If the idea of success in music revolves around âa certain way of doing things,â count on the Fabulous Thunderbirdsâ Kim Wilson to chuck that concept and strike out on his own path. Itâs not that heâs always had that kind of freedom, but after a certain amount of time building his legacy in the music industry, heâs earned himself enough flexibility to go about things differently. For starters, Wilson keeps the Fabulous Thunderbirds on their toes by avoiding set lists and going by the feel of the evening. Then thereâs the way the band tours nowadays: Rather than launch lengthy stretches that involve mostly clubs, Wilson prefers festivals and casinos where he and his boys can cut loose. Itâs an approach that allows him to balance his personal life with the music he so loves to perform.
Wilson co-founded the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1974 with Jimmie Vaughan and, in 1979, the band released its self-titled studio debut. He hasnât slowed down since, even while the members have undergone significant changes. Wilson remains the only original, but alongside Johnny Moeller (guitar), Steve Gomes (bass), Kevin Anker (keys), and Wes Watkins and Rob Stupka (drums), he recorded and released a new album, Strong Like That, this year. Combining Wilsonâs compositions with covers from an array of legends like Johnnie Taylor and Clarence Coulter, the album is packed with lively energy and a blues-influenced rock ânâ roll.
Strong Like That shows the harmonica player and vocalist still has a lot to say when it comes to both of his instruments, a point he continually reinforces off-stage when heâs communicating with fans via the bandâs blog. âBeing a musician is all about leaving a legacy. And thatâs not about money. Thatâs about music,â Wilson wrote in October. âIf you canât leave a musical legacy, if you canât be remembered for what you did, thereâs no sense in doing it.â Heâs proof positive for any musician at any stage that, even though there can be a standard path toward success, hiking off in your own direction is equally rewarding.
Besides guitar, harmonica has been credited with being the staple instrument for the blues, but really itâs the person behind the instrument that infuses it with a particular flavor. What does the harmonica allow you to say that another instrument wouldnât?
A harmonica is very close to you. Itâs inside you. Thatâs how close it is. You can do more things with a harmonica, expressively, than you can with just about any other instrument. There are so many different kinds of tonal things you can get and, of course, itâs all improvised. I consider myself a player. Itâs not something where Iâm doing a part to enhance a song; Iâm actually improvising and just winging it. And thatâs a big deal for me. That keeps things fresh for me. I improvise everything on the bandstand, even the set list. I donât have a set list.
No kidding.
I can call off the next one while the one before it is going, and my boys know it. There are certain songs that you almost have to play; I mean some of the hits, obviously, and some of the new ones, too. Other than that, itâs kind of a free for all. I think the guys appreciate that. It keeps everything fresh for them, too. Even the hit songs have a lot of improvisation for them. You know itâs the song, but I donât sing âem exactly the same, and they donât play âem exactly the same.
I love the music more than Iâve ever loved it. Youâre not supposed to get worse. Youâre supposed to get better at what you do, and I really havenât gotten, in my mind, to where I want to be until just recently. And Iâm still not where I want to be. Of course, youâre always learning, and you want to be able to hear yourself back on a recording and not wince. Very very important. Very important.
Thatâs probably the key test. It seems like it takes a certain kind of age and maturity and perspective to hit a stride.
Well, to play the kind of music we play, it does. It canât be contrived; it canât be just run of the mill. Youâve gotta be at the top of the food chain to be in the business as long as weâve been in it: 45-46 years now. Obviously, there are arrangements and stuff like that, sure. I think, if itâs not interesting for you, itâs certainly not going to be interesting for the audience.
Do you feel as though playing the harmonica is a different personality than your singing?
Well, how I perform, itâs kinda violent. There can be some pretty moments, but really itâs more kind of âŠ
Primal?
Itâs very primal. Thatâs exactly right. And I think that it used to be that Iâd have to really hit the audience to get their attention, and itâs still kind of that way. People, when you give them something else, they donât want that. They want something thatâs going to smack âem a little bit. I was always an athlete — I was a football player when I was a kid — and, luckily, Iâve chosen an instrument thatâs allowed me to affect people without breaking bones.
Well, there are always eardrums âŠ
Maybe. Oh, I know all about the eardrum thing.
Me, too. With Strong Like That, how did you decide which songs to include? Leslie West and Johnnie Taylor, among the others you cover, are such interesting choices.
Itâs not all blues, obviously. Thatâs the way weâve always been.
Right, youâve always straddled different genres.
We just played a bunch of songs and picked the best performances, the ones we thought worked the best.
I love your rendition of Westâs âDonât Burn Me.â
Thatâs a great track.
Thereâs a real heat that comes off it. I know you spent a good deal of time in Texas. Do you equate the feeling you were able to create with that particular region?
The Texas sound … I canât say we ever had a Texas sound. We lived in Texas. In the beginning, we were more Louisiana and now itâs more, maybe, Memphis. I donât know whatâd you call it. Itâs a lot of different areas that we come from. Iâm a blues singer, so however I sing it, itâs going to come out like that. Now, weâre playing soul beats and soul songs, but how they come out is more of a blues band playing soul and rock ânâ roll and blues. It all starts with the blues for us. When theyâre playing this stuff on the radio, it always has upset me when they automatically take it to the blues stations. And some of it you could, but a lot of it you could take it to a lot of different stations. I think right now weâre doing well at Triple-A [Adult Album Alternative], I believe. The Triple-A thing, thatâs a relatively new thing out there. You used to have AOR [Album-Oriented Rock] Radio, which we would climb to the top of that and then we would get into the CHR [Contemporary Hits Radio], when there were actually 40 or 60 songs they were playing.
Now itâs more like 15.
Yeah, itâs kinda crazy. Triple-A is fine. Whatever gives us more success, weâll take it. Itâs one of those things thatâs really out of your control. We did sign this deal with Sony now, which has really helped. Itâs been great to be back with them because theyâre so well-staffed and theyâve been on the case, theyâve been really working it. Iâm really appreciative of that. We feel like every project we do is very special and for it to just fizzle immediately because people arenât aware of it, so weâre very happy with the Sony deal.
They have the manpower to get the word out because thereâs so much taking place these days, in terms of new releases and surprise drops and what have you.
Right.
I read you play 300 shows a year between the Fabulous Thunderbirds and your own solo projects.
I donât do that many anymore.
Okay, because I was going to ask where you find the energy for that momentum.
I do quite a few shows and I do have the All-Stars, I guess is what you call it, but thatâs a lot of going back into the clubs and it can be a real hassle. Even though I love that music and I love playing it, going back into the clubs is just … Boy, you really start, once again, seeing the bottom of the food chain. Itâs very difficult. I do it mostly out [in California] now. I do a Christmastime thing. Thatâs really all I can do. I donât want to go out there and kill myself, because itâs not worth it — being burned by club owners and people not advertising shows. Itâs kind of insane. Itâs really taking a step back from what it was when I was a kid, which was a pretty fun way to make a living.
Playing clubs, you have to work literally 300 days a year just to do anything financially, and thatâs just not where itâs at with me anymore. I want to enjoy my life; I just got married, after all this time. I want to see more of my wife, and I want to play more shows that are going to get to a lot of people, like festivals. Not necessarily blues festivals. I mean, festivals, casinos are a nice ⊠Casinos are kind of what the clubs used to be, but a little better than what the clubs used to be, as far as the facilities go.
In terms of treating artists with respect or drawing a crowd?
The facilities are beautiful; you have real dressing rooms. Itâs a nice way to go. Itâs gotten to where thereâs a lot of competition in the casinos, a lot of people who had hit records in the past are gravitating to that. You donât play as many of them. You play more festivals, but itâs always nice to play a casino because the roomâs right there. You just come right down and get on stage. I mean, itâs very nice.
I can see why the Las Vegas residencies are so popular. They live upstairs and just go downstairs for work.
I wouldnât mind having a residency, actually. I go back and forth on that. I donât know if Iâd want to be in a house band or have to play every night. I wouldnât be playing the same thing every night anyway, even in a residency. I would be doing how I do it now.
Letâs end on a millennial question: Do you think the blues can be applied to modern woes, things like FOMO [fear of missing out] or hook-up culture?
Of course. Well, I mean, guys like J.B. Lenoir were doing that 40, 50 years ago. Thereâs always different subject matter you can tap into. There are always different emotions you can tap into, as long as itâs not too corny. Iâve spent my whole life trying not to be corny because I just donât like corny. Modern music is a very, very difficult challenge because all the lyrics have been used. Now, I love putting a different twist on a clichĂ©. Thatâs the challenge. Putting a new twist on something people have heard a lot — and a clever twist, not a corny twist.
Myself, I like sticking to ⊠well, blues and soul, itâs really all about man, woman, and money. Now, it can be a really uplifting song like, âI love her, sheâs the greatest thing that ever happened, sheâs so fine, sheâs so smart,” you know? Or it can be, âI hate her, she ruined my life.â And people have success with all that stuff: âIâm brokeâ or âIâm rich.â There are lots of different ways to approach it. I still like the man/woman interaction, and thatâs just the way Iâve always been. I listen to some of these old songs; I donât listen to too much modern music. To me, thereâs something missing there. I like to listen to stuff that Iâve been listening to all my life.