You got the blues? Do you know what kind of blues you have?

You know, do you have Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, Texas Blues or perhaps the Piedmont Blues?

Then again, maybe you’re asking yourself: “What’s the difference?” After all, blues music is the same, isn’t it? Well, according to musician and Elizabeth City State University professor of music Chris Palestrant, not all blues sounds are equal. And he and Adam Nixon want to explain that fact to you tonight at College of the Albemarle’s Community Auditorium during a lecture and performance titled “Mojo 101.”

“Mojo 101 is a really cool multimedia presentation Adam and I developed,” says Palestrant, who also goes by the name Catdaddy when he’s playing with Uphill, a local blues band.

The presentation is something Palestrant and Nixon developed and have, well, presented around the region. The aim is to educate folks about blues as a musical genre.

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It’s widely agreed that the blues originated with African Americans in the South. From spirituals, work songs, chants and even ballads indicative of the southern rural people, a uniquely American sound was derived.

While there may be some variations in geographical origins, many agree that the blues as musicians understand it today began somewhere in the Mississippi delta. The delta sound would be carried to different regions such as Chicago where musicians there put their unique stamp on the form.

“People move and take the blues with them from place to place,” says Palestrant.

Eventually the sound would also make its way to places such as Texas, where again a uniquely Lonestar State sound was put on the blues. And while all of that was going on, here in North Carolina, our own blues sound was being born, known as the Piedmont blues.

“We’re talking about big differences in the way the blues are performed in those areas,” says Palestrant of Mojo 101.

Understandably, Palestrant doesn’t want to give a lot of his show’s content away, but he does note that he will primarily concentrate on these specific regions.

“You’re going to hear different styles of performance,” he says. “We’ll talk about harmony. A lot of it is about performance. Guitar in the Piedmont is different from a delta performer.”

The sound of a Piedmont blues musician is “rolly, folky,” while the sound of a delta bluesman has “a lot more aggressive and sharp tones.”

Palestrant again points out that the music traveled from region to region and began to take on specific characteristics. And they were characteristics that would have a lasting effect on popular music beyond the blues.

Famed delta bluesman Robert Johnson, for example, can be found in the more contemporary sounds of rock and roll.

“He becomes important because he is influential on music down the line,” says Palestrant.

Aside from his style of music, Johnson’s catalogue of original songs would impact an entire generation of musicians. Eric Clapton rather than the infamous bluesman himself introduced many music lovers to Johnson’s “Crossroad Blues”.

And Chicago bluesman Muddy Waters and his band would also have a direct influence on the rock band ensembles coming out of the 1950s.

And then of course there is the resurgence of the popularity of blues around the country and locally.

His former student Nixon approached Palestrant and with several other musicians they formed Uphill. They call their style “swampland” blues.

“It emerged from these discussions,” says Palestrant of the band. “Our sound, we think,

was influenced by our region and where we play.”

And to better understand that, people attending Mojo 101 will have the opportunity to hear Uphill play their own regional brand of the blues.

The presentation happens today, 7 p.m., at the COA Community Auditorium. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

You can get advanced tickets by calling 252-335-9050 or by going online at www.albemarle.edu.