Steve Kimock Band

Steve Kimock is one of today’s most talented guitarists and composers,a master musician known for his uncanny ability to balance passion and power with soaring grace. Relix magazine recently dubbed him “The Guitar Monk” for his relentless pursuit of ‘Zen and the art of guitar.’

Kimock has been immersing himself in music since he first picked up a guitar at age 16 and his devotion to his music is evident in every note he plays. His inimitable tone and distinctive sound is the result of endless experimentation with customized equipment, amplification and speaker design. He’s a musician’s musician who has shared the stage with artists like Bruce Hornsby, The Allman Brothers, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Trey Anastasio and Jorma Kaukonen, to mention just a few. He’s played rock, blues, folk, country and salsa, but it’s his work with the Steve Kimock Band that has honed his own music, an indefinable blend of all his past influences. It’s rock, but with a free improvisational approach that is open to anything and everything that has ever been, or never been, played. It’s a familiar, yet far-reaching sound that keeps both players and listeners on their toes with its unexpected shifts in rhythm, mood and mode.

The Steve Kimock Band is always evolving, reflecting Kimock’s ceaseless search for new musical horizons. And the band’s signature sound, built around the core of Kimock’s lyrical guitar lines and the inventive percussion style of drummer Rodney Holmes (Brecker Brothers, Santana, Wayne Shorter), follows SKB through every incarnation. “I’ve always been intrigued by Steve’s guitar playing,” Holmes said. “Working together we have an opportunity to create music that’s indefinable stylistically. That’s something I’ve always been interested in - shaping new music and moving in new directions, creating an identity as a band that doesn’t fall into any category.” Kimock agrees.“What we’re doing is difficult to pigeonhole. It represents a sampling of half a dozen writing periods for Rodney and me, separately and as co-composers. There is improvisation, but the tunes are straight ahead, so it isn’t jazz. It’s rock, but there are hints of African, Arab and Indian music, and it’s all instrumental, so it doesn’t fall easily into a slot.”

Eudemonic, the debut album from the Steve Kimock Band, offers nine flawlessly produced original compositions that highlight Kimock’s dynamic playing, technical ingenuity, and impeccable sonic expression. The album features Kimock on guitar, Hawaiian lap guitar and other stringed instruments; Holmes on traps, percussion and synthesizer; Alphonso Johnson (Santana, Jazz is Dead) on bass; Mitch Stein (David Sanborn, Chaka Chan, George Benson) on rhythm guitar and Jim Kost (Philly Joe Jones, Woody Shaw, Branford Marsalis) on keyboards. The title,Eudemonic, is in tribute to Kimock’s friend Doug Greene who recently passed away. Greene loved the word, using it often to describe Kimock’s music. It’s an adjective for things that produce happiness and well-being, a fitting description for the music of Kimock and company. The basic tracks were cut live in the studio at the Music Palace in West Hempstead, NY with Kimock and Holmes producing. Holmes also contributed sound design. Most were done in two takes, one to edit down the tunes from their live studio versions, and one to nail it for the CD.