Brint Anderson led his first band, The Shades, a power trio with Gary Caldwell and Jerry Williams. They played local teen centers and parties in his hometown of Natchez, Mississippi and the surrounding region, laying down a lot of Grand Funk Railroad, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Hendrix. It was during this time that he found a love for the Blues of the area. Local Bluesman Papa George Lightfoot was Brint’s earliest inspiration; they met when Papa George was playing harmonica and spoons for a supermarket’s grand opening and radio broadcast. From that point, it was a natural progression to learn the music of other Mississippi greats such as Elmore James, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B. B. and Albert King.
In the seventies, Brint joined the band Blue John, playing six nights a week in Natchez at Morgan’s Lounge. The group covered the songs of B. B., Albert, and Freddie King, the Allman Brothers, Little Feat and other Blues-Rock groups of the day. He began playing slide guitar on a regular basis and learned the finger-picking styles of Mississippi John Hurt, Taj Mahal and other American-style players. The band once brushed with greatness when they were blessed with the deep, sultry voice of Cassandra Wilson, a Mississippian that went on to great fame and fortune. She left the band for New York City in 1981. Brint departed as well. He moved to Austin, Texas and became a successful part of the scene.
In Austin, Brint formed his band Coupe de Ville. They were a six-piece unit with percussion and horns and played the funky, syncopated styles of New Orleans R & B, as well as Little Feat and their own compositions. There was one release by the band which featured Brint’s songs Blue Feelin’ and Mississippi Music. Coupe de Ville played many shows with Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Delbert McClinton and other popular bands of the Austin Blues & R & B scene. However, the most important connections for Brint were when the band played with the Neville Brothers and Dr. John. Coupe became Dr. John’s backing band whenever he passed through Texas playing dates in Austin and Houston and a few in Lafayette, Louisiana. This experience later led to Brint moving to New Orleans permanently. Other artists Coupe backed during this time were Stanley Clark, John Lee Hooker, Elvin Bishop, Albert Collins and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
In 1992, Brint headed for New Orleans. With the connections he had made with Dr. John and the Nevilles, it wasn’t long before he was working with many of the legends in this cradle of American music. His first break was securing the guitar position in George Porter, Jr’s Runnin’ Pardners, a position he continues to hold. During this run with Porter, he’s recorded on six releases and one live video called Things Ain’t What They Used To Be. His song Sweetness was featured on Porter’s Funk and Go Nuts. The most recent recording with Porter is being released during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festival, an EP that is Nice, Very Nice. Through the gig with Runnin’ Pardners, the opportunities have arisen to back other greats such as Art Neville, The Radiators, Johnny Adams, Earl King, Snooks Eaglin, Eddie Bo and Henry Butler.
Brint Anderson Band was formed in the early nineties. He won the Abita beer Blues competition in ’93 at Mid City “Rock N Bowl”, received an award for best New Orleans R & B band from offBeatmagazine in ’97, and was the house band for Levon Helm of The Band and Levon’s club on Decatur Street. There are four CD’s of his own…1995’s Homage To Elmore, a tribute to Elmore James, 1997’s I Knew This Would Happen, a rocking Blues disc, the 2000 release Notes From Clarksdale–a live acoustic Blues recording from Hopson farm in Clarksdale, and his latest self-titled solo acoustic CD.
In 2014, Brint was house guitarists for The Musical Mojo of Dr. John at the Saenger Theater that featured stars such as Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, Mavis Staples, and The Meters as well as many other New Orleans legends Anders Osborn, Dave Malone, and Tab Benoit.
