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started to listen to more blues and first got to see and hear Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf (and
other giants) when I was 17, at the first Ann Arbor Blues Festival. Abut that same time I discovered
that on a muggy night I could pick up WLAC on my radio, where I was able to hear the new releases

of those folks as well as Etta James and so many more—I was and remain hooked!

LL: How did you learn to play music?

MK: Because my dad always wanted to play drums, I started, as a drummer in the school band! By
the time I was about 13 I knew that I wanted to play guitar as well, and by the time I was 16 or so I
left the drums behind and focused on the guitar and singing. I had taken lessons to learn to play
drums and percussion instruments, but I taught myself guitar.

LL: Let’s talk about your July 2021 release, Wasted Youth. Would you tell us your concept and
vision for the album?

MK: For me, 2020 was a tough year that sent my

emotions on a roller coaster, as I mentioned
earlier. With Covid shutting down tours and my
wife’s failing health I just mostly stayed at home
and played and wrote music while taking care of
Molli. I have some wonderful friends with whom I
stayed in contact so there was a fair amount of
long-distance collaboration. I think I may have

written 4 or 5 songs every week during that year.

By nature, I am an optimistic and positive guy, so
dealing with the impending loss of Molli and the
actual loss of many friends and musical icons (John
Prine’s death hit me very hard) I was often just
stuck in a hole. Two songs, ‘Feeling Sorry For
Myself’ and ‘Throwing Away These Blues’ came out
of that. I wrote ‘It Hurts to Let You Go’ in

anticipation of Molli’s death, simply because I knew it was coming, the song ‘Pieces of My Past’
came after I moved to Memphis, where I found myself jettisoning clothing and collectibles and
other things we had accumulated over the years. It was difficult but cathartic and prime material
for a song.

The title track, ‘Wasted Youth’, came from the realization that I ain’t the kid I used to be.

LL: Who were the musical collaborators involved in its making?

MK: Jeff Jensen is my #1 collaborator, he has worked with me on most of my albums, in fact it was
Jeff who convinced me to get back into professional music (I was working as an academic and

producing some blues shows, and occasionally sat in with different bands). Jeff’s guitar work was
critical for this album. Jeff’s longtime bassist, Bill Rufino, has also worked with me on a number of
albums and gigs and was essential to my last few albums—he’s not only a great bassist he has
perfect pitch and near perfect recollection of every piece of music he’s heard. Rick Steff is the
keyboard player on this and my past few albums and he plays across several genres, having toured
with bands playing everything from country to punk—that’s a very Memphis thing! James
Cunningham and Doug McMinn are solid drummers who play with several bands and on a few of