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David:
On
the new CD , you seem to be a facilitator for the
immense talent that appears on this album rather than
being the star of the album. What made you decide that
serving the song and the tradition of the blues was
more important on this project than putting yourself
in the spotlight?
KWS: Well I felt like it was more important to feature the artist. You
know, I kinda got my opportunity every time I played a
guitar solo but I was more like a band leader on this
one. If you think about when Johnny Winter was
playing with Muddy Waters, Johnny was already a well
established solo artist at the time and when he went
out and played with Muddy Waters, he kind of played
the same role as I did on this album. A lot of that
has to do with having a certain amount of respect for
the artists.
David: Were
you making a statement at this point in your career by
doing this type of album?
KWS: You know, it just felt like it was the right time in my career to do
something like this.
My last album was more of a rock album than
anything else and a lot of my fans are blues fans and
I wanted to go out and give them something they can
sink their teeth into.
Also, this project may appeal and may reach
people who don’t even know who I am. It just felt
like it was the right thing to do
David: You
brought in Stevie Ray Vaughn's rhythm section, Double
Trouble on this album. I'm sure you've crossed paths
with them before but what was it like working with
them and what did they bring to this project?
KWS: You know if you were to bring in a rhythm section that had to learn and
play different stuff everyday, there is no one better
to do that. I mean those guys can play anything, not
just Blues…there’s just no one better. Chris
Layton (drums) has been on almost every project I’ve
done and we’ve played so many live shows together,
we just have a connection.
David: So
is this something that will continue beyond this
project?
KWS: Well Chris has been playing with me on a pretty regular basis, Tommy
Shannon (Bass) comes out time to time but he doesn’t
like to tour as much these days. You know I’ve done
so many shows with Double Trouble and I’m sure we
will do many more in the future.
David: Gatemouth
Brown, Etta Baker, Pinetop Perkins among other legends
make appearances on this album. The sense of history
and just the aura surrounding such players must be
magical in a sense when playing with them. How, in
turn, did that affect your playing on this album?
KWS: I think when I’m playing with these people; I play more reserved than
normal. I
think that’s just the respect I have for them. I’m
just trying to go out and do what’s necessary, I’m
not trying to go out and cut heads you know? I just
wanted to make a solid contribution while playing with
those guys and playing with them brings that out in me
but like when I do my own shows, it’s a lot more
aggressive.
David: So
having a certain amount of respect for tradition and
the players was very important to you?
KWS: I just can’t help but have respect for these people, you know who they
are and their age and their contribution to music, you
know maybe it’s how I was raised but there certainly
was that level of respect.
David: At
any point did it feel, if only for a moment, that you
were able to transport yourself to a different time
while playing with such legends?
KWS: You know playing with certain people on this album, like when playing
songs like “Prison Blues”, that song sounds like
it could have been recorded in 1929 you know, but yeah
there are moments on this album that takes you back to
a certain time.
David: In
2004 you took a 10 day trip to the American south with
a film crew to document the results. You literally
played in kitchens, living rooms and the local bars of
the area and with the help of a portable recording
studio turned out some incredible performances. Was
there any resistance or any sense of suspicion on the
part of locals of what you were up to or were you
greeted warmly?
KWS: Nah, you know we let people know in advance what we were doing, it
wasn’t like we just showed up and started knocking
on doors. We let them know what our intentions were
and what we were planning. We showed them the respect
they deserved and in turn they were eager to be a part
of this.
David: Will
you carry these experiences with you forever when
approaching future projects or is this simply another
chapter in your life that will be closed when you
start your next album?
KWS: I think it’s going to have an affect on me for sure, you know for the
rest of my life. You know playing with these different
people kinda brought me back full circle to the music
that was my first real love. Right now I am trying to
write some songs for my next record and they are
defiantly leaning towards the bluesy side of things.
David: So
will your singing be more upfront on future projects
then or will it go back to Noah Hunt taking the
vocals?
KWS: You know Noah will always be part of the band and will always be singing
lead vocals for a lot of stuff but since my last album
I’ve done some singing and I want to work on being a
better singer. So I kind of envision the next record
as us sharing the lead vocals, I think it will be more
of a shared duty but I guess it also depends on the
songs too because it’s hard to sing and play some of
the guitar parts that I play at the same time.
David: Five
of the albums performers passed away before the
completion and release of "10 days out" (Neal
Pattman, Cootie
Stark, Gatemouth
Brown, Wild
Child Butler, and Etta
Baker) . Does that fact make this
experience that much more special knowing that your
album may contain several of these legends final
recorded performances?
KWS: Yeah
absolutely, well there’s now 6 of them no longer
with us. It just makes this that much more important
that this album contains their last performances and
the DVD features their last video footage of them
performing. You know I was hoping some of these
artists were going to be able to build a nice career
off this project, now it’s turned into something to
preserve their legacy.
David: Were
they any performers you wanted on this album that for
various reasons you were not able to get?
KWS: You
know, I put together a wish list when I first started
this and we were able to, thankfully, get everyone we
wanted.
David: You
have worked with Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads fame
producing your albums previous and also on this new
album.. What is it about Jerry that works so well for
you considering his past involvement with the blues
has been very limited?
KWS: You
know Jerry’s first band was a blues band, not a lot
of people know this
David: This
was pre-Modern Lovers then?
KWS: Yeah,
like his first band. Not his first recorded band but
the first band he played in. So you know he knows
about the Blues and he has a unique approach to
recording and I really trusted him when it came to
doing this project. I feel comfortable working with
him and I feel confident in his ability, we just
really see eye to eye.
David: I’m
sure there were a lot of story swapping going around
with these artists, about their past and the road they
had to take in becoming a musician, back in a time
when they had a lot going against them in the American
south. Was there ever a sense of…..let’s say guilt
that the road you took to success was I’m guessing a
lot easier than the path they had to take?
KWS: You
know not really, everyone has a path they have to
take. I don’t really have any guilt about the road I
had to take
David: What
are or what were you expectations for this album going
into it and now that it’s released to the public?
KWS: You
know I don’t really have any expectations; I have
hopes for it you know? I hope it defies a lot of
expectations of a simple blues project, you know
beyond what you would expect from a Blues album.
I’ve gotten so many e-mails from people who have
bought this album and have watched the DVD and they
are saying things that I just haven’t heard about
one of my projects, the way it really moves them and
how much they really love this album and that right
there is enough for me. To get e-mails from people
about how this project has touched them, you know,
that’s really all I need.
David: This
album in-particular has garnered universal praise
pretty much, do you read or care about what critics
have to say about your albums?
KWS: You
know critics are paid to criticize, you know what I
mean? I guess critics are people too but I want the
fans to be happy first and they are the ones going out
and spending their hard earned money but you know I am
happy with all the good reviews but there is always
going to be someone, you can’t please everyone. I
would say about 99.9% of what I have read has been
over the top positive and that makes me very happy and
this project, I am very close to so to hear everyone
share that opinion is very special to me.
David: Who
was the best storyteller that you played with on this
project?
KWS: Ah man... I don’t know man, they all were pretty
good. Everyone has commented to me about the segment
on the DVD with Etta Baker,
everyone has commented to me that they walked
away from watching the DVD with a special attachment
to her, to walk away from watching the documentary and
feeling like you know them personally... that’s
pretty special.
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