"You had an army of local musicians here to see you tonight."
"That`s great. That`s great and I love that."
"When we started having those records that we got on Columbia and Epic and Sony we went for something to pretty much prove that we could do it and we did it. But it wasn`t that enjoyable to be in that circle of people in the business. It just wasn`t enjoyable. It was all about money and it was all about whatever. Not for the right reasons. Corporate and people not knowledgeable or respectful and they are telling you what they want. They don`t know what it is; they are not schooled. If you are a cab driver in London, you gotta go to school for years and know every street, every little alley in that city before you can get in the cab and drive."
"When I worked with Sony, those people, when I first got there, who were really responsible for that Tuff Enuff record, those people were real cool. Tony Martell was real cool. There were a lot of people in that big, big, big company at that time that were cool. Really cool, nice people, and music people. They believed in things. And then, you know, the turn over is so huge and a lot of young kids get into the business who had been interns. So, things change. I think if I live a little longer, if I live long enough, that shit could turn around again. I`m sure I could have a hit record again. I mean, I know I have the goods to do it."
He paused a moment, then went on, "You know. That`s just the way it is. In the old days, you didn`t have to worry. Everything was right. We had our share of bullshit but we had our share of great shit, too. Back then you had, you`re talking about late '50`s early '60`s, late '60`s, you had people with style. You also had all the stack stuff. And you know what? Every time those people opened their mouths, you knew who it was, in one note. It`ll never be that good again because there`s not enough people who have it. All I`m trying to do is hold on to what that was, what I grew up with. When I come to a place like this, I get that feeling and I give everybody else that feeling, too. So, maybe like with these kids [his guitar players] other kids will see these kids playing and say, 'You know, this is a lot better than that shit I listen to. I think I kinda like that.` These two right here are exceptions. They are really the only two like that in existence. Rusty was like that when he was a kid, but I don`t know if he was quite at these guys` level that young. I can`t remember back that far but I`ll tell you he was awfully good and he sure had a great feel. I know some good kids that have the desire to play and I hope they get there. And I will be the first one to help them out when they do. You can have a natural talent in this music but it takes a lot of time and a lot of playing and a lot of on the planks playing to get a feel for it. And it takes playing with the right people and that`s a problem because it`s not their fault they don`t have the right people to play with. I always have had the right people to play with, my whole life. I`ve had the best teachers. Man, I had Muddy Waters, I had Jimmy Reed, I had Ed Taylor, I had James Cotton. They hand it to you and it`s up to you to make your own niche. Everybody got it from somebody. At some point it went from rags to smaller rags to blues. I love Little Walter, I love Muddy Waters, I love Big Walter. I could name so many people. That`s the thing about playing this music, you have so many influences. It makes it a lot easier to make it your own when you borrow from all of them. Don`t just dwell on one guy. That`s what I`ve done, on the vocals, too. The low down stuff is the hardest stuff to sing, really. It`s all hard to sing. Singing is the hardest part. That`s where people have fallen short."
“You have a great blues voice. I mean it would even be a good jazz voice.”
“I could push the envelope, but yeah, I`m a blues singer. I could dabble in soully stuff. I just surround myself with the music all the time. I`m a fan of the music. I just listen to it constantly. I listen to soul. I listen to jazz. I love Junior Parker. I love all that Duke Peacock stuff. You know, Bobby Bland. He was a huge influence on me. Otis Rush in Chicago, and BB of course, but then there is Jimmy Rogers and Jimmy Reed and Lazy Lester and singers like that. More country, it comes more from that.”
“Well, I have to tell you, Kim, I fell in love with Hank Williams when I was eight years old.”
“Well, you know what? That kind of country music is white man`s blues. All them old blues guys like BB and all those people, people like Gatemouth Brown, they loved Gospel but they loved country music. There was no harmonica in the blues until it was in country music first. I know that BB King, one of his favorite singers is Gene Autry. He is really a talented guy.”
Our conversation was interrupted many times by fans gathered around and Kim was more gracious than I was about it. One particular fan introduced a local drummer and the conversation went on about the ZZ Top show at Houston`s Astrodome. Kim said, “That was crazy. See, that`s what I`m talking about. You`re talking about an ‘event`. That was really weird in the Astrodome. It was totally dark. That was before we ever had hit records. But Bill Graham back then made a suggestion to me about playing this song that actually I ended up cutting with Bonnie later on. I Believe I`m In Love With You. He told me I should close with that number instead of whatever the hell I was doing. I can`t remember it.”
“Did you take his advice?”
“Yeah I did. When Bill Graham speaks, you listen. Now there was a real music man. He was one of the last of a breed. You`re talking about a person that went from that era and crossed over to the next era. But you can`t be real unless you were in that era first.”
Before we knew it, Kim was swept away by a band member saying, “We are going to the Pancake House, Old South.” As he was walking away, I asked about his music in movies. A departing reply, “They tell me I got a lot of music in movies. There is so much of it I can`t even keep track of it.”
Kim Wilson`s most recent release, smokin` joint which he recorded with two different bands, Rhythm Room Band and The Caf? Boogaloo Band, features four of his original tunes. Listening to this CD, one experiences Kim`s gift of drawing you into his harp groove whether it`s the foot stompin` form or his ceaseless solo. His music, live or recorded, takes you deep into the spirit of the blues.
For the latest news on Kim Wilson you should check out either . . .
"That`s great. That`s great and I love that."
"When we started having those records that we got on Columbia and Epic and Sony we went for something to pretty much prove that we could do it and we did it. But it wasn`t that enjoyable to be in that circle of people in the business. It just wasn`t enjoyable. It was all about money and it was all about whatever. Not for the right reasons. Corporate and people not knowledgeable or respectful and they are telling you what they want. They don`t know what it is; they are not schooled. If you are a cab driver in London, you gotta go to school for years and know every street, every little alley in that city before you can get in the cab and drive."
"When I worked with Sony, those people, when I first got there, who were really responsible for that Tuff Enuff record, those people were real cool. Tony Martell was real cool. There were a lot of people in that big, big, big company at that time that were cool. Really cool, nice people, and music people. They believed in things. And then, you know, the turn over is so huge and a lot of young kids get into the business who had been interns. So, things change. I think if I live a little longer, if I live long enough, that shit could turn around again. I`m sure I could have a hit record again. I mean, I know I have the goods to do it."
He paused a moment, then went on, "You know. That`s just the way it is. In the old days, you didn`t have to worry. Everything was right. We had our share of bullshit but we had our share of great shit, too. Back then you had, you`re talking about late '50`s early '60`s, late '60`s, you had people with style. You also had all the stack stuff. And you know what? Every time those people opened their mouths, you knew who it was, in one note. It`ll never be that good again because there`s not enough people who have it. All I`m trying to do is hold on to what that was, what I grew up with. When I come to a place like this, I get that feeling and I give everybody else that feeling, too. So, maybe like with these kids [his guitar players] other kids will see these kids playing and say, 'You know, this is a lot better than that shit I listen to. I think I kinda like that.` These two right here are exceptions. They are really the only two like that in existence. Rusty was like that when he was a kid, but I don`t know if he was quite at these guys` level that young. I can`t remember back that far but I`ll tell you he was awfully good and he sure had a great feel. I know some good kids that have the desire to play and I hope they get there. And I will be the first one to help them out when they do. You can have a natural talent in this music but it takes a lot of time and a lot of playing and a lot of on the planks playing to get a feel for it. And it takes playing with the right people and that`s a problem because it`s not their fault they don`t have the right people to play with. I always have had the right people to play with, my whole life. I`ve had the best teachers. Man, I had Muddy Waters, I had Jimmy Reed, I had Ed Taylor, I had James Cotton. They hand it to you and it`s up to you to make your own niche. Everybody got it from somebody. At some point it went from rags to smaller rags to blues. I love Little Walter, I love Muddy Waters, I love Big Walter. I could name so many people. That`s the thing about playing this music, you have so many influences. It makes it a lot easier to make it your own when you borrow from all of them. Don`t just dwell on one guy. That`s what I`ve done, on the vocals, too. The low down stuff is the hardest stuff to sing, really. It`s all hard to sing. Singing is the hardest part. That`s where people have fallen short."
“You have a great blues voice. I mean it would even be a good jazz voice.”
“I could push the envelope, but yeah, I`m a blues singer. I could dabble in soully stuff. I just surround myself with the music all the time. I`m a fan of the music. I just listen to it constantly. I listen to soul. I listen to jazz. I love Junior Parker. I love all that Duke Peacock stuff. You know, Bobby Bland. He was a huge influence on me. Otis Rush in Chicago, and BB of course, but then there is Jimmy Rogers and Jimmy Reed and Lazy Lester and singers like that. More country, it comes more from that.”
“Well, I have to tell you, Kim, I fell in love with Hank Williams when I was eight years old.”
“Well, you know what? That kind of country music is white man`s blues. All them old blues guys like BB and all those people, people like Gatemouth Brown, they loved Gospel but they loved country music. There was no harmonica in the blues until it was in country music first. I know that BB King, one of his favorite singers is Gene Autry. He is really a talented guy.”
Our conversation was interrupted many times by fans gathered around and Kim was more gracious than I was about it. One particular fan introduced a local drummer and the conversation went on about the ZZ Top show at Houston`s Astrodome. Kim said, “That was crazy. See, that`s what I`m talking about. You`re talking about an ‘event`. That was really weird in the Astrodome. It was totally dark. That was before we ever had hit records. But Bill Graham back then made a suggestion to me about playing this song that actually I ended up cutting with Bonnie later on. I Believe I`m In Love With You. He told me I should close with that number instead of whatever the hell I was doing. I can`t remember it.”
“Did you take his advice?”
“Yeah I did. When Bill Graham speaks, you listen. Now there was a real music man. He was one of the last of a breed. You`re talking about a person that went from that era and crossed over to the next era. But you can`t be real unless you were in that era first.”
Before we knew it, Kim was swept away by a band member saying, “We are going to the Pancake House, Old South.” As he was walking away, I asked about his music in movies. A departing reply, “They tell me I got a lot of music in movies. There is so much of it I can`t even keep track of it.”
Kim Wilson`s most recent release, smokin` joint which he recorded with two different bands, Rhythm Room Band and The Caf? Boogaloo Band, features four of his original tunes. Listening to this CD, one experiences Kim`s gift of drawing you into his harp groove whether it`s the foot stompin` form or his ceaseless solo. His music, live or recorded, takes you deep into the spirit of the blues.
For the latest news on Kim Wilson you should check out either . . .
