Leo Kottke performs at the South Orange Performing Arts Center on Thursday.
“I have no plans, I can tell you that right off the bat,” said guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke about the solo acoustic concert he will present at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. “If you’re solo, you don’t have to plan. You have to depend on … risk. Without risk, it stiffs, especially if there’s only one guy onstage. It really shows.”
This quote comes from a recent interview he did with DJ Easy Wind on the internet radio station, homegrownradionj.com. In it, he also said that performing live “is more fun than it’s ever been. It’s a big surprise: In the beginning … you’re out a lot, and you get tired, and you begin to think this is going to ruin your affection for the guitar and for … what you’re doing. But it works the opposite. As long as you don’t stop, it turns a corner, and it just gets better.
“It’s also really good for your playing. You can develop as a scholar, so to speak. You can be a fine player, but unless you perform (live), you’re missing the best part of it, in terms of learning, in terms of finding out what’s available to you.”
Kottke, 69, last released an album in 2005: Sixty Six Steps, a collaboration with Phish bassist Mike Gordon.
You can listen to the complete homegrownradionj.com interview below. For tickets and information, visit sopacnow.org.
HomegrownRadioNJ.org ~ Leo Kottke Interview - 4-29-15 - Podcast by Dj Easy Wind on Mixcloud
