First Posted: 5/4/2015
It wasn’t until she was out of her teens years that Phyllis Hopkins decided she wanted to learn how to play the guitar. She was 24 to be exact. Eventually, she popped into B&C Music Studio in Pittston and picked up her first Fender.
In 1995, Hopkins, then 29, was featured in the Sunday Dispatch’s weekly “Spotlight” series. She had just started her first band: Little Sister and the Moneymakers. A few years prior to that, however, the 1984 Pittston Area graduate found her love for blues music for the first time, thanks to Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Now, two decades later, Hopkins plays a major role in the Northeast Pennsylvania music scene with her band the Phyllis Hopkins Electric Trio — and she’s still playing that same guitar.
Early beginnings
Hopkins grew up listening to Diana Ross, Elvis and Journey. She quickly felt a passion for rock and blues, but it wasn’t until she heard Vaughn that she decided to start playing herself.
“I just fell in love with that music and always loved guitar my whole life,” Hopkins said. “I started out trying to play Stevie Ray and it was kind of scary.”
A few years after hearing Vaughn’s music, Hopkins began lessons with Pittston native “Sting Ray” Ray Delpriore, the lead of the Sting Rays Blues Band. Delpriore used to hold jam sessions at Lispi’s Cocktail Lounge in Plains Township. That’s where Hopkins formed her band Little Sister and the Moneymakers.
That first band, she said, pays homage to Vaughn’s song “Little Sister” and Elmore James’ “Shake Your Moneymaker.” Later, Hopkins formed a band called The Little Sister Band.
Vaughn may have been the drive behind Hopkins, but a man named Ronnie Earl was in fact her greatest inspiration. Earl, who is the point man for The Broadcasters, recently called Hopkins up on stage at a show in New York. Hopkins then jammed with the blues legend on a few songs. It was also Hopkins’ 49th birthday.
“That was a big moment,” she said.
Trio is formed
Hopkins, now 49, released her first solo CD called “You Don’t Know” in 2008. She then formed the Phyllis Hopkins Band with John Hopkins, Jake Gale and Sean Lehman.
However, when she heard drummer Julio Caprari and bass player Nola Ayers were available, the trio soon went by the name Phyllis Hopkins Electric Trio. The group has been together since June 2012. They currently play local venues and music festivals all across Northeastern Pennsylvania.
“We’ve been together for three years now,” Hopkins said. “They are the best of friends and they make it real easy. We are always on the same page.”
Hopkins said two weeks after playing for the first time, the trio already hit the local music scene.
“We’re an eclectic mix of original music, blues and cover songs,” Hopkins said. “They were a rhythm section that played with Sting Ray. We’ve always been on the same page.”
The trio released a self-titled CD in September 2014. All nine songs were written and composed by Hopkins, who takes most of her lyrical inspiration from the likes of Koko Taylor, Etta James, Billy Holiday, Eva Cassidy, Ann Wilson and Shemeka Copeland.
This is Hopkins’ third CD, she said. The CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby or at Hopkins’ shows.
A special Stratocaster
The guitar Hopkins still uses today was purchased in 1991 at B&C Music Studio, which is now called The Music Scene on Main Street in Pittston. B&C closed its doors in 2011. It wasn’t Hopkins’ first guitar, but it was her first American-made guitar.
The Fender Stratocaster’s purple body caught Hopkins’ eye from the first time she saw it. It was sitting in the window at B&C as she walked by. From the moment she strummed it, she was hooked, she said.
“When you play a guitar not plugged in and it sounds good, you know you have a good guitar,” Hopkins said. “I had to have it. Once I plugged it in — I loved it ever since.”
She loves the tone of the guitar. She admitted she has bought other guitars since then, but has always reverted back the the one she fell in love with in 1991.
Passing the blues along
Hopkins admits she’s always loved the blues. The current group isn’t afraid to cover other genres or play any type of electric music.
However, Hopkins tries to make it a point to pass the blues along while teaching lessons at Rock Street Music on Main Street in Pittston. She’s been teaching there for several years, and never thought she had what it takes to be a teacher.
After studying on how it’s done — reading several books — Hopkins now teaches students ranging from seven through 30-years-old. She won’t push her students to play the blues. She said she’ll teach them anything they want. However, f they pick the blues, it’s just a bonus.
That’s one of the main reasons she believes keeping blues alive is so important.
“The blues scene has changed a lot since when I started,” she said. “There is a variety of channels you can listen to now and people are more open to it. We have a great variety and that makes us successful.”
Hopkins said the average age of concert-goers at blues festivals and shows is around 45.
Family of support
Hopkins is the daughter of John and Angie Hopkins, Hughestown. Since day one, she said, her immediate family, along with aunts and uncles, has been her biggest support.
“Early on, it would just be them,” she said. “Now, they still go to the shows.”
Hopkins was married five years ago to Serge Ubiergo, who has supported her from the beginning.
As far as playing for the next several years or longer, Hopkins sees that not being an issue. She said she’ll play for another 20 years if she could.
“It’s just a passion,” she said. “I’ve dedicated my life to it now.”
Up next: The Phyllis Hopkins Electric Trio will be playing at The Chicken Coop in Old Forge on Saturday, May 16. The trio will play on Friday, May 22 at Tony and Deno’s on Parsonage Street in Hughestown.
