On Friday, October 7, acoustic rock and jazz songs filled St. Jean’s town meeting as Kaki King performed a few original songs. While she only had two of her specially made guitars with her, she boasted of her collection of 40 guitars. Forty guitars may seem like a lot to the average person, but she explained to us,”If you have a job you have a lot of different types of the same tool you use to do that job, just like I do with my guitars.”

Kaki King was a nickname given to her by her family due to her mother thinking her real name, Katheryn Elizabeth King, was too grand for a person of the height of only 5′ 1″. Her uniqueness does not lie only in her name. She is known for the technique she uses when playing the guitar such a fret-tapping with slap bass techniques which using the guitar for percussive beats, as well as sound layering and looping. In 2014, King started a project called “The Neck is a Bridge to the Body”, an immersive multimedia production in which the guitar is used as a projection screen to tell a story.

King answers a student's question with one guitar on her lap and the other on her stand. Source: Jenny Kirsch, Twitter
King answers a student’s question with one guitar on her lap and the other on her stand.
Source: Jenny Kirsch, Twitter

 

King spoke of her beginnings as an artist. She started off as a street performer on the NYC subway as a way to make her rent money. She received much praise for her performances and proceeded to create an album of songs. King has since traveled and performed all over the world including churches, large theatre halls, weddings.

All students and teachers seemed to have really positive feedback about Kaki King’s performance. Olivia F. ’17 said, “Kaki’s music was very unique made her rethink how music is made.” A lot of the questions that were asked surrounded on how Kaki’s playing style related to those who played instruments. Lilah H.L. ‘19 said, “It was truly inspiring to watch Kaki’s creative work on stage.” Overall Kaki’s amazing performance made a musical impact on the Hewitt community and the students hope she will come back to perform in the future.

 

 

Leave a Reply