(...) grotesque-looking Gibson banjo ($3,oOO), which he picks haphazardly, a crooked grin spreading across his angular face.Hearing Shepherd begin to play, Lang grabs the nearest available instrument, which happens to be a 1930's Gibson mandolin, and starts to jam along, amused by his own crude, but soulful, picking. Pufting down the mandolin, Lang gladly accepts the brand new, featherweight Tacoma guitar which proprietor George Gruhn is anxious for him to try. Lang and Shepherd easily fall into a bose, slinky groove and jam for a while, before placing the guitars back on the wall and ascending to the roof for a~photo shoot. Though this is their first extensive hang time together, they have an easy, friendly rapport. And why not? They are birds of a feather. For not only are Lang and Shepherd both teenaged guitar sensations, they rank among the most commercially successful blues artists ever. With each of them boasting Gold records, they have likely sold more records than all of their beloved heroes combined (with the notable exception of Stevie Ray Vaughan). Still, they clearly view themselves not as rockstars, but as students with many miles to go in a lifelong journey to true blues knowledge. Two years ago, Shepherd, then 17, released his debut album, Ledbefter Heig'hrs (Giant>, just before graduating from high school in Shreveport, Louisiana. He then hit the road for an 18-month tour that began in tiny, smoky clubs and ended in arenas and amphitheaters, where heopened forthe likesof 8.8. kingand Bob Dylan. As word of the fierv-fingered teen prodigy spread, LedbefrerHeights sold in everincreasing numbers. Two years later, it remains on the blues charts, and this summer Shepherd replaced Eric iohnson on the G3 Tour with Steve Vai and Joe Satrianj. Shepherd's success surely helped pave the way for Lang, a 16-year-old North Dakota native with a remarkably mature voice and sure hands. The confidence and grit displayed on Lie to Me (A&M), his debut album, behe not only his age but the fact that ~~,s been playing guitar for less than four yed~. Shortly after getting his first axe, Lang was taken by his father to see a local blues band in a Fargo sports bar. Mesmerized, he realized that he'd found his calling. Lang's father hired the band's guitarist, a friend of his by the name of Ted Larsen, to give his son lessons. Before long, the student had joined the teacher's band, first as a singer and saxophonist, later as a rhythm guitarist. Soon, the kid was taking most of the leads, di~ playing an uncanny knack for sounding li,:~ the late, great Albert Collins. Lang and company quickly developed a loyal following in the upper Midwest, and released a well-received indie record before relocating to Minneapolis. Shortly after the move, Lang was snapped up by A&M, left high school to study with a private tutor and entered the studio with producer David Z (who also twirled the knobs for Shepherd's album). The product of those sessions, Lie to Me, 5 a finely crafted album, the title track of which quickly garnered radio and MTV airplay, vaulting Lang to the type of mainstream acceptance few blues artists have ever known.
Lang and Shepherd share more than just Gold records, blues leanings and blond hair. Both are self-assured, friendly, passionate about their music and downright reverential towards their musical forebears discussing the likes of Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Muddy Waters with genuine awe. Their efforts make it likely that somewhere, a 10-year-old is waking up to the blues, and speaking of his heroes Jonny and Kenny with the same reverence.

GUITAR WORLD: When did you get your first guitars, and how quickly thereafter did you become obsessed with the instrument?
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD: 1 was seven, and 1 was obsessed before even got my first guitar. 1 bugged the hell out of my parents to get it for me. 1 started playing immediately, but itdidn'tsound anygood until was about 13. That's when 1 got on stage for the first time and started coming into my own, realizing that I could actually sound halfway decent. Then 1 really became obsessed.
JONNY LANG: 1 didn't get my first guitar until 1 was 13. l became obsessed right away, so my buddies all got pissed at me because wouldn't spend any time with them any more. [(aughs]And l'm still just as obsessed because ~ the guys in my band still kick my ass up :nd down the stage, so 1 have a lot to learn. 0W: When you were learning to play, how much did you practice?
LANG: All day.
SHEPHERD: Yep.
GW: Did it ever feel like a drag, like work?
SHEPHERD: Never. l always loved it.
LANG: Me too. The old saying, ,,If you love what you're doing, you'll never work a day in your life" seems to be true.
GW: Do you fee like you were born with a gift? ,
LANG: 1 think 1 was born a little smart-ass ;!h ihe audacitv to think he could do any1 always wanted to perform and be on stage. When l was tiny 1 wanted to be like Michael Jackson. Then, when 1 was a little kid, l saw these guys on MTV and wanted to be like them and be a big rock star in a video. When l actually got to do these things, 1 quickly realized that it's not such a dream world. You realize that you have to remain : focused on the music at all costs, because j it's the only thing you can really control. And ? as soon as you lose sight of why you're doing tt !n the first place, you're fucked.
SHEPHERD: l think everyone is born with some sort of talent; it's just a matter of finding out what your gift is and utilizing it. We were blessed to find our calling really early in life. 1 am absolutely convinced that this is what 1 was meant to do. 1 was put on this ½ planet to play guitar. l know that sounds a little naive, but ever since 1 was old enough to remember, 1 was walking around trying to play guitar. 1 didn't hear anything but music inside my head. And 1 always heard music dif~~:~ntly from other people. When 1 was four could listen to a song and hear every Instrument separately.
LANG: Everyone thinks it's such a novelty to be young and doing this, but l think the novelty 5 that we figured out what we excel at so early. How many teenagers do you know who know exactly what they want to do with their lives? We're just real fortunate to be surrounded by people who are supportive and willing to make it all possible.
GW: Were you guys into the blues from the start. ,.~ did you go through other stages?
LANr~. was info stuff like Stone Temple Pilots first. The first song 1 learned to play was ,,Plush."
SHEPHERD:Since 1 was six or seven-when Saw Stevie Ray for the first tim~l've been totally into blues. I liked alternative music like Pear Jam, Nirvana and STP when it came on the scen~and l still d~but I didn't learn to play it, because 1 was already kneedeep in the blues. And don't have any interest in learningto play it. But, still, l justconsider myself a musician, and l'm sure Jonny would agree.
LANG: Oh yeah. We're musicians first and foremost and appreciate anything that's done with heart. The presslikes to pigeonhole everyone into a genre...
GW: But Jonny, you're playing Albert Collins licks. Kenny is playing Albert King Iicks. You have to admit that this sort of behavior 5 unusual for guys your age.
SHEPHERD: WeIl, yeah. There aren't too many people our age listening to this music. and younger, which is cool. And 1 went tc check out one of Jonny's shows when we played at a festival together recently, and saw a lot of young people grooving to him.
LANG: Yeah, it's totally cool. A lot of gigs are in clubs where kids my age aren't allowed, but if we play an outdoor show, the kids are there. lwouldn't flatter myself by saying that l'm getting hordes of young kids into blues, because that clearly started with Stevie Ray. But we're doing our part. l got into it all through Stevie myself. Beingthat l'm a ,,Generation Xer" [Iaughs), he was a little more mainstream and accessible to me. Then l thought, ,,Who did this guy listen to?" And l would read interviews with him in Guitar Worid~and check out guys he was And frankly, if they are, they're probably ustening to us. Yes, he really likes Albert Collins and l really like Albert King, and it's true that most people our age don't even know who those guys are...
LANG: . .but we're here to teil them!
SHEPNERO: Exactly. And I always have. ,ve gotten a lot of strange looks from my friends and peers. l remember people asking me, when was in eighth grade, what my favorite kind of music was. And when l said ,,blues," they'd laugh at me, thinking 1 was a freak because they thoughtthe blues was ,,old people" music. But think we're helping to show that's not true.
GW: Are there a lot of people your own age at your shows, or 5 lt mostly older blues and blues-rock fans?
SHEPIIERD: For me they've become younger into, like Albert King, Buddy Guy, Albert Coll ins and Otis Rush. Recently, at one of my shows, this little 1O-year-oid guy came up to me and said, ,,1 read in this artide that you like 8.8. King, and 1 went out and bought one of his records." And 1 thought, ,,This is so cool." l felt like if it all ended right then, would have done my job.
GW: Jonny, you're only 16 now. In three years, you went from Stone Temple Pilots to Albert Collins, which is a pretty big journey. How did that happen?
LANG: Just after 1 started playing, l went to see the only blues band in Fargo, North Dakota, where l'm from. lt was the first live concert l had ever seen, and the guitar player, Ted Larsen, really inspired me. l started taking guitar lessons from him, and later joined the band as their lead singer and saxo-phonist - l can play tenor okay, but only B - flat - and started getting more and more into guitar. Ted taught me the basics, like 12 bar blues, then turned me onto lots of great Wire/BluesPower(Sfax, l969)wasthefirst that album is fantastic: ,,Everybody under- we made a self-released album, which stands the blues.. .everybody from one day played guitar on. That helped
me a lot. Then in to another has the blues.. little baby crving l moved to Minneapolis, where 1 started in his cradle. ..he has the blues." developing an understanding of and appre
LANG: Exactly! Albert King explains it all! ciation for a lot of different music. There's
SHEPNERD: And then he hits this awesome a great funk scene there, and that's my guitar players. l think Albert King's Live bend and the song just blows your mmd. favorite kind of rhythm guitar to play. l was Anyonewho asks howwe can playthe blues verv fortunate to hook up with a bunch of
blues record l ever got. as young kids, 1 say just listen to track two guys who used to play with Prince, includ
SHEP~HRD: Me, too. WeIl, Stevie came first of Blues Power. ing my bass player, Doug Adams. Prince's but Blues Power was the first ,,real" blues GW: Okay, Jonny, so Ted Larsen turned you old drummer Michael Bland had this Mon stuff that 1 got into. Albert's just awesome. onto great stuff like Albert King and day night gg and they got me up there to
LANG: You really can't say enough about taught you progressions and scales. What jam
with them. 1 attribute my forward that man. came next? progress to playing with great musicians and
SHEPNERD: Yeah, the speech he gives
LANG: Five months after 1 joined the band, having them kick my
ass on a nightly basis.
0W: Kenny, have you done a lot of open stage jamming?
SHEPHERD: Sure. The first time 1 was ever on stage was jamming with this great blind blues player in New Orleans named Bryan Lee. And l've had lots of people come up and jam with me, induding Slash and Richie Sambora.
LANG: Oh, cool!
SHEPHERD: And l've been able to jam with Buddy Guy and 8.8., who l joined onstage eight times when we toured together. 0W: Have either of you ever been onstage with someone and just been terrified?
LANG: WeIl...jammed with Buddy Guy and he goes, ,,Start it off." l'm like, ,,Start what oft?" And he goes, ,,Look at the set list!" 1 didn't know what was going on, but luckily lt was a song 1 knew, Albert King's ,,l'll PIay the Blues for You." So 1 kick it off and he goes, ,,You're in the wrong key!" [/aughs]He was just giving me shit, 1 think. 1 basically sat back and watched him play. 1 wasn't really worried about what 1 played. 1 was just psyched to see him so dose.
SHEPHERD: lt can be intimidating, but when started l was too young and dumb to know that l should be nervous. Now l'm pretty confident of what 1 can do. But there's one exception: 8.8. freaked me out. He just scared me to the bone. He's the nicest man in the world, but he is the king. He 5 the Holy Grail and playing with him freaked me out. 1 told him that, too. He kept throwing me solos. l'd only play 12 bars because didn't want to overplay, and 1 definitely didn t want to step on his toes and make hirn mad. He just kept yelling at me, ,,Keep playing! Keep playing!" 1 tried to stop and he said, ,,Why aren't you playing more, son?" and just leaned over and said, ,,You're scaring the shit out of me, 8."
LANG: [cracks up]That is so cool!
SHEPHERD: 1 said, ,,8.8., you are the only person who has ever made me nervous on a stage, and 1 do not know what to do." He just Iaughed and smiled, but then he really messed with me. On the next song, he had LANG & SHEPHERD the whole band stop after 24 bars and it was just me and him, dueling guitars. 1 was just going, ,,Holy shit! What do 1 do now?"
LANG: That was in Minneapolis. 1 saw it and it was awesome!
SNEPHERD: Thanks. But l really was freakin'. [Iaughs]
LANG: 8.8. is so powerful. l saw a video of him and Stevie Ray jamming on a 510W blues.
Stevie soloed first and, of course, he just tore it up. Then it was B.B.'s turn and he let a whole progression pass, then just hit one note and twisted it and let it sustain through the whole progression. And Stevie just looked at him and knew he was beat. He killed him with one note! SHEPHERD: 1 saw Stevie Ray with 8.8. in Dallas very shortly before he died. lt was a big bill, and after evervone had played, ~~ey were going to come out for a jam. The SK-ge was empty, and the spotlight was on Lucijle, siffing in the middle of the stage. Then Stevie Ray walked out and the crowd just went nuts. He walked right over to Lucille, got down on one knee, took off his hät
and kissed the guitar. lt was so cool. Then 8.8. walked out, they hugged, then just tore the place up. LANG: 8.8. and Albert Collins both had this really cool way of playing rhythm, by playing great little licks and fills instead of progressions. 0W: 8.8. always says that he doesn't kncw how to play chords, but.
SHEPHERD: He's lying! 1 watched hirn every night we were on tour and he knows a lot of chords. He plays really killer-sounding jazz chords, many of which 1 didn't recognize. He doesn't play progressions all the way through; he just hits a chord now and then and it's always perfectly timed and unbelievably cool sounding. 1 don't know why he always claims he can't play chords. He even told me, ,,1 can't play rhythm ~ tar." l was like, ,,What are you talkirg about? You play beautifully," and he goes, ,,Don't argue with me!"
LANG: [Iaughs] Definitely can't argue with 8.8. He's just so tasty. 1 always think about the way he blew Stevie away with that one note. 0W: Have you guys ever felt any resentment from older musicians?
LANG: Not by anyone 1 really care about. Whether they like your music or not, everyone seems to be very respectful and under standing that young people are the future. think they're really just happy that younger people are carrying on the essence of the whole thing. The people who rag on you are usually those who don ,t play music and don't really know what it's like. Like a lot of blues purists  will get down on me, going, ,,You didn't grow up in a cotton field, so you don ,t LANG & SHEPHERD II r lt e g h have the right to play this music." And l'm like, ,,WeIl, neither did you." That's not what it's about. lt's what's in your heart, and if your music 5 any good. People like 8.8 King, Luther Allison and Buddy Guy have been very supportive, and they are the ones really care about.
SHHPHERD: Right. All the people who have their head on straight and have made their mark are cool with it. But others, maybe older guys who never really made it, sometimes give me a hard time. They're jeabus because they fee like they've been doing it for 30 or 40 years and never got their
break, and they don't know why someone as young as us got a break first. 1 understand that, but... weIl, one time this guy came up to me and was like, ,,Don't you know who l am? l am Big Man Jack, and 1 am a legend!" 1 had no idea who he was, and no one else at the club seemed to, either, but he was really bitter: ,,1 don't know why they have your young punk ass in here. You better let me on this stage, boy!" [Iaughs] But someone like 8.8. or Buddy is above that. They understand that it is good music, and it is helping to keep the blues alive and moving forward.
LANG: Exactly. People say, ,,You can't play the blues because you're young." WeIl, 1 am young and l am playing the blues, so deal with it. I'm not gonna change. Howold do you think 8.8. King was when he started playing the blues? He wasn't always 70. He's played since he was younger than us. lt's just silly.
SHEPHERD: You're always gonna meet with resistance, but lt wouldn't be happening unless there was a reason. lt's not a fluke. And we're not just lucky. 0W: Now that you're living the traveling musician's life, is lt difficult to live a normal family life-to come 0ff the road, where you're the boss and a rock star, and have your mom telling you to take the trash out?
SHEPHERD: Hell, yeah!
LANG: lt's good to come home and see mom, though.
SHEPHERD: lt's definitely good to come back to reality and get grounded. My whole family is really cool and supportive. But you go out on the road for a year and a half and you're around nothing but guys going, ,,Fuck this... fuck that." Then l come home and l'm around my sisters and little cousins and still doing that..
LANG: [Iaughs] Exactly! That doesn't go over too weIl.
SHEPHERD: And you're on a totally different schedule because you're used to playing until two or three in the morning and sleeping as late as you can. Then you come home and everyone wakes up
at eight and thinks you're crazy for sleeping until one. They don't understand the lifestyle, but family is family.
GW: How many siblings do you have?
LANG: 1 have three sisters.
SHEPHERD: l have two sisters. No brothers
between us. That's weird. Jonny, are you the youngest? 1 am.
LANG: No, 1 have oneVounger and two oder. My big sisters beat the crap out of me. SHEPHERD: Yeah, gang up on you and shit. So do mine. That keeps you from getting a big head, for sure. 0w: How far has each of you gotten in school?
SNEPHERD: 1 graduated high school in ,95. cut my record during my senior year and hit the road immediately afterwards. 1 started touring in tenth grade, just on weekends, but not extensively until 1 graduated. That was my college, 1 guess. l'm about to turn 20, so 1 will no longer be that cute little teen prodigy [Iaughs].
LANG: 1 haven't been in real school, what 1 call the ,,institution," for a year and a half now. The last grade 1 finished was ninth. 1 have a tutor when l'm home, and 1 am going to take the GED test and get my diploma next year.
GW: Were you the kind of kid who was always boking out the window, wishing you were somewhere else?
LANG: l was asleep, boking at the back of my eyelids. l'm really happy to not be there. But 1 do think that education is important. And school is cool socially and stuff, too.
0W: Is it strange to hang out with only adults all the time? Don't you ever wish you had someone
with whom to throw bottles against the wall or something?
LANG: That's the thing. People always ask, ,,Don't you feel bad that you're missing out on childhood?" And I'm like, ,,What? Riding around on a bike, smoking pot and vandalizing shit with my buddies?" That's probably what I'd be doing.
0W: Did Kenny exert a big influence on you?
LANG: Oh, man! Kenny, when your record went Gold 1 was so pumped! 1 think it's inspiring not just for me, but for all young guitar players and anyone who likes heavy blues guitar. That was a real breakthrough and a really cool thing.
SHEPHERD: Thanks, man. There are actually plenty of people our age or just a little older than
us playing this kind of music, and playing it really weil, too. For instance, 1 hang out with Eric Gales, who's only 22, and his brothers all the time. One of his brothers goes by the name Little Jimmy King, and he kicks. He has a brand new album, too [Soldier for the Blues, Bullseye Blues]. And [Chicago bluesman] Lonnie Brooks has two sons, Ronnie and Wayne, who are incredibly cool and also great guitarists. 0w: What other contemporarv players do you really like?
LANG: Ronne Earl [see Trends, page 2141 5 really bad. He's super smooth.
SHEPHERD: Oh man, yes! He did this album Blues Guitar Virtuoso Live in Europe [Buliseye Blues, 1995]that is just mind-bending. He 5 awesome. He's got sort of a Jimmie Vaughan, Texas soul sound, but he definitely has his own thing. He picks everything down by the bridge.
LANG: Luther Allison [see Trends, page 2141 5 also phenomenal. His performances are really, really intense. He plays for like three or four hours and he never lets
up. 0W: What one living person would you mos-~ like to jam with?
SHEPHERD: John Lee Hooker.
LANG: 8.8.King.
0W: And if you could play with one artist from the past?
LANG: Definitely Albert Collins.
SHEPHERD: Jimi Hendrix. And Muddy Waters. 1 really, really love Muddy Waters. He's got the best voice ever.
0W: What made you want to be a musician, Kenny?
SNEPHERD: 1 know a lot of people have already heard my story, but it was seeing Stevie Ray Vaughan when 1 was seven. My dad was a concert promoter, and it was his show. He brought me backstage and introduced me to Stevie, who was just as nice as could be. He shook my hand and
said ,,hi" and set me over on the side of the stage on one of his amp cases. lt's hard to imagine too many seven-year-old kids sitting in one place for two and half hours, but 1 was in a trance. was mesmerized, and l've never really looked back. lronically, the last time 1 saw hirn was also on the side of his stage, in Dallas, at an outdoor concert just before he died. 1 stood there and was just as mesmerized. Then he walked offstage and Iaid his Number One Strat right next to me. 1 wanted to touch it, but didn't dare. Then saw hirn and he autographed my Strat.
LANG: Wow. That's better than any story ,ve got.
SHEPHERD: Did you ever get to see Stevie?
LANG: No. 1 didn't even know who he was when he died.
SHEPHERD: That's too bad. He was unreal.
You can watch the videotapes and listen to the CD's and read the books and whatever. But unless you saw him play live, you don't know half the story. What he had was just unbelievable. When 1 saw him, 1 wouldn't have noticed if the whole world blew up or crumbled around me because 1 was so focused on him. And the whole 096 guita~ wo(ld September 1997 1 LANG & SHEPHERD crowd was like that. That 5 why there are such fanatics about him. He touched peo ple like most performers can't do. And he wasn't doing all this flashy shit. He didn't have fireworks coming out of the stage or a big light show. He was just standing ~ there playing guitar and singing and con ~necting with everyone in the audience. lt was just unreal. That's how he affected me and that's
how l'd like to affect somebody, just one Person somewhere.
0W: Most musicians go through a crisis of ~ confidence before discovering their voice. Have either of you, who achieved so much success so early, evergone through anything like that?
SHEPNERD: Yeah~very time 1 hear Stevie Ray or Hendrix or 8.8. or Albert! The way music flowed out of them, seemingly with out thought, makes me feel like l can't play worth a damn. And they all had such distinct playing personalities. 8.8. can play one note and you know it's hirn. Right
now 1 just don't have that Maybe 1 haven't been playing long enough to accumulate the wisdom and
understanding of the music necessary to achieve that. Hopefully, 1 will have it by the time 1 am  8.8.'s age.
LANG: Guys like 8.8. and Luther Allison get up there and make you look like the little kid that you are.
0W: Kenny, how 5 your new record com ing along?
SHEPHERD: Great. lt took longer than 1 would have liked to get back in a writing groove, but it finally came. Jerry Harrison [ex-Talking Heads] 5 producing. We just did 19 songs with the Double Trouble rhythm section. LANG: That is so cool. We just did a show with their band, Storyville,
and they are awe some. David Grissom isa great guitarist, and their singer, Malford Milligan, is unreal. Playing with Tommy and Chris must have been great.
SHEPHERD: lt was. There was great karma. Reese [Wynans, keyboards] was there, too, and we all had a blast. We jammed a lot and wrote some songs together, induding a real ly cool instrumental called ,,The Trouble Is." We also did the Hendrix tune ,,1 Don't Live Today." 1 think a lot of that stuff will end up on the record, but 1 am just about to go into the studio with my own band.
0W: Do either of you see yourself following the path of someone like Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton and moving away from the blues?
SHEPHERD: 1 fee that my music isn't straight blues anyhow, and definitely my next album will not be all straight l-lV-V~ But there is a always going to be a very evident blues under- F pinning to my music. When 1 learned how to play, l didn't learn Led Zeppelin songs. 1 y studied blues. That's what 1 know, and that's what ,II always play. lt's always gonna be there no matter what the context. LANG: Me too. 1 listen to everything. 1 like a lot of Memphis soul, like Syl Johnson, An.~ Peebles and AI Green. l've also been on ~ real Motown kick lately. Stevie Wonder is one of my idols; that's why 1 used davinet on my record. But no matter where 1 go or what l do, there will always be a strong blues root to anything 1 do.
GW: Do you perceive any competition between you?
SHEPHERD: Not at all. l feel like any success Jonny has benefits me, and vice versa. My success broke down some barriers, and now, while l'm home working on another album. Jonny's out there blowing it up even more And by the time he's working on his nex album, mine will be keeping the music out there. We're reaching for the same people, but in a way that 5 complementary, not competitive. We're doing it together.
LANG: Yeah, man. We're definitely playing in the same band.

from GuitarWorld issue september 1997