Kenny Wayne Shepard helped usher in a new generation of blues guitarists and has seen quite a bit of fame in the music business. I found it pretty interesting too that Shepard is a self taught guitar player, which guarantees that anyone with enough motivation can be a guitarist. It’s inspiring to me that he had the will to make music a full time career and he made it happen. I collected a couple videos to share with you featuring performance by the Kenny Wayne Shepard Band, one early in his career on Austin City Limits and another more recent at the Guitar Center King of the Blues 2007 competition. Shepard is joined on stage with his band and lead vocalists Corey Sterling in the first video and Noah Hunt in the second video. I hope you enjoy the performances as much as I did!
The first performance features a young Kenny Wayne Shepard with his band on the hit music show Austin City Limits. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF4f9NdCFUU.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/CF4f9NdCFUU” height=”420″ rel=”0″]
The second performance features Shepard’s most notable song, “Blue on Black,” at the Guitar Center King of the Blues 2007 competition. Enjoy it here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0mb0_SUx-A&feature=related.
[youtube_sc url=”http://youtu.be/v0mb0_SUx-A” height=”420″ rel=”0″]
Kenny Wayne Shepard is a great example of someone who had the drive and motivation to be a blues guitarist, despite the fact that he was mostly self-taught on the instrument. Use that as inspiration and you can have your shot too.
Thanks,
Griff
4 replies to "Blues Man Kenny Wayne Shepard"
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This guy and his band is typical of the “sound as music” approach. Love to see what it all might sound like on a single accoustic guitar. The rule that I run over this sort of melange of noise is “can anyone sing , hum or even remember the “tune” two minutes after they left the auditorium ?” I t seems that most audiences are stoned or pissed (drunk) so it’s the whole “enhanced experience” and very little to do with music. Do they realise how alike everything sounds, how unmemorable it is all is?
Have they ever heard the adage “you can’t know sound without knowing silence” ? Where are the spaces in the “music”…everyone’s going hell for leather to outdo each other….a wall of noise…too many instruments all playing at once. Shit.
The arts do progress from time to time and regress at other times…right now is one of those latter times, but you’re not allowed to say that because “progress” must always mean “going forward”…getting better. Tell that to the ghosts of Leonardo or Michaelangelo or Ray Charles.
This is monotonous narcissistic crap really. I have been playing in bands/orchestras of all types since around 1958 (still do) though my main field is the visual arts. i see the parallel in all these things “moving forward”…which we are not !!! And it isn’t compulsory or even logically conceiveable that we always do. There are low spots….we’re experiencing one right now and plenty of no-talent bums are cashing in on it. Glad I don’t need the money any more !!!
Griff, thanks for the post. We love this guy. Got so see him, Johnny Lang, Double Trouble, Jimmy Vaughan, Susan Tedeschi, Malford Mullagan and others. What a jam session it was to see them all on the stage at the same time.
Great post Griff!