Bruce McKinney
Sift one cup folk, one cup R&B, one cup blues, one tablespoon jazz. Mix in spirit of Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Greg Brown. Add to taste: dry humor, faith against odds, bloody heartbreak. Bake 5o-some years in hard knocks oven. Add spark of Goddess. Serve with acoustic guitar and baritone vocals.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
At the tender age of 48 I got a message from a higher power telling me to sing. I've played guitar for 35 years, but I believed I couldn't sing a note. But this wasn't the kind of message you couldn't refuse, so I started singing. It turns out I can sing, especially if I use my natural baritone instead of trying to imitate Neil Young. A year later I started writing songs, and I've been turning them out ever since.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
Occasionally I play gigs in Southwest New Mexico.
Your musical influences
I'd like to sing like Johnny Cash, Greg Brown, and Leonard Cohen. I'd like to write songs like Brown, Cohen, and Bob Dylan. I'd like to play guitar like Neil Young (acoustic version) and Willie Nelson. But it's not going to happen. So I just do what I can with what I've got.
What equipment do you use?
I frequently play baritone guitar. I have two--an Alvarez Yairi and a Soare's Electric hollow body. Sometimes I tune down to B and sometimes even farther down to A. For regular tuning I play a Van Linge acoustic, made by local luthier Scott Van Linge. I also play a banjo guitar and a classical guitar on occasion. I'm learning to play bass. I enjoy playing percussion--various hand drums and a drum set.
