“B.B. was the king, the judge and jury of all things Blues.” proclaims friend and fan of the late B.B. King. Though Kevin Moore, better known as Keb’ Mo’, maintains his cool rather than get emotional about his relationship with the larger than life Blues legend – it’s clear that King was quite an influence on him as is his family and the life of music that surrounds him. It’s been 21 years since Moore’s first studio release as Keb’Mo’ and he has been celebrating a string of nominations and awards including his 6th Film and TV BMI Award for his theme song “I See Love” for the TV show Mike & Molly and the award for Blues Music Association’s Best Contemporary Blues Album for his critically acclaimed BLUESAmericana, of which he has just embarked on yet another tour in support of the album which will continue through September and pick back up again in early 2016. Keb’ found time in his busy schedule of performing and more importantly being a husband and father, to speak with Glide about the new tour, balancing business with family and his take on how technology is effecting the music industry.
You kicked off your summer tour in New Jersey. How did the first night go?
It was good. We have had some new people join our crew. We got some new equipment and we upgraded our sound gear. So we had to work all of that out. But it was smooth.
You’ve been touring pretty consistently for many years. Any pros and cons about touring that come to mind?
Well, the pros are that you get to go out and play. The cons are that you have to be away from home. But I’m able to bring my family out enough that I don’t have to make too much of a compromise. This summer is one exception where I’m doing a lot of dates, but I’ll be off this winter.
When I listen to BLUESAmericana, even with its title – I hear a lot of different genres incorporated into its tracks. Do you find it hard to define or establish a genre in today’s music?
Well, I like to define music into two categories. I either like it or I don’t like it. Those are the two basic genres for me. I don’t really care. It’s the people in marketing that care about genre. It’s just a reality. For me, what you do is just – what you do. You can play your music for the people and they’ll either like it or not.
You are still touring behind of your last release from 2014 – the award winning BLUESAmericana. I’m assuming that you have new material in the works.
We’re working on some new stuff to put out next year.
Are you going to play any new songs on this tour?
No, I don’t really do that because people record them and put them up on YouTube before they’re ready.
What inspires you to sit down and write a new song? Judging from the lyrics on BLUESAmericana, I’d have to believe it’s your wife and family. Is there anything else that ignites a flame to create?
Life. I write about what’s going on around me. But, I’m not necessarily looking for inspiration. You know, there’s usually something that happens that day or the day before in your life or in the news. I focus on craft. I think craft is the hard part.
Do you have a writing routine?
My whole routine is just, hang out and wait. Though it’s probably the worst way to do it, because we have a lot of deadlines in life. On tour, I can’t really hang out and wait. I have things to do. I have places to be. It’s more like a metaphor. I try to just let things happen rather than make things happen. That’s been working for me.
Going back to your family, is it a challenge to find a balance between being at home and then being on the road? The last time I saw you in Boston, your wife and son were in attendance.
It just takes planning. It’s not a hang out and wait kind of situation. You need to plan for it. I take a look at what I have to do and then we work together on it.
Was music a big part of your life growing up?
I was surrounded by music in my school, on my block and my friends playing drums on my porch. We did that all of the time.
Was the guitar your first instrument?
No my first instrument was the trumpet, then steel drums. Guitar was actually my third instrument.
What inspired you to get involved with performing and later on, recording?
It was always in my environment. Something always came along and I would work on music. I was fortunate to just run into musical situations all of the time. Music seemed to always be following me around. I never had to go pursue it. I had to figure out how to make it work for me, to make a living.
Home is now Nashville, correct? What brought you to move there?
Moving to Nashville was a family move. My wife was the inspiration behind it of course. I asked why we couldn’t stay in Los Angeles? But she was pretty definite about the idea. So we packed up the house, sold it and found a new house in Nashville. We’ve been there for five years and it’s worked out really good.
So you are enjoying being in Music City, surrounded by music?
It’s fantastic. All it needs is a beach!
Losing B.B. King feels like an end of a musical era.
Is it? I don’t know. It’s not the end of the world. B.B. was the king, the judge and jury of all things Blues. He’s the one that held it up, the old style. However, the old style is kind of like the new style.
You played at the B.B. King Musical Tribute at Beale Street’s W. C. Handy Park in Memphis.
Yes, I went down to Beale Street and it was an amazing thing. He was 89 years old. I saw a lot of great friends and we talked about all of the great things that B.B. did in and outside of music.
You must have had a good relationship with B.B. – what is your fondest memory?
I had a great relationship with him. Anyone he met, he became a good friend to them. I just happened to be in his world and he welcomed me, encouraged me, and shared information with me just like he would with everyone. He was a great, great man. And, he played the guitar!
Do you have a favorite memory of working with him?
He took me on tour in Europe, to England and Ireland. I got to hang out with him, sit with him on the bus for like ten days, playing gigs and we would just talk. He asked me questions and shared things. We would just sit and ride in his bus. He was very kind to me. I’ll always have great memories of B.B. King.
B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Joe Cocker, amongst others have all recorded many of your songs. Which recording of one of your songs by them impressed or surprised you the most?
Yeah, I think that I was impressed by all of them! Joe recorded “Anybody Seen My Girl?” The most fun that I had was recording with Buddy Guy on “The Price You Gotta Pay”.
It’s been 21 years since your first album’s release. It’s a significant amount of time. Can you reflect on what you think has changed since then, whether it be the industry or socially?
Technology. Everyone has computers now. It’s very competitive. Not that I think of it as being a competition. The public has access to more music via the Internet. Record and CD sales have dropped because a lot of people are figuring out how to get the music for free. For the most part, the downloading and streaming have been a deterrent for money to find its way into artists’ pockets. The artists at the top really don’t suffer. It’s a like a little society and the artists at the bottom, who really need it – keep losing money. The big names are able to invest their money in products or a brand.
You’ve accomplished so much and everything appears to be going quite well for you right now. What is on your bucket list at this point?
Well, I’d like to sing with Gladys Knight!
The Keb’ Mo’ 2015 summer tour kicks off June 25th in Boston at the Wilbur Theatre.
Tour Dates
06.25.15 Boston, MA WILBUR THEATRE
06.26.15 Englewood, NJ BERGEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
06.27.15 Wilmington, DE THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE
06.28.15 Ridgefield, CT THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE
06.30.15 New Hope, PA NEW HOPE WINERY
07.09.15 Albuquerque, NM KIMO THEATRE
07.10.15 Taos, NM KTAOS SOLAR CENTER
07.11.15 Scottsdale, AZ TALKING STICK RESORT
9800 East Indian Bend Road. BUY TICKETS
07.12.15 – 07.13.15 Solana Beach, CA BELLY UP TAVERN
07.15.15 Beverly Hills, CA SABAN THEATRE
07.16.15 Saratoga, CA MONTALVO ARTS CENTER
07.17.15 Reno, NV CARGO@WHITNEY PEAK HOTEL
07.18.15 Brooks, CA CACHE CREEK CASINO
07.21.15 Aspen, Colorado BELLY UP, ASPEN
07.22.15 Denver, Colorado DENVER BOTANICAL GARDENS
07.26.15 Vancouver, BC VOGUE THEATRE
07.27.15 – 07.28.15 Seattle, WA JAZZ ALLEY
07.29.15 Portland, OR REVOLUTION HALL
07.30.15 Spokane, WA BING CROSBY THEATRE
08.02.15 Sturgis, SD GLENCOE CAMP RESORT
08.04.15 Madison, WI BARRYMORE THEATER
08.05.15 Milwaukee, WI POTAWATOMI BINGO CASINO
08.06.15 Apple Valley, MN MUSIC IN THE ZOO
08.07.15 Bayfield, Wisconsin BIG TOP CHAUTAUQUA
08.09.15 Wheeling, West Virginia HERITAGE MUSIC BLUES FESTIVAL
08.11.15 Nelsonville, OH STUART’S OPERA HOUSE
08.12.15 Kent, OH THE KENT STAGE
08.13.15 Buffalo, NY BABEVILLE
08.15.15 Calabogie, Ontario CALABOGIE BLUES & RIBFEST
08.23.15 Quebec AMPHITHEATRE TROIS-RIVIERES
08.28.15 Nashville, TN SCHERMERHORN SYMPHONY CENTER
08.29.15 Atlanta, GA ATLANTA SYMPHONY HALL
08.30.15 Charleston, SC CHARLESTON MUSIC HALL
08.31.15 Durham, NC THE CAROLINA THEATRE
09.02.15 Sugar Loaf, NY SUGAR LOAF PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
09.03.15 Plymouth, NH FLYING MONKEY PERFORMANCE CENTER
09.04.15 Westhampton Beach, NY WESTHAMPTON BEACH P.A.C.
09.05.15 Hampton Beach, NH HAMPTON BEACH CASINO BALLROOM
09.06.15 Charleston, RI RHYTHM & ROOTS FESTIVAL
09.18.15 Wausau, WI GRAND THEATER
09.20.15 Hot Springs, AR THE OAKLAWN BLUES FESTIVAL
01.09.16 – 01.16.16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL DELBERT MCCLINTON CRUISE
03.10.16 Redding, CA CASCADE THEATRE
One Response
Great questions! Really gave interesting insight into his music and his background. Super pictures as well!