Q&A with Allen Hinds

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Allen Hinds

Allen Hinds is a guitarist who worked with Stevie Wonder, Randy Crawford, Patti Austin, Roberta Flack, James Ingram, Joan Baez and many more. He has 6 solo cd’s under his name and teaches guitar at The Musician’s Institute in Hollywood. If you get the chance, go see Allen Live and check out shows on his website!

KB: Did you always want to be a musician growing up?

Who’s “grown up”? Seriously! Well I started late ..didn’t really consider guitar until after high school, but once I was able to pay rent by playing guitar I never looked back.

KB: What age did you start playing the guitar and why this instrument?

Well in 1972 electric guitar was THE instrument to play! I mean; Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Allman, Joe Walsh… They were what made music then.

KB: You performed with Randy Crawford and Stevie Wonder: How was it working with them?

Well, I did two short tv specials with Stevie. Although it was a great experience, I was in the house band of a tv show (so it wasn’t like he handselected me), but there I was and it was awesome as you can imagine. With Randy, I played for most of 25 years. She’s one of the most purely talented people I know and that gig took me around the world to places I would have never seen on my own. And it was mostly Joe Sample compositions. Pretty cool stuff.

KB: Your songs appeared on TV Shows like “JAG” and “Pawn Stars”?

Having friends in the “business” in LA, it is inevitable that you will meet music supervisors or others placing songs on TV. Through the years my stuff has been heard in lots of cable television shows. As “source “ music; mostly way in the background. I am sure some is still used to this day but I don’t look at those details, only because they aren’t always compositions I believe in. Most “wallpaper” music in the back, so I only look at the quarterly checks !! haha!

KB: You released several solo CDs: to get to know your music, which one do you recommend people should listen to and why?

Well, not sure anyone “should” listen to my stuff but if I were to recommend a good cross section of who I am: The first cd “Fact of the Matter” still holds up. I think it showcases my blues roots and what the styles I’ve fallen into through the years. I am partial to “Monkeys and Slides”: I think I was on a hot streak, playing wise then.

KB: You are an instructor and artist in residence at The Musician’s Institute in Hollywood: What work do you do there and what is The Musician’s Institute?

Musician’s Institute began as GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology) back in the 70s: a school of guitar players for guitar players. I do an ensemble class and a class called Open Counseling which is mostly what I’ve done for years. It’s an open forum for students to sit with me and jam, work out problems on guitar. Kind of a mentoring thing. The school has changed with the times and the concentration is less focused on guitar now but more on production and stuff.

KB: You worked with so many great artists: are there any current ones you would love to collaborate with?

I just finished doing tracks for the late Bobby Caldwell. He passed away last year and was a great singer/songwriter. His wife and manager found about 15 unfinished songs, so I’ve been working on that with Jimmy Haslip who is an old friend and legendary bassist with The Yellowjackets.

KB: You can make an album with 7 of your most favorite songs (not your own): Which songs would you pick?

Only 7 ? Haha! Hmmmm…
“Can’t Find My Way Home” – Steve Winwood
“Edith and the Kingpin” – Joni Mitchell
“Something in the Way She Moves” – James Taylor
“Manhattan” – Sarah Bareilles
“Palladium” – Weather Report
“Last Train Home” – Pat Metheny
“A Day in the life “ – The Beatles..(Well pretty much any Beatles song)
“Happier Than the Morning Sun” – Stevie Wonder..(Pretty much any Stevie W. song)
Whoops that’s 8! … I can go on!

KB: What are you currently up to? Touring? New stuff?

I just played at The Baked Potato. love this place here in L.A.! I have another band called The Cookies with an old friend Bobby Watson (Rufus and general bass fame). We play around town. I’m always working on new tunes. I’m really trying to find an agency that can take me back abroad. I have a killer band but I think I am hard to categorize. My stuff is Jazzy but not traditional and definitely not “smooth “ Jazz. It’s not 100% fusion. It has more harmony than Rock, so Im a hard sell I believe, but we do have a killer band and as in Japan; We really make the listeners happy, whether you like guitar music or not… and that’s very satisfying for me.

Check out Allen’s website: HERE

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