ELG: Do you plan on publishing a book of your tunes with correct tablature? Some of the more uncoordinated folks probably would dig on the delusion that they can play even a quarter as good as you do…
KW: No, I don’t plan on publishing a book, but somewhere down the road, someone may be able to just tab it out. All the stuff I play is pretty basic as far as the left-hand goes, as far as chords go, except for a few variations on chords. Anyone can pretty much find them if they just take the time and search it out on the neck. But, I think most of my music comes from my right hand. It’s working around the chord. That’s why it may seem a little difficult. But the chords are pretty simplistic.
ELG: Can you tell me a little bit about the looping gear? For instance, what is the actual machinery involved, and of course, how does it work?
KW: It’s called a Jam Man by Lexicon. It’s an old unit that they don’t make anymore. I think it is a kind of digital chip. It’s kind of like a delay unit. All I know about it is that I step on the button and I lay something down, or sing a sound, and then then I step on the button again and what I just played is continuously looped. Then I step on the same button to layer something on top of it. And the other button clears it, totally stops it. It’s hard to explain but really easy to use.
ELG: Is there a way you can explain how you go about composing the looping arrangements?
KW: Well, I pretty much do it to enhance the tunes. The main reason I do it is because it is fun. I’ve been playing solo for so many years. With one vocal and one guitar, you can really either play a certain market – like background music – or you can play in the folk world. Or you can be a Hedges type of guy. But what I’m really doing is acting on the dance vibe. You can only sample for 32 seconds, but I only need about between 4 and 6 seconds, and then I can layer on top of that. So I’m basically acting on that dance vibe…(laughs)…what’s the question again?
ELG: Have you considered trying to put together an acoustic backing group as an experiment? Maybe for one tour, or for a small run of shows?
KW: Oh yeah. I’ve thought about it all the time, about trying to advance it to the next level; seeing where we can go with it with a band. I always thought it would be really cool. I’m having a great time just doing the solo thing, instead of having a big crew of sorts. I thought, though, if I did it, I’d do it with a bass player and a drummer who are already established. So people would come to the show to hear the bass player and drummer without really hearing of me. The few people who know who I am would come to the show, but the rest would come to see that established rhythm section and some dude. That’s what I always thought it would be like. But as of right now, I don’t have any set plans on that. I’m loving the solo thing. When the Jam Man breaks, I’ll have to hire some musicians. (laughs).
ELG: The next time you make a studio album, how will the looping techniques affect your approach?
KW: I don’t think the looping will be used in the studio. I do have a new record coming out, called Loop, and it will be out in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m the only musician on the record, and it’s my fifth record but the first time where it’s just me. It will be the best representation of my shows in the past year. As far as the studio goes, I can do the same type of thing as the looping through tracking. You know, just play the whole song on the bass. Play the whole song on the drums. Whereas in looping, you can play four measures, hit the button, and it will play continuously. In the studio, you can take time, and it won’t be as monotonous. I’d really like to do a record with me playing all the tracks. That’s what this live record is, but it’s all looped. It’s the same four seconds over and over again for three minutes. It’ll be a different vibe.
ELG: What are your touring plans for the future?
KW: I’ll probably be doing my normal loop around the United States. It’s all about the timing. In the future, I want to play in Europe. I know there’s a strong market in Japan that I want to see. I want to do a train tour. Go to one country, play for a night, then maybe be a tourist for a day, then hop on a train and go to the next country.
ELG: Anything you’d like to tell the world?
KW: (long silence.) Come and see me!
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