Bluesman Kenny Wayne Shepherd balances past, present

Blues guitarist, singer, composer and bandleader Kenny Wayne Shepherd is marking the 30th anniversary of the release of his debut recording with a national tour in which he and his band perform that album, Ledbetter Heights (Giant Records, 1995), in its entirety. They also re-recorded the album track-by-track with longtime vocalist, Noah Hunt, who only joined the band for the second release.

It was only a few months after his 18th birthday that his debut came out, and Shepherd said that at the time he was naive about a lot of the business facets of music.

"My Dad, and this guy Joe Nadeau, who was in the band in the early days, helped me put the band together," Shepherd said. "I was just a teenager, and people my age weren't playing this kind of music. So I needed help finding band members."

While he exclusively recorded and toured as a leader under his own name, Shepherd said there was a process he needed to go through before he could really take control of the entire operation. Asked if he ever had to put his foot down with older musicians, and impose his will on them, he said that was not really his method.

"I didn't walk around with that attitude; I was pretty shy in the beginning. I had a musical vision, but I wasn't having to tell people, 'This is how it's going to be.' You're always going to run into resistance and judgement that needs to be overcome."

But in having to replace members of the band over the years, either because they moved on to other opportunities or it just wasn't a good fit, Shepherd siad he's grown more discerning.

"I just want people who operate at a very high level. It's not just musical talent: When you're out on the road, your personality and how you get along with other people is almost as important as how well you play your instrument. You need a positive work environment. You don't want someone who's got a lot of drama.

"In the beginning, you don't think so much about that. But after you've done it for awhile, you realize this isn't necessary."

Shepherd is famously self-taught on guitar, but he explains that it's not that he was or is opposed to the idea of learning from others, it's just that he was so young—not yet in kindergarten, when his family bought him a series of basically toy guitars to play around with, that his early habits became deeply ingrained.

"I signed up for a class in middle school, but I had already been playing for a few years. I went to a private guitar guy for a few months. But I was already set in my way for playing. When someone tried to show me a different way of doing something, it didn't work for me."

He does not read music, and he said guitar remains his only instrument.

"We had a piano at the house, and I learned a few chords. I never really gave the piano the kind of attention I gave the guitar."

When asked if he remembers the first album he bought or received, Shepherd explained that he grew up in a household that was in many ways a music library.

"I had an advantage: My dad was in radio. He got every album that was released, and he would get complimentary copies through the station. I had a massive record collection. I listened to everything: I loved country, Southern rock—blues obviously. But when I picked up the instrument, I gravitated toward blues music. I wanted to learn to play the blues."

By the time he was a teenager, he was already playing around town. And while he already hoped to make music his career, he admitted the beginning was not particularly lucrative.

"I remember I was not getting paid much in the early days! We had five or six guys, and we'd get $300."

In addition to his touring and recording, Shepherd has become a regular on the blues cruises, and says for the musicians, being on cruises offers them a chance they don't normally get due to their own working schedules: The opportunity to be a fan.

"We started doing them in 2009, and for a while, we were doing them every other year, and now we do them nearly ever year. What's cool is it's a music festival on a boat. It gives me a chance to go see other musicians."

Like many musicians, Shepherd has a love-dislike relationship with touring.

"The best part is walking out on the stage and playing for the people; entertaining them and feeling that energy."

But Shepherd and his wife share six children, ranging in age from elementary school to high school. Which leads to his next observation:

"The worst part is the travel, and taking you away from your family for long periods of time."

As to whether his children are impressed with his career, he was doubtful.

"I don't know. I think most kids don't see their dad the way other people do, he's just their dad."

But did any of his children's teachers or principals, who likely knew of his reputation and the caliber of other artists he has played with over the years, ever invite him to speak at career day at school?

He paused to think about that question for minute, then laughed, and said, "No, actually!"

Kenny Wayne Shepherd · I Want You