Mention today's top guitarists, and the conversation should include Steve Kimock.
He's not exactly a household name, despite playing for a quarter of a century with many of the more recognizable personalities from the music mecca of San Francisco. Perhaps that's because his repertoire - lengthy instrumental workouts with plenty of room for soloing - hardly lends itself to the short attention span of the average listener.
But anyone who takes the time to sit down for a spell with Kimock's music comes away mightily impressed with his fluid, melodic playing, which never becomes less than interesting, even when his tunes progress toward the 20-minute mark.
Kimock's longest tenure was with a Bay Area band called Zero, which in its early days also featured former Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina. That aggregation carried on from the mid-'80s until 2000, when Kimock concentrated on a full-fledged solo career.
His highest-profile tenures have been with the post-Grateful Dead bands the Other Ones and Phil Lesh & Friends. Of particular interst is his recording with the latter group, the live "Love Will You See You Through," on which he teams with legendary Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna axeman Jorma Kaukonen for some intense playing. Check out their respective turns on the rendition of the Airplane's "Good Shepherd."
My favorite Kimock project was called KVHW, after the initials of the four principals: He teamed with bassist Bobby Vega from Zero, Bay Area drummer Alan Hertz and former Frank Zappa vocalist/rhythm guitarist Ray White. The quartet joined together for a benefit show in the spring of '98 and started playing regularly together that summer, but lasted only until the end of the following year.
At any rate, KVHW combined instrumentals Kimock and Vega brought from Zero with catchy new jams and some souped-up versions of old favorites, most notably the Meters' "Cissy Strut" and the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing." Vega's funky bass licks on the latter should be able to make anyone wanna get up and boogie! But despite tight ensemble playing throughout, Kimock's guitar always was the focus of the group.
KVHW had only one commercial release, a hard-to-find live CD, but many of its shows are available online. A recommendation is the Dec. 5, 1998, show at the Gate in Vancouver. On the fifth anniversary of Zappa's death, the band added three of his songs to the setlist, including Kimock's reading of the sublime instrumental "Watermelon in Easter Hay."
These days, Kimock keeps busy touring with his own band, and he's released some solo material, including a DVD that provides a firsthand look at his fretboard wizardry. If you appreciate great guitar playing, that's a good place to go.
(Note: That offer in regard to the Grateful Dead trivia question in the previous post is still on the table. Come on, you Deadheads!)
He's not exactly a household name, despite playing for a quarter of a century with many of the more recognizable personalities from the music mecca of San Francisco. Perhaps that's because his repertoire - lengthy instrumental workouts with plenty of room for soloing - hardly lends itself to the short attention span of the average listener.
But anyone who takes the time to sit down for a spell with Kimock's music comes away mightily impressed with his fluid, melodic playing, which never becomes less than interesting, even when his tunes progress toward the 20-minute mark.
Kimock's longest tenure was with a Bay Area band called Zero, which in its early days also featured former Quicksilver Messenger Service guitarist John Cipollina. That aggregation carried on from the mid-'80s until 2000, when Kimock concentrated on a full-fledged solo career.
His highest-profile tenures have been with the post-Grateful Dead bands the Other Ones and Phil Lesh & Friends. Of particular interst is his recording with the latter group, the live "Love Will You See You Through," on which he teams with legendary Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna axeman Jorma Kaukonen for some intense playing. Check out their respective turns on the rendition of the Airplane's "Good Shepherd."
My favorite Kimock project was called KVHW, after the initials of the four principals: He teamed with bassist Bobby Vega from Zero, Bay Area drummer Alan Hertz and former Frank Zappa vocalist/rhythm guitarist Ray White. The quartet joined together for a benefit show in the spring of '98 and started playing regularly together that summer, but lasted only until the end of the following year.
At any rate, KVHW combined instrumentals Kimock and Vega brought from Zero with catchy new jams and some souped-up versions of old favorites, most notably the Meters' "Cissy Strut" and the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing." Vega's funky bass licks on the latter should be able to make anyone wanna get up and boogie! But despite tight ensemble playing throughout, Kimock's guitar always was the focus of the group.
KVHW had only one commercial release, a hard-to-find live CD, but many of its shows are available online. A recommendation is the Dec. 5, 1998, show at the Gate in Vancouver. On the fifth anniversary of Zappa's death, the band added three of his songs to the setlist, including Kimock's reading of the sublime instrumental "Watermelon in Easter Hay."
These days, Kimock keeps busy touring with his own band, and he's released some solo material, including a DVD that provides a firsthand look at his fretboard wizardry. If you appreciate great guitar playing, that's a good place to go.
(Note: That offer in regard to the Grateful Dead trivia question in the previous post is still on the table. Come on, you Deadheads!)
1 Comments:
Keith Godchaux made his Grateful Dead recording debut on "Europe '72", a live album. His studio debut was made on "Wake of the Flood."
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