"I walked away because I was very young. I walked away because I was... smart," said Peter Karp, on why he walked away from his first band. That, combined with having a young family, kept him off the road for the better part of a decade. "I got married young and had a couple of kids quickly and I just decided that the two do not mix," said Karp.
He didn't stop working altogether but music became a part-time gig. When he was ready, his path back to working as a full-time musician took him to some strange places and brought him in contact with some of the legends of the music world. He spent time learning from Willie Dixon, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Pinetop Perkins, who he'd met a few months prior to our interview.
"I said, 'Man, I'm a big fan and you're terrific,'" said Karp. "He (Perkins) said to me, 'I'm 92-years old.' I said, 'Yeah, I know.' He said, 'No, you don't understand. I'm 92-years old!' That's all he kept saying to me. He said, 'I'm alive. I can't believe it!' He's really a lot of fun. He's a great guy."
From Perkins, he got a great story. From Lockwood Jr., he got a unique perspective. Robert Lockwood Jr. is the stepson of blues icon Robert Johnson. Johnson actually taught Lockwood how to play guitar. Karp said he's been working on a book and a lot of what he'd written to that point had to do with the time he got to spend with Lockwood.
"His whole philosophy was really interesting. The first time I ever met him, he saw me and I was wearing a certain kind of clothing and he came over and he sat down and he took my hand and pulled me real close and he (Lockwood) said, 'You're a musician, ain't ya?' I said, 'Yes, I am.' He said 'I can tell.'
"He said to me, 'I love musicians because we're exposed. We're exposed to everything. We're exposed to beauty. We're exposed to love.' He pointed to some liquor and he said, 'We're exposed to that.' He pointed at a couple guys getting high and said, 'We're exposed to that.' And he said, 'You know what happens when you're exposed? You learn something... unless you're just goddamn stupid and then you don't learn nothin' at all.'"
In addition to getting to spend time talking with some greats, he also had the opportunity to work with one of them in the form of former Rolling Stones lead guitarist Mick Taylor. Taylor played on his 2004 record The Turning Point.
Article comments
1 - Simpson
Exactly. Peter Karp is awesome...an amazing combination of good blues music, great guitar, wonderful lyrics and a great sense of humor. Shadows and Cracks was great!
I think all Peter's fans should hear it, once they hear it, I think they will recognize a kindred spirit.