Set to Play State Fair

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Rock and Roller Greg Kihn is a rarity among the music world. Sitting down to speak with the singer/songwriter, band leader, radio personality and author, it was interesting to hear his perspective of a successful career in both sides of the media and the evolution of music both on and off the stage.

Long time Bay Area radio host and DJ, Kihn made a name for himself as a media personality after a successful career as a rock and roll artist, reaching #2 in the US Top 100 charts in 1983 with his hit single Jeopardy. Throughout his five decade career, Kihn has recorded 13 Top 100 singles and eight Billboard Top 200 albums while playing alongside some of the biggest name in the world.

“When you’re writing a song, you can tell the ones that are going to be really good songs and you can tell the ones that are going to be throwaways,” Kihn explained. “The songs that write themselves are always invariably better.”

Despite his musical success, his 1990s transition into radio came at the right time. “When I got into radio I had been on the road for like a million years. It was time for me to kind of stay home,” said Kihn.

He found unique joy in his radio work because he was usually spinning records of artists that were his friends. “I was a classic rock DJ and some of the bands I played, I knew them personally,” explained Kihn. “I either played with them or toured with them or recorded with them. So every time I’d whip out a song, chances are I knew the guys and it was a lot more fun.”

Whether songwriting, recording, touring, working in radio or writing novels, the inspiration remains. “It was all part of being creative because whether you were writing a novel or writing a song, it didn’t matter as long as the creative juices were flowing.”

Kihn recently stepped away from radio after more than 15 years and he is once again enjoying life back in the studio and on the road. The release of his 2017 album Rekihndled and his current summer tour with good friend Rick Springfield have treated him well.

“I’m having a ball going back out on the road. I remember back in the old days it was a real pain in the butt...You’d go out and be gone for months and I didn’t like it that much. But these days I like it; it’s kind of like going to summer camp.”

Kihn has embraced the opportunity to be able to play alongside his son, Ry, who is the band’s lead guitarist. “If I didn’t have Ry in my band, my son playing guitar, I don’t know what I would do because he understands me and he knows what to play.”

Ry grew up in a world surrounded by great guitarists, most notably guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, who had a brief stint in the Greg Kihn Band during mid-80s before his own career took flight.

When asking Kihn if he is the only person to ever get the high wired Satriani to mellow out his playing style he recalled, “I think so . . . We used to change the set like every other day. I would throw in stuff that I knew would screw up Joe but of course you can’t screw up Joe because he’s already there, he’s already got everything down.”

Kihn continued to praise the talented Satriani: “You know how musicians are back stage. You’ll be playing every (Rolling) Stones song you knew or every Led Zeppelin song or whatever, so we’d be messing around with some songs and try to stump Joe and you couldn’t stump him - the guy knew every song in the world.”

Kihn’s appreciation for music is admirable. He has written several books surrounding the history of Rock and Roll including Rubber Soul: a murder mystery novel that takes place during the rise of the Beatles and most recently Painted Black: the tragic tale of the “death and misadventure” of Rolling Stones founding member Brian Jones.

“The turning point in most musicians’ lives is the Beatles on Ed Sullivan,” proclaimed Kihn. “The Beatles and the Stones - that was it for me. That was my generation.”

Despite all of the different career paths and music industry changes over the decades, one thing remains the same: Kihn’s guitar rig. “Over the years I never changed. I still have the same Fender Telecaster - I’m just a Telecaster guy - and I’ve had the same one since probably the early 70s,” said Kihn proudly. “I’ve had the same guitar and the same amp, which is a Fender Super Reverb. It’s a Fender through a Fender.”

As Kihn explained, “Rock and Roll is a constantly mutating art form.” But some things are set in stone.

Greg Kihn is set to play the California State Fair on Friday, July 27 at 7pm on the Golden 1 Stage.