| A series of high profile gigs with the band Witnesses culminated in playing the Rose Bowl by invitation in front of a crowd of 30,000 people. In the role of bandleader, Kirk gave his other most famous band, Amasa (pronounced “a-ma-say”), his Native American middle name. This band took a more exploratory approach to rock, and at one point included a couple of appearances in the recording studio by Marc Soucy on keyboards, an old friend from back east.
Meanwhile, Kirk had been developing his chops on his other principle instrument, the six-string guitar. This ongoing development has led to his performances with El Kapitan on various electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and slide guitar, as well as his first love, the electric bass. Kirk’s playing has earned him numerous guitar and amplification product endorsements, including GHS strings, Seymour Duncan pickups, Washburn guitars, Digitech effects, and David Eden Amplification.
The name “El Kapitan” has a long and winding history, starting with the development of a nickname for Kirk, “The Captain”, by his band mates in California. Kirk became primarily known under this name in the music industry, and jokes about being “Captain Kirk” to a lot of people. When time came for the new project with keyboardist/producer Marc Soucy to find a name, “El Kapitan” came to mind as a spin-off of that. In this case, the El Kapitan refers to the famous cliff site in Yosemite National Park. Naming the band after a huge, very hard to climb object seemed appropriate for the type of music El Kapitan would tackle, and Kirk has been the catalyst for each new cd the band produces, by acting as its executive producer, as well as his roles in songwriting and performance.
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