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    Tiny Legs Tim

    From Wikitia - Reading time: 5 min
    Tiny Legs Tim
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    Birth nameTim De Graeve
    Born(1978-11-28)November 28, 1978
    DiedMay 25, 2022(2022-05-25) (aged 43)
    GenresBlues
    Instruments
    • Guitar
    • Harmonica
    • Stompbox
    Years active2007–2022
    Websitetinylegstim.com

    Tiny Legs Tim (28 november 1978 – 25 May 2022)[1], artist name of Tim De Graeve, was a Belgian blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. He also played the harmonica. Tim was the inspirer of the Flanders blues and roots scene in the years 2010, and he had his own record label Sing My Title.[2]

    Biography[edit]

    Tim, born and raised in Heuvelland, discovered the love for the blues music in the record collection of his father, particularly the accoustic album of Blind Lemon Jefferson. From the age of eight he took classical guitar lessons and soon began writing his own songs. At seventeen he started his own blues band.[3]

    Tim moved to Ghent to study biology at the university and lived there for the remainder of his life. For a while he worked as a teacher where playing music with his band The Heartfakers was just a hobby. During severe health problems in his twenties, Tim focused on learning to play his grandfather's slide guitar, delving into blues classics such as Delta blues and writing songs. At 29, he decided to pursue his dream of a music career after all.[4] In 2009, he released his debut EP Please Dr. Please as Tiny Legs Tim & The Concrete Blues Band.[5] The years after, his focus was on releasing solo work as a singer-songwriter.

    His stage name, Tiny Legs, was a reference to his small and lean appearance that was a result of his severe liver disease. The inspiration came from some of his blues heroes such as Blind Willy Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy and Sleepy John Estes who also bear three-part names that often describes a physical characteristic. He found it a funny name that was self-deprecating. It was a way of dealing with his "new" body.[4]

    In Ghent, mainly in the borough Klein Turkije (english: Little Turkey), Tiny Legs Tim became the voice of a completely new blues generation, along with fellow blues musician Lightnin' Guy. In 2011, Guy started organizing electric blues jams, first in a small Bed and breakfast|B&B places, then at the Volkshuis. From 2014 to 2018, they co-organized the blues festival Boogieville in De Vooruit's Ballroom.[6]

    In 2015, with his help and advice, Tim's good friends Marie Follebout and Jelle de Boevé became owners and founders of the blues and roots concert club Missy Sippy in Klein Turkije, where Tim became their house musician.[7] He performed there numerous times and curated the blues jams. In addition, he and the club sought alternative music styles such as funk, americana, jazz, country, rock 'n' roll, burlesque and soul to give more young musicians a chance. Each time during the ten days of Gentse Feesten at least thirty performances are planned at the Missy Sippy. On the occasion of the club's fifth anniversary, Tim released an album called Missy Sippy All Stars Volume 1 in March 2020 that was recorded with twenty-some promising musicians.[8]

    To find inspiration in the blues, Tim traveled to Louisiana in the United States in 2017, mainly to New Orleans. African music like Maliblues and Tuareg blues also inspired him by means of their rhythmic feel, with lots of percussion.[9]

    Tim performed mostly solo with his so-called One Man Blues Band in clubs and on festivals throughout Europe. He was supporting act of Pete Doherty|Peter Doherty, John Mayall, North Mississippi Allstars|The North Mississippi Allstars, Graham Parker, Bombino (musician)|Bombino and Ian Siegal.[10] He had a name of having a very strong live reputation.[11]

    Tim released all his records independently to maintain complete control over his own musical identity. Thus, he enjoyed making solo records with just him as singer and musician. In 2015, with his third record Stepping Up, Tim started a real record label called Sing My Title. His label releases albums from Flemish blues & roots musicians such as Kaai Man from Temse, Paul Couter, Steven Troch from Mechelen, Little Jimmy and the band A Murder in Mississippi.[12][13][14]

    Private life[edit]

    Tim suffered from severe liver disease most of his adult life and underwent two liver transplants in his twenties. With the third transplant he died during surgery at the age of 43.[15][10]

    Discography[edit]

    • Please Dr. Please - EP - 2009
    • They say small birds don't fly too high - EP - 2010
    • One Man Blues - CD/LP - 2011
    • Constant Constable - EP - 2011
    • Cortisone Blues - single - 2012
    • TLT - CD/LP - 2013
    • Diggin' deeper - EP - 2013
    • Stepping up - CD/LP - 2015
    • Sad Sad - single - 2016
    • Live at Sint-Jacobs - LP/CD - 2016
    • Melodium Rag - LP/CD - 2017
    • Elsewhere Bound - LP/CD - 2019
    • Future Poets - single - 2019
    • Missy Sippy All Stars Vol. I - LP/CD - 2020
    • Call us when it's over - LP/CD - 2020

    Podcasts[edit]

    • Tiny Legs Tim and UZ Gent Hospital: "Success thanks to teamwerk and the blues". Denk Zorg – UZ Gent (in Nederlands). 2019-11-04.
    • "A tribute to Tiny Legs Tim", Into the Soul of The Blues (in Nederlands), Spotify, 2022-07-08

    References[edit]

    1. ↑ "Funeral service De Ceder". web.archive.org. 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
    2. ↑ Cornand, Bart (2022-05-25). "Bluesman Tiny Legs Tim overleden". Focus (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
    3. ↑ "Tiny Legs Tim - Ik heb veel over mijn einde nagedacht | daMusic". daMusic online muziekmagazine (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "An interview with Belgian bluesman Tiny Legs Tim". No Depression. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    5. ↑ "Tiny Legs Tim & The Concrete Blues Band stellen debuut-EP voor". Het Nieuwsblad (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    6. ↑ "Boogieville wekt 'The Blues' terug tot leven". Het Nieuwsblad (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    7. ↑ "Overrompeling in nieuwe bluesbar Klein Turkije". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Nederlands). 2015-03-09. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    8. ↑ "Bluescafé Missy Sippy blaast vijf kaarsjes uit: "Als je rijk wilt worden, moet je een andere stiel kiezen"". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Nederlands). 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    9. ↑ Cornand, Bart (2018-09-04). "In de studio bij bluesmuzikant Tiny Legs Tim: 'New Orleans gaf mij het laatste duwtje'". Focus (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
    10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 VI.BE. "Tiny Legs Tim". vi.be (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
    11. ↑ "Bluesmuzikant Tiny Legs Tim (44) overleden, grote verslagenheid bij artiesten". hln.be (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2022-05-26.
    12. ↑ Cornand, Bart (2022-02-25). "De Nederswamp van Kaai Man in première: 'In je eigen taal kom je jezelf keihard tegen'". Focus (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-01-13.
    13. ↑ "SING MY TITLE is het nieuwe label van Tim De Graeve aka Tiny Legs Tim". Frontview Magazine (in Nederlands). 2015-05-17. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
    14. ↑ "Metalgitarist Leander (29) wordt folkzanger en maakt plaat die klinkt alsof Gent aan de Mississipi ligt: "Hier zijn we uniek"". Het Nieuwsblad (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-01-10.
    15. ↑ "Bluesmuzikant Tiny Legs Tim op 44-jarige leeftijd overleden | Focus en WTV". www.focus-wtv.be (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2023-01-10.

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