For the third blog interview I republish the BluesWax, Sittin' In With Guy King article in which blues guitar player Guy King is interviewed by Bob Margolin.
In the fall of 2007 I played at the very enjoyable Orton Park Festival in Madison, Wisconsin.
The musicians were all impressive, Lurrie Bell, Katherine Davis, and Guy King from Chicago and the deep, old school Cashbox Kings from Madison.
I hadn't heard of Guy King before, but he caught my attention as soon as he started singing and playing. His guitar playing and singing were both refined and powerful.
He was obviously an experienced and natural entertainer without resorting to tired stage tricks. Offstage, he was friendly and sociable.
Guy King has already taken his own place in today's Chicago Blues scene -- right in the middle of it.
And with his CD Livin' It he shows how ready he is to hit the road and become a modern Blues star.
King is a natural talent, but as often happens in the Blues World, a bandleader/mentor can really help a young musician find his direction.
He worked in the band of one of the finest Chicago Blues bandleaders ever, the late, great Willie Kent.
King's fine music today is a tribute to Willie Kent's gift to him, to the fine musicians who are his foundation, and to his own talent and vision.
BW: I certainly understand the concept of working with a Chicago Blues bandleader, being as helpful as possible on- and offstage while learning and performing. Tell us about your time with Willie Kent.
GK: I remember the first time I met Willie; I saw him play at Blue Chicago and I loved what I heard! His voice was simply the best I had heard - it was it! A friend introduced us and we hit it off right from the start - he invited me to come and sit in with him every time I wasn't working and I did just that... we talked a lot and Willie and the guys in the band liked what they heard, so after a few months a spot opened in the band and I got a call from Willie asking me to join - and that was that! It was great! I started getting deeper into the Blues and especially the style that Willie was doing. At first I didn't say too much, as I believed (and still do) that, as the new guy (and younger by about 30 years from the next to me...), I better just be quiet, learn, and soak it all in.
Willie's band played just about every night, either in Chicago or on the road, and before I knew it my repertoire expanded tremendously and I started to feel very comfortable in the band. Willie appreciated my opinion and after a while I started having an input on the music, bringing ideas to the band and Willie made me his bandleader. Willie gave me a lot of freedom as a guitar player, which was great, but I really enjoyed playing the fills between Willie's vocal lines; it was a treat for me to try to make my guitar sound and relate to his voice as a call and response.
Willie Kent really took me in and became family to me in every sense of the word. We spent a lot of time together talking about music and life, and I really feel that I learned just as much from the conversations we had and the time we spent as I did from the actual playing in the band.
As you said, I tried to help offstage as well, loading the van, taking care of business, being on time, clean and ready to play when the time came; you just do what needs to be done! I believe in all these things and it was great to work with Willie, who believed in the same things. Bob, it was really a wonderful time that was cut too short because of Willie's death, but you can't buy an experience such as playing and touring so many nights with someone like Willie Kent; he will always mean the world to me.
Guy King Did you see while you were playing with Willie that you would be a bandleader some day?
GK: Well, I sang since an early age and led groups as a kid, and really - the reason I picked up the guitar at first was so I could back myself up singing (my first instrument was the clarinet), so I knew that I would form my own band and Willie knew it, too. I would open the show every night with two or three songs and Willie played bass while I was singing, and he prepared me and gave me as many tools as he could to start my own band when the time was right. I really believe that you need to be a good follower in order to be a good bandleader. I mean, the instinct to lead a group should be natural, but it is very helpful to know how to play behind someone else and make them sound good.
BW: I hear a lot of originality in your music. Of course I can hear your influences, but you don't copy them. Who are the musicians who have inspired you?
GK: Thank you, that means a lot to me! I learned from everything I ever listened to...I see the "Blues" as a very broad word. To me Count Basie is just as deep as Robert Johnson and Wes Montgomery as T-Bone Walker. Great music is great music and it should be regarded as such! Of course I have my favorites, but only because I get more "feeling" (or goose bumps) when I hear them and not because they play this kind or that kind of Blues, or music in general. Labeling the type of music we listen to (and even sub-labeling within the genres...) hurts the listeners and the artists alike.
There are so many wonderful artists that inspire me, I'm not sure where to start, but I know I can't analyze it (it will just ruin it!) - It is just great music to my ears and heart: Ray Charles, B.B. King, Nat "King" Cole, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Albert Collins, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Guitar Slim, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy McGriff, Percy Mayfield, Lightnin' Hopkins, Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Lee Morgan, Tampa Red, Son House, Charlie Patton, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Otis Rush, "Gatemouth" Brown, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Art Blakey...
Bob, I think I left out about 50 more...but I really love everything that is true, heartfelt, and soulful!
BW: Today is a particularly challenging time to try and move your career along, but you seem to have a strong home base of gigs in Chicago. Do you have plans to hit the road more this year?
GK: Yes, I am very proud of my band and the music that we are making and I definitely plan to hit the road this year as much as possible. It is great to have a home base in Chicago and I love it, but we are going to hit the highway (and the airports) to support the new album, Livin' It.
BW: Livin' It is a mature and developed album and it shows that you're already very experienced and advanced. Did it take you a long time to conceive the album? Did you record it all at once? Did you have help and advice?
GK: You know, I wanted to record for a while now and was talking to a few people from the industry, labels and such, but nothing really came of it, so I decided to produce my first album myself. I took a few old tunes that I always enjoyed performing and wrote a few, and that was it.
Once I had the songs down, the band got together to rehearse it, first, my four- piece band, then the horn section and the background vocalists, and then the whole band. Everyone involved was great and brought great love, enthusiasm, and ideas to the table - it was a beautiful experience! After the material was ready, we went into the studio to record; we recorded the music in about three days.
I really wanted to make an "album" - songs that fit, tell a story from start to finish, and not just some tunes back to back. There is a lot of material that I perform live which I wanted to record but didn't think it fitted that particular album's set list, so it got left out. I guess it's a good reason to record again soon!
Guy King - The Album: Livin' It What are your plans and hopes for the future?
GK: The plan is to make music! Hit the road and play my music to as many people as possible! To me, music is everything, it's a healer, a friend, a song can be pretty much everything you want it to be! I hope that the people enjoy my music that way, and that they can feel some of what I feel when I play it!
Bob Margolin for BluesWax, turning to you: I hope that getting to know Guy here inspires you to check out his music, and to expect an excellent show when you see his name on a festival, concert, or club bill. His deep, strong music will open doors for him, and you'll want to welcome him as he steps up.
Bob Margolin is a senior contributing editor at BluesWax.
You may contact Bob at blueswax@visnat.com.
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Bob Dylan’s latest album, “Together Through Life” (Columbia), marks his third self-produced (under the name of Jack Frost) studio release in a row recorded with members of his current touring band.
Bob Dylan Live
The cover art of Together Through Life
