, and I think many people know what a joy—and a relief—it is that this album is finally out. As he himself says: “So the world can hear it!”
What’s your final message for our listeners here in France, for Blues Actu?
Andrew Duncanson : I’d like to tell everyone: keep listening to blues, keep listening to Sweet Home Chicago. You can find our music pretty much everywhere online—stream it, download it, gift it, buy it… In short, keep supporting local artists wherever you are. Especially if you have local musicians or artists near you—and all those who are touring—go say hello, buy their merch, and support what they do. Thank you!
Michael Peloquin: I simply want to express my gratitude to everyone who accepts the gifts I want to offer. I want to keep being creative, to bring joy and happiness. I’m in the happiness business, so I hope all listeners are happy. And I’m sure you are, since you’re here listening to Blues Actu Radio!
Listen to the audio interview on Marc Loison’s site: French | English