When Hubert Sumlin sideman Sean Chambers played a gig with Savoy Brown bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm, the result was blues-rock ecstasy. Live From Daryl’s House Club is the next best thing to being there. Fans of incendiary slide playing and Rory Gallagher, look no further.
How did you meet Pat and Garnet?
I met Kim Simmonds in 2019 when we played the Bowlful of Blues Festival, in Iowa, which Savoy Brown headlined. After our set, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I’m Pat DeSalvo. I play bass for Savoy Brown.” He told me Kim wanted to meet me. I was blown away because Kim is one of my heroes. Pat took me backstage, and we hit it off.
They were so good; the hair on my arms was standing up. Their three-piece was amazing. When Kim walked off the stage, I offered to carry one of his guitars. He gave me his Les Paul and said, “Man, if I’d known you were going to be here, I would have got you up to play with us.” We kept in touch and I eventually wound up on the same label as Savoy Brown. Around that time, Kim was diagnosed with cancer, then in 2022 I went through changes with my band.
Pat had been checking out my band and eventually sat in, and we became friends. I needed a band to do a couple of shows. So I asked Pat and Garnet if they wanted to do it. We did some shows, then Kim’s cancer got worse. He started to get neuropathy in his hands, so he couldn’t play guitar. He was still in good spirits and could still play slide and harmonica – he wanted to keep playing. He had five or six shows on the books, so they asked if I wanted to front the band for them. Kim would play slide and harmonica, but I would do the majority of the singing. Sadly, it never came to fruition.
My first tour with Pat and Garnet was in Europe in 2022. On our days off, we would call Kim. He gave us his blessing, said we sounded great, and needed to keep the music going. Sadly, on December 13, 2022, Kim passed away. Pat and Garnet and I have been playing together ever since.
How did the Daryl’s House gig come about?
My A&R rep recommended we do a live album. Daryl’s House Club is set up to do live recordings. They have all the gear. I thought, “What better place?” I approached it as a regular show and we went in and did our two hours and I figured I’d whittle it down to 12 songs from the 26 songs we played.
You guys were on fire.
We’ve been getting great reviews and great radio play. It’s off to a running start, and it’s pretty exciting.
You cover Rory Gallagher’s version of “Bullfrog Blues.”
Rory was something else. He and Gary Moore are two of my favorite Irish guitar players.
Which guitar are you playing the most right now?
I played a Strat for my whole career, but a couple years ago, a friend gifted me a Carparelli Custom. It looks and sounds like a Les Paul, but it has a fat neck and sounds so good. I get such clean and dirty tones out of it and everything in-between. So, for the last year and a half, I’ve been playing it exclusively. It’s got mother-of-pearl inlays and a rosewood fretboard. It’s a beast of a guitar. I can get really nasty tones out of it and nice clean tones, as well. It’s surprising, because I never thought I would stray from my Stratocaster.
What are you plugging it into?
I’m using a Mahalo amp, which is a boutique 4×10 combo. I’m also running, believe it or not, a Crate V50 2×12, and it sounds great. I run one dirty and one clean in stereo. It’s a pretty fat sound.
You play hellacious slide on the album.
I use open A and open D a lot. Those are my favorite tunings. “Red Hot Mama” is in open E. “Bullfrog Blues” is in open A, but I put a capo on the seventh fret. That’s what Rory did, so that’s what I do. I’m honestly not that great of a slide player in standard tuning (laughs). – Oscar Jordan
This article originally appeared in VG’s June 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
