29 May 2009

Q&A with Kaki King: The evolution of a guitarist

In 2008, Kaki King charmed and impressed the TED community with her melodic and exuberant style of guitar-playing. Yesterday, TED's Media Production Specialist Angela Cheng spoke with Kaki over the phone in hopes of learning more about her influences, the ever-changing music writing process, and what she gleaned from TED.

How was your day?

Good. I ran around a lot and lost track of time. It would have been more fun if it wasn’t for the rain. I’m doing this new project where I’m looking for twelve artists to provide blank guitars for them to design or re-create. And the theme of each piece would be the title of one of my songs. I haven’t been on tour for the last two months, which is rare, and I’m a bit of a workaholic so I’m keeping busy. Otherwise I go stir-crazy.

Do you enjoy touring?

I’m very used to it. There are a lot of places that I know extremely well. Like if I were to visit Sydney, Australia, I’d feel very comfortable there. I’m very comfortable in many many cities.

You’re originally from Atlanta, but New York is now your home. Do you ever miss the South?

Yes. My mom and dad and uncle and sister all live in Atlanta. I have relatives in Texas. I do try to visit as much as possible. It’s wonderful that all my family is there and I get to go there and chill out. It’s very peaceful. I have a very strong tie – not necessarily to the South – but to nature.

How much of the South is in your music?

I definitely will say that being in the vicinity gave me a lot more access to bluegrass music. Bluegrass is not a clear influence. But you have to play bluegrass music at a very high level of skill. Anything involved with taking things to a higher level of skill really interests me.

A lot of people have characterized your music as “percussive.” In fact, you started off wanting to play drums. Does it make sense to say that percussion has a lot of influence on your style?

Yes it does, and not only "percussion," but the independence between the hands that you learn as a drummer helped me become a much more creative guitar player.

You started off as a solo musician, but now you collaborate with a full band. What was it like making the transition, in both writing and playing?

The writing remains the same. I write almost every single part of my songs, even the actual drum parts sometimes, whether they be simple or layered with many different instruments. The great thing about havinga band for the first time was that I didn't have to work as hard onstage at making all of these different sounds myself. I could just sit back and let the band play the parts I had written.

Do you have a typical music writing process?

Right now I’m at the very beginning of the new writing process for a new album. The process changes for every record, every song. For my first two records, there was an intimacy between me and the songs because I hung out with them so much. You have less time the busier you get. At this point, after putting out an album, I have to re-learn the songs that I’ve written.

In the past, most of what I’ve written, I’ve written during times of pain or loneliness, and the music is therapy. Things change when you get older. I’ve followed the lives of great musicians and have learned that you don’t have to always write in pain. You have all of your past experiences, feelings, and thoughts that you can turn on when you need them and turn off when you don’t. Right now I feel a bit older and wiser and I don’t need to go out and create a painful or sad situation or feel estranged from the universe.

Also, all experiences are relevant to making art or music. Right now I’m learning the piano. I’m not going to become a piano player, but I do know that in some way it will open up my world and give me inspiration for my music.

READ MORE: Kaki talks about her experience at TED, being remembered by Al Gore and what it's like to be short.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)

29 May 2009

"Playing with Pink Noise": Kaki King on TED.com

Kaki King, the first female on Rolling Stone's "guitar god" list, rocks out to a full live set at TED2008, including her breakout single, "Playing with Pink Noise." Jaw-dropping virtuosity meets a guitar technique that truly stands out.(Recorded at TED2008, February 2008, in Monterey, California. Duration: 14:49)

Watch Kaki King's performance from TED2008 on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.

Get TED delivered:
Subscribe to the TEDTalks video podcast via RSS >>
Subscribe to the iTunes video podcast
Subscribe to the iTunes audio podcast
Get updates via Twitter >>
Join our Facebook fan page >>

Subscribe to the TED Blog >>

Posted by Matthew Trost | Permalink

Permalink | Comments () | TrackBack (0)