The Red and Black

Issue date: 8/20/08 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Courtesy Michelle Roche Media Morton released his solo album, "Kickin' out the Rungs," as well as "Devil in Me," a full band effort, on June 24. [Click to enlarge]

In a student's world, three tests in a week is hell. In a musician's world, three shows in a week is heaven - but the challenge of each is comparable. For this reason, guitarist Ken Will Morton gets a gold star.

Morton, who has called Athens home for the past three years, is eager to give as much as possible to the fans who support him.

"With the state of music these days, I just play for my own artistic satisfaction," he said. "But I realize at the same time that we're already flooded with so much music and other stimuli that I don't expect to make a lot of waves. So I try to resonate with people who take the time to dig through the music and find a kindred element that they connect to."

The first of Morton's three upcoming shows is Thursday, when he will play WUOG 90.5 FM, the radio station as part of its popular "Live in the Lobby" series. He also is scheduled to take the stage at Rye Bar on Saturday night and at the Terrapin Brewery Aug. 28.

For these shows, fans can expect a minimalist atmosphere - a change of pace from the guitarist's typically electrified Southern rock.

"When you play with a band, you've of course gotta rehearse and learn the songs, so it's sort of a free feeling to play by myself," he added. "I try to kick up a lot of noise for just one guy."

Despite the stripped-down approach, Morton plans to mix things up by utilizing an Echoplex delay system as a simple type of accompaniment.

"It's like one of those old tape echoes, where you can actually create your own timekeeper to play over," he said. "It keeps the rhythm chugging along, especially when I'm playing by myself, because it makes the music sound bigger than it really is."

Morton's acoustic-based method can be directly traced to his most recent album, "Kickin' out the Rungs." The album was released in tandem with the full-band endeavor "Devil in Me" on June 24.

"I was playing with a rock trio and we really liked to do free-form jams, but we recorded 'Devil in Me' live in drummer Brandon Hicks' basement with a 16-track," Morton said. "I recorded 'Kickin' out the Rungs' a few months later with some studio musicians, banging out some songs that were a little more introspective."

Though the albums' musical styles are discrete, the lyrical themes are very much intertwined.

"A lot of the lyrics revolve around wrestling with drug addiction," Morton said. "'Devil in Me' loosely refers to my addictive personality, and 'Kickin' out the Rungs' is kind of the answer to that- wanting some peace, kicking the monkey off your back and learning to just take it easy."

Morton's folk-rock hybrid draws inspiration from melodic rock bands as well as elements of classic rock and punk. But his biggest influences hail from a much earlier era - citing Charlie Patton as a chief influence.

"I love old, dirty rock 'n' roll and blues that has a little bit of grit - the old raw stuff where they'd leave some of the mistakes on the record and it just sounds more primal."

Morton's affinity for early blues and folk artists shines through in his performances and can be witnessed particularly in his acoustic shows.

"For the Live at the Lobby show, I'll probably do something nutty at the last minute, but I really haven't planned anything special yet," Morton said. "But I'll do something special at each show to keep it interesting."

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