Last updated: 3 hours ago
King Solomon Hicks has been steeped in music for as long as he can remember. Harlem, he says, "is not like New Orleans, where music is 24 hours a day -- but it's close." His father and mother played music at home constantly. His mother also took him, as a youth, to local nightspots such as the Lennox Lounge, Saint Nick's and the Cotton Club, where Hicks witnessed performances that made a significant impact on his outlet and ambitions. "When you're around good musicians, it gives you that spark -- 'I want to do what you do. I want to hold my own,'" says Hicks, who started playing guitar when he was six years old. "But being around those types of musicians also taught me to NOT be the fastest guitar player. I wanted to be the one who knew the most riffs and drew on a lot of knowledge so I could play anything, and with anyone."
The self-described "kid in school that had a guitar on his back, interrupting all the classes," Hicks was on stage at the Cotton Club when he was 13, and during high school as part of a 15-piece band playing there three nights a week. "The owner saw I was serious and genuinely loved the music," Hicks recalls. He also learned a great deal from playing rhythm guitar at first, gradually developing his lead and soloing skills at gigs as well as at private parties and open jams -- the latter of which provided a kind of master class for the developing artists.
The self-described "kid in school that had a guitar on his back, interrupting all the classes," Hicks was on stage at the Cotton Club when he was 13, and during high school as part of a 15-piece band playing there three nights a week. "The owner saw I was serious and genuinely loved the music," Hicks recalls. He also learned a great deal from playing rhythm guitar at first, gradually developing his lead and soloing skills at gigs as well as at private parties and open jams -- the latter of which provided a kind of master class for the developing artists.
Monthly Listeners
197
Monthly Listeners History
Track the evolution of monthly listeners over the last 28 days.
Followers
5,345
Followers History
Track the evolution of followers over the last 28 days.
Top Cities
Related Artists
Robbin Kapsalis and Vintage #18
Chad Rupp and the Sugar Roots
Chris Canas
Little Boys Blue
Gabe Stillman
Wailin' Walker
Kingdom Brothers
Aaron West
Jon Meyerjon
Jeff Pitchell
Ford Blues Band
JW-Jones
A.C. Myles
Foreday Riders
Big Apple Blues
Terry Hanck Band
John Sprott Blues Band
Nick Becattini
Will Johns
Chris Shutters
Billy the Kid & The Regulators
Jimmy Nick
Dany Franchi
Junkyardmen
The Smoke Wagon Blues Band
Boogie Patrol
Cliff Goodwin
Greg Wilson
Bobby Murray
Fran Drew and the Lucky Strikes
Mike Dangeroux
Twice As Good
Sugar Queen and the Straight Blues Band
