Wes King: Nashville singer/songwriter sings 'A Room Full Of Stories'

Friday 1st August 1997

Having scored successful albums like 'Common Creed' and 'The Robe' and written for artists like Kim Hill and Amy Grant, WES KING has recently gone through a personal revolution. He spoke to Jan Willem Vink.



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Wes: "That's a very honest song. There is a person in my neighbourhood where I live. He's quite an interesting character and I find him quite difficult to love. A lot of other people do too. It's not just me. I think he's probably a very hurting individual. So he terrorizes people and enjoys it. The song is about relativism, your universe, the idea that this might me right for you and this might be right for me - relativistic thinking. That song to me also represents a working definition of what it means to be a neighbour. If you have read a little bit of philosophy or literature, you will find more nuggets in this record than the obvious, things that I elude to, as far as philosophically and theologically and literature that I hope people get. References to books by Steinbeck and different things. I think that's important."

Jan Willem: One of the more obvious literary references on the album is the Ode to Bilbo Baggins in "Simplify". Are you a big fan of JRR Tolkien?

Wes: "I love that book! I've read the first one and the second one and the third one. I've read the first one twice, the second time I read it out loud to my wife. It was even better that way. The language is so beautiful. I just so relate to Bilbo. Especially his weakness. I so relate to the people in the Scriptures that were the failures, more than the heroes. The Bible is full of a bunch of failures who God forgave and loved. That's why I like Bilbo because he's called to be something he really doesn't want to be. I think that's all of us to a certain extent."

Jan Willem: Can you tell me some more about the upcoming trio album you're recording with Phil Keaggy and Scott Dente?

Wes: "Yeah. It's a real honour for me to be on a record with Phil who will go down in history as probably the greatest guitar player of our times. Easily. It's a real honour for me. I sometimes feel very unworthy of doing a record with Phil. I think everybody is going to look at this as being two great guitar players and a master. A couple of understudies. I think we all have unique approaches to the instrument, which really sets us apart. There are hundreds of guys that are better guitar players than me, but I feel that I'm fortunate enough to have a unique style that kind of sets me apart. I think my guitar playing really drapes itself really around my lyrics and voice in a unique way that makes it even better. I think the same for Scott. He is a very unique player that is also very fun to watch play. Then there is Phil who is really such a chameleon. One minute I close my eyes and I think he's Mark Knopfler, the next minute he's Jimmi Hendrix and the next minute he's anybody. He can play like anyone. He's not just a genius on the guitar; he's a musical genius. And so I think it's going to be real good fun. We have a good time together. We laugh a lot. It's going to be a fun record."

Jan Willem: Will it be totally instrumental?

Wes: "I don't think so. It started out that way but everybody really wants us to sing on it. There will be at least three songs."

Jan Willem: Are you going to tour it as well?

Wes: "Yes, we will go out next spring."

Jan Willem: But will it stretch you a lot musically?

Wes: "I think the studio aspect of it will be fun. Just kind of being able to put a microscope on things and go, 'Oh this is what you do.' There are a lot of subtle things that I do and all of us do that get covered up when you are in a big ballroom like last night. Some of that stuff is really cool in more like a 1000 seat hall, that would be slammin'. You start having an acoustic guitar too loud and you are going to have a lot of trouble. You could tell last night. It's going to be fun." CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Jan Willem Vink
Jan Willem Vink is a regular contributor to Cross Rhythms and lives in the Netherlands.


 
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