Local Talent... Kaspar Berry Rapkin My name is Kaspar ‘Berry’ Rapkin, and I play delta blues. What is that I hear you ask? Delta blues is one of the most primitive forms of contemporary music. It is the roots, the skeleton, and the foundations of pop, rap, rock, metal and soul music as we know it today. You could also say, Delta Blues is like folk music on steroids! My music tells stories that are authentic to me. My songs describe overconsumption of caffeine, the trauma my pet parrot has gone through, people looking through my window while I bathe and songs true to my life that may reflect a day in it. When I was 7, I was given a guitar from a lifelong friend of my father’s with the promise to learn it. Our friend Mike, has a disability called muscular dystrophy which slowly paralyzed him his neck down. Before this, he was a grade 8 guitar player! His name is Mike Miller-Smith and he is the CEO of the wonderful charity, Aerobility. Thanks to this promise, I started to learn the guitar he gave me. Consequently, I quickly started to also enjoy Guitar Hero on my Nintendo DS games console.
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This is where I first heard the blues. From there, it’s been a never ending snowball to discovering artists from a time and place that is extremely underrated and isn’t talked about enough, Mississippi 1920/30’s. Artists such as Charley Patton, Bukka White, Son House and most notably, Robert Johnson. These characters share tales of partying, gambling, fighting, work, and even liaising with the devil. In December 2017, I spent my 18th birthday in New Orleans, Louisiana. On that night, I had the honor of performing at B.B. Kings Blues Club. This is where I met the multi talented Harold Marcho. He was impressed with how I performed and invited me back to New Orleans 2 months later to record my first single.
