The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band may be coming to Australia in October with the focus on his current album Lay It On Down (released in August 2017) but he’s already got a follow up record well and truly in motion.
“We were in the studio in March and we have almost completed another new album,” he told us. “I am really trying to stay ahead of the process and continue writing and recording and always be in that creative mode. I have found over the years that it can become difficult if you step away from it for too long, it’s hard to get the ball rolling again, get the wheels greased. Writing songs is like working a muscle and if you stop doing it for a while, you have to rebuild that strength. I’ve really got it on the last couple of years and I want to keep it going, so we have already finished a new record and putting the finishing touches on it now.”
As to the direction of the next album, Kenny is a little more unsure other than to say it will be another rocker. “I haven’t chosen the final tracks because we generally record much more songs than those which appear on the records,” he said. “It’s a little early to tell completely what the entire album is going to consist of but we have cut a lot of songs which have more of a rock edge to them. I don’t know how many will make it onto the record. I would say it’s somewhat of an extension to Lay It On Down but definitely has its own identity.”
Not content with another Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band album, the Louisiana guitar great is also not ruling out another album by his side project The Rides. The Rides have released two albums to date featuring Kenny, Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg.
“Stephen has been busy out on the road with Judy Collins, so they’ve ben doing a tour for their album and I have been out with my band touring this record. We haven’t had a chance to regroup and discuss making another record but I don’t see why we wouldn’t make another one. Everybody enjoys doing it, we have a lot of fun, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen, it’s just a matter of when.”
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Australian tour includes Ash Grunwald as support. The tour commences at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on October 4, travels to Brisbane on October 5 at Eatons Hill Hotel, and concludes in Melbourne at the Forum on October 6, showcasing Kenny’s array of rock and blues hits from an impressive career that spans over 20 years.
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Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
