For the past 10 years, Prague blues fans have been flocking to U Malého Glena on Monday nights to hear Stan the Man's Bohemian Blues Band — and for good reason. The Scottish-born Stan Wolarz's canon of classic blues, accompanied by his growling bass voice and the consummate rhythm section that backs him, provide a foundation for guitar solos that satisfy blues enthusiasts and casual listeners alike. Another thing that makes Wolarz's style appealing is that, while it's basically classic electric blues, it retains the better dynamics of '60s blues rock without the excesses generally associated with the era.

Stan the Man's recently released CD, Booze, Ballads and Boogie, demonstrates the live power of his current trio, and a DVD is currently in production documenting his 10-year run at U Malého Glena. Before a recent Monday night gig, as Bohemian Blues Band members Kamil Němec set up his drums and Anton ëuratný tuned his bass, Stan the Man sat for a few questions.

The Prague Post: Your hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland, was far from the '60s and '70s blues circuit. How did you learn classic electric blues?

Stan Wolarz: Most of what I found out about the blues was from backtracking [blues rock], and of course that wave of Mayall and other [blues-oriented] bands in between the Stones and Cream. From those guys I just kept looking further and further back. I found the stuff that really counted to me was the crossover point from the '50s to the '60s when [blues] people were moving from the country to the city and picking up electric instruments.

TPP: Is there a difference between how Slovak and Czech musicians approach the blues?

SW: Loads of difference. In general, the Czech blues bands aren't really blues bands; they are rock or jazz bands who play some blues tunes. They seem to have missed the point, whereas the Slovak guys seem to be able to do it. It's not 100 percent true — there are always exceptions. There must be something between the differences in the Czech and Slovak languages. The language of the blues is English, and I think the rhythms and the sounds of Czech are not predisposed toward blues noises. Whereas Slovak is softer and Polish is even softer, and there they have a huge blues scene.

TPP: What do you think of the Prague music scene in general?

SW: There are more venues here per square mile than any city I've ever been in, although the core of those venues, which could be so good, has gotten kind of stale. You know, all the essential clubs we know about, some of which were open in communist days, still have the same bands on the bill as they had back then. More and more of our gigs are in Germany these days; there's just more interest there. And in the Czech countryside as well, they are really quite fond of us.

TPP: In Europe, jazz and blues are often categorically lumped together. Do you see the forms that way?

SW: Both are utterly distinct, except they have improvisation in common. But the kind of improvisation and the harmonic roots, to me, depend almost completely on whether the performer came from the country or the city. There is a distinct difference between '50s and '60s recording artists, who found themselves earlier in the century in a rural setting playing a wire nailed to the fence — like John Lee Hooker or Magic Sam — or in the city with access to brass instruments.

TPP: Do you think blues is a dying music?