About Kirky TG
Kirky TG is a guitarist and vocalist who fuses the rich blues tradition with diverse influences, including jazz, rock, roots, country, classical, and hip-hop. His sound and presence captivate listeners, pulling them into a raw, emotional experience that explores new musical territory.
TG’s debut album, released in 2023, received significant radio play domestically and internationally, reaching #12 on the RMR Texas Top 50 Texas Albums chart, #48 on the RMR Contemporary Blues Album Chart, and #23 on the International Blues Broadcaster Association Chart, and continues to rank today. Fans have praised the organic tones, soulful vocals, and fresh approach. As Kirky prepares for his next album release, he’ll continue pushing boundaries and blending the familiar with the unexpected.
With over three decades of musical experience, including formal training, college education, and jazz studies, he has performed alongside notable blues artists such as Teddy Lee Hooker, Jeff Chaz, and Steve Gilbert. Chaz, an award-winning blues artist and mentor, once advised him, “When you play the Blues, don’t hold back!” — a philosophy that Kirky embraces.
After playing with various groups across genres, Kirky started his Blues band, Kirky & Sinkin’ Down, in 2011. What drew him to the Blues was its direct, cathartic, and minimalist nature. His favorite reading subject is Blues; he has a collection of biographies and sociological books on the genre.
He discovered the Blues more than two decades ago after finding the posthumously released live album, ‘In the Beginning,’ by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It’s still his favorite album today, alongside Magic Sam’s ‘Live at the Avant Garde,’ B.B. King’s ‘Live in Japan,’ Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Live at Alice’s Revisited,’ and other live albums. A student of the art of live performance and recording, Kirky loves the raw, immersive, organic tone, and the spontaneous vibe of live recordings. He’s working on the release of his first live album.
He started on piano, guitar, and voice as a child and studied music in college. His earliest inspirations were soundtracks, classic rock, and classical music. As a teenager, he was introduced to jazz and later explored many genres, including blues, grunge, country, heavy metal, hip-hop, and reggae.
Born in Santa Monica, California, Kirky grew up in Quartz Hill, CA. After high school, he moved to San Diego and then San Bernardino, where he spent 15 years getting educated, starting a family, and performing. He moved back to San Diego in 2016, then Austin in 2019, and Houston in 2022.
TG got his associate’s degree in 2006 in University Studies while also working toward an associate’s in Harmony and Composition and performing with the college jazz band. Kirky returned to school in 2009 after his children were born and earned a B.S. in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship and an MBA.
He worked for 17 years as a courier, spending his days listening constructively to music and singing while cruising the highway. After finishing school, he built a successful marketing business. He also co-founded Illscape Studios, which manages indie artists and produces local shows by national touring artists.
A guitar tech who assembles and wires custom guitars, Kirky loves to envision new builds and tinker with electronics. His primary guitar, ‘Discovery,’ is his latest natural-finish Warmoth Strat build, featuring a bubinga neck and black korina chambered body, which incorporates the tone and playability preferences he has developed over two-plus decades of experimentation.
He’s a supporter of the blues community and a lifetime member of the Houston Blues Society, formerly serving as President and Vice President, and continues to volunteer. He previously contributed to the San Diego and Austin Blues Societies and was a founding member of the Inland Empire Music Society.
Kirky is an advocate of equality, peace, sustainability, clean living, and a plant-based lifestyle.
Some of Kirky’s inspirations include Albert King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Magic Sam, Stevie Ray, T-Bone Walker, Kurt Cobain, Hubert Sumlin, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmie Vaughan, B.B. King, Albert Collins, Dave Brubeck, Big Bill Broonzy, Willie Dixon, Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery, Gatemouth Brown, Lonnie Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Guitar Slim, Robert Johnson, Louis Jordan, Mississippi John Hurt, Little Walter, Johnny Burnette, Hop Wilson, Son House, Brownie McGee, Sonny Terry, Otis Rush, Bobby Bland, Freddie King, RL Burnside, Alan Haynes, Sue Foley, Tab Benoit, Bing Crosby, Sinatra, Chopin, and many more.
