2 minute read
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!
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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 refl ect 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. This is where I fi rst 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, fi ghting, 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 fi rst single.
Upon my return from my February 2018 trip, I formed my backing band ‘Kaspar & The Swamp Dogs’ and we gigged as much as we logistically could (without harming ourselves too)!
In 2019, I returned to the USA, this time exploring and performing in: Atlanta Georgia, Nashville and Memphis Tennessee, New Orleans again and most exciting for me, Clarksdale Mississippi - birthplace of the Delta Blues! On this trip, I had the honor to perform and brush shoulders with many of my modern day idols, some of which I now consider mentors. I also had the great pleasure of performing in authentic Juke Joints, onboard paddle steamers, and in some remote venues of which google wouldn’t even be able to work out a route there! Now I fi nd myself with a bachelor’s degree in creative musicianship, too many guitars for my own good, an obsession with a dying art form, and a story to tell. I hope to gig as much as I humanly can once COVID 19 is no longer an issue for us all!
I greatly appreciate it if you have made it this far in my story. If you’d like to follow me on social media, listen to my music, watch my entertainingly informative videos, book me to play for your function or anything else, you can fi nd everything in this link -
