A Conversation with Keb’ Mo’ – HuffPost 9.4.14
Mike Ragogna: Hey Keb’, how have you been since our last chat?
Keb’ Mo’: I’ve been good. I’ve been on the road, doing the road thing, having fun, playing music.
MR: You’re touring with G. Love, right? What kind of shenanigans have you two gotten up to?
KM: [laughs] Shenanigans? G. Love is way cool and I’m very sedated. [laughs] We play a little music, he comes and plays a song with me and I play a song or two with him. We like to hang out afterward and have conversations, we have nice little jam sessions in the middle of the night in the back of the theatre in Alabama. That was fun.
MR: When you’re on the road with these guys do you ever sit with them and write a song or two?
KM: No, it’s kind of hard because he travels on his bus and I travel on mine, and when he’s sound checking I’m waiting. I don’t really write on the road myself. I wait ’til I get home to write. I like to really live on the road and then I come home and do some writing there. I think I wrote a song on the road with Zac Brown. But I’ve only written one or two songs on the road. I like to just be on the road.
MR: Let’s talk about your latest, BLUESAmericana. Americana has become associated with a “rootsy” sound. But I think that term–Americana–should apply to American music like the blues.
KM: I agree. I was at an event where we were listeningn to music and we were listening to some Allen Toussaint and someone said, “That’s not Americana,” and I said, “What do you mean? That’s more Americana than anything we’ve listened to so far today.” That’s the result of a preconceived notion of what Americana is that that person had. I think a lot of people are jumping into the Americana genre because it’s not a genre, it’s a place where if you have no genre you can go to Americana. “I’m not really bluesy enough to be total blues, I’m not country enough to be totally country, I’m not folk enough to be totally folk, I’m not R&B enough to be R&B,” you can come be Americana.
MR: Maybe it’s like a club.
KM: It really is! I think it’s a place where a lot of people are gathering in the genre to let music just be music. I know some jazz artists who are jumping in there. I think it’s really kind of a neutralizer for music. I don’t think that’s what they meant to do when they started it, but I think that’s what’s happening for me. I named BLUESAmericanaafter them. I liked the Americana genre, it was more like alternative country the first time I went to the awards. I called it leftwing country. Americana, that’s a pretty broad name, there.
MR: I think there’s even a place in Americana for people like Bonnie Raitt; she’s uncategorizable. She’s mainly the blues, but she works with so many other genres, what do you do with an artist like that? She’s not totally blues.
KM: No, she’s not by any means. Never has been.
MR: So how did the material come together for BLUESAmericana?
KM: The biggest difference on this one was our first recording of it. It was completely upside down, which I think is actually right side up. I started with the vocals. I recorded the vocals first, with nothing on it.
MR: You sang a capella?
KM: Yes. I sang with nothing. I had a click track behind it so I could hold a time reference, but I just sang the song. Being that the lyric and the melody was the first thing on it, everything else that went on had to really adhere to that. There was no stepping on it. If I put the rhythm track on it first I may be singing on down but maybe it’s right for the vocal or maybe not. I did a lot of the playing myself, too. It really worked. The next thing I put on was the guitar and the drums. It was very, very much all about the vocal.
MR: You have perfect pitch?
KM: I don’t have perfect pitch. I have horrible pitch, actually. What I did was I would keep a reference of the guitar next to me and I would pluck the key periodically to make sure I wasn’t drifting sharp or flat. I went back and sang them again after it was all said and done, but having the vocal on it first thing was a really interesting way to approach it. It was just really cool. I think I’d like to do that again.
MR: Do you want to continue what you did on BLUESAmericana? Is this how you see Keb’ Mo’ in the future?
KM: Well I found that I have to be really careful about deviating too much from the genre. I did a piece on my last record called “Reflection,” which was met with very mixed opinions. I was like, “Okay, I did that, I can do that,” but I can’t really do a whole record of it without giving the audience something to hold on to. James Taylor is always James Taylor. Metallica is always Metallica. The sad part about being an artist is that once your audience likes who you are–you go to McDonald’s and get a burger, you want your Big Mac to taste like the last one you had. I’m not saying that I want to be a McDonald’s-type artist, but if I want to keep communicating–and my ultimate goal is to keep communicating with the audience–I shouldn’t try to take them so far that the go away and can’t get it. The objective is to communicate. So the next time I think what I want to do is something that feels good and is kind of acoustic and classic in nature but I’d like to attack the song with [tight singing? 10:54] That’s part of my thing. Singing is always the most challenging thing for me. That’s what I don’t really want to do.
MR: When you put the vocal down first did you discover anything? Do you think you learned some things about your voice, hearing it stand alone?
KM: I’m so familiar with my vocals, I know everything that I do that’s screwed up. The trouble with me is I know how a great singer is supposed to sound. I grew up in the baptist church in southern California with all these great singers. Every church had a Marvin Gaye and an Aretha Franklin in it. They all have a Donny Hathaway and a Charlie Wilson. I can’t really make my voice do that. Even if I did it, even if I was able to do it, then I’d have to compete with the Donny Hathaways and the Charlie Wilsons. The best thing for me to do is be myself and be the best self I can be. My wife and I were just listening to Celine Dion the other day and I was just going, “Holy Moley.” That’s singing. She’s a great singer. You look at the results of her career and you can hear that the force of her voice matches the results of her career.
MR: Ooh. Nice line.
KM: Yeah! [laughs]
MR: You know, maybe sometimes artists can be a little too analytical or critical of their vocals, huh?
KM: That’s true, we are. Artists are sitting in the biggest blind spot in the world about their vocals. Because it’s you and it’s you every day. I’m Keb’ Mo’ every day. Every time I open my mouth, every time I play, I’m right there. I enjoy it, but it’s like you can be a little too inundated with yourself. Maybe the public is listening to other stuff all the time, but you listen to yourself every day. I think the challenge of being a better Keb’ Mo’, I know my voice sounds different from everyone else’s, I know there’s a thing that I do that people like, but I don’t know what it is. [laughs] It’s a kind of a funny thing when you’re not a singer-singer. I’m like a Randy Newman. Randy Newman is a great artist, Bob Dylan is a great artist. I think Bob Dylan is a great singer. Bob Dylan’s a great singer in my book.
MR: When you look at the “Lay Lady Lay” period with Dylan, it proves he could hit the notes in a song, but he wouldn’t do it.
KM: It sets him apart. The way he phrases, the way he delivers the song… To me it’s a brilliant vocal.
MR: For me, Blood On The Tracks…maybe Planet Waves…through Slow Train Coming is a great run.
KM: Yeah. I think he progressed at some point past the enduring voice that made him famous. That’s the nature and the hazard of being an artist.
MR: I thought he was at the height of his vocal talents in that period.
KM: Yeah.
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
KM: It’s almost like the same advice I’d have for someone in any business. You’re in a new era now. I don’t know how old you are, but I’m sixty-two and the whole world that I lived in is gone. Now’s the time for creative people. Everyone that’s doing well are creating things. They’re creating companies. The job thing is over. Now you’ve got to be a part of a creative thing. I think if you want to be famous as a musician and you want to be successful, you have to create it it in a way that hasn’t been done before. You’ve got your Facebook, you’ve got your Twitter, you’ve got your social media, but then you harken back to one thing that never changes: You have to ignite and excite your audience. You can’t just go out and go, “Okay, I’m going to try and get some followers on Facebook, I’ll get everybody following me on Twitter, maybe if I get on The Ellen Show people will buy my CD.” You have to ignite and excite. The very basic thing that motivates everything is word of mouth. If people are excited about something, “You’ve got to try this chewing gum! Have you tried this chewing gum?” It has to be so good that people have to tell someone else about it. As much as it goes in the future with technology, the more things are like the way they’ve always been. You have to excite your audience. James Brown excited his audience. You go back and listen to James Brown. James Brown on his death bed was exciting audiences. You look at his films and the work he did: Wow.
MR: I look at artists like Bruno Mars and I think he understands the stage.
KM: He’s amazing. Once again, the talent matches.
MR: How do you ignite and excite?
KM: I don’t know if I’m exciting and igniting as it were. I’m pretty clear on what I got and what I don’t got. What I try to do is create a very warm, ethereal, heartfelt evening and connect. People can come and they go home feeling good after the show. I try to write songs that are good enough that they’ll excuse my lack of vocal prowess. Songs that speak. Songs are the deal. However great your voice is, or not great, you still need a song. I go to the common denominator of the whole thing, which is, to me, the song. The melody, the lyrics, the message, the tempo, the accompaniment, the feel, every detail of it I try to really make sure that when people leave, whatever money they spent they felt like they got a really good deal.
MR: I love that. Do you notice any effect you’ve had on your audience?
KM: Well the audience is a mixed bag. I’m one thing up there. They can look at me or they can look at something on stage but I’m looking at hundreds of people. I wish I was looking at thousands, but I’ve got hundreds right now. Depending on what face I look at, there’s people having all kinds of experiences. Sometimes people are falling asleep. Not because they’re bored, but sometimes you see someone bring their girlfriend and maybe their girlfriend’s not into Keb’ Mo’, or maybe the girl is but the guy’s not or something and one of them’s falling asleep! Other ones might be up dancing, partying, having the time of their life. At that time instead of going, “Oh my god, I’m putting everybody to sleep!” I try to just find someone who’s having a really good time.
MR: We talked about BLUESAmericana and your tour with G. Love, what else is up? What mischief are you getting into?
KM: Ooh, mischief, I don’t know. I’m trying to get on Bonnaroo. I want to be on the big stage at Bonnaroo. They haven’t called me yet and I’m a little miffed about that.
MR: [laughs] You tell them the guy that played Robert Johnson on screen demands it!
KM: [laughs] I’m miffed to the point now where I’m losing sleep over it. It’d be nice. Maybe I’ll just have to go and bring my guitar and talk to somebody and say, “Can I do one song in your set?”
MR: That’s kind of how it works. You know how to work a room.
KM: Yeah. Basically I just have fun. I try to be really present with the audience, really present in any moment I’m in and just have fun. I’m very grateful for my life and what I’m allowed to do. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.
MR: As I mentioned, you were also an actor. Do you miss it?
KM: I never really tried to be an actor. People would call me to do parts and I would go do them and then somehow people started thinking I was acting. I’ve never had an acting agent or anything but if someone calls me, I’ll go do it. I’m no Robert DeNiro or Meryl Streep or anything like that, but it’s fun to do. When I sit in, I get to go and it’s fun.
MR: I think if Robert DeNiro made a call to someone who’s booking over at Bonnaroo you’d be in in a second.
KM: Yeah! That’s what’s missing. That’s what needs to happen.
MR: You’ve got your fingers in so many pies.
KM: I’ve been very fortunate like that, and that’s what I’m just being very grateful. I keep trying not to piss anybody off. [laughs]
MR: Yeah, I imagine that’s a hard thing to do.
KM: If I ever talked politics, I’d piss a lot of people off.
MR: Well let’s test that. What’s in the news right now that’s bugging you?
KM: The Middle East. I just wish at some point, we would cut our losses and leave and use our own oil. Leave them alone.
MR: It seems we get so close to self-sufficiency as far as energy and then it gets derailed.
KM: It’s human nature. I have an agenda. I want to be a musician. I want to sell music. If people start buying video games and start doing different things, I don’t get to sell music. It’s kind of human nature. We’re creatures of habit so they keep doing what they do. That’s what they know. They don’t know geothermal, they don’t know wind, they don’t know solar. They know oil. That’s such a big old rabbit hole, I don’t even know where to jump in. The gun thing with kids going in and shooting up the place… There are any number of issues.
Transcribed by Galen Hawthorne