Roadhouse Research

"Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King are two guitarists very much in the Stevie Ray Vaughan vein (with heavy tinges of ZZ Top) who have served their time in pubs and clubs over the past ten years.

Smokin' Joe works the heavy chops and Bnois does the embroidery around this. If bar-room guitar is your thing, 'Roadhouse Research' is guaranteed heaven - these guys share a rare synergy."
- ROGER MARBECK

BIOGRAPHY:
There's no question why they gave Joe Kubek the nickname "Smokin'". He's one of the hottest electric guitar players on the blues scene today. Kubek has the technique and the chops to burn up any stage and has been doing so for the past 30 years. A guitar prodigy at the age of 14, the Texas guitar slinger frequented the Dallas bar scene during the 1970's and early 80's playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan and people like the three Kings, B. B., Albert and Freddie. He played rhythm guitar behind Freddie King for a while, until King's death in December 1976.

Kubek didn't hit his stride, however, until he teamed up with jazz guitarist and singer Bnois King of Monroe, Louisiana, in 1989. This union began during a regular Monday-night gig in Dallas when Kubek invited King to sit in and found that King's softer, jazz-based guitar and vocals perfectly complemented Kubek's headier rock-inspired guitar work. The combination just clicked, resulting in a seamless mesh of styles.

Joe and Bnois are a study in opposites. Kubek explodes on stage with a blazing blues/rock style born from the guitar traditions of Texas. King finesses fat chords with a hollow body Gibson and belts out blues with his whisper-to-growl voice, his sound rooted in the jazz tradition of Louisiana. Together, they form a musically intuitive partnership. Kubek's impeccable guitar solos follow King's sublime vocals perfectly. The jazz-infected blues guitar runs of King are sharp and inventive, and are a great counterpoint to Kubek's slashing, stinging power and drive. King's impassioned vocals are one of the most distinctive sounds in the blues. His vocals can bring tears to your eyes, sinking into lonely soulful blues or reveling in the joy of being alive, as he completely captures the heart of a song.

The two formed a band and have been on the road together ever since, blazing trails across the country. Performing at clubs, festivals and roadhouses, Kubek and King have built a following while simultaneously earning a reputation as one of the baddest-ass blues bands in the land. "We've pretty much been on the road since the first album came out - we go home for a minute and get back out on the road again," Kubek says. "We've been traveling steady for a little over eleven years now... but I count my blessings. A lot of people can't do this. It's rough sometimes but it's a neat thing to be able to do." In the midst of all the driving, they found time to record seven albums for Bullseye Blues before signing with Blind Pig in 2002. Joe and Bnois' first effort with their new label, "Roadhouse Research" is their strongest release to date. As Joe recently remarked, "Blind Pig gave Bnois and I a great deal of creative freedom to make the recording we wanted to make. The label also gave me the opportunity to produce the sessions. This is something I´ve wanted to do for awhile. We had a great time."

On an early tour, the band did weeks in the Northeast in the dead of winter in an old Ford van, without heat. "It was kinda like that movie 'Alive,'" Kubek notes with a laugh. "We'd drive all bundled up. And it got so cold sometimes, I'd actually think of building a fire inside the thing just to keep warm. Then to top it off, every hotel we stopped at only had heat in the rooms when you rented 'em. So they never got warm. I had to sleep with my hair dryer the whole time. The goal was just to get home alive."

Now, after a lot more dues paying, the group cruises in a late-model van with, as Kubek says, "as much heat as we can stand" as they travel to gigs from Alaska to Alabama. At each, the crowd is appreciative of what it hears, much in the same way Kubek thinks his onetime boss, Freddie King, probably would be.

"I think, he'd dig what we're doing. I really think he would. I was 19 when I played with him, and it was right before he died. He was usually a pretty quiet guy until he hit the stage - never said much to us. But one time, he told me, `As long as you feel your music the people's gonna feel it too'. That one's really stuck with me. And you know, I bet it will forever."

"One of the hottest blues bands you'll see live these days is Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King. Kubek's flame-throwing guitar work and the smooth vocals of Bnois King make a powerful, irresistible combination."
- College Media Journal

"Kubek and King have concocted a rare blend of hot guitars and cool savvy, an adept double play combo that does, indeed, smoke."
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune