Guitar Shorty Rocks the House in Rockland County!

Last night my friends and I went to see Guitar Shorty at at club in Piermont New York. We have been following Shorty for more than 14 years. In fact, when we all had "important" birthdays, we hired Shorty and his band to play for us at a private party, amazing our guests and winning him dozens and dozens of new, instant fans. That's me next to Shorty, laughing hysterically. It was such an amazing experience! We hope to repeat our private concert with more friends and fans, in the not-too-distant future.

*photo by Alison Blackman

Guitar Shorty, whose real name is David Kearney, was born in Houston, Texas. He began playing guitar as a young boy, and when he moved to Tampa, Floria, when he was just 17, Kearney won a slot as a featured guitarist and vocalist in Walter Johnson's 18-piece orchestra. Since he was young and shorter than the rest of the band, the club owner dubbed in "Guitar Shorty," Soon, Shorty was playing with many of the greatest-of-the-great blues musicians, but he credits Willie Dixon with having a huge influence on him and his recording career. The photo above is Shorty performing by walking around in the crowd, last night.

In the early years, Shorty met guitarist/vocalist Guitar Slim, famous for his his athletic antics onstage. Shorty started doing backflips and other showy moves onstage. In fact, you can see a young Shorty on the Gong Show (which he WON) doing backflips and standing on his head. Watch celebrity judge Jaye P. Morgan's face while Shorty is performing, and hear her predicition that Shorty will be a star "if your head holds out!"


Shorty's life hasn't always been a bed of roses, but it hasn't just been "tough breaks and bad decisions" as the "Story of his life", either." He moved to Seattle and married Marsha Hendrix, Jimi's stepsister. Hendrix loved his Shorty and it's common knowledge that while Jimi was in the army (believe it or not) he would go AWOL from his Army base in order to catch Shorty's area performances. Shorty was a big influence on Jimi. "I hear my licks in Purple Haze and Hey Joe. He told me the reason he started setting his guitar on fire was because he couldn't do the back flips like I did." recalls Shorty.

*photo by Alison Blackman

In 1990, while on tour in England, Shorty recorded an album called: "My Way Or The Highway" which received the Blues Music Award for "Contemporary Foreign Blues Album Of The Year" He received a W.C. Handy Award nomination for Blues Album of the Year for WATCH YOUR BACK in 2005. His latest album, "We the People" incorporates a new band and more rock rhythms featuring Shorty's signature "screaming" guitar. The latest interest in Shorty has landed him on Itunes and other online points of purchase where new, younger fans can learn about Shorty's music.

The photo above shows Shorty with his new bass player.

Shorty's new band has only been playing together for less than a dozen gigs. They all expressed their enthusiasm about what an honor it is to with with the great, Guitar Shorty. It was interesting to me to see the way he queued the various band members and how the personality of even some of his biggest hits have changed with the infusion of new views and talent in his backup band.

Last night, Shorty played a few songs from We The People, including the title track, "We the People," along with favorites such as "Hey Joe" and "Jody." After listening to some of these songs for years, it was evident that his new band members, all from Texas, added a more "Texas roadhouse" sound to the blues numbers, and make the more rock-oriented numbers fresh and modern, but still blues-y.

Shorty played until way past midnight, and even though it was a Wednesday and a work or school day for nearly everyone there the next day, virtually no one left the building. Shorty still walked around the crowd, playing in front of them. We have seen him actually leave the building and not come back for 15 minutes, while the band and the audience wonders: "where's Shorty?" We once witnessed Shorty leaving the building in a snowstorm, walk around the place, and come back in covered with snowflakes! Last night it was cold, and Shorty didn't go outside, but he still played the guitar with his teeth and other body parts!

Shorty has three web sites. The oldest is http://www.guitarshorty.org but the new one is even better: http://www.guitarshorty.com and he is also soon to launch, http://www.guitarshorty.biz You can get his tour dates, news, and purchase cds and T-shirts (the newest, featuring the "We The People" Tour is great)!

If you haven't ever heard of Guitar Shorty, now you have...so go out and get his albums and check him out in person if he comes to your town. You'll be very, very glad you did.