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Can Crystal Lake guitarist Joey Pinkl become the next King of the Blues?

Joey Pinkl, 20, of Crystal Lake, has advanced to the finals Sept. 2 in Hollywood of the Guitar Center’s King of the Blues competition. Photo provided by Joey Pinkl.

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- King of the Blues. Now that's a pretty lofty title. But on Thursday, Sept. 2, Joey Pinkl, a 20-year-old Crystal Lake college student, will be on Hollywood's Sunset Strip to compete against four other finalists for that very title.

The contest, sponsored by the world's largest chain of musical instruments, Guitar Center, is part of their annual search for the nation's top undiscovered blues guitar player.

Pinkl's father, Tom Pinkl, owns the Lake Geneva retail shop Indochine Tu that specializes in Asian, African, Modern Decor, Fine Art & Gifts.

The younger Pinkl, however, is in the final round after beating more than 1,500 other contestants in the region.

"The contest consisted of six rounds," Pinkl said. "The first was the store preliminaries when the judges selected two winners out of 10 contestants. In the store finals, the second round, only one contestant was selected to move on out of six players. In the district finals, one winner was chosen out of 12 players. And in the regional finals, one contestant moved on, out of five people. So I beat 29 contestants head on."

In the finals, each contestant had to play two songs -- one on electric guitar and the other a solo acoustic performance.

For the electric guitar performance, contestants were given a choice of 30 different backing songs to play along with.

But for the acoustic performance, Pinkl said he had a little more freedom.

"We were free to play whatever we liked for two minutes. I prepared an original tune for this performance," he said.

While Pinkl, who began playing guitar at the age of 13, may be an extremely gifted musician, he isn't in a performing group at the moment. "I'm not in a band now because I'm currently enrolled in Northern Illinois University, and most of my time is dedicated to studies," he said.

Even though Pinkl maintains a 3.4 grade point, he also admits that he's able to find time outside of his studies to jam with other musicians who attend Northern.

Balancing good grades and greasy guitar licks is no easy feat, but the young musician manages both with professionalism and passion.

"I practiced very hard and dedicated my summer in preparation to compete in this contest," he said.

He said his biggest hurdle was coming up with an original composition that not only showcased his guitar playing ability but also was musically challenging and enjoyable for the audience to listen to.

For his acoustic performance, he plans to mix a Delta slide guitar style with a country blues finger-picking style.

Pinkl said he hopes the judges and the audience will appreciate this approach.

"Regardless if I win or not, this will still be a great experience and a good opportunity to get my name out there and meet other talented blues guitarists," he said.

Pinkl says he's been influenced by greats such as B.B. King, Robert Nighthawk, Elmore James, Derek Trucks, Jeff Beck, Tommy Emmanuel, Blind Blake and his favorite blues player at the moment, Robben Ford.

But he says he isn't pigeonholed into performing just one style.

"I like playing both acoustic Delta blues and electric Chicago blues. I feel it's important to study both styles if you wish to be a blues musician. And although I'm primarily a blues player, I also enjoy playing jazz, funk and a little rock as well," he said.

If Pinkl wins the national title of King of the Blues, he'll not only take home a number of collector's guitars and equipment (including both a Gibson 1960 50th Anniversary ES-335 and Epiphone 1965 Elitist Casino guitar), but also a number of endorsement deals (from the likes of Gibson guitars and Ernie Ball strings) and a lump sum of $25,000 in cash.

When asked what the musician might do with the cash, he answered without hesitation, "Most of the money will go towards my college tuition."

Win or lose, however, Pinkl is just proud to be a part of the national finals. "I'm very excited to compete in the finals and represent the Chicago area because of its rich blues history and culture."

More: This story also will appear in the Sept. 1, 2010 e-edition of Weekender HERE.