Kaki King is perhaps the most promising artist to represent the acoustic guitar community since Michael Hedges. She’s a deft fingerpicker and an occasionally maniacal two-fisted tapper/slapper who produces a multi-layered sound that belies a single instrument.

King’s style, however, is an expression of youthful exuberance and rebelliousness—more new rage than new age. She honed her skills on the subway platforms of New York City, and she is more than willing to tour endlessly, which she did to support her 2003 debut, Everybody Loves You [Velour]. An incessant buzz gathered, and she quickly inked a major deal with Epic records, home of such electric guitar gurus as Jeff Beck, Joe Satriani, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Her Epic debut, Legs to Make Us Longer, reflects the 24-year-old’s musical growth. She has added some new twists to her percussive repertoire—such as the four-on-the–floor pulse that transforms “Ingot” into acoustic house music—and her blossoming songwriting skills are well demonstrated on the melodic “Doing the Wrong Thing.” She has even picked up the lap steel, which she uses to great effect on “Can the Gwot Save Us?”—a melancholy tune that references the war on terror. Throughout the proceedings, there are touches of percussion, bass, strings, and other guitars, which offer deeper textures without detracting from King’s signature solo acoustic/electric approach.

Produced by noted experimentalist David Torn—and blessed with major label distribution—Legs could portend great things for the popularity of solo-acoustic guitar music. The rub is that Kaki King is pretty much a one-woman army. Hedges may not have welcomed the new-age tag, but it was a bona fide movement that helped his career tremendously. Kaki King is either on her own, or, hopefully, the ignition for another acoustic-guitar renaissance.

Was there a specific vision for this record?

Yes. Everybody Loves You was all done with one guitar, and I wanted this record to sound a lot broader. As it turns out, I still used the Ovation Adamas on nearly half the record, but I used a different guitar on almost every other track. I also wanted to present some different elements, such as singing one song, playing some lap-steel guitar, and adding string arrangements and percussion. The idea was to do a record that bridged the gap between pure instrumental solo guitar and a broader orchestration. Hopefully, it opens up even more possibilities.

What was the general recording process?

The sessions were produced in Pro Tools by David Torn. He’s a mad scientist! To record my acoustic guitar, he’d have one or two nice mics—such as Neumann tube condensers—up close, and an old, crappy mic sitting halfway across the room. He ran my Adamas’ pickup signal into a splitter box. From there, one signal ran directly to the mixing board, while two others ran into different amps. Sometimes, these amps were cranked up to get distortion. A unique miking and signal-flow situation was used for each song, but some variation of this main setup was utilized throughout the record.

How do you usually go about writing a song?

I simply play guitar enough that something gels after a while. Bits and pieces become verses and choruses, and, at some point, I connect everything. When I put conscious thought it into it, the composition emerges.

To me, little nuances are what make a song, but I can’t really sit down and write crescendos and other special elements. The details usually get carved out once I’m confident enough to play it on stage. I tend to write really long introductions that lack distinct tempos, because I adjust tunings during the transition time between songs.

Have you had any major technique-related revelations since the last record?

My constant philosophy is, “The less work the better,” so I’ve been doing a lot of hammer-ons with my left hand. My right hand is doing things that are fairly simple, and when you combine that with the left hand’s hammer-ons and pull-offs, you can get some crazy things accomplished without trying too hard. Plus, when you hammer-on a note, it has a very different sound as opposed to plucking it.

How much of your two-hand technique did you soak in by watching Preston Reed, and how much of it did you develop on your own?

It’s about 50/50. Preston Reed totally owns the two-hand, over the neck, tapping-and-slapping technique that I use, and I’m also playing a detuned Adamas just like he does. But I add my own flavor as a composer. For instance, the four-on-the-floor slap I’m doing throughout “Ingot” is based on the Preston Reed technique, but I’ve taken it and done my own thing. I also add my little flairs, like the use of hidden harmonics.

Can you provide some insight into your fingerpicking approach?

Occasionally, I use a thumb pick, but I use acrylic nails most of the time. My greatest guitar hero is Alex de Grassi, because of what he has accomplished as a fingerpicker and composer. I’m usually most proud of my own compositions that utilize the traditional fingerstyle method, as well.

Is there any thing about your fingerpicking approach that is particularly cool?

I do it really, really fast!

Is strumming something you purposely avoid?

Strumming is about playing every note at the same time on the same beat, and it’s evocative of a sound that I feel is a bit redundant. There just doesn’t seem much point to strumming when you can fingerpick. When I do strum, I typically do it with my thumb—either with a thumbpick, or by dragging my thumbnail across the strings really heavily.

Where does your sense of rhythm come from?

Drums are an enormous part of my life, and they always have been. I started playing drums at about age nine, and I played percussion in the school concert band from fourth grade through high school. I played in bands all through high school and college, and I have a set in my basement that I still play almost every day.

Last year, you were traveling around with one guitar and doing a lot of opening slots at small clubs. What are your gigs like these days?

I’m still playing small clubs, but I’m headlining a lot more than I was last year. I love it because I get 90 minutes, which allows me to do old stuff, new stuff, and experiment. I’m growing as a musician, and adding dimension to the show. My rig has expanded to include two acoustic guitars—the Adamas and a Morris—as well as a Gretsch lap steel and a little pedalboard of effects.

Can you provide some specifics about your Adamas?

I’ve been using a custom Ovation Adamas—which I call my “spaceship” because of its synthetic surface—since January 2004. The texture of the carbon graphite top is great for percussive playing, although the location of the soundholes is less than ideal for me because I do some tapping up there. I had them remove two of the small ones on mine to even out the pattern. I ordered a glossy neck with a nice, round curvature. The only inlay is a little crown at the 12th fret. Production-model Adamas guitars come with leaf-patterned epaulets, but I redesigned mine to be more symmetrical and different—they almost look like clouds. I also want the sound to be super fat, and the Adamas OP50 preamp is the best I’ve heard so far.

How about the Morris?

In a 90-minute set, I’ll play four or five songs—including “Landslides,” “Lies,” and a few others—on a Morris S107 acoustic, just to mix in a wooden tone. The Morris is constructed of rosewood on the sides and back, which is curved out slightly. The top is made of cedar, and it has an ebony fretboard.

Do you tune each acoustic differently?

I generally tune the Morris to standard or DADGAD, and the Adamas is tuned to a lowered version of C, D, G, D, A, D. To get there, I start in standard, drop into DADGAD, and then go to C, D, G, D, A, D. Finally, I lower that a step or a step-and-a-half. All the intervals are the same, but it’s really in B or Bb. I don’t use a tuner, so it’s all an approximation. To combat string wear, I use Elixir light coated strings, but I replace the .012 gauge string with a .013, and the .016 with a .017.

How does your signal-chain flow?

The Adamas always goes straight into a L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I. preamp, and then into the P.A. The Morris acoustic and the Gretsch lap steel both feed into an A/B box, a volume pedal, a DOD Digital Reverb, a Boss Loop Station, a SansAmp, and, finally, the P.A. I only use the reverb on the Gretsch, in order to get this sleeping, crazy-beautiful lap-steel sound over the traditional acoustic sound.

When did you start playing lap steel?

I got a lap-steel guitar about a year ago. I’d been touring around with David Lindley, and also with Robert Randolph, and I was just inspired by them. Lap-steel guitar is a really unique and expressive instrument. All your standard left-hand guitar skills are completely useless, because you have this huge metal bar, which is very different to play with. Pedal-steel guitar is even more involved. I’m starting with the lap steel, and will hopefully work my way up to pedal steel.

How are you utilizing the Loop Station?

I loop the acoustic and play lap steel over that. Lately, I’ll sing and play the beginning of “My Insect Life,” and then loop the three-chord pattern at the end. I play a little melody on the lap steel, record it as a second loop, and then harmonize to that melody and solo a bit.

What five acoustic albums do you recommend and why?

Nick Drake’s Five Leaves Left is one, because he was a dark guy and a great guitar player who had some really cool ideas about open tunings. The Red House Painters’ Ocean Beach makes the list, because Mark Kozelek is sort of the second generation Nick Drake. Elliot Smith could do crazy, technically complicated things, and he wrote such beautiful songs on Either/Or. Preston Reed created a masterpiece by melding his insane technical ability with strong compositions on Handwritten Notes, and Alex de Grassi’s Show Circle is just an unbelievably beautiful guitar record. I can listen to it over and over for days, and it almost chokes me up every time.

How do you view your role in the acoustic guitar community?

Someone once called me the “Tiger Woods of acoustic guitar,” and that made sense to me because Tiger is a young, hip guy who brought so much interest to an antiquated sport.

The solo, fingerstyle-acoustic world was attached to this new age thing that faded over time, and the hero was lost when Michael Hedges died. That was a tragedy for many people, including myself. By that time, not many young people were into the scene, and let’s face it, there’s a lot of cheesiness associated with that music, and there have been a lot of terrible records made. It’s so easy to get yourself in an open tuning and play stuff that sounds lovely. A lot of people like that, but I’m totally into dark stuff. I don’t want to sound happy at all [laughs]. I want to sound weird and creepy and scary and strange and beautiful. But that just comes from who I am as a person, not from any particular agenda.

I’m also trying to embrace as much of the guitar community as I can, because those people were my original supporters, and they’re the ones who will definitely be there at the end. Branching out into the broader pop-music world is a little difficult for me, because a lot of people who come to my shows don’t know anything about the guitar, Alex de Grassi, or Michael Hedges. They’re just interested in music.