Premiering June 22 on TNT, the Jason Lee starring vehicle will be notable for among other things, an emphasis on Memphis blues.
The show centers on Dwight Hendricks (Lee), a quirky Memphis detective with an intimate connection to the city, a passion for blues music, and a close relationship with his mother.
The three time Grammy award winner has been involved intimately with the series, not only performing the theme song, but also serving as musical director, providing original musical compositions and performances.
When asked what the biggest difference for him was in composing for television versus his own albums, Keb' explained,"The biggest difference is this one: In the show and writing from my own album, and some of my own albums, I’m the boss. And on the show, I’m taking cues from the creators of the show. The people who created.The same way someone who is going to work on my record would take direction from me in terms of what to play on my recordings".
He went on to say, "The reversal of roles is very nice because it makes me go places - It makes taking myself out of the driver’s seat. I mean, I’m driving in a sense but I’m not completely driving the whole thing. So it makes me have to dig deeper and get into what other people are looking for, as opposed to my own egocentric creations".
Asked what role Memphis blues will be playing in the series he continued,"It's a lot of Memphis music. It’s going to center around Memphis and the musical palette of the musical background is based in Memphis.That will definitely show its side. So there will be a lot of Memphis music and as far as placements of music, that’s not really my job. My job is the background music and when I have to do things I, of course, I’m there to do it.I’m trying to bring a real bluesy, a real rootsy kind of Southern Memphis vibe to the show. Memphis music and the blues are a big part of the show".
For more information on Memphis Beat, which premieres tomorrow night(Check your local listings) go to this location.
2 comments:
I was a fly on the wall there. Dug your questions! We coulda done without the nukes politics guy.
Thanks man! I was thinking the exact same thing - What are you going on about? So was Keb'... Ha!
Post a Comment