![\"Issue37-KENNY-WAYNE-SHEPHERD\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Issue37-KENNY-WAYNE-SHEPHERD.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nBy Jeff Tamarkin<\/b><\/p>\n
Watching icon Stevie Ray Vaughan at just 7 years old impacted Kenny Wayne Shepherd in ways he could never have imagined at the time. \u201cI had a very early introduction to blues music,\u201d says Shepherd, \u201cand watching Stevie Ray altered the course of my life. He played with such raw emotion and passion and fire. From that day forward I knew I wanted to play guitar like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s Shepherd who\u2019s inspiring youngsters. At 37, the former prodigy is a dynamic live performer and prolific recording artist. The five-time Grammy-nominated master guitarist has racked up more than a dozen mainstream rock hits, four platinum albums and a shelf-full of industry awards.<\/p>\n
Since the release of his debut album Ledbetter Heights<\/i> in 1995, Shepherd\u2019s music has veered from traditional blues and more into the rock and pop realm. But for his seventh studio album, the aptly titled Goin\u2019 Home<\/i>, the L.A. resident literally went back to where it all started, recording in his native Shreveport, La. \u201cThis is me getting back to my roots,\u201d explains Shepherd, \u201cand to the music that inspired me as a kid to play guitar and become the artist that I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
The track list of Goin\u2019 Home<\/i> is populated entirely with vintage\u2014and sometimes obscure\u2014tunes by such blues legends as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Magic Sam and Willie Dixon. Shepherd also tapped an impressive list of guest stars for the record, including Joe Walsh, Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019, Warren Haynes, Robert Randolph, the Rebirth Brass Band, and Ringo Starr, who proves he can nicely keep it in the pocket on the Buddy Guy favorite \u201cCut You Loose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe point behind this album is to show my genuine love for the blues, the artists who inspired me, and the fans who support this music,\u201d he says. \u201cI want to affect people the way these guys affected me.\u201d Shepherd talked with us about his musical education, his love of the blues, and the album that took him back to his roots.<\/p>\n
What attracted you to the blues?<\/b><\/p>\n
If you play blues the way it\u2019s meant to be played, you\u2019re playing music that comes straight from your heart and soul. You\u2019re not supposed to do a whole lot of thinking\u2014it\u2019s all about feeling. That\u2019s something anyone at any age can identify with. That\u2019s why I identified with it at a very young age. I could feel the emotion that was put into the songs. Also, I\u2019ve always gravitated toward guitar, and a lot of the biggest names in the blues happened to be guitar players. When I listened to them, it made me think, I want to be able to do that. And I wondered if I could.<\/p>\n
Is this a return to the blues?<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never run away from the blues, but we pushed the blues into different directions. We do that by incorporating rock and other influential elements that have affected me. So the majority of my records are not traditional blues\u2014you can call it contemporary blues or blues-rock or whatever. But this new one is a traditional blues record. As an artist, I want to do something different with every record, to maintain my creative integrity.<\/p>\n
Why so many obscure songs?<\/b><\/p>\n
If I was going to do a covers album, I knew it needed to be more than that. For most acts, a covers album is their final commitment to their record company, a throwaway before they move on. This is not that\u2014this was done out of genuine love and appreciation. I looked for songs that were a bit more obscure with lyrics that were still relevant and current and didn\u2019t sound dated. I looked for songs that had great grooves. Subject matter was important, too\u2014I tried to put the emphasis on the positive side of the blues, though a couple explore the dark side. The most mainstream song is [Albert King\u2019s] \u201cBorn Under a Bad Sign.\u201d I wasn\u2019t going to select that song, but Keb\u2019 Mo\u2019 did an incredible job with it so I put it on.<\/p>\n
What was different this time?<\/b><\/p>\n
This is the first album I really produced on my own. I had a bit of help from Brady Blade and my friend Bill Pfordresher, but this record is my baby from beginning to end. I\u2019ve been moving in that direction, so I\u2019m starting to look into producing other artists. I also learned we have a killer facility in Shreveport [Blade Studios] for making albums, which we never had before. I plan on making many albums there in the future.<\/p>\n
Among the guest artists, Ringo Starr isn\u2019t one most think of as a blues player.<\/b><\/p>\n
Ringo told me a story about when he was really young, before he tried out for the Beatles. Like many of the other English musicians of his era, he was completely immersed in the blues. He at one point wanted to be in a blues band. So he has a deep understanding and appreciation for blues music.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re also playing with Stephen Stills.<\/b><\/p>\n
Stephen wanted to put together a blues band, the Rides. He and [keyboardist] Barry Goldberg started writing and decided they wanted another member, and my name came up. I\u2019d had it in my mind to do a side project and was just waiting for the right opportunity. It\u2019s a completely different experience from what I\u2019m used to. Everyone has their own say; there\u2019s compromise. Stephen\u2019s a great blues player, and he can play some real lowdown stuff that not a lot of white guys can. And his voice has gotten a bit raspy, and in the blues, that\u2019s an asset.<\/p>\n
What did you listen to as a kid?<\/b><\/p>\n
I listened to popular music of the time. But when I would tell my friends I was checking out the new Stevie Ray Vaughan album, or I was just listening to Muddy Waters, they would look at me like I was crazy. That was a little weird, but that\u2019s what I liked.<\/p>\n
Your dad was a radio DJ.<\/b><\/p>\n
I was surrounded by music my whole life\u2014around the house, going to the radio station, and at every concert that came through town. I was attached to my dad\u2019s hip when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time around music industry people. That became a comfort zone for me\u2014and being around people older than me.<\/p>\n
Did you take guitar lessons?<\/b><\/p>\n
I took a guitar class in middle school, but I was already playing. I got A\u2019s, but I would pretend because they were teaching theory and how to read music, and I would just learn the song by ear, memorize it at home and come back and stare at the paper and act like I was reading the music. I also took a couple of private lessons from this guy at a local music store. He would say, \u201cWhat song do you want to know how to play?\u201d I would say, \u201cNo, I want to know how to play <\/i>guitar.\u201d I wanted somebody who could take me to the next level.<\/p>\n
You opened for Bob Dylan, the Stones and the Eagles\u2014did they offer advice?<\/b><\/p>\n
Not necessarily advice. They were all very encouraging and always had lots of compliments. With Dylan, you\u2019d hear all these stories about him: Don\u2019t look at him, don\u2019t touch him. But he was the exact opposite. He was so nice to me\u2014he found me every single day, came over and shook my hand. And at the end of the tour he said, \u201cHey, man, you can come out with me anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n
What do industry awards mean to you?<\/b><\/p>\n
All of that is nice. It\u2019s great to win awards and be acknowledged by your peers. It\u2019s great to have platinum records. But what\u2019s most important is my family and the fans. They keep buying the tickets and coming to the shows and getting the music.<\/p>\n
Any career regrets?<\/b><\/p>\n
I never made a record I didn\u2019t like, and I never let anybody talk me into anything I didn\u2019t want to do. I\u2019m really proud\u2014I\u2019m going on 20 years now, I\u2019ve sold millions of records, and I still have a relevant career. So I can\u2019t say I regret anything.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n
Stephen and Barry and I are going into the studio to make another Rides record. That\u2019ll come out next year, and we\u2019ll probably do some touring. The next step is to make a studio record of new material with my band.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD For the onetime guitar prodigy, home is where the heart\u2014and the blues\u2014are By Jeff Tamarkin Watching icon Stevie Ray Vaughan at just 7 years old impacted Kenny Wayne Shepherd in ways he could never have imagined at the time. \u201cI had a very early introduction to blues music,\u201d says Shepherd, \u201cand watching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3805],"tags":[6633,7660],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14689,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14686\/revisions\/14689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}