Craig King never met a gig he didn't like.

And judging by the reaction at the Hard Rock Cafe at Station Square last weekend, the Pittsburgh singer-guitarist never met an audience that didn't like him.

Craig appeared that night in his guitar-and-rhythm-section configuration, backed by Max Woodhall on bass and Jim Holzpahel on drums as he tore into a blues-oriented set highlighted by some high-energy Hendrix covers and a couple of Craig's originals.

But that was just one stop on a performance schedule that rarely grinds to a halt. Craig's regularly scheduled events include an open stage he hosts each Monday at the Thunderbird Cafe in Lawrenceville; a similar gig every other Tuesday in Aspinwall; and Happy Hour from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays at the Funny Bone in Station Square, as guitarist for blues stalwarts the Mystic Knights (in which Max is a bandmate). And he's been playing parties with the MVP Band, in a little bit of a more laid-back manner.

"I've always been a workaholic," Craig told me in what sounds like an understatement, considering he puts a lot of time and effort into his day job along with performing.

And he also finds time to record. His solo CD "The Blues Come a Knockin'" is just that: he, himself and Craig, writing the tunes and playing and singing all the parts. (He'll concede that the drums are programmed, but you have to listen closely.)

He played one of the songs off the disc, the admittedly autobiographical "I'm Bad" at the Hard Rock, opening with a John Lee Hooker-style vamp and building up to some blistering 12-bar guitar runs that left audience members shouting out their enthusiasm. (Who says people don't like originals.)

Craig ended his set - opening for Angel Blue & the Prophets in a celebration of their new CD, "Bottom of the Bottle Blues" - with his own "I Can't Stop Cryin'," a slow, intense song that's going on the album he's in the process of recording.

He also wowed the audience with his work from the catalogue of Jimi, following a blistering opener of Freddie King's "Goin' Down" with a relatively obscure but very funky Hendrix number, "Who Knows." Then came Craig's take on the classic "Little Wing," which segued into a trippy Stratocaster workout on "Third Stone from the Sun."

Not only did he do a stellar job of replicating Jimi's trademark tone and fretwork, but he also pulled from the old Hendrix bag of trick such techniques as playing behind his back and with his teeth.

His Hendrix tributes come as no surprise to anyone who remembers him from his work with Windowpane, which specialized in the heavy music of the late '60s (or, as it was so bluntly known back then, acid rock). Drummer Jim remembers well, as he served the same role in the 'Pane, which recorded a CD called "A Brand New Dream" that features Craig's originals. The band had the opportunity to debut that album opening for Southern Rock legend Molly Hatchet.

And there's plenty more in Craig's resume when it comes to bands. He had his own King's Ransom band playing rock and blues in the '90s, until he discovered another band had the same name and changed his to Montage. He also has fronted Craig King's Contenders and has played with Mo's Black Magic featuring Andrea Pearl.

One particularly notable gig was a Pittsburgh concert by a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

"I had the pleasure of opening up for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, and I was her guitarist for the evening."

He also opened for another Hall of Famers and one of his big guitar influences, Buddy Guy.

Craig is a guitarist in demand, but he actually started his musical career as a trumpeter, making all-city on that instrument as a student (and as a vocalist, too). He got serious about the guitar a few years later and started playing in bands in his 20s.

"I still pick up my trumpet every now and then," he says. And from what his mother has told him, that's something she'd prefer to hear more often!

As for guitar fans, they prefer for Craig to strap on his Strat and go to town, no matter who he's playing with or where the gig might be.