Jazz Odyssey

Guitarist extraordinaire Steve Kimock has taken audience requests to a whole new level. While he’s honored the occasional shoutout from audience members, this time he’s playing an entire show based on fan requests at his 5/5/05 show at the Fillmore. Fans can submit their suggestions here. Kimock makes his live shows available for download from digitalsoundboard.net ($9.99 per show in MP3 format and $12.99 in FLAC format), and many of his older shows are available as free downloads from archive.org. Highly recommended is his 2/22/02 show which showcases his compositions, superb tone and technique. Kimock is not a flashy player (this is by choice, he’s certainly capable) but more like what Bill Evans would have sounded like had he played electric guitar instead of piano. He is one of the great unsung heroes of modern electric guitar.

For an artist that relies primarily on touring for a living (particularly jamband artists like Kimock who have fans often seeing them multiple nights on a given tour) this is a really smart play. It’s a great way to get fans involved, let them know that their voices are heard and genuinely connect with what they what to hear. As a result, I expect that this show will not only be a quick sellout at the ticket counter but that the resulting download sales are strong among his community, with even the more casual fans taking an interest.