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Interview Podcast

MP3: Kenny? Kenny Wayne Shepherd: Hey, how's it going? Good. How are you doing? Good, man. Good. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. I appreciate it. Yeah, no problem, thank you. So let's start with the origin of this Ten Days Out project. What made you want to do this type of a project? Well, one of the main reasons was because when I was doing my last record, The Place You're In, it was more of a rock record that anything I had ever done before. I have such a large blues fan base and it's like a lot of my fans just immediately associate my name with the blues and so we wanted to give them something very solid that they could lay their hands on as well. Make sure your blues fans get theirs every couple years as well as the rock fans. Exactly. Plus, it's like I went way in the rock direction and then I went drastically into the blues direction. So it enables me to kind of do, in my career, some unpredictable things. It's very easy to just do what people expect you to do all the time and it'd be just enough. But this project and the last one I think people didn't really see coming and that's, to me, that's interesting and that's exciting. Sure. So do you have an interest in going in even other different directions? Well, I like to leave the door open for me to be able to do whatever and hopefully my fans will back me up on that because blues, obviously, to me is my first musical true love and I will always play the blues. But I have already played on a record with Willy Nelson and Wynona Judd recorded a song that wrote several years back and I played guitar on that song on her record. So I've kind of branched out and done some country stuff and then I played on one of Kid Rock's records. So I just want to be able to leave all my options open because I'm a musician. I'm not just a blues player; I'm a musician, period. So I'd like to be able to experiment. That's what keeps me motivated and learning. Absolutely. So what was the process like of formulating a list of people that you wanted to work with on this project? Did you just made your "A" list and that kind of thing? Well, there was a few names that I knew that I wanted to include right off the bat, like Bryan Lee for example, who gave me my first opportunity on stage when I was 13, Buddy Flett from my hometown, I watched growing up. It was definitely and ideal situation to get B.B. in on the deal if it was possible. It was just amazing that we were able to make that happen. But we also got the word out amongst the blues and music community and through some of our friends and just kind of spread the word that, "Hey, we're looking to do this interesting blues project and we're looking for unique artists and obscure artists to include in this project." So we started getting all kinds of CDs sent to me and, I mean, I just wound up with stacks and stacks of music to listen to and I sat down and listened to every disc that I got and I chose every artist that was included on the project and which songs of theirs we were going to do because I was listening for a lot of different things. I listened for uniqueness and talent and songwriting ability and stuff like that and I think the end result is a really great compilation of a bunch of very unique artists. Different styles and that kind of thing. Absolutely. Was there anyone that, I don't want to say left you in awe, but just kind of brought maybe more to the table than you expected or surprised you in any way? Well, I think everybody did in their own way. I mean, obviously, B.B. King, I mean, he's the king, right. Absolutely. I'm always in awe of him. But, like, Bryan Lee for example, he wrote the song "Tina Marie," the night before we came down there. Oh, wow, okay. Basically he was like, 'here's the key, here's the groove, I just wrote it last night,' and we just started playing it. There was no rehearsal or anything. Also the band I assembled with Double Trouble--on a daily basis those guys never cease to amaze me as well. There's nothing they can't do. Also, Etta Baker--when I was playing with her in her kitchen and her style of the Piedmont Blues has got this almost bluegrass country thing and she really gave me a run for my money. I had like five minutes to try and pretend like I knew how to play that song before the camera started rolling and everything. So you can see just by the look on my face, I'm watching her fingers and I'm trying to follow her and I really was having a hard time keeping up and it was just really refreshing that this 90-something year old lady gave me a real run for my money. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's incredible. Some of the folks that are on this have passed on since it was recorded. I was hoping that you could talk maybe just real briefly about each of them. I guess we could start with Cootie Stark and Neil Pattman from the "Prison Blues" song. Neil's performance on "Prison Blues" is really compelling. You listen to it, it starts off with his voice and, I don't know, that's why we started the film with that song and I think that's also the opening track for the CD. It just kind of set the overall mood and feel for the whole project. And it just sounds very authentic and plus we were in somebody's backyard and just out in the wilderness doing it with some acoustic guitars sitting there, it was very authentic. It sounds fantastic, yeah. And Cootie, I wasn't sure about "U-Haul" in the beginning, but to be honest with you that's like one of my favorite tracks on the whole project because it's so unique. It doesn't sound like any other blues song, It's very original and it's very unique and the groove is just infectious. So those two guys, they really impressed me and it was a real sad when I heard that they had passed away because those people became the real reason behind the project, guys like them, because they're not so well known and I felt like they could really benefit from a project like this and that this could open up doors to all kinds of opportunities for these people and for them to have a huge fan base amongst just music lovers in general, not just the blues community. And so it was just sad. We're booking the tour right now and we're going to include as many of these guys that can physically possibly get out and tour with us and I was looking forward to having those guys out there and they passed. And Wild Child, too, I guess. Well, Wild Child was the first one that passed after the project and I think it was only within a couple of months and that was a real shocker to me because he was one of the younger guys in his 60's. And I was pumped up about him because I was like, 'Well this guy's still got a lot of years left ahead of him compared to these other guys in their 90's. If he lives to be 90-something, he's got a good 30 years to go.' So I was having all kinds of ideas about him, like I was imagining taking him into the studio and maybe me possibly producing a record for him and surrounding him with Double Trouble or The Muddy Waters' Band. I had all kinds of ideas brewing in my mind. Yeah, too bad. And we got that phone call, it was devastating. Without making it too much of a downer, maybe just if you could talk about Gatemouth for a minute or too. All in all, it's very sad that these people died, but I'm very, very happy that we [worked with] when we did, and especially Gatemouth. It gives you a little bit of insight on him as a person. He was a very opinionated kind of guy and wanted everything his way, that's obvious in the film. But it was good to play with him. I mean, I've run into him over the years but just to be able to capture that on film and audio I think was a very unique opportunity. Excellent, yeah. Now, at 80, B.B. King's a spring chicken compared to some of these guys, but what was it like working with him? I mean, you mentioned earlier that he's the king, obviously, but did you guys know each other prior to this? Oh, yeah, I'm very close with B.B. He's almost like another father to me basically. And the first time I played with him ever on a tour I did three shows with him and the last show was the day of my 16th birthday. I was 15 years old when I first started playing with B.B. And I've done the Bluesfest tour three or four times over the years, numerous one-off shows with him and shared—gone up on stage and jammed with him countless amount of times. It's like on one hand I'm very comfortable, I'm very comfortable around him personally but on stage, he never ceases to intimidate me. Yeah, I could imagine. I always tend to hold back because I just have a tremendous amount of respect for him and I've seen guys get on stage with somebody like B.B. and they think it's their opportunity and they play every note that they ever thought that they knew and they don't know when to stop playing. And, me, when I get on there, it's like I don't when to start playing. I'm holding back so much that he's kind of like egging me on like, "Come on, dude, do what you know how to do." But B.B. is the king and I look up to him a tremendous amount. If there ever was a role model, a guy that really fits the mold for a real model, it's him. Okay. Well, that actually segues perfectly into the next question. He's 80. A lot of these guys we're talking about were well in their 90's. Etta Baker's in her 90's. Do you see yourself playing this music until you're in your 90's like some of these folks? I hope, God willing, that I can play music for the rest of my life. I mean, here's the deal, doing this kind of music, people can have lifelong careers well into their 80's and 90's. You can't say the same for other genres of music. It's a really unique thing and it's something that I feel very fortunate to be a part of this kind of music and to be able to have the opportunity to have a lifelong career doing music. So I hope to be doing it when I'm B.B.'s age. Well, Kenny, thanks very much for the time. It's been a pleasure to talk to you. You guys are going to head out on the road at some too? Yeah, we're booking the tour right now. I think it's set to begin in March. Okay. Yeah, well when you come to the Bay Area we'll check you out. Absolutely. Thank you. Thanks, Kenny. All right. Take care. Bye-bye. Bye.