Mike Keneally is one of those quirky, super-talented guitarists who can be creative in just about any setting. Part of a line of Frank Zappa-inspired axe men that includes the likes of Buckethead, the late Shawn Lane and Steve Vai, Keneally also excels on keyboards and percussion … and even sings.
In keeping, his instrumental album Nonkertompf, released in 1999, could became a true grab bag of spontaneous, wildly varying ideas. Even calling them “songs” makes this album sound too well-formed. “Draconian Blump” stood out as a moment that was highly reminiscent of Miles Davis’ In a Silent Way-era experimentations. Considering how big a fan he is, maybe it’s no surprise that this almost sounds like a dry-run version for “Shh/Peaceful.”
What’s still amazing is that it didn’t feature a bunch of seasoned musicians getting together to bounce ideas off each other: Mike Keneally played all the instruments and dubbed them together.
[SOMETHING ELSE! INTERVIEW: Mike Keneally joins us to talk about the lingering influences of Frank Zappa and XTC, and his magical introduction to progressive rock through ‘Tarkus.’]
Even then, he was better known as a shredder – after all, Keneally played the role of stunt guitarist for Zappa after Vai – but his guitar on “Draconian Blump” was pure pre-Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. Another reason this song was so welcome: McLaughlin himself wasn’t even playing guitar that incisively anymore, and it’s a pity.
Mike Keneally’s “Draconian Blump” ended all too abruptly at four minutes. In fact, you wouldn’t expect Miles Davis’ trumpet to enter for another six or seven. But it still stands out.
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