Kirk Hanser
- Ballwin, MO
- Guitarist
- 30 Verified Bookings
Ann F. said “Kirk is a very talented guitarist! One of my guests who was really into music complimented his performance and several others did as well. He was easy…”
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I am a delta and hillcountry blues soloist i also use a harmonica player and djembe player if requested, presently i do blues festivals in miss. 5 this summer .
All authentic delta and hillcountry blues ripping slide and trance material, Patton, Johnson, Burnside with all of the country blues techniques of powerful playing and vocal with footpowered double bass conga and playing 3 part steel bodied resonator guitar i sound like a whole band by myself.
I prefer blues festival,s wineries or dance parties my music is truthful and not for the faint of heart.I am columbia missouri's only authentic mississippi style blues man as i learned to play in miss. while living there in the winters .
Theatre NXS hired David Raye to do original music for its production of Problem Child, by George F. Walker. The important thing about David's creative process is that he listened to the play first, then produced music that enhanced, underscored, pitched and flowed, and was perfect. This was before I really knew David's HillCountry Blues. But he suggested we bring Robert Belfour to do a concert, succeeded in making the connections necessary, and then not only shared the stage with Mr. Belfour, but held his own. The two of them brought true blues magic to Mojo's, proving he is truly one of the few young(?) lions carrying the torch for the old-time greats like Robert Belfour and so many other artists whose native Mississippi traditions are getting harder and harder to find ... (OK, "young" is a relative term in the blues, so just to be clear, David Raye is "young" relative to those blues originals who are in their 80s and 90s - compared to whom 60 is "young.")
When we make our semi-annual pilgrimages to the Delta, Dave is always at the top of our must see list. If you want an authentic old school Blues experience, David Raye is the man. Excellent musician & a great guy.
Response from David Raye:
Thank,s a lot Al hope to see ya at the Caravan fest or Sunflower.
Price Range: $200-$5000
Gig Length: 45 - 180 minutes
Languages: English
Hillcountry to delta party and trance blues very long song,s that float in the chord progression , slashing resonator steel body multiple part guitar work with heavily subdivided double bass foot powered conga, i will get it and keep it going .
Very strong deep powered vocal,s in the line of Son House or John lee hooker .Some rack harmonica when playing solo i truly do sound like 3 people my bass lines never falter the mark of a real deal country bluesman . Add harmonica and hand drum,s and the griot will be on the street as the polyrythms will get to your feet.
This music is real deal mississippi JUKE JOINT BLUES and should be played at a decent volume.
.A authentic Delta to Hillcountry Blues soloist is who i am , no rock,n,roll here straight ragtime to delta hillcountry material.
When i play my whole body is in motion a musical machine with 3 part guitar ( rhythm slide melody and blues riff) all at one time while i knock out the conga (double bass & tambourine) with my feet. Lately i add a harmonica on rack also.
Hillcountry is my more recent forte as my groove will keep ya dancing i have studied under such greats as T- model ford ,Robert Belfour ,Jimmy Duck Holmes, Little joe Ayers and Terry harmonica Bean all as seen on the movies M for mississippi and We Juke up in here .
If you have a blues festival, house party or a wedding and really want to get right down to the ground and hear POPPA LEGBA in action then i am your man .When i add a harp man and a Djembe (West african talking drum) and or Cajon player to the music it will sound like 5 people and the polyrythmic layering will put you in a trance.
.For a true hard core Blues experience then David Raye is your man. I have played the juke joint festival in Clarksdale (link hidden)r the last 6 years also the Clarksdale caravan festival , the bentonia blues fest last year and i am booked for the Bentonia fest this year i also have bookings at the Foxfire ranch hillcountry venue at Waterford miss. and the Sharde Thomas festival (Summer fest) at Otha Turners place senatobia (link hidden)is is the african Drum,n, fife festival the oldest most primal blues form out there, the daddy of it all.
. I am poised to be booking more blues fest each day .At a very young age i started dancing for my family and knew that i was a performer at heart but a injury at age 6 stopped my harmonica playing (blinded in one eye and my face sliced open ) another injury at age 8 crippled me for years and stopped my dancing , but that lead me into performing poems and acting in school just to get it out.
At age twenty nine i went to mississippi and did the most back breaking labor imaginable (forestry work that,s where i got my heave ho ,what they call the hoe handle) for 7 years in the winters and there i rediscovered my music and started playing guitar pursuing a soloist blues format ala Robert Johnson and i have never stopped since . Though i worked many other job,s always traveling i played here and there restauraunts and breweries all over the U.S. honing my skill,s for the day when i could pursue soloist blues as my only career.
About 6 years ago i was having health problems and found working a regular job difficult if not impossible so i went to clarksdale miss. again on a Blues sojourn when i left had a gig at the juke fest for the Rock,n, Blues museum . Now the only work i can do is music and it is all i pursue..
I usually use my P.A. but will discuss your,s , if using your,s and you want a three piece ( me ,harmonica , and djembe or cajon) then extra, good quality mirophones may be in order.
Catfish blues , Terraplane,Done got old,Hellhounds on my trail ,Illinois blues , Poor black mattie, Cherry red, Lazy woman ,Ain,t no dust , All night long ,I hopped the katy , Driving down south,Mojo workin,Howlin at the moon, Death Letter, Bones ,r, fo dog,s,Nothing but the devil, Hard time killin floor, Whang dang doodle,Long Haired dony,Come on in ,Possession over judgement day , Down in the bottom,s,Banty rooster ,Let my pony ride ,Get my supper , My babe ,Me and the devil, Screamin and a hollerin, Drive it on down,St. James infirmary, Smoke stack lightnin ,Boom boom boom boom,Dirt road blues,She gone ,n, left me ,Peaches,Steady rollin man , Took her to the Station,How many more years ,Whered you stay ,In the pines,Stones in my passway. Joe Turner,I,ll never get outta these blues alive, Jumper on the line, Maggie Campbell,Get religion,( I'm the king of the swingers , Bear necessities lol ) Folsom prison blues, Ramblin on my mind , Do the Romp , Up jumped the Devil YOU get the picture!
Robert Johnson ,Son House , Muddy Waters , Howling Wolf ,Charlie Patton , R L Burnside, Robert Belfour ,T- Model Ford,Junior Kimbrough,Little joe Ayers,Satchmo,John Lee Hooker,Mississippi Fred Mcdowell,Tommy Johnson,Poppa Charlie Jackson ,Otha Turner and Sharde Thomas, Willie Brown ,Memphis Minnie McCoy, Napoleon strickland ,Blind Willie Johnson, James Cotton ,Deak Harp,Terry Harmonica Bean ,Junior Wells , Sonny Boy Williamson, David honeyboy Edwards, Bill Abel, Cadillac John Holden, West African Griot Culture, Skip James , Bukka White, Johnny Shines, Algae Mae Hinton, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Robert Petway,Louis Prima
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Ann F. said “Kirk is a very talented guitarist! One of my guests who was really into music complimented his performance and several others did as well. He was easy…”
Steve S. said “Memorable in the right eay”
Todd K. said “We had Tracy play for our residents at a 55+ independent living community. He was fantastic! He did a great job of engaging with the crowd and played…”
Josh D. said “He created an amazing wedding experience for us and jammed his heart out! He made us some real forever memories and had everybody up dancing along! Just…”