By Matt Wake (Contact / Staff Bio)
March 29, 2008 - 12:00 a.m. EST

POWDERSVILLE — If your eyes are closed, you might think Marcus King was a grizzled rock ‘n’ roller. His ferocious guitar licks combine British dazzle and juke-joint soul. It’s a style reminiscent of a young Warren Haynes — the string-bending savant for The Allman Brothers Band and Gov’t Mule.

Make that a very young Warren Haynes.

Marcus is only 12 years old, a sixth-grader at Powdersville Middle School. His rapid progress can be traced to his father, Marvin King, a guitar slinger in his own right. The patriarch’s style recalls the smooth sizzle of Eric Clapton and Freddie King.

When Marcus was 2, Marvin began showing him solo licks on a toy guitar. By the age of 7, Marcus was teaching himself, copping riffs from Lynyrd Skynyrd records.

A pure love for music also helped accelerate Marcus’ skills.

“I just really enjoy playing,” Marcus said. “If I didn’t I probably wouldn’t be as good. I don’t like the violin, but I have to practice that for school.”

Each day after classes, Marcus stays with his grandmother, Trudy King. Trudy is probably the only grandma on the block with a Marshall amplifier in her den. This is where Marcus continues to hone his chops.

On the weekends, Marcus plays shows with his father’s Southern rock combo. Billed as Marvin King & The Blues Revival Band, the group also includes bassist Chris Green and drummer Jim Ball. The Revival Band’s sound is not dissimilar to the double-helix magic of The Allman Brothers. Marcus first began jamming with the band as they were recording “Huge in Europe,” their December 2007 release.

BEYOND HIS YEARS

Guitar prodigies don’t grow on trees. But Marvin is more impressed by his son’s taste than his technique.

“Most young players, when it’s time for them to solo, they just explode and play every lick and phrase they know,” Marvin said. “Marcus is more like a seasoned player. Even if I didn’t know him, I wouldn’t believe this 12-year-old was playing this laid-back and in-the-pocket.”

The Revival Band is at its best in mid-flight. Marcus and Marvin channel the twin guitar zoom perfected by Duane Allman and Dickey Betts. Meanwhile Ball and Green supply rhythmic counterpoint, similar to Cream’s iconic engine room, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce.

Ball has also developed an uncle-like rapport with Marcus. He’s given the kid some cool Beatles t-shirts and turned him on to deep cuts by Jimi Hendrix. Having a guitarist who’s not old enough to drive is no big deal, said Ball.

“Actually, the band’s chemistry is real good. Marcus is very mature for his age,” Ball said. “He’s confident but not on the cocky side.”

Whereas Marcus gleans musical wisdom from his band mates, he gives them a youthful spark. It’s not uncommon to see Marcus play a guitar solo behind his head, a la Stevie Ray Vaughn.

“I was about Marcus’ age when I started playing drums,” Ball said. “It’s exciting for me to see how talented he is at that age.”

Of course, Marcus wants to be a professional musician. Given his impressive ability, it’s a realistic, albeit hardly guaranteed, career. When asked about his goals, Marcus doesn’t mention recording contracts or platinum records. He wants to be respected as a player.

“I’d like for people to be learning from my CDs like I used to learn from CDs,” Marcus said.

But Marcus knows he still has a lot to learn musically. Top on the list: more slide playing, like his favorite guitarist, Derek Trucks.

BREAK ON THROUGH

The Revival Band may replicate vintage Allman Brothers’ jams, but they don’t copy the drug habits. It wasn’t always that way. Coming of age during the late-60s and early-70s, Marvin chased the same demons as his idols. Weed. LSD. Hash.

But Marvin said he buried his wild streak 15 years ago, when his daughter Holland was born.

“I decided as a father it would be better for me to be in church — and not to make a living playing primarily in bars — and try to get a real job” said Marvin, who teaches guitar at Music Maker in Easley.

Finding religion has served Marvin well. He likes to call his most recent material “positive blues.” In reality, the Revival Band sets Christian lyrics to hoodoo riffs. At first, this sounds like a weird recipe: pair an idiom largely concerned with chicks, booze and the devil with some scripture.

But Marvin’s songs work. And yes, Biblical content works its way into some of the tunes. However, Marvin also weaves real-life experiences into songs like “Read Between the Lines.” The song benefits from a high-cholesterol groove, Marvin’s knowing voice and an incendiary Telecaster break.

It’s also important to note the blues descended from gospel chants. So in a way, the Revival Band is returning the lost-highway-moan to its birthplace.

Since the group is strong in its faith, it can complicate matters at the gig. For example, when the Revival Band plays secular venues, like the Handlebar in Greenville, they keep to the backstage area, away from the bar. Still, Marvin said the band is about the music first, message second.

“I want them to listen to us as a band, not as if they’re being preached to,” Marvin said.

The band’s instrumental tracks are some of its strongest. “Pharmaceutical Checkered Past” is a progressive shuffle that wouldn’t sound out of place on “Idlewild South.” On “Huge in Europe,” Marvin and Marcus stretch out over a jazzy pace set by Ball and Green.

When it comes to owning up to his season with chemicals, Marvin is refreshingly forthright with his son:

“I told him, ‘Yes, I did a lot of drugs and alcohol and I’m lucky to be alive.

And trust me, you don’t want to go that way. It’s all a lie. I wanted to play like Hendrix and I wanted to be him. But it’s not too wise to emulate someone who killed themselves with drugs.’ You start out to go play music and then go get a little buzz. Then before you know it, you’re there for the drugs and alcohol and oh, yeah, I guess we’ll play a little music.”

THE FLAME BURNS ON

Now 53, Marvin learned guitar from his father, Bill King, who taught him Ventures and Chuck Berry licks. Bill also introduced Marvin to the scruffy country of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.

Looking at YouTube clips of Marcus jamming, you can see Bill’s guitar-DNA still burns bright. Marcus is lost in the music. There’s no posing or rocks star moves. He’s just getting down on a Gibson SG, as Marvin beams from stage left. Is Marvin admiring his son or remembering his father? Perhaps he’s thinking about the future, when Marcus will teach his own child how to play.

Marvin King & The Blues Revival Band will play the Pendleton Spring Jubilee on April 6 from 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.