A CONVERSATION WITH STEVE KIMOCK (continued)
PM: I think a musician and bandleader is uniquely revealed when he talks about his associates. Let's put a little bit on tape about each of the guys in the current quartet, known as SKB. What about [drummer] Rodney Holmes?
SK: I couldn't begin to do Rodney justice talking about him. We go back so far. You may have attended that concert at the old Keystone Corner in San Francisco with Max Roach and Elvin Jones. Did you go to that one?
PM: I wasn't at that show, no.
SK: You didn't go to that? Okay. Well, I was as far away from the stage as I am from you, which is about three feet. That was the last time I heard drums that good. And I told that to Rodney, too.
PM: Wow.
SK: He's as good as anybody, good as anybody ever was, about as good as you could be.
PM: No kidding.
SK: So it's a real pleasure to work with him musically. And he's a great guy.
PM: Yeah, you said a "sweetness of disposition."
SK: Yes.
PM: Oh, I think you even called him a monk.
SK: I did call him a monk. He's that kind of guy. When he's doing his thing, man, he doesn't have any distractions. He's all there, and it's good.
PM: Is he a single guy or a married guy with kids, or...?
SK: He's pretty single.
PM: And so the other half of the rhythm section is a very famous bass player, Alphonso Johnson.
SK: Again, these are early concerts, but I remember going to see Weather Report in Northampton, at that little theater -- the one where we played with AC/DC. Remember when we opened up for AC/DC? [laughter]
PM: Yeah.
SK: Anyway, I remember seeing Alphonso then. I've been seeing Alphonso for a long time. And of course, I was a huge Weather Report fan, you know. So I heard him there. And he and Rodney also did the Wayne Shorter gig together. So they've done some playing. Both have done the Santana gig at different times, Rodney recently. And Alphonso is a great person, as well as a great musician. I'll be playing along, and just kind of off in my own little world, and then go, "Hey, wait a minute," and there'll be some groove, man, that is just so Weather Report, you know. The stuff that he plays on the bass is so good. He has a real command of the melodically simple and compelling and rhythmically interesting grooves and so on and so on, a great melody player, great soloist.
PM: And does he solo widely in SKB?
SK: There are nights where I'll just feel like carving him out some more space, you know, and I do. And he always takes great advantage of it. Yeah, I kind of wish he was soloing more.
PM: Maybe tonight.
SK: Yeah, definitely tonight.
PM: And so, Mitch Stein. What's his story?
SK: I met Mitch through Rodney. Mitch and Rodney had a trio in New York called the Hermanators. And I was looking for another guitarist. I'd been working with keyboard players for a while. And I thought, well, this is so much guitar stuff that why not just let it be some guitar stuff, let's find another guitar player. And I heard the Hermanators tape. At first I thought, "I do not need another lead guitar player. That's not what I need." And then every time I got in the car, I put the Hermanators on. I just really liked it. I just really liked Mitch's playing. He's totally different than anybody. And I just love his stuff. He's great to work with. He's always coming up with the coolest shit.
PM: He's a New York guy.
SK: Very New York guy.
PM: Does he come out of some New York jazz school, or...
SK: It would seem so. Not having gone to any New York jazz schools myself, I wouldn't exactly know. But he's got a lot of experience. He's played with lots of folks. A great player. continue
