Armed with a veritable arsenal of jaw-dropping chops and an encyclopedic knowledge of blues, Kirk Fletcher is a force of nature.
Having travelled the world playing what he calls “the music closest to my heart,” he has previously been a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and toured with Joe Bonamassa.
His latest album – My Blues Pathway – comprises a selection of originals spanning a broad range of influences from classic blues to Memphis-style soul and beyond.
Speaking of the album, Fletcher told Guitar Player, “I wanted to try some different grooves on this record, to make people realize there is other stuff besides ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ and classic blues songs like that.”
Wielding his favorite Fender Stratocaster, Fletcher stopped by the No Guitar Is Safe headquarters back in 2018 to shoot the breeze and jam with host Jude Gold.
In this awesome clip, the blues guitar ace shares nine or ten of his favorite blues shuffle approaches, and demonstrates some of the wonderful gospel licks he learned as a youth playing in the Compton church built by his father, pastor Walter Fletcher, Sr.
If you like in-depth interviews with great guitar players AND you like to hear them play, then you need to listen to our No Guitar Is Safe podcast.
Presented by Guitar Player and hosted by Jude Gold, No Guitar Is Safe is free to listen to at your leisure on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, or wherever you get your podcasts.
“Bobby came in and he went, ‘Da-da-da-da-da-da-da DUH-daaa!’ I said, ‘That’s the only thing you think I should do?’” George Benson tells how one small change turned the song “Breezin’” into an instrumental guitar sensation
“Brent’s accident changed not only him but Mastodon. I feel like that was the last record we did as a band that was complete.” Guitarist Bill Kelliher says "things were never the same" after Crack the Skye. The reasons are complicated
