For eight years, The Kudzu Kings, a sextet from Oxford, have jammed out night after night-enlightening audiences with a twist of rock ‘n’ roll, country and bluegrass.
Thursday night they will be at Rick’s Caf Amricain.
So far, the band has recorded two albums and the feedback has been nothing but positive.
Right now the group is working on its third album, due out in the spring of 2004. Some of the songs they are playing now at shows will appear on their new compact disc. The new CD will sound like the works of the Kings in the past, but will have guitar riffs that have a completely new sound.
“The guitar will be the key instrumental sound in our new album,” frontman Robert Chaffe said.
Using instruments such as piano, mandolin, triangle and acoustic and electric guitar, the band creates a diverse symphony of music. The lyrics are mainly written about personal incidents and situations. No beat sounds mirrored that they let out. Each song is distinct from one another.
Naming a band is one of the most important yet difficult aspects for a musician. They said the name “Kudzu Kings” came from their surroundings.
“Everything around us was just kudzu and so we thought it fit us. At first we were going to be the Kudzu Brothers but then we came up with Kings and it stuck,” Chaffe said.
In 2000, the Kudzu Kings accomplished a goal they had always dreamed of. They opened for the jam band Widespread Panic at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo. “Getting the chance to play at such a well known and beautiful venue was a shock for us because playing there was way farther than we thought we would get,” Chaffe said.
“Art Neville of The Meters inspired me as a musician. He taught me to explore more with the New Orleans funk when jamming out on stage,” Chaffe said.
Today the Kudzu Kings are working on individual side projects and their next album.
The Kudzu Kings have shared the stage with some notable musicians, including Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and the North Mississippi Allstars.
Their debut album was produced by Grammy-winning producer Jim Gaines, famous for working with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.
To hear more of them tune into to 91.1 WMSV Saturday night’s for the Homegrown radio show.