I first became aware of the guitar player Kaki King when I read a Frets magazine a couple of years back, it had an article about her, in it they said she was one of the most interesting guitarists since Michael Hedges, that was enough for me to take notice. Her technique is worth watching, it’s unconventional but that’s how music forges ahead, throw the rule book out of the window. This youtube video of her is very good and the tune stands up, she’s playing an Ovation guitar. The Ovations came to the fore in the mid seventies because they were one of the best acoustics to you in a live situation. For me, this tune is a little Hedgesish (as in Michael Hedges style).
9 Comments
June 20, 2008 at 4:27 am
I’m not sure what you mean by “Hedgesish” but I thought it was pretty neat. Some of it didn’t make sense, but i found myself slightly rocking to it even so.
June 20, 2008 at 4:44 am
Hi Chica
Thanks for dropping by. She’s a great guitar player. I have up dated the post so it says “Hedgesish” as in Michael Hedges style, the great acoustic guitar player that died
June 25, 2008 at 7:16 am
It’s always interesting to see girls guitar players playing that good. I really enjoyed that song.
July 4, 2008 at 8:07 am
“August Rush” is maybe a interesting movie for Kaki King Lovers:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Rush)
July 26, 2008 at 8:51 am
Thanks Evan
I”ll follow through on that
regards Tony
August 16, 2008 at 1:22 am
Shawn Johnson used some of the music from August Rush in her Olympic floor routine. When I heard the opening notes, I thought it was a Michael Hedges piece I wasn’t familiar with (and didn’t know how that was possible.) Now I do. It’s Kaki King.
Having played a number of Hedges pieces myself, I really appreciate what goes into this. Nicely done.
August 16, 2008 at 3:31 am
Kaki King is brilliant, Michael Hedges is one of my all time favourite players, his sound was so big. Although I had been doing open tunings for some years, when I first heard Hedges, his music pushed me into exploring other areas. The interesting thing about Hedges is he always thought of himself as a composer first and guitarist next. The world has lost something brilliant by his death
Have you heard Pierre Bensusan?
April 24, 2009 at 7:18 am
Michael Hedges was great. Pierre Bensusan is awesome. “August Rush” was an awesome movie if you’re a guitarist. I heard an interview on “Fresh Air” – public radio with Kaki King – she’s following the tradition of Hedges and Bensusan. But in this context you must mention Phil Keaggy. He’s on a Christian label and has to be one of the greatest living guitarists. But what about Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour and Robben Ford and Frank Gambale and Pat Metheny and Steve Morse and … man I sure love the guitar …
April 24, 2009 at 9:23 am
Thanks Michael for your comment. I did hear a bit of the August Rush movie and the guitarist seemed ok, very young but interesting and is following in the stream of players that had laid a foundation for heading the acoustic guitar off in a new direction. All the players you have mentioned have been covered in blog articles at my different blogs. Keaggy is great at what he does, and probably more musical than a lot of players. As for Carlton and Ford, they are two of my favourite electric players along with Steve Khan (who also recently sent me some of his acoustic playing which I will be covering soon, I never knew it existed, but Steve was kind enough to update me on what he had done on acoustic) and Jeff Beck.I
In fact I could talk for hours on different players as I’ve played for 40 years myself and followed the careers of many players that most people haven’t even heard of. Kaki King is good, I can’t see a relationship between her music and some of the brilliant players you have mentioned. Both Bensusan and Hedges are composers which just happened to use the guitar as a vehicle and that is something which I think separates them out from a lot of other players. I had dinner with Pierre Bensusan and a couple of other guitar players about 2 weeks ago and it was fascinating to hear about his approach to music and life in general. Maybe you’re aware of Antoine Dufour, of the new guys he’s the one I really like.
Tony