Keb' Mo' : iSOUND.COM™

Biography

For Keb' Mo', the inspiration to self-produce Keep It Simple, his fifth studio album for Okeh Records, was an unexpected revelation. "I had a clear vision about what I wanted this album to sound and feel like before I started," explains the two-time Grammy winner. "I was looking over a list of producers for this album with my manager, and I said, 'in the time it would take me to explain the sound in my head to a producer, I could just do it myself.' The instant those words came out of my mouth, I knew what I needed to do." After co-producing his last two albums, Slow Down and The Door, he felt comfortable taking the reins for Keep It Simple. He started the recording in his home studio where he could tinker with each song before taking the tracks into a commercial studio. The final mix for Keep It Simple includes a combination of his home studio recordings and sessions captured in Los Angeles and Nashville. "When you work in a commercial studio, you're always conscious of the clock because you run out of time, and time is money," he explains, "For the first time in my career, I had all the time that I needed to create this record. Working at my home studio gave me a chance to really explore each song and let them evolve naturally." IT'S PERSONAL Because Keep It Simple marks Keb' Mo's solo-production debut, it's no surprise that the project is close to his heart. In each song, the melody and the words combine to reveal the various aspects of his personality-traditionalist, pragmatist, humorist, romantic, storyteller, humanist and musical chameleon. The 12 songs on the album, written or co-written by Keb' Mo', tell of various experiences in the human condition. On "One Friend" and "Closer" he reveals the intimate nature of relationships and the innate desire for companionship and honesty. Alternating between finger-picking and slide, the rich tones of his steel guitar mingle with his warm voice to evoke comfort and contentment on "Shave Yo Legs", a song about unconditional love and acceptance that manages to be both tender and funny at the same time: "Go ahead be wild and free, you don't have to shave yo' legs for me." Throughout his career Keb' Mo' has used the blues as a jumping-off point to explore many different kinds of music. "I'm Amazing" and the first single, "Let Your Light Shine" revisit one of his earliest influences - gospel music. To capture the essence of the songs "Proving You Wrong" and "House in California", he travelled to Nashville to record with some of the top session players. "Proving You Wrong" co- written with Darrell Scott, tells the poignant story of someone looking back on their mistakes and hoping for a chance at redemption as he sings, "I won the battle, but I lost the war/ Everything that really mattered just walked out the door". His deep rooted dedication to the blues comes through on "Walk Back In", written with Bill Medley, and "Reilly B. King" - an homage to B.B. King, originally written by Robben Ford who brought the song to Keb' Mo' to contribute additional writing. The tribute to the King of the Blues features guitarists Ford and Robert Cray trading solos and singing background vocals. Deeper into the album he proves he's not afraid to mess with convention as he turns the blues inside out with "Prosperity Blues". "I'm not saying you have to be sad to sing the blues, but it's hard to believe someone who sings, 'my baby done left and took all my money' when they leave the gig driving a Lexus" he says with a deep chuckle. "This song is about being real." The greasy blues of the title track "Keep It Simple" yearns for a return to a less complicated time. On this song, his sense of humor leavens his strong feelings about society's depersonalization. "This song is really personal to me. In the song I sing 'I don't wanna be a superman, I just wanna go somewhere and use my hands and keep it simple.' We get lost in all the choices that surround us everyday from the coffee we drink to the television we watch. I try to ignore all the distractions and focus on what's important to me." HISTORY Born Kevin Moore and raised in Compton, California, his parents- from Louisiana and Texas- exposed him to a diverse range of music that included spirituals from the Baptist church, contemporary R&B, the blues and the rock of the '60's. At the age of 12, Herm Wyatt his uncle gave him guitar lessons, one of the first steps in a long musical journey that included trumpet and French horn. His first band was a calypso steel band in which he played every instrument he could get his hands on. At the age of 17 he moved on to rhythm & blues. After several years playing around Los Angeles, he got his first break. Fate came knocking at 21 while he was rehearsing with his band. Papa John Creach, the violinist for Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna, walked past when he heard the band playing. "He wandered in, liked what he heard, and hired us on the spot- true story. I played on three albums, and on the first one we had Big Joe Turner as a guest artist and Harmonica Fats. These were some of the first blues guys I got exposed to, face to face. He recorded and toured with Creach for three years. After his work with Creach, he started working as a musician and arranger for demo sessions for Almo- Irving Music that led to a two-year tenure as a staff writer. Then in 1980 he was signed to Chocolate City, a subsidiary of Casablanca Records. He recorded his debut album, Rainmaker as Kevin Moore, which included the songs "Anybody Seen My Girl" that he later re-recorded for his 1994 Keb' Mo' debut and the title track that was also re-recorded and released on 1998's Slow Down. The next phase in his life turned out to be a defining moment in his musical development. In 1983 he joined the Whodunit Band formed by the late saxophonist Monk Higgins and led by Charles Dennis currently with B.B. King. Playing regularly at Marla's Memory Lane, a legendary LA jazz & blues club, the band was joined onstage by a rotating cast of big name bluesmen. "Everybody came down there and sat in: Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Witherspoon, Pee Wee Crayton, Albert Collins, Billy Preston, it was smokin'! My exposure to Monk Higgins and Charles Dennis was probably the most important element in developing my understanding of the blues." A few years later he was busy playing, writing songs and running a friends demo studio when he was asked to perform Delta blues music in a play called "Rabbit Foot". "At the time there was a guy in L.A. that was doing this- Chic Streetman- and he was busy. So I was offered the part. I'd started listening to some blues records again just before this: Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy. Big Bill just blew my mind, a really good songwriter with an amazing voice, amazing guitar technique." Later he portrayed seminal bluesman Robert Johnson in "Can't You Hear The Wind Howl", a docu-drama based on Johnson's short, but storied life. The haunting blues Johnson created was still on Keb' Mo's mind in 1993 when he was signed to Okeh, a label revived by Sony's Michael Caplan, that was originally founded in 1916 and is credited with releasing the first blues record- Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues"- in 1920. In 1994 Keb' Mo' released his self-titled debut, which earned critical acclaim and included stunning interpretations of Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" and "Kind Hearted Woman Blues" alongside a number of his original songs. For the record, Quentin Dennard and Billy Mitchell are responsible for giving Kevin Moore the nickname Keb' Mo'. "I'd go to see The Billy Mitchell Jazz Band on Monday nights and I'd bring my guitar to sit in, and start playing blues. Quentin would look over at me from behind the drums and Billy from the piano and they'd holler Keb' Mo' (slang for Kevin Moore)! It's like if I was playing jazz I could be Kevin Moore, but if I was gonna play the blues, I had to be Keb' Mo'." Two years later he earned his first Grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues record category for "Just Like You" - a mix of traditional and contemporary blues. His second Grammy followed two years after that for "Slow Down". "It's great to win a Grammy, but winning is nothing compared to the fun of getting there. It reminds you of all the sacrifices you made and all of the apartments you got kicked out of." He continued to expand his folk-blues foundation with contemporary rhythms and evocative songwriting on the 2000 release The Door. A year later he shifted gears for Big Wide Grin a collection of family themed songs like The O'Jays "Love Train" and Bill Wither's "Grandma's Hands". This special project was released on the Sony Wonder label and focused on material that spoke to parents as well as their children. Another special project was released in 2003 on Sony Legacy for Martin Scorcese Presents The Blues: Keb' Mo'. A 16-song collection of personally chosen songs harvested from his catalogue plus one newly recorded track, "Peace of Mind". 2003 was a busy year for Keb' Mo' as he participated in several events to celebrate the United States Congress proclaimed "Year of the Blues". He was selected to narrate and host the 13 segment Public Radio International (PRI) series "The Blues"- a comprehensive chronicle of the blues. Keb' Mo' guides the listener on a journey that breathes life into blues history and culture with new and archival interviews from prominent artists, historians, record producers and historic and modern day blues recordings. "The Blues" was acknowledged as the most widely broadcast radio special in the history of PRI. He also participated in the "Salute to The Blues" concert, which is scheduled for theatrical release in 2004. "Martin Scorcese put together an incredible documentary about the blues that culminated with an all-star show at Radio City Music Hall. Steve Jordan-who was the musical director for the concert-called me and asked me if I wanted to play a song or two. I know Steve pretty well- so I told him that I really wanted to be in the house band, and luckily he found room for me." Featuring performances by B.B. King, Solomon Burke, Ruth Brown and Bonnie Raitt to name but a few, the concert was a living history lesson of the blues. "What a humbling and educational experience. I could never describe the feelings that I had sharing the stage with so many legends. Every time I turned around there was another amazing musician coming up on stage."

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