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Micki Free was only 17 when Gene Simmons gave the guitar prodigy a substantial boost of confidence.

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It was the early 1970s and Free was playing with a band called Smokehouse. They had landed a top spot on a tour that included KISS, REO Speedwagon, Rush and Ted Nugent. One night, The Demon himself went backstage at Free and said, “You’re a star.”

“He wore those big freak boots, the big demon boots, I’ll never forget that,” Free says, in an interview with Postmedia from a recording studio in Albuquerque, NM “He said ‘If you’re ever in LA, look for me.’ ”

He became a beloved part of the fascinating lore surrounding Free, the guitar prodigy who would go on to manage Simmons and Paul Stanley, befriend his heroes Carlos Santana and Prince, mentor Billy Gibbons, and win five Native American Music Awards and a Grammy.

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While Simmons’ early proclamation would surely have been an ego boost, by the time Free was 17, he was already pretty confident he was on the right track. Five years earlier, his older sister had taken him to see Jimi Hendrix in Germany, where his military stepfather was stationed. To hear Free say it, this experience sealed his future. It only took a few notes on Foxy Lady, which Hendrix is ​​said to have dedicated to the “lady in the front row with the pink panties,” for young Micki to decide he was destined to be a rock star, too.

Free never regretted her decision to enter the world of rock ‘n’ roll soon after her family returned to the United States, even though it was an unusual teenage years.

“For me, it all went well because that’s all I ever wanted to be,” said Free, who will play May 6-7 at the Blues Can in Calgary. “For me, there was nothing that was going to stand in my way. I was going to do it. I was very lucky that Gene Simmons discovered me when I was at Smokehouse. He took me under his wing and I went to LA. He ran me for probably 10, 15 years – Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Gene Simmons shaped my career. But it was all about the music, man.

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It’s easy to get sidetracked by Free’s famous-by-association moments, whether they’re stories about finding Simmons, playing basketball with Prince, or playing with Santana, who may be right behind Hendrix in regarding the main musical inspirations of Free. He says he is currently working on a memoir, tentatively titled Free at Last, which will trace his story from that first Hendrix gig through life as a teenage prodigy supported by Simmons, and winning a Grammy with the actor. post-Disco R&B Shalamar.

Still, as he says, a lot of it was about music, and Free has proven himself to be a durable and versatile performer over the years. It may have been Simmons who convinced the reluctant guitarist to join Shalamar in the 1980s, but it was Free’s fretwork that propelled them to their greatest success with tracks such as Dancing the Sheets from the soundtrack. of Footloose and Don’, Grammy winner. t Get pulled over in Beverly Hills from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.

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Free forged his own path after leaving that group, returning to his first love of blues-rock for a string of well-received albums. He also used his position to promote other native artists. Free, who has a mixed Comanche and Cherokee background, oversaw his own record label and a tour called Native Music Rocks to promote native musicians. His 2010 album American Horse featured the song Wounded Knee, which was about the 1890 massacre of Lakota Indians by the US military. In 2019, Free took part in the Calgary International Blues Festival, where he headlined an all-Indigenous night that also included Wiikwemkoong First Nation-born Crystal Shawanda, Cowessess First Nation-born Curt Young, and pianist Mohawk Murray Porter.

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Free released Turquoise Blue earlier this year, an album that showcases both his impressive guitar stabs and his mastery of the genre’s various nuances. Free was prevented from touring due to the pandemic, so the album largely came from solitary writing sessions. The hard-rocking opener Bye 2020, which also features the work of Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, is on-the-nose enough to express Free’s feelings about the pandemic and the craziness surrounding it. The mid-tempo My Big Regret is a moving soul-blues ballad with a top-notch vocal performance from Free. Spring Fever mixes with reggae with a soft groove.

The album also finds Free reflecting on his past and past influences, most notably with a scorching cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower that draws mostly from Hendrix’s version. The anthem World on Fire a Free paying homage to his friend Carlos Santana, both with its Santana-inspired fretwork and impressive guest musicians. The track features drummer Cindy Blackman-Santana, wife of Carlos and Free’s former bandmate since he was backed by the American Horse Trio. Santana’s lead singer Andy Vargas contributes vocals and Santana’s Karl Perazzo plays percussion.

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“Throughout my youth, I was totally inspired by Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana,” Free says. “World on Fire is about the world today and is my tribute to Carlos Santana. People think it’s Carlos playing the guitar on this, but it’s me playing the guitar. Everyone group Santana is on this track except Carlos, he was recording his own album at the same time so he couldn’t let go.

Free says his move to Blues Can, where he’ll perform with a full backing band, will feature songs from the new album and his back catalog. Although he’s played much larger venues, Free says he’s always been a fan of Inglewood’s intimate location and authentic blues club vibe.

“Most of the time I’m thinking about making the song sound as good as possible in the studio,” he says. “After hearing it on an album, I start thinking ‘Oh wow, this is going to be a good live song’ and adjusting the song to play it live. Sometimes you can’t play your singles exactly as they are. on the album. You gotta go out a bit and make them a bit more delicious if you know what I mean.

Micki Free plays the Blues Can Friday May 6 and Saturday May 7 at 9 p.m. Visit thebluescan.com