It's a simple kind of full and dirty sound. Then we saw a band called Mambo's Combo, who were the best musicians I had seen up to that point. The funk scene got under my skin in a good way. Within months, Lang was one of the hottest regional acts. The acclaim rolled in, from rave reviews to a listing in Newsweek 's Century Club of the 100 Americans expected to be influential in the next millennium.
Most young guitarists are long on flash and gimmicks.
The high drama of Hendrix and the spidery inventions of Stevie Ray Vaughan are the most familiar models, but Lang pulled from the old school, tailoring his playing to the song and never overstaying his welcome on the bandstand. The soulful chops of Albert Collins and Luther Allison make up his template, a refreshing approach informed by a humility of purpose that draws other great musicians to Lang. B.B. King was impressed enough to invite Lang on stage to trade a few choruses. Lang, who shares King's technique of answering his own vocals with short bursts of guitar fills, learned something just from standing on the same stage with the master. We toured together for a month and he invited me up on stage to jam.