The Playlist
Back with a new album Lay It On Down, Kenny Wayne Shepherd talks Hendrix, solos and Texan heroes
The song that got me into music… Voodoo Child – Jimi Hendrix “There were a few songs that inspired me to play. Voodoo Child was one. To me that is the ultimate guitar anthem. It doesn’t get any more heavy than that. The playing, the groove, the openness of the song and the ability to improvise – it has it all. Whenever I would listen to Hendrix, and also Billy Gibbons, I would wonder how they got their guitar to sound like that. I listened to
Voodoo Child and just exploded, my mind opened up to so many different sounds and I realised that I wanted to do that.”
The first song I learned to play… Purple Haze – Jimi Hendrix
“For some reason everybody seems to learn the first three or four notes of
Smoke On The Water before they learn anything else. I was playing that when I was probably three or four years old. But the first actual song I learned and wanted to sit down and play was Purple Haze. That’s a pretty easy song to grasp as a beginner because it’s basically three chords and that opening lick is not that difficult if you are familiar with playing individual notes instead of just chords. That one is quite easy even though you’re talking about one of the greatest guitar players of all time.”
The riff I wish I had written… Tush – ZZ Top
“Honestly, I could say VoodooChild again here! But I would say something by ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons is right up there with Jimmy Page to me in terms of writing riffs that stick in your head and just don’t go away. I love
La Grange although that was borrowed from John Lee Hooker. Tush is another good one, it’s a really swinging groove and a simple guitar riff that just sticks in your head.”
The song I would play to someone who had never heard my music… Blue On Black – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
“We’re a pretty diverse group. We don’t just do traditional blues, we also rock pretty hard and then we have ballads. I would look at the person and if they like rock, I’d play them True Lies or Slow Ride. If it was a girl: Last Goodbye or Blue On Black. Guys love Blue On Black too so that song would probably be the best introduction to our music. It has a signature sound.”
The song I struggled to nail… Wall Of Denial – Stevie Ray Vaughan
“For the longest time I tried to play this song. That opening riff is really interesting. I would fake my way through it. It took me years of coming back to that song and focusing on it to learn it and get all of the little nuances and all the inbetween notes just right. That opening riff was challenging but I eventually mastered it.”
I’d like to re-visit… Ledbetter Heights – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
I don’t have any regrets at all. I don’t look back and wish I could re-record things. But it might be cool to re-record the entire first album. Not because I don’t like it but because some of those songs have evolved and developed new parts through playing them live over the years.”
A solo I love… Little Wing – Stevie Ray Vaughan
“This solo shows you the power of guitar soloing. The entire song is instrumental and this version is incredible. Anybody who listens to it is moved by it and that definitely shows you the power of being able to speak without words.”