Happy Birthday Steve Kimock!

My man north of the border, Cam, is back for another post…. – Pete

Oct 5 – If you’re anywhere near Teaneck, New Jersey, head over to Mexicali Blues to catch Steve Kimock, George Porter Jr., Robert Walter, and John Morgan Kimock and celebrate Steve Kimock’s birthday.

Steve Kimock is one of the more versatile guitarists I’m familiar with. His long and ever evolving career has now spanned over three decades, and he has shared the stage with many “big names” as well as showing up to guest with lesser known entities.

Kimock grew up in the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania region and moved to the Bay Area in the 1970s. After playing with folk-rock band the Goodman Brothers and several other bands, Steve co-founded Zero in 1984. The band had a lifespan of 16 years and played its brand of rock to both San Francisco and national audiences. Kimock was also the leader of the critically acclaimed band KVHW, featuring Steve on guitar, Zero band mate Bobby Vega on bass, Frank Zappa alumnus Ray White on 2^nd guitar and vocals, and drummer Alan Hertz, more recently with Garaj Mahal.

More recently Steve has led the Steve Kimock Band (SKB), which, when not on hiatus, plays primarily original instrumental compositions in styles ranging from jazz to prog-rock. The only permanent musician in SKB, apart from Steve himself, is ex-Santana drummer extraordinaire Rodney Holmes.

Since 2006 the SKB has been on a hiatus which has allowed Steve to sit in with many bands spanning a range of genres, including Banyan, Everyone Orchestra, the Allman Brothers, Porter Baptiste and Stoltz, Dark Star Orchestra, Zilla, and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – to name just a few.

A check today reveals that Steve will be touring with Ratdog later this month on a 14 show, 12-city tour including a date on Halloween. A typical Kimock performance, whether in one of his bands or sitting in with others, involves multiple guitars. Sometimes Steve will play one of his many electric guitars or dazzle fans with his slide work on his Lap Steel. The different guitars provide different sound and textures that vary the music. Steve is a huge “gearhead” and provides detailed answers to various questions from fans on the ‘Gear’ section of his website.

During his Bay Area years, Kimock periodically played with Grateful Dead related bands (even earning him the title of “… the best guitarist nobody ever heard of” from Jerry Garcia). Despite the fact that he rarely plays Dead material in his own band (in part to not to be viewed as derivative of the Dead scene) his career and persona have been intertwined with Grateful Dead related music – he has performed with Phil & Friends, The Other Ones, the aforementioned Rat Dog, and Dark Star Orchestra to name a few.

Music, tour dates, and the all-important page dedicated to Steve’s gear can be found at www.kimock.com.

Special thanks to my good friend Azer for his contribution to this post.

Zero – Gregg’s Eggs – 8/10/2007 at Gathering of the Vibes, Bridgeport, CT

Banyan – Full Show stream from 8/4/07 – Cervante’s Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver (Kimock on Guitar)

Check out the Steve Kimock Band’s latest, Eudemonic.

SK’s Official Site