Young Guitarist Hits the Road with B.B. King
When Australian singer-songwriter Hamish Anderson was learning to play guitar, he spent hours listening to B.B. King, trying to learn the blues legend’s licks.
Now Anderson, 23, is hitting the road with his hero.
He’ll open for King when he plays at the Clay Center, Charleston this Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
Anderson has been a fan since he was 14 years old, about two years after he started playing guitar.
He was listening to classic rock artists like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, and became interested in the musicians that inspired those guitar gods.
“Whenever you would read about them, they would list B.B. as one of their biggest influences,” he said.
He came across the song “Lucille” and was transfixed.
“It’s just seven minutes of him playing guitar. I asked my dad who B.B. King was, and he gave me the “Live at the Regal” album,” he said.
Anderson has drawn lots of inspiration from his father’s record collection. Growing up, his dad had a huge stack of vinyl records he purchased when he was a teenager. Anderson began digging through the stack, listening to the everything from The Beatles to Miles Davis.
“It’s still the stuff I listen to all the time.”
At first, he was solely interested in the guitar. But as he got into his late teens, Anderson discovered singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
He began playing covers of their songs at his live gigs, which led him to begin writing songs of his own.
“It taught me the blueprints of how to write a song.”
He released a self-titled, five-song EP in April 2012. The disc showcases Anderson’s wide-ranging musical style.
Songs like “Winter” and “Empty Thoughts” show off his singer-songwriter influences, while “Howl” and “Smoke and Mirrors” draw more inspiration from blues and classic rock.
Anderson said he doesn’t really consider himself a blues artist, but sees the genre as a tool in his musical toolbox.
“I think for me, blues is more of a flavor. I love listening to straight up 12 bar blues, but I remember reading about Jimi Hendrix and how he wanted to take the blues and write a modern version of that. For me, that always stuck.”
Hamish sees the blues in all of his music, even if it might not sound particularly “bluesy.”
He references albums like the Beatles’ “White Album” and the Rollings Stones’ “Exile on Main Street.” Each track on those albums incorporates different musical styles, but it all comes back to the blues.
“The themes for blues music is the basis for all pop music. It’s the way people express themselves. Loneliness, relationships and friendships. It’s like a universal kind of music for healing,” he said.
He will release his second EP, a six-song disc titled “Restless,” on Oct. 21.
The release features several different kinds of songs, but Anderson lets his blues influences show on “Burn,” the EP’s lead single released earlier this week.
Anderson’s voice is both pleading and aggressive as he sings the lovelorn lyrics, and the track is drenched in gritty guitars and Hammond organ.
He will play seven shows with B.B. King, and hopes to get a few lessons from his guitar hero during that time.
He doesn’t know if he’ll get the opportunity, but he’s hoping.
“I sure would like to. It’s going to be awesome,” he said.