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The BiTS Interview: Kirk Fletcher

Kirk Fletcher (born December 23, 1975) is an American electric blues guitarist, singer,
and songwriter. To date, Fletcher has released five studio albums and one live album.

In addition, he has variously been a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the
Mannish Boys, plus supplied backing for Joe Bonamassa and Eros Ramazzotti. Fletcher

has been nominated for four Blues Music Awards and was a 2015 British Blues Awards

nominee.

BiTS: Hi Kirk. Thanks for talking to me. Let’s make a start then. I want to talk to you about
your career and also about the new album, so tell me something about growing up. I gather
your father was a preacher of some kind. Is that

right?

KF: Yes, absolutely. Well, I grew up in Southern
California in a little town called Lakewood,
California. Just a suburb of LA, and my father was a
Pentecostal preacher, and he had his own church in
Compton, California called Macedonia Church of God
in Christ, and that’s really where my older brother
and myself started to play music and be around
music. That’s my foundation really it’s just gospel
music and everything on the radio and my older
brother’s record collection is really where it all
started for me.

BiTS: Did you actually play in a band in church?

KF: Absolutely [laughing] for many years. Yes, it was
great.

BiTS: Clearly something you enjoy. Do you still do
gospel music now when you’re on stage?

KF: No, I don’t. I don’t really do gospel music, but it’s
definitely a big part of my writing, my playing, the
way I talk to the audience, my performance. All of
those different things is still tied with gospel music.

So in a way, it’s still there and probably always will be, hopefully [chuckles].

BiTS: I read somewhere that after you started in the church, you were involved in some kind
of a jazz band. Is that right?

KF: Well, in high school, just because I loved music so much, I was able to get into the jazz
band. I couldn’t really read music or anything, but I was just sort of able to get in there and I
learned songs like ‘Satin Doll’ and ‘Ain’t Misbehavin'’ and things like that, and it was sort of like
part of a music appreciation class and then I had the jazz band. Some kind of way I was able to
get in there [laughing].

BiTS: At what stage did you decide that you wanted to make music your career?