March
2002
Guitar
virtuoso Steve Kimock performs at Conduit
By
Jim Ambrosio
Since
Jerry Garcia's passing in 1995, fans of the Grateful Dead's live
shows have had to content themselves with the various touring bands
formed by the surviving members of the Dead, groups that evoke the
spirit of the Dead-Phish being the best known and most successful
the genre-or cover bands. In early February, Trenton-area fans were
treated to inspired playing of guitar virtuoso Steve Kimock, a veteran
San Francisco musician whom Garcia dubbed his "favorite unknown
guitar player" shortly before his death.
Suffice
it to say, Garcia knew a good guitar player when he heard one. That
endorsement was enough to get me off of the sofa and out to Conduit
on a Tuesday night. Many other music fans were similarly inspired
as Kimock and his bandmates drew a sizable crowd - larger than the
veteran New York City-based Irish American rockers Black 47 were
able to command on the Friday following Christmas. People who made
the effort to get to the show weren't disappointed.
Kimock,
a native of Bethlehem, Pa., has been playing music for 25 years,
and if he hasn't achieved fame among the general public, he's earned
his spurs among Bay area musicians. He is a self-taught musician
who was inspired by a folk-singing aunt and a guitar-playing cousin
to take up the instrument. He began playing near his home in Bethlehem,
but moved to the San Francisco area in the 1970s follow an arrest,
in New Jersey, for a youthful indiscretion that was related, in
part, to the fact the Garden State allowed 18-year-olds to drink
alcohol at the time. Among his musical accomplishments has been
a stint touring with the Other Ones, which included surviving members
of the Grateful Dead; in 1998 and 1999, he was the lead guitar player
for another post-Dead effort, the Phil Lesh & Friends shows.
But
if it was his association with the Dead that gave him cache with
their fans, Kimock's musicianship, along with that of band members
Rodney Holmes on drums, Alphonso Johnson on bass and guitar player
Mitch Stein, stands on its own. Playing a nearly two-hour opening
set, Kimock's improvisational style evokes comparison to the work
of Carlos Santana and Weather Report. Not surprisingly, members
of his touring band have played with those artists, as well as David
Sanborn and others.
Kimock's
performance evoked the atmosphere of a Grateful Dead show, from
sights like the gyrating bodies pushed close to the Conduit stage
to the aromas of a Dead concert, courtesy of a group 50ish fans
who looked like they'd followed the band in its heyday as America's
most-popular touring band. Like the Dead, Kimock also allows fans
to record his live performances for their own use, and like Garcia,
he like does like to improvise on stage. Songs became extended jam
sessions, with each band member allowed to showcase his talent on
center stage. The group's approach was more like that of a jazz
quartet than a rock band.
As
pointed out on Kimock's official Web site (www.kimock.com),
the band "pushes the envelope with cutting-edge spirited improvisation
and intoxicating rhythms in a diverse repertoire of original instrumental
compositions and a few sophisticated covers." The next time
Steve Kimock is in the area, be sure to check him out.
