KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD BAND play Verizon Wireless Jul 14 photo: Mark Seliger
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, having shined through as the very soul and epitome of blues rock, will be performing at Irvine Meadows on Jul. 14.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Noah Hunt, Chris Layton, Riley Osbourn and Scott Nelson have crafted songs with such classical, soul-filled blues acoustic guitar riffs and timeless lyrics that their audiences can’t help but feel the pain of the lyrics before being hit by the ever-present rock edge of the electric guitar.
“I’ve toured with some really great people over the years. I mean, my entire career it started with my first major tour being with the Eagles when they got back together, then BB King and Bob Dylan and Van Halen and Aerosmith… so to try and say one was better than the other, or this one was the best experience, would be kind of doing a disservice to the other musicians that I’ve played with and the experiences I’ve had,” Shepherd said. “I try and surround myself with the best musicians possible, because I think that helps me become a better musician.”
Experiencing the amount of talent not only in his own band but in those he has played alongside has helped Shepherd to create the passionate, contrasting music the band continues to play.
“I grew up on a lot more than just blues music — certainly a lot of rock and roll around the house, and country music, R&B and funk, so all that stuff finds its way into my music,” Shepherd said. “But I think if you were trying to categorize my music it kind of straddles the line between rock and blues, we kind of lean from one side to the next on any given song.”
With the amount of diversity in their music, the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band has landed six No. 1 blues albums, received five Grammy Award nominations, two Billboard Music Awards, a pair of Orville H. Gibson awards and the Blues Foundation’s “Keeping The Blues Alive” award, among others.
“Each one of my records I think are a great representation of who I am as an artist at that point in time in my career,” Shepherd said. “Obviously the one that was the most successful and was at the No. 1 position for all the blues tracks, it set the record and holds the record for No. 1 blues track, is ‘Trouble Is…'”
“Trouble Is…” features the band’s unforgettable hit “Blue on Black” that continues to be a staple in the band’s set list for each show.
“Ever since ‘Blue on Black’ became a big hit, that always gets played at every concert,” he said. “The goal as a songwriter, in my opinion, is to write a song that people don’t get tired of hearing, a song that is also timely and doesn’t sound dated. And I think this song did that.”
Aside from the band’s signature song “Blue on Black” always being played, you can be sure that their concert will always end with a rendition of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child.”
“Ever since I put my band together when I was 15 years old I’ve always ended every show with a version of Jimi Hendrix’s song ‘Voodoo Child,'” Shepherd said. “That’s the big encore, last song of the set kind of thing and so that is without-a-doubt always part of my show. Once you hear that song, you know the show’s about to be over.”
With these two songs in the mix, the rest of the set list is always subject to change, continuing Shepherd’s theme of diversity and spontaneity in music.
“We try to do for whatever makes for an interesting concert and a good time,” he said. “I like to change the set list on any given night to keep things interesting to the band. We actually have a lot of fans that come to multiple shows in a row, so this way it’s possible that they’ll see a different concert from the night before.”
Alongside tour dates, the band is currently working on a live DVD for the fans. It has already been recorded and is currently being edited and ran through, but has no current set release date.
“When you’re actually recording something like that, in a live environment, the best thing to do is actually forget that it’s happening, because when you’re really overly aware that the cameras are rolling and things are being recorded, it can actually affect your performance — and not always in a positive way,” Shepherd said. “The fans have been asking us for a live DVD for forever, so I think they’ll be happy we’re finally giving them one.”