Keith Knight: Starts with the King, works backwards
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“Jailhouse Rock” was the song that did it for Keith Knight.
“When I listened to Elvis as a kid, I knew I wanted to be an entertainer,” he said, so he proceeded to wear out a $25 guitar purchased from a local five-and-dime store.
“It literally fell apart,” he said, “so after that I started playing electric guitar.”
After graduating from UCLA, Knight joined a progressive groove band called the Panic Choir, which relocated him to Austin, Texas, where the band achieved some success and Knight was soon voted one of the Top Ten Musicians in one of America’s best music cities.
“I realized at a certain point that the music industry is not what it appears to be,” he said. “In pop music, there are few bands that can last more than a few years, and I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my days.”
So he decided to strike out on his own, and under the inspiration of Bill Monroe and Leo Kotke began playing more traditional styles of music.
“I figured I would have a more lasting career that way,” he said. “Bill Monroe can do that to you. He converted a lot of people.”
Knight’s show focuses on solo 12 and six string finger-style acoustic guitar playing a roots music repertoire that includes his own tunes and songs by artists such as Blind Blake, Charley Patton, Leadbelly and Ry Cooder, but using their influences to create his own unique and personal style.
“You have to find your own voice,” he said. “You listen to others but only to find out who you are musically.”
