“Wherever You Go,” Hector Qirko (Blind Guru)

by WAYNE BLEDSOE, Knoxville News-Sentinel, August 12, 2007

Hector Qirko is known throughout East Tennessee for his work on blues, country and rock electric guitar. When he appears with his long-running HQ Band, the Lonesome Coyotes or backing up R.B. Morris, audiences know what to expect. However, fans who pick up Qirko’s new “Wherever You Go” will be in for a shock. “Wherever You Go” is an absolutely solid acoustic country bluegrass venture.

Qirko grew up in South America and moved to Knoxville in the late 1970s after a stay in Chicago. While he has always been stunning on guitar, it took Qirko years to seem credible as a blues vocalist. However, in singing these songs (all originals excluding Johnny Cash’s “Cold Lonesome Morning”), Qirko sounds completely natural. Maybe he doesn’t have much of an East Tennessee twang, but Qirko has captured the cadences of Appalachian voice. He also sounds just as impressive playing runs on acoustic guitar and dobro as he has previously cranking out an electric number.

With multi-instrumentalist David Johnson and bassist Mark Fain, Qirko creates a top-notch acoustic string band.

The wonderful, dobro-drenched “I Never Stopped Loving You” features some fine harmonies by Qirko’s Coyote buddies Steve Horton and Maggie Longmire.

The entire disc sparkles with smart, sensitive playing, good songs and a lovable spirit. The title cut is inspired by a Zen koan — “Wherever you go, there you are.” Qirko may be an adopted East Tennessean, but listening to this album, you get the idea that this is the place where he was supposed to have been all along.