Kevin Post has one of the most coveted gigs in all of country music. As a guitarist and steel player in Blake Shelton’s band, he has had the opportunity to play some of the biggest arenas in the world. He’s jammed onstage with his musical heroes, and it’s not uncommon to find him performing for millions of people on television.
But there’s far more to this Texan than just a gunslinger behind country’s biggest superstar. Post, who is working on a follow-up to his debut solo album, also loves his boutique guitar gear and is passionate about a player’s connection to their instrument. And he just may be the most die-hard Stevie Ray Vaughan fan in Nashville.
Got the chance to chat with Post from his home studio about what got him to where he is today, his love for all things SRV, and of course, what it’s like playing for one of the most popular singers in America today.
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Well, I’m from San Antonio, Texas and I did not have a musical family. But I distinctly remember the Stratocaster. Not only were Stevie Ray and Eddie Van Halen both playing different versions of the Stratocaster, but my neighbor had one and I just thought it was really cool. I started mowing lawns one summer to get a Stratocaster, which I did. And somehow I ended up in Nashville playing country music.
If you wanted to play professionally in south Texas, you got with a country band. So I got with a band that was all young guys, and we wanted a steel guitar player. So I just said, “hey, I’ll go buy a steel guitar and I’ll play it, ” having no idea how hard it would be. So I went out and bought one.
Yes I did. The Texas music scene had not taken off yet. Nashville was booming. To me it looked like, if a guy wants to make a living as a musician, you go where music’s being made. And that was a thousand-mile drive up to Guitar Town in a Ford ranger with a busted out window. I played with whoever would have me for about 10 months. Then I got an audition with Terri Clark, and I got that job. And she of course took off and became a multi-platinum artist.
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Seven years. I was playing with Terri Clark and we did a show with Blake. So I just introduced myself and said, If you guys need any of my help, call me. It took a year before he called. They gave me an audition and it went well.
Yeah. When I got the gig with Blake, his career was on a launch pad about to go into orbit. I had no idea. I just knew that I like his music, and he has a way with the crowd that not very many people have. Of course, what I didn't realize is how much that would translate on The Voice.
I do get to fly out to Los Angeles and play steel guitar with “The Voice” house band, which is amazing. I actually got the opportunity last month to play with Ricky Skaggs with the house band. We got to rip some solos on the actual season finale. It was in front of 13 million people. Yeah, at 160 beats a minute. Totally live without a net. That’s some experience.
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You released your first solo album Intoxicated & Broken Hearted a few years back. Do you plan to do anymore solo work?
I’m actually in my project studio at my house doing pre-production right now. This one will be more towards that type of production and singing style that might let me rip out some Stevie Ray on guitar. I literally have several Stratocasters that are setup specifically to get the Stevie Ray Vaughan sound. The day he died I was driving and I was listening to 99.5 Kiss, the rock station in San Antonio. When I got the news, I had to pull the truck over. I sat there in the parking lot at Central Park Mall and just cried.
I’ve got this 1981, ’57 reissue Fender Stratocaster that’s amazing. It’s heavily modified, but it is a blues machine. I use 13 to 52 gauge strings. I've also got a ‘68 Telecaster. I've got two Gretsch 5620 Sparkles.
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Of course. It's not a Gretsch without a Bigsby. One of my Teles that I love is one with a Warmoth neck. To me, the most important tone changer of a guitar is the neck. It defines the sound of the guitar more than anything.
I have always played ZumSteel. They're the best steel guitars. They're not made anymore. The value's going through the roof. I also play an Emmons Le Grande II. That's my fly guitar. It’s a single neck that’s 30 pounds lighter.
I use two different amps for guitar primarily. One is Vintage Sound, which is a recreation of a Deluxe black face. But they make it in the head cabinet version which I like better. I also use a ValveTrain. They make a 30-watt amp called a Bennington that I really like. Some shows I use the Vintage Sound and some shows I use the ValveTrain. It's funny how some guitars sound better through one or the other amp. But it’s not necessarily the amp. It’s the relationship the player has with that guitar that counts the most. My focus has always been more on instruments than amps. Mostly because of watching Stevie Ray.
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I've been using a Vintage Sound 80-watt amp with the steel. The only effect I use is delay, and I don't even use much of that. With guitar I use several different overdrive pedals that I like. One pedal that sounds great is called a Twin Tube. That's a pretty cool pedal. I've got a Tube Screamer TS9. I've got a Timmy. That's one of my favorite overdrives for sure. And I use a Line 6 M9 as a delay pedal. I have a couple other pedals on there, but they don't get used very much.
Yes. I would say part of the most important thing you can ever do as a young musician is to get in a band and get gigs. That's the best way to get good at it. And being good at it is the best way to be successful at it.
We understand the importance of online privacy and are committed to complying with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. To reflect our commitment, we updated our terms and conditions. By continuing to use , you agree to these updates, and to our cookie policy. Learn MoreThis Nov 13th at the 53rd CMA Awards airing live from Nashville, the prestigious Musician of the Year Award, the honor bestowed upon the best of the best of Nashville’s session players, will be awarded.
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Ordinarily not the most suspenseful event of the evening, CMA’s Musician of the Year has traditionally been voted from a small, well-established group of studio aces - names that pop-up time and again, year after year, deservedly so. Revered guitarist Mac McAnally has taken home the honor 10 of the last 11 years.
But this year, that category is where history is being made. For the first time ever, listed among those celebrated Nashville Cats… is a woman…Jenee Fleenor.
Fans of will most certainly recognize Jenee as a longtime Tak player and family member. Perhaps best known for covering fiddle, acoustic guitar and vocal duties in Blake Shelton’s touring band as well as the peerless house band for NBC’s
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Fittingly enough, Jenee learned of her nomination while arriving for a session at Nashville’s famed Blackbird Studios when her phone began pinging like a pinball machine. I just broke down in tears, she told The Tennessean. It's been a dream of mine since I knew what the CMAs were, to be named with all of my peers and heroes.”
From early on, that dream was pretty focused. The first time I stepped in the studio was when I was about 11 years old, she says. I'll never forget that
Just like her good friend and boss Blake Shelton, Jenee left for Nashville immediately after graduating high school. Within a month, she'd joined respected bluegrassers Larry Cordle and Lonesome Standard Time. Touring gigs with Terri Clark and Martina McBride followed. It was during her stint with McBride that she first came to .
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“I needed a good dependable acoustic-electric and s were what seemed to be showing up on all the big tours, ” said Fleenor. “My first was a TAN45C that I couldn’t put down. The two models I play now have that same quality”, she adds. “I love playing them - front of house loves hearing them….and the TV cameras seem to like them too.”
The two Taks Jenee references are the EF450C TT TBB and EF460C TT BSB respectively, ’s dressy NEX cutaways from the TT (Thermal Top) Series. “I get more comments on how those guitars sound, ” she testifies. “Plugged in or mic’d, in standard or open tuning.”
Jenee’s chances of winning?
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