(TV) Bill Kirchen

[Maurice Rickard <maurice@mac.com>]

So a friend who likes to buy Uncut magazine has loaned me the CD from 
this latest issue, the Appreciation of Bob Dylan.  Track 1's a nice 
reading of "Girl from the North Country" by the Waterboys--very 
_Fisherman's Blues_-like.  Track 2...is Bill Kirchen's version of 
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," apparently taken from his _Tied to the 
Wheel_ album, released last year.   It's a pleasant enough rendition 
of the tune--restrained electric country-ish Tele playing, and Bill's 
singing is acceptable, if possibly just a bit bland.

And.  Then.  There's.  The solo.

It starts clean, with some country and Latin moves derived from pedal 
steel, and a really nice melody--guy knows what he's doing, for sure. 
And he keeps going.  Next chorus, it fuzzes up with some really fine 
low playing, and...he just cuts loose, all over the place.  It's just 
glorious.  I'm reminded of RL's playing in places, in fact, although 
I don't think RL or TV are influences.  Curiously, I get the 
impression that this kind of thing is pretty much standard in his 
playing.  It's really something.

I happened to read in a recent Guitar Player (wasn't mine, honest) 
that he's apparently in his 50s, knew and hung out with the late 
Danny Gatton, and was probably in some reasonably well known band I'm 
not remembering.  So what, if anything, do we know about him?
--
Maurice Rickard
http://mauricerickard.com/
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