Veterans of the industry and commanders of their sound, Bill Kirchen and Paul Pigat are two masters of the guitar whose musical styles span the roots music spectrum.
Each performing solo at the 2014 Roots & Blues Festival, the two are also scheduled to come together in a workshop, melding sounds that range from rockabilly to blues to honky-tonk and everything in between.
Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Kirchen is one of the fortunate few who can step onto any stage, play some trademark licks and elicit instant recognition.
His career spans 40 years and includes recording with a long list of luminaries.
Named ‘a titan of the telecaster’ by Guitar Player Magazine, Kirchen offers his audience a rare combination of guitar virtuosity, mastery of roots rock ’n’ roll, and an almost magical connection with his audience.
Kirchen may be best known for his work in the ’70s with the rebel band Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. This gang of rock & roll honky tonkers cut a wide path through country and rock, creating an intersection where both could meet and meld together effortlessly.
After the California-based band split, Kirchen started his own band, The Moonlighters, and cut two more albums before relocating to Washington, DC in the mid 1980s. He started his Too Much Fun trio, released 10 more critically-acclaimed albums and began his robust touring schedule of 200-plus dates a year around the country – as far afield as Lapland, Israel and Palestine.
Kirchen’s latest, Seeds and Stems, takes a fresh approach to many of the songs that were planted at the beginning of an incredibly full career, songs that grew into classics and branched out across the variegated styles of Americana and roots rock ’n’ roll.
Now living in Austin, TX, Kirchen maintains his rigorous international touring schedule and in between appearances, teaches at three institutions.
Paul Pigat
You’d never think it to look at Pigat (aka Cousin Harley), but behind that unassuming grin and those Doc Watson glasses lurks one of the most restless, combustible musical imaginations ever crammed into a single body.
Blessed with a jazz man’s sheen, a rockabilly heart and a hobo’s soul, there aren’t many genres of music that don’t pull at Pigat’s wayfaring imagination like a magnet.
Pigat started playing the guitar at 11 years of age and was gigging steadily in downtown Toronto by the time he was 12. His creative use of tone and dynamics are a hallmark of everything he plays, and his sense of rhythm is both sophisticated and dead on.
However impressive the list of credits he’s compiled over the last few years has been — earned by supporting artists such as Neko Case, Jim Byrnes and Carolyn Mark — it’s when you get to hear Pigat on his own that his star really shines.
To paraphrase the old blues song, he’s got so many tunes he don’t know which way to jump. So, instead he simply gives into his muse and exuberantly follows wherever it carries him. Sometimes, he takes on the guise of inbred rockabilly hero, Cousin Harley to crank up the energy.
Dubbed the “Motörhead of Rockabilly” by a fan, Cousin Harley is a rocking hillbilly trio and Pigat’s central touring project.
Considered to be western Canada’s premier rockabilly and roots band, they have a hard-earned reputation for delivering everything from hot-rod rockabilly to foot-stomping vintage country and western swing.
Pigat is joined by Keith Picot on upright bass and Jesse Cahill on drums to create an unstoppable rock ‘n’ roll wrecking crew.
From classic honky tonk and cow punk rippers, to a helping of western swing and classic jump blues, Cousin Harley plays in the old tradition — slugging it out hot and heavy in roadhouses across the land and across the seas.
This year’s festival runs Aug. 15 to 17 at the Salmon Arm Fairgrounds. Tickets and information are available at 250-833-4096 or at www.rootsandblues.ca.
