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Kaki King is 28 years old and the teeniest, tiniest woman you’ve ever seen. She is considered one of the most amazing guitar players working out there these days and is currently on tour with Nada Surf and Jealous Girlfriends to promote her new “Dreaming of Revenge” album which has been getting rave reviews since before it even came out on March 11th.
They’ll be in DC this Saturday at 930 Club.
We sat down with her to ask a few questions in between her making magic like this:

(needless to say, I am 100% intimidated here)

Hey Kaki, how is everything going?
going well thanks!

Lets start at the beginning, you grew up in Atlanta right? Do you miss the south?
i do. i miss fried okra, grits, and being really warm. and waffle house.

Oh man, the Waffle House. How did you end up picking out the guitar to play? Were there other instrument contenders? At what age? Who were your heroes then and who are they now?
I was playing guitar at age 5. my hero at the time was stevie nicks. now my hero is lindsay buckingham.

Good choices…for someone who’s played all their life….If you didn’t play music what would you do?
landscaping. i like planting things.

You’ve since then proceeded to play guitar parts with Foo Fighters and Tegan and Sara, Northern State and a bunch of other people. When did you decide to start singing yourself?
Before I met the Foo Fighters or Tegan and Sara I sang on an album called Until We Felt Red. But it was mostly high ethereal vocal sounds. Now I’m singing in a more natural voice.

Dave Grohl was quoted saying: “There are some guitar players that are good and there are some guitar players that are really fucking good. And then there’s Kaki King.” And Janice Ian called you one of her favorite guitarists. How does that feel?
as the English say, I feel absolutely chuffed.

And in your opinion….Who would you say are some really fucking good guitar players these days?
Gosh there are so many. I’m super into Rodrigo y Gabriella at the moment. Those guys blow my mind.

Aside from music, you’ve been doing some film work: you were in August Rush last year and did some music for Into the Wild. How did all that come about?
Several music supervisors had heard my work and were interested in getting me involved in their projects. I feel lucky to have worked in hollywood.

Is Sean Penn as cool as he seems?
Absolutely

Is Robin Williams as obnoxious as he seems?
I didn’t meet him while doing August Rush, as the hand double parts were filmed later. I did meet him in a different context and i have a photo of him on my myspace. he called me “kiki”

Do you have any future acting/soundtracking plans?
Yes, I am doing the soundtrack for a film called “how i got lost” that my friend joe leonard is directing. I am also completely dedicated to the task of getting myself somehow attached to the new feature film version of DUNE that is in the works. I’ll be an extra, I’ll do catering. I don’t care. I just want to be a part of it.

Lets talk a little bit about the record: its officially the fourth one and some say the best one thus far. I also say-really sad and
beautiful. Why did you name it “Dreaming of Revenge”? Has someone wronged you? Bad?
I think it’s good, and all of my albums have been sad but beautiful. I named it ‘dreaming of revenge’ because it comes from a famous quote from Gauguin. The quote is “Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.” I find it sort of hilarious. I don’t
dream revenge upon anyone at all, but possibly someone might dream it upon
me.

What are some of your favorite tracks on it and why?
I love ‘montreal’ because there are two drumsets played in stereo and it just sounds awesome. I also like ‘air and kilometers’ because it’s possibly the first happy song i’ve ever written.

Baby steps. This is your first tour with a full backing band, how is that going?
so fun. i have crushes on everyone in the band.

Crushes are wonderful, but, do you miss it being just you?
no. i never got a crush on myself.

What are your memories of playing DC last time?
last time was with John Butler Trio I believe. I remember checking out his tour bus. Swanky stuff.

Any tourist /sightseeing plans while you’re here?
I wish i had time to be a tourist but unfortunately i have to eat sleep soundcheck find internet and play. Maybe someone will take us to a nice local bar. what’s the popular DC drink of choice?

I don’t know…whiskey? Too much of it?
that sounds promising.

When Kaki is not touring or recording what does she like to do?
I don’t know let me ask her. She says she likes to organize her iphoto and call her mom and dad and find rivers and walk beside them.

Tell her that seems absolutely delightful. What’s next?
i’m going to eat a danish

and finally Always beware of…?
wigs

I couldn’t agree more

want more of Kaki:
befriend her socially here
and catch her this Saturday at 930 club

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