April 25, 2025 • 6 mins
The blues guitar titan teams up with the legendary Bobby Rush for a new album, YOUNG FASHIONED WAYS. What does this music mean to Kenny Wayne Shepherd? Let's find out.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, what happens when a blues legend teams up with
a young hot shot guitarist? Bobby Rush, who's ninety one
years old, has a new album with Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
It's called Young Fashioned Ways. I talk with guitarist Kenny
Wayne Shephard this week on the Brett Sonders Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, Brett, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I'm terrific you blues titan. I hope you're well.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You'll be at the Paramount Theater with Bobby Rush on
May the ninth, and you have a new album called
Young Fashion Ways. It is a beautiful stream of expression,
this new album. What was it like working with a
legitimate legend like Bobby Rush?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Kenny, Well, you know, this is one of the highlights
of my career, I gotta say, because you know, Bobby Rush,
for those that may not be aware, he is one
of the originators of blues music. You know, he's ninety
one years old and he just brings it like nobody
I've ever seen, you know, and he performs at such
a high level. And I'm so a blues fan. I
always have been, and the blues has always been the
(01:03):
foundation of my music. But to be able to go
and make a real kind of traditional, straight up authentic
blues record with a guy that's as real as Bobby Rush,
those opportunities don't come along every day, and so this
is one of those records. If I was going to
turn somebody onto the blues genre and play them an
album that I would hope would convert them into being
(01:24):
a fan. I'm proud to say that this is one
of those records.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Bobby Rush, his live show is so wild, even though
he's ninety one years old. What do you mean when
you say more of a traditional blues recording when it
comes to this.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Album, Well, for me, I mean people who are familiar
with my music. My music is generally, for the most part,
you know, the blues is the foundation of my music,
and then I take that man, I push it into
different directions and I mix it with different genres to
try and come up with something that sounds more contemporary.
Some people call it blues rock, some people call it
contemporary blues, like whatever label you want to put on it.
(02:00):
But it's not generally always traditional straight up blues. And
so I love playing traditional blues and I feel like
I can do it with the best of them. And
so this album really takes you on an authentic journey,
like a sonic journey because of the way that we
produce the songs. You it takes you on an instrumental
experience of the different sounds of blues music over the
(02:23):
course of the genre's history. So there's really totally stripped
down acoustic blues, and then we start adding instruments and
then you have like the organ, then you bring in
the drums, then you have the electric guitars on some
of them, which you know is the electric sound of
the blues when those instruments came in the nineteen fifties
and sixties. But at the same time, it's a little
bit of a contemporary twist with the production we put
(02:44):
on the record. But it's one hundred percent authentic blues.
It's just straight up and it's one hundred percent of
American music. I think people will really connect with this.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
How do you define the blues and how has that
definition evolved for you since you sign up first record
deal when you were thirteen? Is is it consistent for
you the definition?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, I think it is for me. I think it
evolves for some people. I think younger people dismiss blues
as old people's music, right and until they see somebody
or hear somebody doing it in such a way that
it piques their interests. And that's what was great for
me because I was a child prodigy. I was a
teenager when I signed my record deal, and I was
doing this music, and I was trying to preach the world,
you know, to the people about the blues music. And
(03:27):
so these young people saw somebody that was their age
and they felt they could relate. So it helped open
the door to them. But at the end of the day,
blues music is about life, and it's one hundred percent
American culture, you know, and so it's authentically ours, and
it's about living life, life's ups and downs, and it's
also you know, about having a good time and having
(03:47):
a sense of humor about it all. So it's not
a big downer. It's actually a really healing and joyful
experience listening to it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, anyone who's ever heard hound Dog Taylor knows it's
not a downer, right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Man, You know, I mean, blues music when it first
came out, it was pop music of its era, and
so people listen to that music and played it in
the clubs, and they wanted that you want to have
a party like you had put on some blues music,
And we still love to party and put on some
blues music today.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So you were thirteen, Kenny, Wayne Shephard when you sign
your first deal. How old are you now?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh man, let's not talk about that. I'm about to
be about to be forty eight years old in June.
But thankfully because so much emphasis was put on how
young I was. Yes, people still think that I'm younger
than I am, so I'm cool with it.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You're a grizzled old blues man at forty eight.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, it's interesting being referred to as the young blood
and the next generation and all this stuff for so
much of my career and now looking at things and
seeing this transition that's being made into like being part
of the older generation of this genre, and I'm just
grateful to still be here doing it, you know, out
three decades plus of a music career, still selling out
(05:01):
and making records and reaching new people every night. I mean,
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I have to tell you. I have always been so
impressed with your integrity and your approach to the music.
We all know this about you, this music like you
a little too earlier. This is no joke.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, it's I live for this music. I mean, at
the end of the day, you know, as an artist,
and I think anybody who you know puts pride in
what they do. I mean, I invest everything I've gotten
into it, and whenever I put a record out, I
feel like that's the best music that I've made at
that point in my career. And so everything that I
(05:39):
have goes into making these records, and I want them
to be as good as they can be because I
know that we're going to likely reach a lot of people,
and that my name is constantly associated with a particular genre,
and so I want to represent it well and I
want to represent myself well.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Kenny Wayne Shepard Paramount Theater, May the ninth, and the
new album with Bobby Rush is Young Fashioned Ways. It's
always a nice and a bit inspirational to talk with you.
Kenny Wayne. Thank you so much, thanks for having me
and thank you for listening. I'm Brett Saunders. See you
next time.
Hey, what happens when a blues legend teams up with
a young hot shot guitarist? Bobby Rush, who's ninety one
years old, has a new album with Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
It's called Young Fashioned Ways. I talk with guitarist Kenny
Wayne Shephard this week on the Brett Sonders Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, Brett, how are you.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I'm terrific you blues titan. I hope you're well.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
You'll be at the Paramount Theater with Bobby Rush on
May the ninth, and you have a new album called
Young Fashion Ways. It is a beautiful stream of expression,
this new album. What was it like working with a
legitimate legend like Bobby Rush?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Kenny, Well, you know, this is one of the highlights
of my career, I gotta say, because you know, Bobby Rush,
for those that may not be aware, he is one
of the originators of blues music. You know, he's ninety
one years old and he just brings it like nobody
I've ever seen, you know, and he performs at such
a high level. And I'm so a blues fan. I
always have been, and the blues has always been the
(01:03):
foundation of my music. But to be able to go
and make a real kind of traditional, straight up authentic
blues record with a guy that's as real as Bobby Rush,
those opportunities don't come along every day, and so this
is one of those records. If I was going to
turn somebody onto the blues genre and play them an
album that I would hope would convert them into being
(01:24):
a fan. I'm proud to say that this is one
of those records.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Bobby Rush, his live show is so wild, even though
he's ninety one years old. What do you mean when
you say more of a traditional blues recording when it
comes to this.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Album, Well, for me, I mean people who are familiar
with my music. My music is generally, for the most part,
you know, the blues is the foundation of my music,
and then I take that man, I push it into
different directions and I mix it with different genres to
try and come up with something that sounds more contemporary.
Some people call it blues rock, some people call it
contemporary blues, like whatever label you want to put on it.
(02:00):
But it's not generally always traditional straight up blues. And
so I love playing traditional blues and I feel like
I can do it with the best of them. And
so this album really takes you on an authentic journey,
like a sonic journey because of the way that we
produce the songs. You it takes you on an instrumental
experience of the different sounds of blues music over the
(02:23):
course of the genre's history. So there's really totally stripped
down acoustic blues, and then we start adding instruments and
then you have like the organ, then you bring in
the drums, then you have the electric guitars on some
of them, which you know is the electric sound of
the blues when those instruments came in the nineteen fifties
and sixties. But at the same time, it's a little
bit of a contemporary twist with the production we put
(02:44):
on the record. But it's one hundred percent authentic blues.
It's just straight up and it's one hundred percent of
American music. I think people will really connect with this.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
How do you define the blues and how has that
definition evolved for you since you sign up first record
deal when you were thirteen? Is is it consistent for
you the definition?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, I think it is for me. I think it
evolves for some people. I think younger people dismiss blues
as old people's music, right and until they see somebody
or hear somebody doing it in such a way that
it piques their interests. And that's what was great for
me because I was a child prodigy. I was a
teenager when I signed my record deal, and I was
doing this music, and I was trying to preach the world,
you know, to the people about the blues music. And
(03:27):
so these young people saw somebody that was their age
and they felt they could relate. So it helped open
the door to them. But at the end of the day,
blues music is about life, and it's one hundred percent
American culture, you know, and so it's authentically ours, and
it's about living life, life's ups and downs, and it's
also you know, about having a good time and having
(03:47):
a sense of humor about it all. So it's not
a big downer. It's actually a really healing and joyful
experience listening to it.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, anyone who's ever heard hound Dog Taylor knows it's
not a downer, right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Man, You know, I mean, blues music when it first
came out, it was pop music of its era, and
so people listen to that music and played it in
the clubs, and they wanted that you want to have
a party like you had put on some blues music,
And we still love to party and put on some
blues music today.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
So you were thirteen, Kenny, Wayne Shephard when you sign
your first deal. How old are you now?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Oh man, let's not talk about that. I'm about to
be about to be forty eight years old in June.
But thankfully because so much emphasis was put on how
young I was. Yes, people still think that I'm younger
than I am, so I'm cool with it.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
You're a grizzled old blues man at forty eight.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, it's interesting being referred to as the young blood
and the next generation and all this stuff for so
much of my career and now looking at things and
seeing this transition that's being made into like being part
of the older generation of this genre, and I'm just
grateful to still be here doing it, you know, out
three decades plus of a music career, still selling out
(05:01):
and making records and reaching new people every night. I mean,
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
I have to tell you. I have always been so
impressed with your integrity and your approach to the music.
We all know this about you, this music like you
a little too earlier. This is no joke.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Well, it's I live for this music. I mean, at
the end of the day, you know, as an artist,
and I think anybody who you know puts pride in
what they do. I mean, I invest everything I've gotten
into it, and whenever I put a record out, I
feel like that's the best music that I've made at
that point in my career. And so everything that I
(05:39):
have goes into making these records, and I want them
to be as good as they can be because I
know that we're going to likely reach a lot of people,
and that my name is constantly associated with a particular genre,
and so I want to represent it well and I
want to represent myself well.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Kenny Wayne Shepard Paramount Theater, May the ninth, and the
new album with Bobby Rush is Young Fashioned Ways. It's
always a nice and a bit inspirational to talk with you.
Kenny Wayne. Thank you so much, thanks for having me
and thank you for listening. I'm Brett Saunders. See you
next time.
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