Welcome to another episode of the blog n roll series Dr. BLT Replies: Dr. BLT answers fan questions and addresses fan rumors.  I'm Dr. BLT, and I'll be your humble host.

*In certain cases, details surrounding question submissions are slightly altered to protect the identities of fans, and to make the series more entertaining.

Here's today's fan question, coming from Jane via email.  Apparently, Jane is a die-hard fan from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  You might call her fixation with my music Jane's Addiction. 

Dr. BLT, I'm a singer songwriter and I've been hearing about the nu bako movement that's going on.  I heard that you are at the helm of this Bakersfield sound retro movement and that you are considered the King of Kccrock.  I have three questions:

1.  What does the term "Kccrock" actually stand for?

2.  How did a Kccrocker like you end up on an MTV-award-nominated top hit music video by Cake, and how did Capitol Records get you to also appear on the radio commercial for the CD, Comfort Eagle? 

3.  Can somebody outside of Kern County become a Kccrocker? 

Dear Jane:

Thanks for your questions.  I'll do my best to answer them.

I'm no king, I can assure you that.  In fact, I have many flaws as an artist.  King's rule, but I could never become a king of anything.  For one thing, I'm not organized enough to be such a king.   Second, I put my family above all else, so I don't tour.  I only perform about once every few months after I release a new CD. 

To answer your first question, the term Kccrock stands for K.ern C.ounty C.ountry Rock. 

To answer your second question, I'm assuming you're referring to this music video, that lost out to the White Stripes at the 2002 MTV Video-Music Awards for Groundbreaking Music Video of the Year:

There are two theories about that.  One is my own.  I just happened to be at the right place at the right time, that place being the place I used to hang out and play as a street musician: At the corner of J and 19th streets in Sacramento, California, between Starbucks and Noah's Bagels. 

My wife offers a second explanation.  She said that Cake is drawn towards unusual personalities or persons, and that they may have been aware of my whereabouts, and tracked me down.  My wife is rarely wrong, yet I've had a little trouble swallowing her explanation as a feasible one.  As for the commercial, I basically signed my life away when they made the video, so I wasn't approached by Capitol.  Like you, I just found myself on the commercial. 

To answer your last question, since being a Kccrocker, or a nu bako sound artist, only means that you allow yourself to be completely immersed under the influence of the Bakersfield sound, and then that you take it, and put your own sound and style into it through the creation of your own songs, or covers of Bakersfield sound classics, I believe you can become a Kccrocker.  It's not about where you live, it's about what you're under the influence of, and where you take it. 

I hope I've answered your question.  Please email me for a free Dr. BLTrading Card. 

Fans, to get your questions answered, please write Dr. BLT at:

drblt@drblt.net

I'll leave you with this self-mocking song I wrote and recorded with Brian Benson about my experience on that video:

Short Part/Long Cake Music Video
words and music by Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen ft. Brian Benson, aka Dr. BLT© 2006/2009