AARON KEYLOCK
a new figure stalks the blues landscape in the shape of a young man from Oxford who began gigging when he was just 11 years old…
Aaron Keylock first picked up the guitar when he was only eight years old and by the age of 11 was out on the road playing at blues jams both in his hometown of Oxford and in London. Just a year later, he was arguing with doormen at the clubs he was booked to play at – he was technically too young to enter and had to convince them that he was, in fact, the evening’s entertainment!
Now, still only in his late teens, he has a debut album in the pipeline, Cut Against The Grain, due for release in January 2017. But what was it that inspired this prodigious talent to start playing in the first place? “I guess it was the classic rock, 70s stuff my dad had on in the house,” he tells us. “I kinda grew up on stuff like Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and all that kind of thing.”
Aaron began his playing career using an S-type guitar, but pretty soon graduated to a Les Paul: “It’s a Gibson Standard Faded Sunburst and I used that for the blues jams that I was doing – it’s got some memories in it,” he adds.
By the advent of his teens, he was playing every night and soon attracted the attention of former-prodigy-cum-superstar Joe Bonamassa, who was able to pass on some invaluable advice about being a young bluesman in a genre dominated by older players. We were curious as to who Aaron is listening to now. “I haven’t changed; I still love those bands,” he says. “Zeppelin and Skynyrd through to BB King, Leon Russell, The Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC as well… Loads of different stuff, it’s pretty varied, really.”
That particular heady cocktail of influences has resulted in a young player who is creating a stir everywhere he plays, from the heavy metal Bloodstock Festival to touring with bands such as Blackberry Smoke, The Answer, Wilko Johnson and Joanne Shaw Taylor. In fact, after witnessing one of his performances at Dot To Dot, our sister magazine, Total Guitar stated that: “We walked away with our brain melted!”
As for gear, “it’s pretty basic, really,” he begins. “I’m using a 50-watt 1987X Plexi Marshall head with a 1936 Marshall cab with Greenbacks in. I don’t use any pedals, just a Monster Cable lead, straight in. The three guitars I take out are the Les Paul, a Firebird and a TSR LP Junior[-style guitar]. I got the Firebird in 2013, it’s a new one,” he enthuses.
Aaron also plays slide guitar and we detect a distinct Johnny Winter influence here. “Oh, yes,” he laughs, “he came in later on. The first thing that got me into blues was the Delta thing – Elmore James and Robert Johnson. When I found Johnny Winter, that took me to a different level in music, inspiration and playing. Rhythm, lead, slide playing and everything else.” [DM]