Kaki King - A Six-String Revelation

Kaki King is a delightful girl, who smiles delightfully, delightfully dodges some questions and agrees to answer, delightfully and laconically, others.

Tell me about when you met 50 Cent? (Kaki recently stated: "When 50 Cent autographed my boobs, I had an orgasm.")

No. This is a private matter that concerns me and "tesoruccio" alone.

Among your musical influences you've always mentioned Stravinsky, Debussy and Prokofiev. Does classical music actually influence the way you make music, or does it simply influence you as a person?

I'm not really the best person to judge what influences can be heard in my music. In any case, I'm a huge listener and lover of classical music.

Your latest album, "Everybody Loves You", was produced by David Torn. That wasn't a surprise, it was an excellent choice.

Do you already have someone in mind to produce your next record? Can I suggest Billy Sheehan?

…

Fair enough.

There are two songs that have always caught my attention: "Nails" (included on the album as a hidden track because the label didn't want the record to have 12 songs — at least, that's what people say) and "GWOT" (which stands for "Global War on Terrorism"). Would you like to talk about them?

"Nails" is the best song on the album.

"GWOT" is my first song played on lap steel, and I'm quite proud of it. I wish I'd recorded it now, because I've gotten a lot better at playing it since then.

In an old interview I read that you never write down a song's notes: you play it and learn it by heart.

Do you still follow this method of composing, or has it changed, perhaps while working on this most recent record of yours?

Same system. Occasionally I'll record something if I'm working on multiple parts, but I don't write the music down. If it stays in my head, that means it's worth turning into a song.

When do you know a song is finished, and how do you decide on its title?

When the record label gives me a deadline.

Is there a secret to achieving the kind of modest success you've had by releasing instrumental, minimal records?

You must be very photogenic.

You started out performing in subway stations. What did that experience teach you?

How long I can stand up playing guitar before I need to pee.

Tell me about the "KanD" project?

"KanD" is short for "Kaki e Dan".

Dan (Treut) is the craziest drummer I've ever met.

Sometimes I play drums and he plays guitar. When that happens, we call ourselves "DanK".

Your website is delightful. How involved are you in it, and whose idea were the cakes?

My friend Brian Ponto thought of everything. He's adorable, isn't he? I love being a cartoon…

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google