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Web exclusive: Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King

 

Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King
Slippery Noodle Inn, 372 S. Meridian St.
Tuesday, April 15, $8, 9 p.m., 21+

Guitarist Smokin' Joe Kubek is one happy blues guy. The weather is getting warmer, which makes for easier travel for a touring band. Plus, he and singer Bnois King have a new album, “Blood Brothers,” on Alligator Records, which Kubek calls the Rolls-Royce of blues labels.

"I'm really excited about being on Alligator,” Kubek said. “We got a good record and it's in good hands. They don't let anything fall through the cracks."

Kubek co-produced the album with Alligator President Bruce Iglauer, who Kubek compares to Burgess Meredith in the film “Rocky.”

"He made Bnois focus on the lyrics and made him work real hard,” Kubek said. “I wound up doing more takes than I'm comfortable with. I like to be pushed that way. The only thing missing was Bruce saying [imitates Meredith], 'Get up, you son of a bitch!'” he said, laughing.

It's been almost 20 years since Kubek met King. They're one of most interesting tag teams in blues. Kubek is a bridge builder between blues and rock while King connects blues and jazz, plus provides the vocals.

"I'm still learning from Bnois as a musician,” Kubek explained. “He's such a natural and he worked so hard on schooling himself in his early years. He knows more chords than the Library of Congress. He'll play a chord on stage and I'll wonder where the hell they come from.”

Kubek grew up in Texas; King has lived there almost 30 years. They've become ambassadors of the Texas blues, building on a tradition that bluesfolk like Gatemouth Brown, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins helped forge.

“It's interesting because we only play Dallas [Kubek's hometown] three, four times a year,” Kubek said about his relationship to his home state. “In the early years, it was hard for some to accept. We need to be a touring band so you may be taken for granted on your home turf. Fans back home have been getting hip to us lately. I hope that everyone supports their local music, but also check us out.”

Matthew Socey is host of "The Blues House Party," Saturdays at 10 p.m. on WFYI 90.1 FM.