Steve Kimock: The Best Guitarist Nobody Knows About

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61hh03Lbqcs (unique studio effort and collection of artists doing "Tongue and Groove"..beautiful)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwSbmR4DzE (Crazy Engine Doing JGB classic "Thats What Love Will Make You Do"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=311UL70d1L4 (SKB doing "Cole's Law"...Perhaps Kimock at his introspective best)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4HJoKKEyg (Highlights from an electric "T n G")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQw4HQgLrEM (Just raw jamming -- sweet, spacey improvisation talents at work!)


It was truly difficult to troll through the vast body of work for Steve Kimock and just choose "a couple" of clips to try and illustrate the genius that is his guitarwork. The video clips posted above still barely serves to scratch the surface of the depth and breadth of this man's imagination and talent for improvisational, face melting guitar skill.

Pennsylvania born guitarist Steve Kimock cut his teeth playing in the San Francisco Bay area in the mid-70s falling in with the Grateful Dead laced vibes that permeated that scene. He started out with the Goodman Bros as well as with one-time Grateful Dead bandmates Jean and Donna Goddchaux's Heart of Gold Band. Later years would see him play with all Dead bandmates in one form or another whether it be standing up in Jerry Garcia's absence after his death with The Other Ones in the late 90's, filling in for Mark Karan in Bob Weir's band Ratdog, or playing with the Rhythm Devil's -- these are just examples of his link with the Grateful Dead. His ability to get in tune with this music may be his association with Jerry Garcia prior to his death. Garcia served as a sort of unofficial mentor to him and once, it is said, referred to him as "the best guitarist nobody knows about".

Lest anyone get the idea that Kimock is just some kind of Grateful Dead knock off, it should be noted that he is a superb and original talent in his own right. While he may have incorporated a great deal of the Dead's music into his repetoire throughout his career, he has been a prolific songwriter on his own. Perhaps Kimock's most interesting work was with a band called Zero in the late 80's and 90's. Penning such classic songs as "Cole's Law", "Tangled Hangers" or "Tongue 'n' Groove" (see above video links) allowed Kimock to establish his own profile and to soar into the musical stratosphere with devastating fills and licks up and down the fretboard of his ever growing collection of unique sounding instruments.

Part of Kimock's genius has grown out of his love for what he does. He is a man that is totally dedicated to his craft and has been since he first fell in love with playing guitar. The thought that he would ever do anything else with his life I am sure was always a foreign concept to him. If you go see a Kimock show you will see this quiet and unassuming man moving about his area of the stage during soundchecks and prior to show checking and double-checking his equipment on his own. Where many a professional guitarist will employ a technician to ensure that his instruments are tuned, strings oiled, etc -- Kimock does all of this himself out of the deep and personal connection that he has with each and every instrument he has garnered throughout the years. His love for what he does is obvious in his attention to detail and his body language when he plays.

Despite his success with Zero nationally, and after a brief stint with a rendition of Zero called KVMH, Kimock struck out on his own in the new millenium with his own collection of talent under the form of either Steve Kimock and Friends or, more commonly, the Steve Kimock Band. Employing the talents of grammy award winning drummer Rodney Holmes among others, Kimock gave himself a platform upon which his prodigious guitar talents could shine through. While the band itself did not grow to the proportions of Zero, it was a must see for anyone looking to catch one of the hottest guitar talents out there. The link below is a review I did of a 2006 Ft. Lauderdale show that I attended with my son -- outstanding stuff -- the show, not my review!! (http://www.jambands.com/reviews/shows/2006/01/27/steve-kimock-band-culture-room-ft-lauderdale-fl-1-13?sms_ss=favorites).

Kimock has shelved his solo projects for the time being and has continued to tour with a couple of different new bands. He and Zero re-formed for a moment in the late 2000s as well as his work with the Goodman Bros. In addition he has done some sidebar work with ex-String Cheese Incident members Michael Travis and Jason Hahn in both E.O.T.O and Praang -- both are electro/psychadelia/percussion based instrumental bands that just beg for some face melting guitar tear drop shots that Kimock has been more than willing to oblige them with. But for now, Kimock has teamed up with Zero bassist Bobby Vega, former Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, and his son John Morgan Kimock on drums to form a tight unit called Crazy Engine that is touring the nation and Europe to rave reviews. Do what you do, Steve!!

For further information on all things Kimock check him out at http://www.kimock.com/ or better yet, give a listen to his vast collection of shows that can be found here at:
http://www.archive.org/browse.php?collection=etree&field=%2Fmetadata%2Fcreator

Just put any of the renditions of this man's musical journey into the search engine, from Zero to SKB to Praang to Crazy Engine and you will come up with more face melting beauty than you might ever wish for!!

One Love til next time
Ras I an I