December 14, 2004

Eddie van Halen saw this and started spinning ...so they just decided it was time to bury him. Kaki King plays guitar like acid played Syd Barrett.
posted by jimbecile 20 years ago
  • My god.. I have been working on some of those double tapping techniques, and adding percussive sound with the guitar. This just blew me away. 25 and she plays it like she was created with a guitar in her hands. Those techniques are hard, really hard to do. But even harder is using them to make such great music that holds your attention for more than a 10 second fill.
  • Her official web site has some pretty darn fancy Flash.
  • All I can say about that is HOLY. CRAP. HOLY. CRAP. Quite a talent. I'm still flabbergasted.
  • Sweet! I bought Everybody Loves You off ITunes about a month ago. When I first heard her, I was reminded of Preston Reed. I was totally blown away. I grew up listening to people like John Renbourn and Leo Kottke (my dad's taste). I made my dad a copy of this album and he loves it. The fact that she's, you know, a chick, and so young makes her technical wizardry even more enjoyable to me. Thanks for the video!
  • Pretty much a cross between Britney and Jessica, wouldn't you say?
  • That is to say: Let's see how she does in hot pants and halter top.
  • Don't mean to be the detractor here, but this stuff strikes me as little more than a parlor trick. I mean, it doesn't seem musical. Reminds me of Stanley Clarke in the 80s. Interesting, but they never get their groove.
  • pyrrthon1: there's some stuff at her site which is more musical and song-like. (damn lousy band sites...)
  • Is there a link which isn't a streaming video feed? I'm on dialup, and the main link came across as choppy and annoying.
  • It's extemely gimmicky then again so is Van Halen. Reminds me of the guy or gal through the magic of MIDI plays rock guitar on a violin. Well, if you're so outside the range and design of the instrument maybe you'd be happier with a different instrument? Say, a guitar! There is a line between stretching things to their limits/unorthodox techniques and plain old gimmicks. >(damn lousy band sites...) Shame you can't deep link into flash sites.
  • fatoudust: mplayer can save streams; check out the -dumpstream option.
  • Kaki's playing is no more gimmicky than blues riff shredding, and not much more difficult and infinitely more tasteful. She exists as the refutation to every girl who thought that their hands were too small to play guitar.
  • hmmm ... i hear a lot of robert fripp in her playing ... she's got good technique but the songs themselves don't do a lot for me
  • Nothing Linda McCartney couldn't do back in the day.
  • >It's extemely gimmicky then again so is Van Halen. Eddie van Halen is an old man who bores us now and has arguably not made any 'good' music in over 20 years - if ever. But I would hesitate to call him gimmicky, as he really was a massively influential pioneer (in many more ways that just silly fret tapping) whom this woman is obviously indebted to.
  • This is impressive as hell, but it conjures more Stanley Jordan than Eddie Van Halen. Nothing gimmicky about what Kaki and Stanley Jordan do, it's simply another way to approach playing the guitar.
  • Eddie van Halen ... really was a massively influential pioneer (in many more ways that just silly fret tapping) whom this woman is obviously indebted to. Plus he boned Valerie Bertinelli. Let's see this chick top THAT.
  • i hear a lot of robert fripp in her playing I hear stuff in her playing that is KC reminiscent as well... but wasn't Tony Levin the one that played the Stick? That's probably a closer analogy to what she's doing.
  • It's amazing technique, but the songs aren't very interesting. I'd rather watch than listen.
  • "Interesting" is in the ear of the listener, I think. I downloaded the album off of iTunes this morning and have been listening to it on and off all day. To my own ear, it's highly listenable and pleasing.
  • She is absolutely amazing in concert. i caught her by accident at bumbershoot this past year while killing time waiting for another show to start. her first song, i thought like some of you above, that it was gimmicky and not too impressive, and then the 2nd song, my jaw dropped. i got goosebumps, it was so freaking good. I got the album as well, and I don't like it nearly as much as seeing her live (duh.) It was just too cool to see all that coming out of one girl with an acoustic guitar.
  • Wow. Thank you, MonkeyFilter.
  • Wicked Awesome
  • Um...is it "music?"